Another Carnival season has come and gone, and as usual, most eyes were on the biggest celebration in the world – Brazil’s. But actually attending Rio’s famous festival is no easy feat — you’ll have to contend with crowds numbering in the millions, high hotel prices, and seats far from the parade action. In fact,... read more

If your idea of a Christmas tradition involves decorating a tree, stringing up lights and baking cookies, then prepare to be surprised. Different countries around the world have developed their own unique customs to celebrate the holidays – relating to everything from pickles, to roller skates and even KFC (yes, Kentucky Fried Chicken). So whether... read more

You probably consider yourself a law-abiding citizen who would never do anything so brazen as to steal a piece of a country’s heritage. Walk off with one of Michelangelo’s sculptures? Of course not. Slip a painting off an art gallery wall? Never. When you think about stealing art and artifacts on such a large scale,... read more

The Plain of Jars is a stretch of land in the Southeast Asian country of Laos that is scattered with mysterious stone jars that are at least 2,000 years old. The jars are primarily carved out of sandstone and are enormous: most weigh between 600kg and 1 ton, although jars up to 14 tons in... read more

If you’ve spent any time traveling over the past couple of years, you may have noticed how the global economic downturn has pushed cultural events off the calendar. Festivals are cancelled or downsized, museums are closed or suffer irregular opening hours and work on archaeological sites all but comes to a halt. As a tourist,... read more

If you’re anything like me, you’ve got thousands upon thousands of photos stored away on hard drives and memory cards that never see the light of day. The slideshows of our grandparents’ generation and the photo albums of our parents’ generation are now obsolete – and no wonder – there’s no way anyone would want... read more

If you’ve read some of my other posts about Greece, you’ll know that I’ve pretty much decided that Greek food is akin to ambrosia from the gods. Well what’s cool about the country’s capital, Athens, is that you can not only eat such divine food, you can also eat it right alongside the gods. You... read more

On my recent trip to Greece, I was surprised to find myself falling pretty hard and fast for the local food. I’m the kind of person that’s usually drawn to hot and spicy ethnic cuisines, so although I knew the Mediterranean diet would be healthy, I didn’t expect it to be so flavorful. A large... read more

The Greek capital of Athens is an incredible city, but if it has one flaw, it’s that it gets hot. Incredibly hot. Peak season for visiting Athens is during the summer when the mercury can easily rise to 40°C (104°F). Combine that with the crowds as well as the unsheltered nature of the historic attractions,... read more

So you’ve hit up the museums and all the other usual suspects and you’re looking for something a little different to do in the British capital? Well look no further. Whether it’s food, sport, movies or art that interests you, there’s something for all tastes among my 9 unusual things to do in London. 1.... read more

Of all the islands in Greece, Mykonos certainly seems to attract the most young, fun loving and glamorous visitors. Sunbathing by day and partying by night are what it’s all about – although every beach on the island seems to have a different way of going about it. Picking the wrong beach to stay at... read more

Some people say that the Greek island of Santorini is actually the legendary island of Atlantis – and it’s not hard to see why. The cave-style buildings clinging to the volcanic cliffs, the blue-domed churches, the cobbled stairways leading to doors that open to a view of the sea… it really is the stuff that... read more