Guardian article: A marriage of inconvenience

Violence and political instability made weddings in Baghdad virtually impossible in the years following the Iraq War. In July 2008 I joined one family who crossed the border to celebrate. Hind Al-Rubawawi twirls on the dance floor with her groom. Dressed in white, including the obligatory hijab, the 22-year-old university student from Baghdad beams as [...]

Photo Friday: Tidal power device on test in Orkney

Orkney, Scotland, UK; June 2009 The series on stone-age Orkney was one of my favourite things I did on the blog last year. But the day or two I spent playing tourist came after several days working on a story that is very much rooted in the modern era. The real reason I went to [...]

Interview with Terence Carter of Grantourismo travel site

Recently HomeAway Holiday-Rentals announced a major new foray into the world of social media. The holiday home rental company has hired husband-and-wife team travel writer Lara Dunston and photographer Terence Carter for a year-long project called Grantourismo. The idea is that Lara and Terry will travel around the world – 24 locations in 12 months [...]

A personal decision on press trips

Given the turbulent state of the media industry and the rise of blogging, it was probably inevitable that travel bloggers would start getting invited on press trips. For some time now there have been travel bloggers joining the ranks of old-school travel writers on press trips and lately there have been a few press trips [...]

Passport to compassion – disaster in Sumatra

The earthquake in Sumatra and how travel makes me a better person. When I hear about natural disasters or wars in far-away countries, it doesn’t always feel very immediate and real. Sometimes a graphic piece of television footage or a moving first-person account will strike an emotional chord. Other times, I’ll know intellectually that people [...]

A matrilineal, Islamic society in Sumatra

Life is changing for the Minangkabau people of Sumatra, Indonesia, reports Caitlin Fitzsimmons The emerald terraces of the rice paddies stretch to the edge of the valley, bordered by sheer cliffs and a fringe of dark green forest. A makeshift tent is perched at the edge of the fields, almost swallowed by the dramatic landscape. [...]

Travelantics: Football in Argentina

This is a guest post from Adonis Stevenson – an extract from his new book Travelantics. Being a fan of the beautiful game, Latin America’s football culture was one of the many reasons why I chose to visit. Since Buenos Aires has a few teams, I decided to follow the most passionately supported one, Boca [...]

Best of the Web – Roaming Tales: Quick travel links

A quick round-up of useful travel links.. * Go check out the Carnival of Cities, hosted this week by Jessie Voigts of The Wandering Educators. There is a great collection of links to posts on towns and cities around the world, from Detroit to Saigon, including my own contribution on London. * For those of [...]

Best of the Web – Roaming Tales: Travel links for 31 August

Collating these links collections takes up quite a lot of time but I also enjoy it as there is so much great travel content out there. In this week’s edition we have everything from the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo to expensive farm stays in upstate New York. I hope you enjoy it! Part of the [...]

Coffee in Nicaragua

Caitlin Fitzsimmons explores the coffee country of Nicaragua – the ‘land of lakes and volcanoes’. On the old coffee farms of Nicaragua, some things never change. The farmer, a cowboy hat on his head and a whip in hand, rides his horse. The giant wooden water wheels mill the ripe coffee cherries. The farm hands [...]

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