Vinnie is holding a photo of his aboriginal grandfather. The black-and-white photo shows Jabulum wearing his late wife’s femur bone through his nose. On his head sits a proud plume of cockatoo feathers and on his forehead rests a band of white seashells. Around his neck there are several white loops. These, Vinnie explains, are…
Fancy visiting Australia, but don’t know where to start? Help has arrived. We planned out three-week trip from scratch, from booking domestic flights, finding apartments and working out how not to blow our day’s budget just on breakfast. How to get a visa for Australia If you need a visa, apply well in advance. Ours…
Top 10 Free Places to see in Sydney Sydney ain’t cheap. A simple breakfast can set you back AUS$70 while for dinner, a family of four could pay double that. However, among the numerous boutique shops and diners are several world-class attractions that are all free. Here’s our budget-friendly top ten free places to visit…
Australia does its best to make you want to stay home. The first sign I spot by a Cairns beach warns of crocodiles in the waters. This isn’t hyperbole; a quick scan of the pristine beach and cobalt waters reveals that nobody is even paddling. Then there are the stingers. Be wary of these, the…
The charming French villas, the mighty Mekong river and saffron-clad monks tend to grab the headlines in Luang Prabang. But once you’ve got your Insta-friendly photos, what else do you do in this charming northern Lao town? Many tend to laze in the coffee shops and stroll the streets in their Beer Lao t-sihrts. But…
Luang Prabang may be small, but it’s packed with things to do. Here’s our round-up of the main activities and sights in this stunning Lao town. 1 Volunteering The charming French villas, the mighty Mekong river and saffron-clad monks tend to grab the headlines in Luang Prabang. But once you’ve got your Insta-friendly photos, what…
My family trips to the beach used to involve jam sandwiches laid out on plastic plates, a Punch and Judy show and, if we were lucky, an ice cream with a Flake stuck in the top. After the food, we would roll our shorts up and wade into the chilly waters of the English North…
Explore Singapore When you visit most airports, the first thing you look for is the exit sign. However, at Changi Airport in Singapore, they’ve come up with some ingenious ways to keep you there. The Jewel, a 5-minute undercover walk from Terminal 1, is home to an enormous collection of gardens, canopies, shops –…
Imagine you want to make a documentary about Thailand. You would, of course, want to mention the culture, massages and food. But what you really need are ratings. So, we’ll give the cultural stuff a sideways glance and head straight to Patpong, Bangkok’s red-light area for tourists. Then we’ll nip over to Soi Cowboy…
Before kick-off, an elderly man carefully sits in the stands replacing the skins to his drum. A couple of rows behind him, a seven-year-old boy in a white vest grabs his drumsticks and practises a roll on his kit. In the front row, a woman with cropped orange hair pieces a giant flag pole together,…