“Boat ride, one hour!” “Motorbike!” “Taxi!” “You buy lantern!” “You buy something from me!” “You take picture of me!” “Happy hour!” While these were the phrases shouted at me daily as I wandered the streets for the first few weeks of our time here in charming, laid-back Hoi An in Vietnam, they have recently started … Read more
Local travel and the all-inclusive holiday – an oxymoron or are the two very different types of travel compatible? A recent discussion with a marketing person from a travel site I occasionally write for, got me reflecting upon the topic. For us, local travel is mostly about connecting with locals and gaining an insight into how … Read more
Musings on the nature of tourism spectacles, performances that are artificially constructed and commodified for the tourist gaze, and the notion of authenticity when we travel. This is the metanarrative of my previous post, I suppose, so perhaps you’d better take a read of that one first, if this is to make sense. No matter … Read more
So, what now for us, now that our yearlong grand tour is over? Where are we? What are we doing? And what’s the future hold for Grantourismo? These are some of the questions you’ve been asking us here, in emails and on Twitter. Well, we’re in Bangkok – a steamy, sultry, wet Bangkok at the … Read more
Our third morning in Portugal’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed Douro Valley wine region began with the now mandatory drive through magnificent countryside, our small bus skirting the edge of the misty valley before climbing up to Favaios, on a plateau which at 600 metres is the Douro’s highest point. Favaios is home to Quinta da Avessada, … Read more