Category: Travel

Travel

A Slice of the New Bangalore: The Den Hotel

BY CSM STAFF WRITER In the heart of India’s Silicon Valley, where the hum of technology meets the gentle sway of ancient gardens, lies a city of fascinating contrasts. For the seasoned traveller, Bangalore has always held a certain charm—a place where a colonial-era past mingles with a pulsating, modern future. And for those who appreciate the finer things in life, especially our readers with … Continue reading A Slice of the New Bangalore: The Den Hotel

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Travel

Pigeon Island: A National Treasure

BY JACK WATSON For less than the price of a couple of cocktails (£7 / 25 East Caribbean dollars), you can step into 44 acres of Caribbean adventure, history, and jaw-dropping beauty at Pigeon Island National Park. During my college trip to St. Lucia, we discovered Pigeon Island—and it ended up being the highlight of our two weeks. This national park packs in 18th-century British fort … Continue reading Pigeon Island: A National Treasure

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History, Travel

An Ode to Pune

BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN The first thing you notice about Pune is that nothing has been erased. I don’t mean this in the sentimental sense—the sort of thing travel writers reach for when they want to make decay sound charming. I mean it literally. Walk from the Kasba Peth police station towards Shaniwar Wada and you pass through three centuries in about four hundred yards. The … Continue reading An Ode to Pune

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Travel

The Ballad of Reading Station

BY PAUL T HORGAN Were it not for the office blocks dominating the southern, more populous, side of Reading Station, it would be an imposing piece of railway architecture. The building’s striking feature is its wide concourse, mounted above the eight platforms aligned with the Great Western Main Line. Much like Joseph Bazalgette, who built London’s sewers with four times the required capacity, this escalator-and-lift-linked … Continue reading The Ballad of Reading Station

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Travel

A Week in Istanbul

BY JACK WATSON A week in Istanbul marked my first trip abroad since visiting Australia a decade ago. Travelling with my grandfather Roger—a contributor to these pages—we indulged in the first-class lounge, flew European Business Class, and stayed at a four-star Radisson Hotel. It was luxury all the way. The view from our hotel’s rooftop dining area was nothing short of spectacular: distant islands, countless … Continue reading A Week in Istanbul

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Travel

Travelling in Italy

BY ALEX STORY Sicily, Goethe once wrote, is the key to everything. Italy, then, is the door which that key opens. The country is peppered with towns and cities filled with historic treasures. Amazingly, given her tumultuous history, much of Italy’s inheritance, artistic, architectural and civic, lives and breathes. In Trieste a two-millennium old theatre sits comfortably next to a Mussolini era municipal building. Turn … Continue reading Travelling in Italy

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Travel

Osvaldo

BY ROGER WATSON The screams of swifts echo off the buildings as they swoop down from great heights to gorge on insects flying just about twenty feet overhead. The evening is balmy, and diners are beginning to gather at the finest trattoria in Boccadasse, the exquisite fishing village at the end of Corso Italia in Genoa. My wife and I find ourselves at Osvaldo, where … Continue reading Osvaldo

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Travel

Travel Prepared: The Importance of Carrying a Car Jack on Road Trips

When preparing for a road trip across Britain or even venturing abroad, safety and preparedness are essential. From the scenic routes of the Lake District to the bustling streets of London, British roads offer diverse experiences, but they also present potential challenges. One of the key concerns for any road tripper is vehicle trouble, and a flat tyre is one of the most common issues … Continue reading Travel Prepared: The Importance of Carrying a Car Jack on Road Trips

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Travel, Trends

Eataly*

BY ROGER WATSON The waiter suggested that I might want to try another restaurant as they had a sixteenth birthday party taking place that evening. He indicated a long table set for about twenty people but, as I had already been seated and had a panoramic view of the Boccadasse harbour in Genoa, I was reluctant to move. Then my heart sank. In walked twenty … Continue reading Eataly*

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Travel

Blotting My Copybook

BY ROGER WATSON Humberside Airport is twenty miles from Hull. Sitting in splendid isolation in the Lincolnshire countryside, it is not exactly a hive of activity. This makes it very endearing. Other than the occasional chartered flight, KLM runs two flights a day to Schiphol and there is a regular stream of helicopters to offshore oilrigs. The Hull City FC owner and Turkish billionaire Acun … Continue reading Blotting My Copybook

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Travel

The Flaccidity of Our National Flag Carrier

THE CITY GRUMP At the risk of making you all seethe with jealousy, Mission Control and I are just back from a top hole holiday (including safari) in South Africa. First overseas holiday since I broke free of cancer and a DVT.  But don’t worry because British Airways did their absolute level best to kill the joy as we came into their tender loving care … Continue reading The Flaccidity of Our National Flag Carrier

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Travel

Welcome Back to Taiwan

BY ROGER WATSON “Welcome back to Taiwan…” “…do you still have diarrhoea?” Few, if any people arriving in the landside of customs at Chiang Kai-Shek airport near Taipei in Taiwan will have been greeted like this. The young student sent to welcome me, demonstrating typical Chinese directness and insensitivity, was referring to my previous visit when I arrived from Hong Kong following the worst bout … Continue reading Welcome Back to Taiwan

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Travel

Travels in India

BY ANTONIA FILMER For the first time in 35 years we are planning a Christmas abroad. The loss of our 30-year-old daughter from neuroendocrine cancer last June made the first Christmas at home without her an unbearable time. My husband, Charles, and I are Mr and Mrs Jack Sprat, he was born and raised in Kenya before joining the British army. I was born and … Continue reading Travels in India

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