The driver was sorry. We were sorry. Everybody was sorry. Khalid was deeply apologetic because; "You are guests. You shouldn't have to see these things. This is bad for our country". We were apologetic because Khalid's new car was heavily pockmarked down one side. The previous evening, Jordan's government had made the snap decision to bump prices for all forms of energy by a third. Gas, oil, the works. Going by the aftermath it's just as well they didn't jack up the price of beer as well. Blissfully unaware of the parliament's mandate and the public backlash unfolding, we hopped into Khalid's car for a tour out of Amman through a few of Jordan's holy sites. A human barricade blocking an exit out of the city was the first hint that something was amiss but it ... read more

Istanbul may not be the capital but it's the beaurocratic heart of a nation often seen as the voice of reason in a region constantly on the verge of spontaneously igniting. If this city is anything to go by, Islam can live hand in hand with a few of the "vices" of contemporary western society. Just add a splash of tolerance. Istanbul's cliched self promo reads; "Where East Meets West", and this town walks that walk. While there are latherings of the west in dress codes, dining, music and social habits, stand down by the Bosphorus and peer up at the Sultanhamet skyline for the flip side. Despite any western tinges, it's obvious Allah still holds plenty of sway. A swathe (does anybody know the collective noun for a group of mosques) of chest pumping mosques ... read more

Boat, plane, train, taxi, bus. On paper and in a straight line, Hydra to Hania on Crete isn't overly daunting. In practice it's a full day of backsliding from one form of transport to another. Neither did the three hour bus portion from Araklio airport to Hania inspire. The drive itself is simple enough but scenically it is a mix of sun baked drab land, urban sprawl and a dappling of unkempt coastal hamlets on the wrong side of appealing. Then there was the final 1 klm trudge from the bus station through the urban mediocrity of "New Hania", hangdog expressions ingrained on our faces. Following which: Pay-dirt as we slid into the Old Town of Hania. Kind of walled in parts, the whitewashed facades banished and replaced by glorious stone buildings in assorted varieties of ... read more

Only the Italians would do it but at what point in history did some toga clad Roman sail past this coast and think, "MMMM, that cliff looks vertical enough, perhaps we should build a town on the front of it". Voila Positano. The concept became infectious enough to cause a plague and scattered along the Amalfi coast is a clutch of similar communities painted against these dramatic cliff faces. It's as if they were planted in the earth centuries back and simply grew out, hanging on solely through rigid self belief and some divine intervention. Having said that, due to a combination of factors, our first impressions left us just a tad underwhelmed. First up was a long day of travel negotiating a transport system with the hiccups from rolling national strikes. Then on arrival, an ... read more

Mid September and the rough plan is to follow the sun. With the climate starting to cool off in the Alps, some serious Med time is on the agenda and Nice is as likely a place as any for a gateway into its blue waters. T-shirts, shorts and thongs (flip flops for some readers. I don't wear g-strings - in public) the mode of dress for the medium term. This is our second time to Nice and on both occasions finding a bed has been a bunfight. The Riviera is both popular and expensive for digs. With that drama out of the way, we then needed to tread lightly and not risk falling into the trap of comparing everything to the previous week. "Annecy was so much cheaper. Annecy was so much less frenetic. The people ... read more