It was the trip of a lifetime – taking the almost 8000 km train ride from Moscow to Beijing had been on my bucket list for who knows how long!  I had talked about it, read the Trans Siberian Lonely Planet Guide, researched it on the net .. but somehow never actually got around to doing it .. until one of my friends mentioned that it was on her bucket list too!  Two other people […]

Surprisingly unspoilt, Torres del Paine is Chilean Patagonia  – and you can either get a bus there from Santiago (Chile), or from Argentina.  The regular buses from Calafate to the national park are super-busy in peak season – December to March – so book ahead.  We turned up at the bus station the night before to book tickets and both companies were full – both leave at 8am for Puerto Natales (just over the border […]

Arrived home on Christmas day, after an UNBELIEVABLE trip to Patag0nia!  Hiking country at its best .. mountains, glaciers, one-horse towns (even without the horses) and of course, excellent Argentinian wines for $5 a bottle!  All the right ingredients for a great vacation!  Don’t even think about bringing your work with you here – internet connection is on and off, and Chalten, home to about 1000 year-round residents, doesn’t have a cell phone network yet. […]

  Hiking is one of my passions, and I am happy to say that I have done a few of the ‘BIG’ ones in the past – the Fish River Canyon in Namibia (the second largest canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon), the Inca trail in Peru (which ends at MachuPichu .. spectacular!), trekking in Nepal etc.  However, one of my all-time favourites is the Otter Trail in South Africa. The Otter Trail […]

A couple of years ago, I went to Krakow (or ‘krakuf’ as the locals pronounce it) – one of the oldest cities in Poland, dating back to the 7th century, and the Polish capital city from 1038 to 1596.  It’s amazing that this beautiful city, now a major academic and cultural centre, started as a small hamlet on Wawel Hill.    Now, on top of the hill, overlooking the Vistula River, is the Royal Castle […]

If you’re in Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver or Calgary and are considering going abroad either to study, travel, volunteer or work, you need to mark these dates in your calendar: Ottawa – September 29, 1pm – 6pm – Convention Centre Toronto – October 1 and 2, 1pm – 6pm – Metro Toronto Convention Centre Vancouver – October 4, 1pm – 6pm – Vancouver Convention Centre Calgary – October 5, 1pm – 6pm – Calgary Telus Convention […]