I love it in a foreign country if someone asks me directions as if I’m a native and not the gauche tourist I am. It means I can melt into...

This post expands a little on the itinerary I outlined in my first post.... I've booked the flights, one ryokan, tours and guides, and...

For this post I feel like typing just EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK, carry-on only? I've always thought that carry-on and wardrobe are mutually...

To start the ball rolling, I took the only available dates at a lovely Zen ryokan which had stolen my heart, and after that, I could see we&

The Calligraphy Lesson, Kitagawa Utamaro (Japan, 1753-1806) I love a mystery don't you? I thought you might like an update on the...

Because my next trip is to Japan, I've been thinking about the Japanese perception of beauty, and terms like wabi-sabi. It pops up willy

Dear buddies At then end of each trip I like to give you an overview of the practicalities of travelling to the country I've just...

Ali's first words to us when he picked us up at 8am this morning were ‘ok, let’s go buy a goat’. Photos of the Sultan are everywhere in...

It was a very pretty dawn from our balcony at Alila this morning. Time to pack up to leave. I had a grown-up looking Omani breakfast...

Junipers grow in Oman, but only up here on Jabal Akhdar. This one must be very old. Hardy and evergreen but extremely slow growing, they...

We slept very well in our desert tent, dreaming of Lawrence of Arabia or breakfast, and were up early to take a few photographs before...

For more formal occasions Omanis put the turban on over the cap because it gives a regular shape. Our model was on the desk of the Al...

Saturday Here we are in Oman. What a change in climate! It's the same temperature as Iran, but we've gone from zip humidity in the...