With all of us knackered from a long night at the Sambadrome, we had a late start the next day. When we eventually came to, it was decided that we would head out to Niteroi, a city on the other side of Guanabara Bay from Rio. After a ferry and a bus ride, we eventually were dropped off at the Museum of Contemporary Art - not because any of us are particularly into contemporary art, but because of the Oscar Niemeyer-designed, flying-saucer-like building that houses the museum. One of the most influential architects of modern architecture, Brazilian born Niemeyer has left his imprint all over Rio going some way to explaining the plethora of glorious 60s/70s architecture that exists in the city. Among the buildings designed by Niemeyer is the Sambadrome itself, the Gustavo Capanema Palace, ... read more

It’s Christmas Eve 2012, and I am on a tour bus in Northern Scandinavia going from Kiruna, Sweden, to Inari, Finland. It is about -25 degrees outside which is a little warmer than it was yesterday, although ice is starting to form on the inside the bus, by the window I am sitting next to. Yes, it is cold, but we keep ourselves warm by having some fun conversation with our fellow tour-goers. Most of them are Australian couples, although there are a few Kiwis thrown in the mix too. They’re all good people and good chats, fun people to be spending long coach journeys with. We eventually arrive at what our tour operator describes as a "resort". I suppose technically it is a resort, as it is a winter leisure complex of sorts where you ... read more

My cab driver obviously didn’t. He chucks me a satnav and asks me to input the address for him. When I arrive, he even asks me to fill out the receipt myself. So this is a self-service cab is it? His cab (and him) reeked too. So like Will Smith said, “smell ya later!” No dice in the mirror though. I had arrived in San Jose to undergo three days of training, a “perk” of my work. Googling for things to see and do while here, there didn’t seem to be a lot – I hoped to be proved wrong. The roads are really wide here which is consistent with the city profile; San Jose is the tenth biggest city in the US, but walking around downtown you wouldn’t know it. It’s pretty dead and there ... read more

Some of you may know that I have actually written about Singapore before. Whereas that visit two-and-a-half years ago was a one night stopover, this time I would be here to finish the place off with a two-night stay. You could say that this is the sequel. Some of you may also know my cousin Nicola and her husband Simon - who so kindly looked after me when I first arrived in London, five years ago. How time flies and much has changed in the intervening years - Nicola has since got married (incidentally, the reason I passed through Singapore the first time was to attend her wedding), moved to Singapore, and now has a 15-month old son Oliver, another second cousin to add to my burgeoning collection. Some things have stayed the same however ... read more

Gkee and I have been on many journeys together - Greece, Bosnia, Iceland, Italy, Hungary, Sweden and Poland to name just a few - so I'm used to seeing him in foreign countries. Yet I would never have guessed that I would be flying into Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to visit him - and three years ago, neither would he. Yet here I was, about fly into Phnom Penh to visit Gkee and his girlfriend Fiona who a... read more