Category Travel

Sumatra wildlife and wild places, Indonesia

Walking into the old part of Ngau Chi Wan Village, I’m soon on a path between two-storey buildings, which include a relatively grand old house, built in 1927 of grey bricks and mortar, with granite blocks around the doorway. Standing here, it seems I could be in one…

Photos from a trip to the north of England during winter 2023 Whitby, North Yorkshire – Dracula was here, just don’t ask about his grave In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a ship with the vampire aboard is wrecked at Whitby, and Dracula bounds ashore in the shape of a…

Just measured as the crow flies, the main Ming Dynasty Great Wall stretches some 2000 kilometres from west to east. For much of its length, the Great Wall dips and climbs through mountain ranges, until at last dropping to a narrow coastal plain, crossing the town of Shanhaiguan…

On a map, the Leizhou Peninsula looks like a spur of land thrusting south from the China coast towards Hainan Island. Since much of the peninsula has been designated within a geopark because of a host of volcanoes, and Hainan has mountains soaring to over 1800 metres, you…

There’s an “only in China” style to Lufeng Dinosaur Valley, with its combination of kitschy dinosaur models, dioramas, fun fair, zip line, and museum. In the museum, we find displays including tens or hundreds of mounted dinosaur skeletons, most or all of which were discovered here. Lufeng, in…

Though we might be barely three hundred metres from shore, there’s a real sense of adventure as my son and I, with guide Dat Ki, paddle slowly in a wooden canoe across the calm brown waters of a lake within Cat Tien National Park, south Vietnam. There are…

Wow – look at that for a view! Across a bay lie green hills and a headland topped by a craggy summit, with a fishing town on the shoreline. There’s a blue sky with wispy clouds, and not a hint of pollution. Atlantic waves roll in to the…

Even a relatively short road trip from Jakarta allows you to explore glorious landscapes near and south of Pelabuhan Ratu, southern Java.

Weizhou Island in Guangxi, southwest China, is volcanic, with a bay occupying the crater; close to the nearby resort city of Beihai.

Qinyuan county seems little known even within Shanxi, while nearby Pingyao ancient city was a banking centre dubbed "China's Wall Street".

Though physically similar to Po Toi, and little more than 10km south of Cheung Chau, Wailingding has a thriving village with a unique character, and a visit makes for an entertaining, out of Hong Kong experience Even if you’re familiar with seeing Lantau from places ranging from Cheung…

This area along the Lancang has been dubbed the "Valley of the Cats", site of a conservation project in China's first pilot national park.

Kenting is at the southern tip of Taiwan, while the island of Lanyu is a ferry ride away, with almost Polynesian character.

At 340 kilometres long, Seram in eastern Indonesia may be one of the largest islands you've never heard of.

Though China’s bullet train network is yet to reach Hong Kong [connected since I wrote this], lines start just across the border, in Shenzhen, and shorten travel times to places that are otherwise just a tad distant for a weekend trip. These include parts of the Nanling mountain…

The Dapeng Peninsula lies within Shenzhen though is a place apart, rooted in Guangdong province and with history and coastal scenery.

Taiwan's Taroko National Park includes spectacular gorges carved into marble, and magnificent coastal cliffs.

Surely the place to head when in Foshan is Lingnan Tiandi, a renovated historic area; not sure Bruce Lee park is so crucial tho.

A tour of Israel is rewarding for scenery such as by the Dead Sea and above Eilat, and wildlife including migratory birds.

Huizhou is the name of a city and the surrounding county in the eastern "Greater Bay Area", with a mix of urban areas, culture and scenery.

A journey in Yunnan, southwest China, including Dali and Shangri-La.

Inspired by The Malay Archipelago, I'm travelling to Ternate and nearby Bacan and Halmahera.

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Notes giving some impressions regarding places, along with conservation - especially the apparent value of bird photography tourism

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I’m visiting two safari lodges – Abu Camp in the heart of the Okavango, a delta within a desert, and King’s Pool, in northeast Botswana.

The Ijen volcano complex dominates the landscape of easternmost Java. Active craters include Ijen, which for decades has been mined for its sulphur.

With no crowds of summer tourists, this is a fine time for appreciating the wilder side of Scarborough and its surroundings.

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Exploring two outstanding national parks that are close to Jakarta, yet take time to reach - well rewarding the effort with splendid forests, scenery and wildlife watching.

A Hong Kong tour for night owls, including the Peak, Kowloon, Lan Kwai Fong, and Wanchai.

Summer retreats by the upper echelons of the Communist Party have helped make Beidaihe China's highest-profile seaside resort.

Taman Negara – rainforest national park in Malaysia Breakfast with hornbills Early morning at Taman Negara Resort. I stand with a group of birdwatchers gathered by a cluster of chalets, and peer into a tree. Unperturbed by the resort staff and other early risers strolling below, various birds…

Rising above lush rain forest to barren peaks, Southeast Asia's highest mountain is a study in contrasts.

An overview of hiking in Hong Kong, including a pick of the best trails and areas.

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Hong Kong has held fast to ancient, esoteric beliefs including fung shui.

What other place do you know where the chief annual festival involves feeding ghosts, then banishing them to the underworld?

Hong Kong's largest and most beautiful island: Lantau (爛頭)

People working to save the remaining forests of Borneo, described by Charles Darwin as, "One great untidy luxuriant hothouse made by nature."

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Hong Kong has much to offer, including beaches, trails, villages, islands, and the city itself

Shangri-La, you ask? Can it be that mythical place? That's what I'm here to discover.

The host of celebrities who have stayed at Hong Kong’s Peninsula Hotel include Noel Coward, the quintessential British wit who penned the song “Mad Dogs and Englishmen”.

An adventure blending Sri Lank's wildlife, scenery, and rich cultural heritage.

Rural Hong Kong is as compact and varied as its urban counterpart, with a host of marvellous places to visit, and trails to explore.