Flora The Explorer - Page 12 of 28 -

Sometimes I’m Scared to Travel – But That Doesn’t Stop Me

Posted on August 2, 2015

“Don’t you get scared? Travelling alone?” The girl from Paris spears a piece of pineapple as she looks towards me, across a table groaning with freshly cooked food. Outside, the sounds of Havana’s streets ricochet from one crumbling balcony to another, caught in the billowing folds of hanging laundry. I smile, mentally preparing the phrases I’ve used so many times before. “Of course! I mean, there’s a chance you’ll feel a bit lonely at times – but it’s fine, really.”…

Photography South Africa

More Than the Big Five: On Safari in South Africa

Posted on July 17, 2015

Our small plane soared over South Africa’s rugged landscape as we flew toward the MalaMala Game Reserve. With the Kruger National Park sprawled out down below, I began to stare into the trees in earnest, on the lookout for a herd of zebras or an elephant stampede. Maybe even the slight evidence of a tussle in the dust to indicate a lion hunt? Pre-safari expectations It’s safe to say that when I arrived in South Africa, going on safari was what I was most…

Accommodation Scotland

A Scottish Sleepover: Staying Overnight at Culzean Castle, Scotland

Posted on July 9, 2015

Where’s the most stunning place you’ve stayed the night? For me, it’s Culzean Castle, Scotland. I’ve always been obsessed with staying in quirky places. Lighthouses, churches, treehouses, giant hammocks: you name it, I’ll sleep in it. But staying overnight in a Scottish castle beats them all. It’s a dream I imagine many people share: being tucked up in the top of a tall tower, listening to the wind howl around the stone ramparts outside and the rain pouring down on the windows. Preferably lying…

Austria Camino de Santiago Croatia Latvia The Philippines Travel Plans

A Travel Update: My Plans This Summer

Posted on June 25, 2015

This week, I flicked back through my diary and realised that it’s almost been a full year since I arrived home in London after eighteen months spent travelling through my favourite continent. One year since South America?! It feels strange to think about myself back then. I didn’t feel particularly homely about my return; if anything, I was more unsettled and nervous about relinquishing my travelling freedom in exchange for paying rent and adopting a routine. Yet one year later, I’m living in a gorgeous…

Scotland

A Taste of Scotland’s Culinary History in Glasgow

Posted on June 11, 2015

It was midnight at Euston Station. The rain was pouring outside, slicking its way down the carriage windows of the Caledonian Sleeper train. I opened my compartment door, wheeling a hastily packed suitcase behind me – and then I dropped the handle, surprised by the cardboard hamper sitting smugly in the middle of my little bed. Inside was a midnight feast of epic proportions: a salted caramel teacake, a cocktail in a glass jar, chutneys and pickles, and even a…

Morocco Photography

From Hides to Handbags: Inside a Moroccan Leather Tannery in Fez

Posted on May 31, 2015

Whenever I think of Morocco, I think of Moroccan leather. For some reason, leather has always been my achilles heel of travelling. No matter how many countries I visit, I still can’t walk past a market stall covered in leather handbags, woven bracelets or pairs of soft shoes without reaching out my hand and running my fingers across the smooth, supple leather. So visiting Fez, a city famed for its Moroccan leather, was basically a perfect destination for me. Before leaving, I talked myself into believing that…

South Africa

On Board the Blue Train: Travelling in South African Luxury

Posted on April 30, 2015

I took a pinch of biltong between my fingers and stuffed into my mouth. The dry meat was salty, tangy, and really quite delicious: from across the Blue Train’s carriage, Vanessa nodded in approval at my reaction. “See?” she said, taking a sip of her freshly mixed Bloody Mary through a long white straw. “That’s South Africa for you. Biltong and cocktails at ten in the morning.” Behind her head, I watched the dry aridity of the African landscape as…

South Africa

An Unusual Introduction to South Africa

Posted on April 16, 2015

When you think of a country’s icons, what comes to mind? Is it the red phone boxes and double decker buses that throng London’s city streets? The Empire State Building that towers above New York City? The labyrinthine markets of Morocco? Of course, an icon isn’t just a physical landmark: the iconic part of a country could be experiences or activities, too. Bungee jumping in Australia, maybe, or diving between two tectonic plates in Iceland’s freezing waters. So if I asked you about the icons of South…

Morocco Women

Women Only: Getting Naked Inside a Moroccan Hammam

Posted on April 2, 2015

I’ll admit, I hadn’t exactly planned to get naked in a Moroccan hammam. And yet, on the afternoon of International Women’s Day, I sat on the beautifully tiled floor of a Moroccan hammam in a thick cloud of steam, my bare limbs slippery and wet. Behind me was an elderly woman sitting with her legs outstretched, an expression of intent concentration etched on her face; and my body was squeezed firmly between her legs, while her practiced fingertips vigorously massaged…

Camino de Santiago England Solo Travel

On Urban Walks and Inspiration

Posted on March 17, 2015

Walking in a city is an interesting occupation. At every step there are groups of people to squeeze between, smears of dog mess to hopscotch around and stretched-out wads of dirty chewing gum to avoid. There are oddly shaped houses and the glinting metal of office blocks glinting in the sun, mysteriously scented street food carts and the occasional pigeon pecking at the gutter: a bombardment of sensory paraphernalia that guarantees your attention to be caught in a hundred different…

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