Liberal, fun-loving Tel Aviv is too often defined by what it’s not; this is not Jerusalem, this is no city of antiquity. What it is, is a vibrant, high-octane capital blessed with gorgeous Mediterranean beaches and an epic social scene that seems capable of serving up a party at any hour of the day. It’s […]

Historically one of America’s most revolutionary cities, the unofficial capital of New England remains a forward-thinking and liberal leader in contentious political issues. There are hordes of higher education facilities lurking amid twisting streets, creating a highly educated and discerning populace, and a strong, intellectual cultural base is complimented by a twenty-first century explosion in […]

How do you like your capitals? Well done, with a strong hint of the medieval, winding cobbled streets and Gothic domes, smothered in classical character? Or medium-rare and full of life, with modern boulevards and busy plazas, hip boutiques and a hearty social and cultural scene? A tale of two cities, Buda on the west […]

South Africa is founded on a strong national pride – and with good reason. It is known as one of the most naturally beautiful, diverse and culturally rich countries in the world. From the spring flowers of Namakwa to the eerie desert of the Kalahari, the buzzing nightlife of Cape Town to the mountain paradise […]

An Asian island city-state located off the coast of Malaysia, Singapore is the fourth largest financial centre in the world and is often regarded as the most open, business-friendly economy. With a 50 percent expatriate workforce it also has the highest percentage of foreign worker of any country and can legitimately claim to be the […]

This vast archipelago sprawls across 5,000km of the equator, with 17,500 islands and 300 distinct ethnic groups descended from Chinese, European, Indian, Malay and indigenous stock. There are 742 known languages, yet the common Bahasa tongue and shared education have built a strong common national identity. Parts of Indonesia remain unexplored and new species are […]

The Old City of Jerusalem is perhaps the holiest square kilometre on Earth. The Farthest Mosque, Dome of the Rock, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Western Wall are just four of the holy sites within its bounds, making it scared it Islam, Christianity and Judaism alike. Centuries of pilgrimages and crusades have […]

After ceding to communist rule by the Vietnamese People’s Army in 1975, the city of Saigon was renamed to honour the late leader Ho Chi Minh. Yet it remains Saigon in the popular imagination, and few but officials will call it that today in a city that has shrugged off the effects of civil turmoil […]

In an ideally imagined desert, towering dunes of sand ripple across a vast, desolate expanse, punctuated by only an occasional oasis of procession of goats led by white-robed Bedouin. Welcome to Oman’s Wahiba Sands and the picture-perfect interior that could have been drawn by Disney. Large swathes remain pristine and untouched, from the great rocky […]

21st century friction between China and the USA is evidence of just how powerful the Chinese have become. The economy is the second largest in the world and the country has ever increasing influence over world affairs. They also see things very differently from the West and the emphasis on the collective over the individual […]

Bangkok may be the economic heartbeat of the nation, but Chiang Mai is the culture centre of a more authentic Thailand. Older than the capital and littered with ancient pagodas and golden temples, this is also the place to shop for handcrafted goods or explore Thai traditions past and present. Chiang Mai is at its […]

Cambodia is a country of misty mountains, ancient pagodas, tropical sanctuaries and long-abandoned cave temples. It has also seen one of the bloodiest genocides of the twentieth century. After emerging from 30 years of turmoil in the late 1980s Cambodia has made great progress, but the legacy of the Khmer Rouge still lingers and it […]