The Sunderbans Bengal Tiger Reserve takes some finding; and getting to it is no mean feat either as the three-hour road trip to Basanti from Kolkata is rough and regularly found my rickety taxi at the bottom of deep potholes which caused it to strain every metal sinew to escape, only to continue on a sea of corrugations that made it creak and rattle in protest.
I arrived at Basanti, where my ferry waited, in …
We rev up the 600 horses in the ancient engine, which at first sputters, then coughs, then spurts to life.
I’m sitting in a 68-year-old fighter plane from World War II, an AT-6, nicknamed “The Texan” by the cocky young pilots who flew her. I’m going to do some stunts, in tandem with Dennis Van Swol, the vastly-more-experienced pilot who’s sitting in the second cockpit behind me.
As we turn onto the runway at the …
Though best known for their colorful Carnival, Aruba has all kinds of cool festivals, annual events, and visitor-inclusive celebrations happening all year round!
Though Carnival lasts for three months, it really doesn’t matter when you visit Aruba as there are all kinds of gala events going on all year-round. And you need never worry about the weather for outdoor festivals: Aruba is outside of the hurricane belt and boasts a balmy average of 85 degrees …
Trying new foods is one of the most wonderful aspects of travel and for some, the weirder, the better. Of course, few people ever get hooked on those fear factor foods that make for interesting travel tales and a fun Facebook photo – deep fried grasshoppers, beating cobra hearts, scorpion on a stick or a whole sheep’s head eaten out of the skull – but there are weird eats across the globe that actually taste …
Bohol is often known as the “Bohemian” region of The Philippines. Life moves a little slower here than the frenzied pace in Manila. Even the largest city on Bohol, Cebu, has more of a laid-back vibe, home to many universities and a real college-town feel. The main island of Bohol is surrounded by several smaller islands, many home to diving meccas attracting visitors from all over the world. Many don’t visit more than the beaches, …
I’m not a man designed for transport really, be that public or otherwise. My limbs are longer than they should be, my posture is terrible, and I have trouble sleeping in anything other than a bed. So it’s no surprise that my least favorite bit of traveling is that spent in actual transit. And as most know, an unhealthy amount of most traveling is exactly that: mastering the art of sitting still for hours at …
Some of early-America’s greatest painters and writers called this one of the most beautiful spots in the world. On the map, it’s only two hours north of Manhattan. But it may as well be a world away.
The Kaaterskill Clove is a Catskill Mountain ravine of stunning beauty, with dense forest and thundering waterfalls. And the biggest of those waterfalls — Kaaterskill — is higher than Niagara.
This region is a place of Technicolor surprises …
A million words of poetry and prose have been penned to describe the wonders of Petra, the ancient city that lay forgotten for centuries beyond a secret mountain gorge.
Artists and photographers strive to capture the mystical beauty of this pink-tinged city carved into desert sandstone. Every guidebook to Jordan bristles with views of Petra’s magnificent monuments, now considered one of the seven modern Wonders of the World. Heck, even Indiana Jones swung through the …
Santa Catalina Island is a slice of tropical life nested in Southern California. Once you arrive in Avalon, you can forget all your worries and play as if you’ve landed in the Caribbean.
You will find Catalina Island listed as a stop for a number of cruise ships on their way to Mexico from Los Angeles or San Diego. It is also just a short ferry ride from the Southern California ports of Marina Del …
Polar bears, beluga whales and Northern Lights await in Churchill, Manitoba. This rugged town on the shores of Hudson Bay offers the perfect place to explore Canada’s North. Connected to the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean, Hudson Bay is the second largest bay in the world. Churchill was founded in 1689 as a fur trading post for the Hudson’s Bay Company. With no main roads into the town, access is by train or by …
Just imagine acres of glorious countryside where hills undulate under a blanket of green and flocks of sheep and cows graze come rain or shine. Think of a destination where the national emblem of the thistle is reminiscent of fierce battles with Vikings from years gone by. This is Scotland, a place for an inherently romantic getaway offering superb scenery. This beautiful country is overflowing with many splendid examples of castles, culture and a sense …
Shanghai. It sounds so exotic and glamorous. And let’s be frank, when you put those two adjectives together, you are often talking about expensive, as well. But the fact is that China has traditionally been and remains a budget traveler’s dream, as the Chinese RMB rises in value but the local way of life is cheap, cheap, cheap.
As in any place, budget travel in Shanghai is all about making the right choices. Hostel over …
I suspect that if you looked up the phrase “finding paradise” in the dictionary, one of the definitions you’d be given would read like this:
“the act of spending five carefree, abundantly sunny days exploring the idyllic Hawaiian island of Oahu.”
The Hawaiian islands are legendary. The image of arcing palm trees casting shade over a fuzzy-haired surfer as he waits for the tide to come in, has become so iconic in American culture that …
Aruba is best known for its spectacular beaches and surf side sun and fun, but there are many cool and offbeat activities well worth seeking out that you’ll rarely find anywhere. Here are a few of them…
Adopt a Donkey
Donkey Sanctuary Aruba (www.arubandonkey.org ), on the skirts of Arikok National Park, is a non-profit, fully volunteer foundation dedicated to providing a safe haven for wild, injured, and unwanted donkeys on the island. You can …
