It was startling to hear. I was having a look at the array of rums for sale at Depaz Distillery in northern Martinique when someone reached over my shoulder to grab a bottle. “Sorry,” he said. I was taken aback for a minute. Other than talking to members of our small travel writers’ group and our tour guides, it was the first word of English I had heard in more than 24 hours on the island. Many people in the hospitality industry in Martinique speak English, but you know you’re in a different part of the Caribbean when you visit Read more
gardens
Deep green, volcanic ridges, a beautiful coastline, warm, friendly people and great gardens and waterfalls help make St. Vincent a top Caribbean destination that’s just a bit off the beaten track. I recently spent several days traipsing about the island of St. Vincent and briefly visiting the island of Bequia. I’ll deal with Bequia later, but for now here’s a look at the lovely and lush island of St. Vincent itself. It’s a real stunner, with a gorgeous coastline and lots more to offer. The beach at the Beachcomber Hotel south of Kingstown is a pretty spot with fantastic sunsets. Read more
SINGAPORE – Funny thing about travel. Some places you build up and build up in your mind, and then when you go you feel like Norm walking into Cheers and finding the taps have run dry. Other times, you’re not quite sure what to expect and end up getting bowled over by a place. The latter was how I felt about my recent trip to Singapore. I knew it was a small state with new, tall buildings and a Formula One race and the Raffles Hotel (home of the Singapore Sling). I knew you can’t chew gum and that there Read more
Here are two blogs from various visits to Hong Kong, one of the world’s great cities. HONG KONG – This is a huge, bustling, wild and teeming city. No doubt about that. But one of the things I love about Hong Kong is that you can get away from it all far easier than in many cities. There’s Victoria Peak, of course, where you can walk for a couple miles amid hanging vines and towering trees and gaze down at not only the buildings of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon but also vast ravines and wide open stretches of ocean Read more
