No towers or sky-scrapers loom above.  I know of no elevators and can’t think of a building that has more than five floors.  Yet I live in a vertical city.  Guanajuato spills colorfully down the sides of a canyon.  The streets, “callejones” wind up and down with labyrinth-like unpredictability.  It’s beautiful, enticing and sometimes challenging. [...]

Perhaps you remember your mom tucking you in at night, saying your prayers and then turning off the light.  Just as the light left the room the last words until tomorrow would fill the silence. “Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.” I know I didn’t really know what a bed bug was to [...]

My father’s voice came through the phone as if he were next door, not 4,000 miles away.  “Are you fluent yet?” he asked.  Knowing that I couldn’t say yes made me feel jealous of his ability. He took two years of Russian when he was in college and can still hold a conversation.  College for [...]

Travelers are always looking for a new adventure and planning their next trip. Volunteering on vacation can be a rewarding and exciting way to spend your vacation. There are a huge range of volunteer travel opportunities to choose from. In Mexico you can join a research project to study the condition of reefs. You will [...]

By Janice Au This part of China was never on the list of holiday ideas at the time until its now-famous Fujian Tulou (Chinese: 福建土樓) was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Driven by curiosity I decided to have a look at these strange constructions that were once mistaken as traces of UFO on [...]

By Janice Au Istanbul is no doubt a great place for shopping. Have a walk in the Grand Bazaar, a virtual labyrinth of fascinating shops; it’s easy to be drawn by the carpets, copper and brassware, jewelry and all kinds of ceramics. Hmm, no. My story is not titled ‘Shopping in Istanbul’. I’m more interested [...]

-By Janice Au Just looking at the little things I collected on the trip – an album of a busker band, an Irish whistle, and a nice photo of two buskers and me – I seem to hear music playing in my head. The trip to Dublin gave me a new impression of the city, [...]

The first picture that comes to mind on hearing the word “Maanipaai” is verdant green paddy fields that stretch as far as eye can see. The area retains its natural beauty, charm, simplicity and tranquil atmosphere which makes it a perfect paradise location. Manipay originally known as “Periyapulam” is a town located 12 kilo-meters south [...]

FAR from any continental land mass, the islands of Maldives have long been linked to a string of pearls set in the azure waters of the Indian Ocean.  The country is situated 500km from the Southern tip of both Sri Lanka and India.  Though rising from a common plateau, the country comprises 1190 islands located [...]

From a six seated twin otter plane, out of Wellington International Airport, came an exhilarating view of the glorious New Zealand coastline, spectacularly beautiful landscape, vast mountain chains, steaming volcanoes, lush rain forests, wilderness lakes and much more attractions. New Zealand is an Island situated two thousand kilometers South East of Australia across the Tasman [...]