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BALI
- “More than a place: a mood, an aspiration, a tropical state of mind” — Lonely Planet
DUBAI
- “The fringes of their deserts were strewn with broken faiths”— T. E. Lawrence
BORNEO
- “We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness” — Joseph Conrad
Free Independent Travel (FIT) Adventures
Recent Articles
Georgetown Penang – A Cultural Smorgasbord
Following our island hops through Phuket and Langkawi, we planned to spend 7 days on the southernmost island in our itinerary – based in Georgetown Penang. Although it is an island, Penang is connected to the Malaysian mainland via a very long and narrow 13.5-kilometre bridge. We would travel across this bridge a week later
Madrid Airport Transfers & Where to Stay
Arriving late in the evening at Madrid airport, we were keen to discover how straightforward our transfers into the city would be, and how our selected hotel on the Gran Vía in the center of the city would measure up. Following a 9-day trip through the Canary Islands – including Tenerife and Gran Canaria –
Turkish Airlines Hotel Desk Istanbul – Beware Scammers!
For many years we had heard a lot about the complimentary hotel services offered by Turkish Airlines for unplanned Istanbul layovers exceeding 10 hours. Many people try to game the system in order to qualify, but the rules are quite specific. If you are not a truly genuine candidate, the Turkish Airlines hotel desk will
Exploring Songkhla Thailand
Songkhla is a large city located in southern Thailand, near the border with Malaysia. We were inspired to visit this province not so much to admire the architecture as to renew a 30-day Malaysian visa, which was due to expire. It also seemed to be an ideal excuse to spend a few days exploring this
Climbing Gunung Raya, Malaysia
Among the most impressive features of Pulau Langkawi in Malaysia are the mountains. The highest of these is known as Gunung Raya, which dominates the island at 881 meters above sea level. Although not for everyone, climbing Gunung Raya by foot is a challenging but massively rewarding experience. Gunung Raya (literally ‘Mount Raya’) is named
Visa Runner – Langkawi Malaysia to Songkhla Thailand
If you’re planning an extended stay in Malaysia, then its likely that at some point you’ll have to renew the limited tourist visa you are given on first arrival. This procedure is often referred to as making a ‘visa run’, and will vary according to your nationality and location in Malaysia. In our case, we
Denpasar Souvenir Shopping
Our last port of call in Bali was Denpasar, not far from the airport. Here we had just one day and night before taking a Cathay Pacific flight back to London, via Hong Kong. Our plan for this 24 hours was to get in as much souvenir shopping as possible, since we had discovered that Denpasar is known for its excellent and inexpensive
INDIA – I’ll Never Do It Again
‘INDIA – I’ll Never Do It Again…’ I first came across this expression while chatting with a fellow traveler at a beach cafe in Agonda, South Goa. She pointed out a table on the beach with this inscription carved artistically into the wood. It sums up the conflicting emotions felt by many travelers after an
Penang Malaysia – Welcome to China
On a first visit to Penang, you could be forgiven for thinking yourself in mainland China. As with the unbalanced demographics of Tenerife North in the Spanish Canaries, which is permanently occupied by a majority of aging Germans, Penang Malaysia seems to be home to a disproportionate percentage of Chinese. Maybe such shifts in demographics are becoming a
Maspalomas Gay Paradise – Gran Canaria
Following a 6-day break in Tenerife, we continued our Canary Islands journey by taking a ferry across to Tenerife’s sister-island, Gran Canaria. The ferry dropped us off in the north of Gran Canaria, from where we took a bus down the east coast of the island to Maspalomas. What we were hoping for was Maspalomas