Tag Archives: National Park

Summer in Australia’s “high country” is known for it’s clean crisp air, abundant wild flowers and various outdoor activities; it is possibly less well know for its music. But, during ski season there are plenty of live acts in the various pubs and chalets, and summers bring various festivals, including an Irish Cultural Festival and a Jazz […]

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Pai is one of those out-of-the-way and hard-to-get-to places that everyone seems to have been to. Situated in a lovely valley and surrounded by hills which are home to natural hot-springs, elephant camps and numerous ethnic groups (“Hill Tribes”), Pai has grown from a sleepy market town to a mecca for budget tourists, with plenty of […]

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It’s a cautionary tale… “It’s raining and blowing down here and your windows and doors are open! Your power and water have been turned off. I haven’t seen your maid at all this year. Your house is full of geckos and who knows what else!” So came the phone call last week from our neighbour […]

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The snows came early this year. It was only mid-May, and already the tops of the Australian Alps were covered with white. Even down in Jindabyne (934 metres) where we were staying, wet flakes settled briefly on our noses before puddling into cold water. Late one afternoon we tried to drive up to Charlotte Pass, at the […]

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When I think of Hong Kong, I think of a bustling metropolis with cosmopolitan shops, sparkling lights and tall buildings. And it is true: as one of “The Four Asian Tigers”, Hong Kong is a financial centre with modern architecture reaching into the sky; a pulsating commercial network which never sleeps; and one of the most […]

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