There is great excitement in the Phobjikha Valley in central Bhutan when the black-necked cranes arrive for the winter. They swoop in from the Tibetan Plateau and settle in the wetlands of this huge U-shaped valley, where a conservation area has been set up to protect them. The Phobjikha Valley is also the site of… Continue reading The Festival of the Black-Necked Crane
Author: Louisewp2016
A hike to the top of the world
Now, I can walk a fair distance at home, on flat terrain in Bedfordshire which is eighty-five metres above sea level. Walking in Bhutan, in the Himalayas, over three thousand metres above sea level, is a totally different challenge. For a start it’s much steeper than anywhere I’ve been before, and the altitude makes it… Continue reading A hike to the top of the world
Bhutan … the most photogenic country in the world?
I’ve never been to a country before which is so photogenic that you want to stop and take pictures of literally every single thing you see, starting from the moment you arrive. The photo above is Punakha Dzong, said to be the most beautiful building in Bhutan … a bold claim when the bar is… Continue reading Bhutan … the most photogenic country in the world?
How to be a Californian
Being a helpful sort of person, I’ve decided to compile a manual for anyone who, like me, spends a certain amount of time in California and would like to go native as quickly and as effortlessly as possible. If you follow my advice, you’ll find that you’re embraced as a local in no time at… Continue reading How to be a Californian
Rome: where the dead are so much more interesting than the living …
It would seem that a popular pastime among the English upper classes in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries was to go to Italy in search of better health, and then die there. This presented a problem for the local authorities, because it was forbidden for non-Catholics to be buried in consecrated ground. In Rome they… Continue reading Rome: where the dead are so much more interesting than the living …
The Royal Experience in Côte D’Ivoire
My first taste of the royal lifestyle was in Côte d’Ivoire, where we sped through the terrible traffic thanks to a police escort on our way to visit the old capital, Grand Bassam. I can now appreciate that any royal journey is made with the sound of sirens permanently in the background, which isn’t a… Continue reading The Royal Experience in Côte D’Ivoire
You can catch me on Sky News Liberia…
They don’t get many tourists in Liberia. We could tell this the minute we got on the bus to go and explore the capital, Monrovia. The backs of most of the bus seats wouldn’t latch upright and just flopped backwards, so half of us were lying in the laps of the people sitting behind us.… Continue reading You can catch me on Sky News Liberia…
Sierra Leone: How to speak chimpanzee
Sierra Leone has a lot of problems, but language barriers preventing communication between people and chimpanzees isn’t one of them. There are plenty of lessons available on how to speak chimpanzee, you just need to know where to look. We went to a chimpanzee sanctuary near Freetown, where chimpanzees who have been removed from private… Continue reading Sierra Leone: How to speak chimpanzee
Anyone been to Guinea Bissau?
Every island of the Bijagos archipelago in Guinea Bissau looks like the archetypal tropical island of your dreams. When you wander along a deserted beach here, you wouldn’t be surprised to come across Robinson Crusoe, Tom Hanks, Joanna Lumley or anyone else whose life has featured spending time alone on a remote, exotic island. I… Continue reading Anyone been to Guinea Bissau?
A warthog in the restaurant and other issues
Senegal is a former French colony, and you can certainly see the French influence here – the road signs, street signs and some of the shops look exactly the same as they do in France. And there are some other signs which, although I haven’t actually seen them in France, definitely look as though they… Continue reading A warthog in the restaurant and other issues
Joining the Ghana National Dance Company
Visiting Accra with a Stanford University professor who is an African expert with lots of connections definitely has its advantages. The Ghana National Dance Company didn’t have any performances while we were there, but were willing to put on a private show for us in the studio of the National Theatre. Ghanaian dance is a… Continue reading Joining the Ghana National Dance Company
My first Super Bowl
If you’d asked me what a Super Bowl was, any time up until a couple of weeks ago, I’d have confidently told you that it was a delicious healthy lunch dish with rice, avocado, kale, quinoa and various other on-trend ingredients. But I now know better. Last week a new display of cakes and biscuits… Continue reading My first Super Bowl
The Vancouver Foodie Trail
What better way to work up an appetite than to hire a bike and cycle vigorously around Stanley Park, admiring the views and the autumn colours? Then I hopped on the cutest little water bus and chugged across the wonderfully named False Creek to Granville Island, where the public market is a foodie heaven. The… Continue reading The Vancouver Foodie Trail
BC = British Columbia or Bear Central?
Following my close encounter with a bear at Lake Tahoe last Christmas, I was a little perturbed by all the signs around Vancouver warning of the possibility of coming across a bear as you walk merrily along a maple-fringed country path minding your own business. However, after spending a week there, I have discovered that,… Continue reading BC = British Columbia or Bear Central?
Picking a fight with the Williamites
If anyone had asked me before last week what a Williamite was, I’d have hazarded a guess that it was a member of the Prince of Wales’s fan club. But now I know better. I’d always believed that after James II scarpered to France in 1688, the English invited William of Orange to come over… Continue reading Picking a fight with the Williamites
Just call me Winifred…
Kinsale is the most gorgeous little town in County Cork. It really is picture postcard perfect, with sweetie-coloured houses, a marina with a full complement of yachts and super-yachts, a sandy beach, and plenty of lovely shops, pubs and restaurants. And what’s more, the sun shone for us this week! Of course when you’re in… Continue reading Just call me Winifred…
Amsterdam isn’t just about sex and drugs
I booked a trip to Amsterdam on the strength of a newspaper review of the current Vermeer exhibition at the Rijksmuseum. The Times called it ‘the exhibition of the century’ and ‘a once in a lifetime experience’, so of course, I had to go. And one of the advantages (or perils) of reading a newspaper… Continue reading Amsterdam isn’t just about sex and drugs
Everything, Everywhere, All At Once
In 1914 William and Agnes Bourne decided to build themselves a home for their retirement. To this end, they bought 654 acres of land in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Northern California, built a large country house and then surrounded it with 16 acres of formal gardens. Luckily William was the owner of one of… Continue reading Everything, Everywhere, All At Once
Queensland- how you’ve changed!
When I first came to Queensland in the early 1980s, it was lovely, but definitely a bit rough around the edges – cheap sparkling wine was labelled ‘Champagne’ and meat was marinaded with a quick slosh of Castlemaine XXXX as it was plonked on the barbie. My how things have changed! Now there are multiple… Continue reading Queensland- how you’ve changed!
Wonderful, weird, wacky: wine tasting in South Australia
A trip around the Barossa Valley is the wine lover’s equivalent of a celebrity homes’ tour of Beverley Hills; there are so many famous names jumping out at you. Every couple of minutes you find yourself pointing and saying ‘Look! It’s Penfolds/Jacob’s Creek/Wolf Blass/Yalumba.’ However, being the serious, dedicated wine tasters that we are, we… Continue reading Wonderful, weird, wacky: wine tasting in South Australia