One of the joys of travelling is getting to experience other cultures up close, however hundreds of years of tradition and different living conditions can lead to some cultural practices that seem bizarre and nonsensical. Worse, a word or gesture used casually at home can cause offence to your new friends. Here are some ways to avoid an awkward situation and make the most of your holiday. So there are two things that affect your conduct in foreign countries, first is doing a

There is something to be said for the summers of childhood, sandcastles, sun and carefree days. Well here is a summer tradition that isn’t all for the kids. ‘A Day at the Zoo’ sand sculpting exhibition on Frankston’s waterfront is something you may have not considered unless you have kids but apart from the delight and awe that comes with discovering a world of two storey high sandcastles and animals emerging from sand - some surprisingly adult themes make this exhibition by

I admit it I’m a festival convert. I know for most people the word ‘festival’ conjures up psytrance hippies or drunken hipsters with flowers in their beards but there is more to festivals than alcohol driven music raves where sun and sex are the only goals. Of course the word festival can cover anything from classical music to religious holidays to Burning Man but to a really good festival of any description is about one thing, a celebration of community. I recently had the p

Last week I did something very strange, I went home for a holiday. Now of course in my years of travelling I’ve been back but I tend to go back for a year or so to recuperate my bank balance, before heading out for another adventure. This created the very strange sensation of being a tourist in my home town. From this unusual perspective I would like to offer two pieces of advice; one - the amazingly obvious, never book only nine days home when you haven’t seen your friends a