The name Congo tends to conjure up images of war, exotic diseases and sweaty impenetrable jungles. Like most things though, the reality is often less frightening that the reputation, and this is particularly true when talking about the Republic of Congo, the smaller safer neighbour of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In Congo, a conservation […]
Here is a glimpse behind the curtain at the nuts and bolts of a Trufflepig research trips as Tyler heads out on the road to Bangkok…: From: tyler@trufflepig.com To: Greg and Jack August 2nd. Greg and Jack, So here is the story, Thai Tourism has put together a consultation trip for lux new properties in Chiang Mai, Bangkok, and […]
When I travel to places I don’t know, I like finding the threads that bind destinations together. This exercise in dot-connecting led me recently to follow the trail of one of Portugal’s most popular, and bizarre legends. Alcobaça, about an hour or so north of Lisbon, is a quiet town with an outsized history and […]
I bet you’ve heard of Santa Barbara, but odds are you haven’t heard of Solvang, an adorable town located a 45 minute drive away, through the stunning Santa Ynez Mountains. Located in Southern California’s Santa Ynez valley, the village of Solvang was settled some 150 odd years ago by the Danish, and the result is […]
After an hour of crawling through a bamboo forest and scrambling up a muddy slope before finally bushwhacking through nettles, I saw him. Just briefly at first, on the opposite slope, even at a distance a full size Silverback Gorilla is massive. After a brief look at me, he loped off into the forest, moving […]
For those visiting Peru for the first time, it’s easy to understand why Machu Picchu is the big draw. It’s magnificent, one of the world’s greatest sights, the high point of the trip in more ways than one. But with that renown come crowds, especially if you want to do as the ancients did and hike the Inca trail […]
Cape Town remains one of our favourite cities in the world. It’s just our kind of place, dynamic, fun, constantly reinventing itself, achingly pretty, in short piggy as all get out. I’ve just returned from my yearly jaunt down to the mother city and wanted to share a quick some fresh digs I discovered when […]
It’s no secret I like to sweat it out. Preferably in the solitude of a wood-fired cabin by a lake surrounded by dense forest. But failing that, I get my schwitz on any way I can. One of my most memorable sauna quests took place in Malmö on the Baltic Sea coast, where on a […]
Conventional wisdom holds that the king and queen of safari travel in Southern Africa have been always been South Africa and Botswana. We say conventional wisdom be damned. South Africa these days seems to be a victim of its own success, it’s popularity means that even despite a weak currency it’s getting more and more […]
Visiting Queenstown, it quickly becomes apparent how busy the city is. The traffic is reaching problem level, and the locals will tell you they are none too pleased. If that’s the case, why is Queenstown so popular? Why do droves of kiwis and tourists alike flock here year-round? Well, the answer is simple: adventure. Honestly, nobody does […]
Take me to the shoe store, and all I can think of is blisters. (My toes prefer the feel of beach sand and water.) Shopping for clothes? As fast and infrequent as possible. Jewellery and accessories? I don’t care much. But set me free on the Athenian street market, something happens to me. I am […]
My first tag was in Bangkok (I write that as if I did more, but there was only one lame attempt). It was premeditated, illegal, and fun as hell. It was lame because I couldn’t even come up with my own tag idea, I bought a book of pre fab stencil tags in the Hong Kong airport and […]
In 2011, I spent a fortnight driving around southwest China by myself. I had a valid Chinese driving license and a legal rental car, and yet I felt as though I was doing something illicit. Others evidently thought so, too: “Do you really just go where you want? So free!” I was asked, wistfully, on […]
They say that the appearance of a dish greatly influences how you perceive its flavour, and I would normally agree, but have recently heard of an extreme case on the streets of Yangon. I have always heeded the sound advice I once read concerning street food in Asia, that if it is deep fried or baked it […]
I couldn’t have pictured a more perfect day to meet my guide Marek of Northern Hikes for a nature walk of Bohemian and Saxon Switzerland. Nestled along the German-Czech border, this is both a hiker’s and filmmaker’s slice of paradise – the beauty of which we were able to appreciate in near solitude thanks to the […]
Newsflash: I’ve been scouring Southern Italy of late and to be completely frank, I’ve got it bad for Sicily….really bad. So bad that my family and friends are convinced I’m about to end up married to the mob. Magari! Someone recently said, ‘if Sicily were a song, it would be ‘amore’…” and who’s to argue […]