GeT RICH QUICK

Grappling with the complexities of crossing the road in a city of one thousand temples and ten million scooters demands the wisdom and patience of the Buddha himself. Two attributes I clearly lack. Consequently, my introduction to this mesmerising East Asian capital was not the leg-shaking view from the 101st floor of the world’s tallest… Continue reading

Maybe it was just the wine talking, but after merrily trekking across South Africa’s Western Cape, sniffing, swirling and sipping a cellar’s worth of vintage reds and classic whites, I was confident my well-oiled taste buds were up to the challenge of a dinner party hosted by the country’s hardest-nosed wine critic. After all, I’d… Continue reading

There is something seriously dodgy about Disneyland Paris’s new hotel. In fact, you could say it’s a virtual deathtrap. Outside, the hotel’s sign hangs precariously between the twisted metal frames of once lavish balconies. The grounds are choked with weeds, the windows cracked and driveway reduced to rubble. Inside, the dimly-lit reception has an ominous air.… Continue reading

My beloved has longed to see Florence since childhood. To walk its cobblestone paths and piazzas, sip espresso in its elegant cafes and gaze upon its Roman palaces. All the chatter before our Mediterranean cruise was about the rare beauty of Italy’s renaissance city, built by Julius Caesar himself and eulogised by Mark Twain as “the fairest picture on our planet”. So when Crystal Serenity docked in Livorno, the gateway… Continue reading

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