Dear Airlines: Humans come in all shapes and sizes

Dear Airlines,
You are in the business of transporting humans through the air. Humans come in all shapes and sizes. Deal with it.
There are tall humans and short humans, fat humans and skinny humans, humans in wheelchairs, humans on crutches, humans who max out their carry-on luggage, humans with small children and solo humans with no [...]

Fettuccine carbonara and other culinary misadventures

I enjoyed this piece by Matt on Abstract Gourmet about rediscovering fettuccine carbonara years after boarding school nearly put him off for life. He writes:
“The list of things that boarding school food turned me off was actually fairly extensive. Among them, steak diane, ham steaks with pineapple, lasagne, meat pies, hot dogs, and pretty much [...]

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 Orkney was [...]

Sustainable food: Local versus organic

The latest post in my series on sustainable food in partnership with Chris Perrin of Blog Well Done.
It’s time to buy groceries. You are armed with a shopping list, cloth bags and the best of intentions to buy food that is sustainable in every way. But the organic apples in Whole Foods are from New [...]

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 – [...]

Nominate your favourite food and travel bloggies for the 2010 Bloggies

One more day to get your nomination form in – please consider a vote for Roaming Tales!

2010 Bloggies
The Weblog Awards, or Bloggies, are on again and accepting nominations for one more day. I finally got my form in this afternoon, nominating a few of my favourite blogs, including several great food and travel blogs. There [...]

Security theatre and what might actually make air travel safer

My thoughts on the proposed new security measures in the wake of the attempted Christmas Day terror attack.
Christmas Day was peaceful in my home. All I had to worry about was opening presents, taking a walk up to a nearby hill with panoramic views of the city, and cooking and eating a great feast.
Elsewhere things [...]

Best of the Web: Christmas and festive season in travel

This week’s theme is Christmas and the holidays in travel.
It is, as Americans like to call it, the holiday season. I prefer “festive season”, since the word “holiday” to me is synonymous with vacation rather than religious holidays. But maybe that’s just because I’m a “furriner”.
The holidays in question for me are Christmas, the Winter/Summer [...]

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 [...]

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.
Inside, Yuna [...]

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