Many people thought I was in Turkey when I posted photos of my stay in Gallipoli (map). I wasn’t. In fact, I was in…
Velvet Escape travel blog
Chilling on the Perhentian Islands
It was supposed to be my Perhentian Islands holiday, spent offline on Pulau Perhentian Kecil (‘Pulau’ means island in the Malay language) on the…
A bird’s eye view of Reunion Island
Reunion Island is a volcanic island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar and southwest of Mauritius (map). A French overseas department, Reunion Island…
My thoughts on MH17
“Keith, wake up!” I opened my eyes and looked around in a daze. My partner broke the news to me: a Malaysia Airlines plane…
A flight back in time on a Dakota DC-3
I come from a family of aviation enthusiasts. As a kid, I spent a lot of time at the observation platform of Subang Airport…
Twelve Stellenbosch wineries to visit
Stellenbosch is a picturesque university town in the Cape Winelands, a 45-minute drive from Cape Town, filled with historic Cape Dutch buildings, ancient oak…
The magic of Rio de Janeiro in photos
Rio de Janeiro is a city of contrasts and great diversity. Squashed in between imposing mountains, the ocean and a massive bay, the Rio…
History brought to life at Sovereign Hill
“A theme park?”, I asked my guide as we strolled around Melbourne. Cartoon characters and wild, adrenaline-inducing rides immediately sprang to mind. “Well, no”,…
History and wine in Rheingau
Rheingau is one of the most historically significant wine-producing regions in Germany. Situated along the Rhine River just west of Frankfurt (map), the region…
