Journal
What we learn along the way
Stories about places, people and craft. From us, and from the people we work with on the ground. Not travel itineraries. The knowledge a trip grows out of.
Ryokan and onsen: staying and bathing the Japanese way
A ryokan is not a hotel with Japanese decor. On shoes and slippers, the yukata, washing before you bathe, tattoos, kaiseki, and why a stay like this is part of the journey.
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The huipil: how a Guatemalan village speaks through thread
In the Guatemalan highlands, a huipil tells you where a woman comes from. On backstrap weaving, designs that belong to a community, and what visitors should and shouldn't do.
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Namibia's conservancies: when the wildlife belongs to the community
Since 1996, communities in Namibia have been able to form conservancies and earn from wildlife themselves. Today they cover a fifth of the country. On income, rhinos, lions and your stay.
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Gross National Happiness and what it means for visitors to Bhutan
In Bhutan, Gross National Happiness is a principle of government with its own article in the constitution. It explains the daily fee, the mandatory guide and the sixty per cent forest rule.
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An hour with the mountain gorillas, and why Rwanda keeps it strict
Eight visitors, one hour, seven metres: the rules around Rwanda's mountain gorillas are mostly about calm and health. They have helped a population that is growing again.
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Why we write this
Anyone thinking about a tailor-made trip often has questions already. When is the weather good there? How does a visit work when it is strictly regulated? In this journal we go through questions like these one at a time, and we check every answer at the source.
A story covers one place or one question, and sticks to it. You will not find itineraries, prices or offers here: this is background reading. Every story is reviewed before it is published.
Want to know how a place like this fits into your trip? That starts with a conversation. Designing your trip comes after that.
This month
Travelling this month to
East Africa
Kenya
Wildlife and vast landscapes in a country that offers far more than the classic safari.
East Asia
Japan
A world where centuries-old tradition and radical modernity sit effortlessly side by side.
Southern Africa
Namibia
Silence on a scale found nowhere else, with deserts that change character every hundred kilometres.
South-East Asia
Vietnam
A country best discovered at the table, one that feels like an almost different place from north to south.
Middle East
Jordan
Desert, history and a hospitality that often turns out to be the most memorable part of the journey.
Southern Africa
Botswana
A delta that changes with every season, in a country that deliberately keeps visitor numbers low across a vast expanse.