Seashells by the Seychelles

Bonzour! Inveterate world traveller Ros Freeman jump starts her African odyssey with an all-too-short stop in the Seychelles

I glimpse the Seychelles through my aircraft window, and instantly I have regrets. Why am I only spending four days in this tiny tropical haven? Why didn’t I allow more time?

Mind Blowing: An epic 5000km ride through land-locked, bomb-scarred Laos.

By Stu Lloyd.

Imagine a flight of US bombers zooming in low over your village and dropping their payload of devastating 500lb bombs. Now imagine one of those lands right on your whole extended family -- your brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, your grandparents -- and obliterates them and your family home.

Mr Si Pan doesn’t have to imagine it, because he watched the entire drama unfold from behind the protection of a large tree, through his 9-year-old eyes. The same eyes that now well with moisture as he relates that event in far north-eastern Laos from 50 years ago. 

Witness to History: Photographer Mike Larder

Mike Larder - capturing iconic moments

I was born in England in 1953, allegedly under the shadow of the walls of Maidstone Prison.

I was chained, manacled and dragged screaming from the shores of Blighty at the tender age of three to follow the tracks of one of my predecessors who received free passage and accommodation in the penal settlement at Port Arthur. 

We were ten quid refugees. Our transport was a rusting hulk, The Moreton Bay, apparently on its last trip (and legs) before being scrapped and turned into jam tins. The irony is that I lived adjacent to Moreton Bay in Queensland for many years.

After we stepped ashore in Tasmania, I suppose you could say we became peasant farmers as my father worked on farms growing apple trees.

Novotel reinvents the airport hotel

When I started flying, I travelled around the country in Boeing 727s, Douglas DC-9s, and Fokker F27 Friendships for junior sports championships and family holidays. The notion of airport hotels was something you might have seen in an episode of The Jetsons.

Kenya: It pays to read the fine print

Jumbo! Inveterate world traveller Ros Freeman should have read the trip notes before booking her 'camping' trip in Kenya. Will all end well for Ros?

Time to brush up my Swahili as I arrived at Kenya’s Nairobi Airport. A big smile and a local greeting don’t go astray, especially at immigration. But no worries, getting through Nairobi airport was a cinch. Now the adventure truly began. And what an adventure it would be!

Arrivals and departures: VIP treatment at Doha's Hamad International Airport

Sometimes, it's a toss-up whether arriving or departing an airport is the most stressful.

Is Costa Rica really the poster child for ecotourism?

A couple years back I was fortunate to visit the beautiful Central American country of Costa Rica, long extolled as a model of ecotourism.

Sure, it has plenty to offer for the sensitive traveller, but is it really all it's cracked up to be.

I investigated Costs Rica's credentials for Medium.com and here my story:

 

Malawi - Sunset Destination

Inveterate traveller and quiet explorer, Ros Freeman, caps off an another African sojourn with a visit to Malawi.

Fittingly my final destination was Malawi, the land of the setting sun. Malawi, which means ‘flaming waters’, refers to the sunsets over Lake Malawi. The sunset is featured on the Malawian flag.