Travel
Visiting Trinidad’s Pitch Lake and Savannah
As a small island, Trinidad is beautiful, hilly and green, but it lacks spectacular mountains or large lakes. What it has instead are the world’s largest natural asphalt deposit- the Pitch Lake, and one of the world’s largest urban savannahs smack in the middle of its capital. The Pitch Lake is not a lake, but […]
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Book reviews
Book review-Ottoman Odyssey-Travels Through a Lost Empire
If it wasn’t for the fact that Turkish authorities decided to ban the author from reentering the country due to her political journalism, the idea for writing about the former Ottoman Empire would not have come to fruition. So it is thanks to Turkey’s sensitive regime that Alev Scott wrote Ottoman Odyssey – Travels through […]
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Museums
Travel
Visiting Trinidad’s National Museum and Art Gallery
Trinidad and Tobago’s National Museum and Art Gallery is not very big, reflecting the country’s small size, but it is housed in a handsome 19th-century two-story building. The art gallery is probably better than the national museum, which is a bit sparse. In case you are wondering, Trinidad and Tobago is a two-island nation in […]
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Book reviews
Books
Book review- Elephant Complex-Travels in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is a fascinating little gem of a country blessed with a seemingly perfect combination of ancient and colonial historical sites, diverse culture, wildlife, beautiful mountain scenery, and beaches. But the country also has its demons, having endured a savage 30-year civil war that ended in a mass massacre in 2011. John Gimlette […]
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Canada travel
Cities
Museums
Visiting the Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) might not be up there in terms of global name recognition, but it is Toronto’s and perhaps Canada’s best history and cultural museum. While it’s named after the province in which Toronto is located, the ROM houses a vast collection spanning the globe from Canada to Europe, Africa and Asia. […]
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Book reviews
Books
Book review- Engel’s England
If you want to learn more about England beyond just touristy and famous places, Engel’s England is a book you should try. This massive book (over 500 pages) covers the entirety of England as author Matthew Engel visited all 39 historic counties as well as London itself. However, let me first make it clear that […]
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Book reviews
Books
Book review- Land of the Dawn-Lit Mountains
Nestled deep in the northeastern corner of India lies Arunanchal Pradesh, the “land of the dawn-lit mountains,” and one of the least explored parts of the country. As such, Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent decided to go on a motorcycle journey into the state where she ventured into jungles and mountains, stayed with remote tribes and experienced some […]
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