the journal

Göreme is a tourist town – this is undeniable. Despite my visions of open swathes of desert, boutique accommodation and family-run restaurants, my realisation upon arrival was swift. From signs advertising photoshoots – from hot air balloon backdrops to carefully constructed carpet-strewn ‘shop’ sets and charming vintage cars – to the many ATVs and aforementioned […]

From the sky punctuated with the silhouettes of gulls, roasted chestnut sellers on every corner, to the salt air of the Bosporus, Istanbul is an incredible place. 

If I had to choose my ideal way to spend a Friday night, I can tell you one thing. It wouldn’t be heading to the airport two hours before an international flight, half the plane boarding, boarding being paused for two hours, the boarded passengers disembarking, and then spending an extra two hours to wait […]

There are decidedly less places in the world these days that allow you to completely unwind – Savista Retreat is the best kind of anomaly.

There are some places that just have a good vibe. Kyoto is one of those.

My first ever trip overseas as an adult was to Japan. If you’ve read any of my other journals and are familiar at all with my haphazard style of ‘planning’ (and I use that term loosely), it will come as a shock to hear that on that trip, I made… an excel spreadsheet. I know. […]

This story starts with an international licence. Or more accurately, a lack of one.  There are some experiences when travelling that make you sit back and say “Yep. Absolutely. This is what it’s alll about”. I’m talking… riding a rusty old pushbike to the beach in a sundress, being the sole customers in a shell-adorned […]

Generalisations about India are plentiful, particularly from people that haven’t experienced the indescribable world of contradictions that the subcontinent serves up (usually, adorned with marigolds).  For those that haven’t visited, their preconceived ideas about India – and ones that were repeated to us often prior to our trip – can include danger, dirtiness and overwhelm. […]