Given my fondness for a well-rounded wine, it’s not at all surprising, then, that I donned the latest in Eastern European farm-fashion and jumped at the chance of making my own plonk. Bulgaria has been famous for its winemaking regions ever since the time of Thracian rule, around 500 BC, so who could blame me […]

To be honest, I’ve never really given much thought to the differences between Journalism and Investigative Journalism. And probably for good reason too: I read news to digest topics that I would neither have time to investigate nor piece together myself. However, if I pay attention to what comes to mind when someone speaks of […]

Back in 2006 I received a mail from an old university friend asking whether I knew anything about a mutual friend of ours passing away. He wanted to know if there was more to the story and if I could corroborate any of what he was reading about Stuart Bryant. He found a blog written […]

Taking the first steps to becoming a solo paragliding pilot is nothing short of an adrenaline-packed emotional adventure. Sure, you may have done some tandem flights in the past or even some school gliding, but going solo is something completely different. One of the biggest differences you need to come to terms with (rather quickly) […]

I used to enjoy sitting at cafés, restaurants, airport lounges the occasional ferry port and, although I don’t enjoy going there, even the dentist’s waiting room. But at some point during the last decade, I’ve noticed a tremendous decrease in social interaction between people at such venues; and it’s becoming plainly evident that the antisocial […]

There I go again, freshly arrived in Kathmandu and in the excitement of it all, I completely forgot to leave my corporate haste at the Dubai departure lounge. My flight landed at 18:00, which meant that any chance of catching a connecting flight to Pokhara disappeared as quickly as the setting sun. For whatever reason, […]

Cut of same bone and flesh and more, we share the same height and profile and jaw. Deep brown, silent and warm, his eyes mirror that of my own. We see the world in similar hues, its people and life and television news. We share good times and bad and sometimes even cry, we make […]

I’ve never really given it much thought previously, it was something that hadn’t touched me, or to an extent, wasn’t part of my life. I simply refused to accept that I was being subjected to pressures of any kind. You see, stress takes on so many different shapes and sizes that it’s actually quite difficult […]

Have you ever noticed that there’s always some peculiar system or archaic procedure to adhere to while making your way through immigration? Each country presents the traveller with its own ridiculously bureaucratic hoops to jump through without any logical explanation. I have a large 70-page business passport which lasts me, on average, about 18 months. […]

If you woke up this morning to the sound of a dull thud against your apartment’s front door, it can only mean one thing, January 5 fever. That’s right bargain-hunters, we’re all being summoned to partake in the one of the greatest testaments to consumerism — The Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF). And what was that […]