China in Antarctica?
22 October 2013 | Places
▲ Maureen in Antarctica in 1997.
When Lonely Planet published its first Antarctica guide in 1996 it felt like a pioneering project. In fact I remember having to work hard to convince some people in the company that it was a feasible idea. Were there really enough...
View Post
How Many Countries?
20 May 2012 | Places
Every now and then I bump into somebody who’s busy trekking around the world putting a ‘been there’ tick beside a list of every country in the world. You can have arcane arguments about what ‘been there’ means – is the airport transit lounge good enough? But the start...
View Post
Sites of Impact
1 February 2012 | Media
▲ Wolfe Creek Crater, Western Australia
Every now and then I pick up a ‘got to go there’ book, you read it or look at the pictures and that’s what you immediately think. Judith Schalansky’s Atlas of Remote Islands was a fine example, she claimed she hadn’t been t...
View Post
Ox Travels
18 July 2011 | Media
Edited by ex-Rough Guider Mark Ellingham and others and introduced by Michael Palin, Ox Travels features 36 travel tales by well known travel writers, all around the theme of a meeting. The proceeds go to Oxfam. My half a dozen favourites?
• Madam Say Go – Sonia Fa...
View Post
Atlas of Remote Islands
1 December 2010 | Media
Judith Schalansky’s book was originally published in German and won design awards. It’s a delight, a weird and wonderful assortment subtitled ‘Fifty Islands I Have Never Set Foot On and Never Will.’ Each features a map and a short and often intriguing essay which migh...
View Post