Bali’s charm reveals itself in an instant
IT TOOK just 60 minutes to discover Bali‘s charm. Within an hour of having left the airport and made our way to the Novotel Benoa Bali, we were dining on a candlelit beach. The waves seemed to keep time with the four-piece boy band belting out request …
Take a walk across King Herod’s pool
Brian Crisp visits Israel on a driving holiday and find the best hummus in the world and ends up in King Herod’s pool. URI Buri is a man of many talents. Throughout Israel he is known for his fish restaurant in the ancient northern Phoenician and …
Kissed by Sungai Gold
THE rooster seems to have forgotten that I am on holidays and sleeping in at the luxurious Sungai Gold villa. Every morning as the sun peeps through the darkness, Mr Rooster is up, strutting his stuff for the village to hear. He is Cepaka’s wake-up …
River cruising really is the stuff of Dreams
River cruising is a bit like cheating on an exam. Someone else does all the hard work, and you get all the benefits. It is very easy. It is the complete holiday package, rolled up in a neat and tidy bundle and delivered to your …
Time to fly to the Great Barrier Reef
It’s 7.30am in Port Douglas and the Great Barrier Reef awaits. Just for today, I’ve deliberately bypassed the buffet. It’s not that I’m worried about the consequences of what might happen if the flight is bumpy, it’s got more to do with another weighty issue. …
Turtle Island life reveals itself from the air
THE seaplane slowly edges towards the water surrounding Turtle Island. With six guests and a pilot it’s a bit of a squeeze. Not all that comfortable for a big bloke, but it’s only a 30-minute flight from Nadi to paradise. From the air, Fiji‘s famous Turtle Island looks …
Amazon River alligators put on a night time show
OUR Amazon River guide, Roland, spots the eyes watching us just above water level from about 100m away. It is dark. Jungle dark. There are no lights from nearby towns or villages to pollute the night, only Orion’s Belt above, which seems to shine much …
How to survive a Friend-cation
I SURVIVED a friend-cation. Perhaps survived isn’t the right word. It wasn’t at all traumatic. In fact, like Katy Perry, I liked it. I do have one guilty confession to make – but I will leave that for the end of the story. A friend-cation, …
Time for a Whitsunday Hayman Island feast!
I’M on Hayman Island sitting at the Fontaine Bench in the kitchen of one of the island’s exclusive restaurants and I’m starting to struggle. The food is the problem. Not the quality, rather the quantity. The Fontaine Bench is set so two guests can dine …
Desert delight in Abu Dhabi’s Empty Quarter
I AM standing at the top of a sand dune in Abu Dhabi’s Empty Quarter waiting for the sun to rise. The desert is quiet, and peaceful. I hold my breath and listen. Nothing. The sun shows itself in the distance and the mountains of …