Čičmany in central Slovakia comes straight from the pages of a fairy-tale book. The picturesque village sits in a verdant meadow surrounded by pine forests, but this is not what makes it so delightful. What's
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Festivals, Food & Fun: Seven Weeks in Bratislava
Having lived in Bratislava for only seven weeks I am still new to Slovak culture, particularly as I knew very little about either Slovakia or the city before I came here. It is true to say,
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The Sound of Silence in Kerala’s Backwaters
Having lived in Asia for 6 years of my life, I am pretty immune to noise by now. I can sleep through the loudest thunderstorm, I like hearing early morning church bells or the Call to Prayer,
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Kare Ayurveda Retreat: Eat, Stretch, Love
Life in Mumbai can get pretty chaotic: it’s a big city, filled with—literally—millions of people. Like Raj says in ‘Big Bang Theory’: ‘it’s hot, and it's loud, and there are so many people! You have
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Stick Fishermen of Sri Lanka: Fishing for Dollars
There are few things more exciting than seeing an iconic view of a place that you have travelled thousands of miles to visit, whether it’s the Eiffel Tower glittering in the night sky, a decorated
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Sustainable Tourism in India: Redstone Eco Centre, Mahabaleshwa
India is a country that forces travellers to question their lifestyle choices, which is why so many people come here looking for change; and in many cases sustainable tourism can offer a chance for the
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Visby: Sweden’s Perfectly Preserved Medieval Town
Swedes are travellers: roaming foreign lands is in their blood. It is Viking blood, after all. Stone depicting seafaring Vikings. You’ll be hard pushed to travel far without running into a Swede or two. This
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New Year’s Eve Celebrations in Cornwall
This year I decided that my NYE celebrations would be very low-key as my Iceland trip and the run-up to Christmas has been pretty expensive, so I decided to hold back for New Year. My
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The Essential Elements of a British Christmas
"The Brits are pretty special in the way that they celebrate Christmas..."“How do you celebrate Christmas in the UK?” is a question that I have been asked a number of times during the six Christmases
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The Jim Thompson House, Bangkok
When I was a student we used to visit a restaurant called Jim Thompson’s. It was an Asian fusion restaurant that was well known in my university town, not only for good food, but also
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Warm or Cold Christmas?
Whether Christmas is best celebrated in a warm climate or cold climate is a topic often discussed by travellers. The opinions of most tend to depend heavily upon where that traveller was raised. It is
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Lighting a Candle on All Saints Day, Sweden
All Saints Day is an official holiday in the Swedish calendar. It is celebrated on the Saturday that falls between the 31st October and the 6th November. Many businesses close early on Friday afternoon, and
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Why I Want to go Back to Japan
I lived in Tokyo for a year between August 2002 and August 2003 and I can’t believe that it was ten years ago. I had barely used email before I left for Japan, and I
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A Slice of Welsh Life at St Fagans National History Museum
Standing in the shadow of Cardiff’s Millenium stadium, and only a stone’s throw from the uber-trendy Mermaid Quay bay area, nestles St Fagans National History Museum—a gem of a museum chronicling the history of Welsh
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Tenerife’s Good Friday Passion Play
Every year on Good Friday thousands gather at noon in Adeje to witness 'La Pasion', a 2-hour performance of the last few hours of the life of Christ. Performed by local amateur actors, the play
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Colours of Carnival, Tenerife
Everybody knows about the Rio Carnival, right? Even people who have no intention of ever visiting Brazil can tell you that every spring the streets of Rio de Janeiro come alive to the seductive sounds
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Travel or Family, Do You Always Have to Choose?
Today is my birthday. It is not a significant birthday, the last one of those was three years ago, and the next one is still way off in the future—although we all know that the
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Christmas—The Season of the Heart
“It is the season of the heart, A special time of caring, The ways of love made clear” sings the Ghost of Christmas Past in ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’. And for me, that sums up
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Machu Picchu—the City in the Clouds
Day Two of our Machu Picchu tour began at the unearthly time of 5am. Without a guide to tell us what time to be there we had decided to take the advice of numerous friends
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The Sacred Valley of the Incas
Any backpacker travelling around South America will inevitably end up on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu—it is the Mecca of the Gringo Trail. Many will opt to trek for a few days, and the
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