A guy walks into a bar, lays eyes on the woman of his dreams, is paralysed by an overwhelming fear of rejection, leaves without speaking to her, and spends the rest of his life wondering what could have been. Sound familiar? Well, if it does, you need to hire the services of professional pick-up artist Continue reading

‘THANK you AMERICA for SAVING us!’ proclaimed the white painted line of graffiti, daubed in a mixture of capital and lowercase letters, on a school wall in the town of Tempe. The three-foot-high thank you note on the island of Grenada represents the inhabitants’ gratitude to the United States for being freed from a Cuban-backed Continue reading

Ever felt the urge to wrap your arms around a total stranger? Motorbiker Ronnie certainly cut a fine figure in his full leathers and shades, but my compulsion give him a cuddle had more to do with survival than a sudden Fonzie fixation. Turns out squeezing a stranger is the only safe option when the Continue reading

If countries ever replace celebrities as the subject of historical TV show Who Do You Think You Are?, the BBC would be advised to dedicate an entire series to Slovenia. Sandwiched between Italy and Croatia, this sapling state is one of Europe’s most disputed patches of land and the focus of more bitter custody battles Continue reading

Tahiti brims with such beauty that doing justice to its temptations can be a daunting challenge. The French Polynesian island has no doubt defeated many lesser men but French artist Paul Gauguin took up the challenge and dedicated his final years to committing this Eden to canvas. My digital camera couldn’t muster enough megapixels to Continue reading

Turns out greedy bankers may not be to blame for the global recession after all. Last year, Singapore’s feng shui experts warned that the anti-clockwise direction of the island’s 165-metre observation wheel was unwittingly sending the city’s vast wealth out to sea. The owners hastily reinvented the wheel to make it turn clockwise, giving views of the Continue reading

You hear Mexico before you see it. It is the merry melodies of mariachis in unfeasibly wide silver-studded hats, twanging on trumpets and violins, that wafts across the arrivals hall at Cancun International Airport. The second passengers disembark, the musicians eagerly burst into song and refuse to pause for breath until the final bag is collected and the Continue reading

It’s a mild Mediterranean night on hopelessly hip Shenkin Street. A young couple sip cappuccinos and chomp croissants outside the Angel café, engrossed in the antics of a teenage girl throwing a temper tantrum into her mobile phone. Her colourful Hebrew echoes down the road, to the obvious annoyance of nearby dog walkers, pram pushers and pensioners playing Continue reading

Most visitors arrive in Las Vegas by plane, but a spaceship would be more appropriate transport to a destination that is so out-of-this-world. There are, of course, luxurious resorts, amazing restaurants and spectacular shows all over the world – but as soon as you touch down on Planet Vegas, you are forced to redefine your terms. Everything is bigger Continue reading

As a nation of proud and patient queuers, we Brits really shouldn’t approve of Miami’s elitist nightclub door policy at all. After all, waiting our turn appeals to our innate sense of fair play. But there is no such thing outside the glitzy haunts of oh-so-trendy South Beach. Catwalk models with clipboards sort the in-crowd wheat from of Continue reading