Michael Novins

From Niamey, it was a few hour drive through pastoral countryside to Parc National du W. Unlike parks in East and Southern Africa, wildlife was widely scattered and difficult to …

In October 2017, I made a day trip by minibus from Córdoba to Alta Gracia, the location of one of the estancias. The minibus stopped in Alta Gracia's center, from …

In October 2017, I made a day trip by bus (which run every few minutes) from Santiago to Valparaíso, the dilapidated port city. The city’s golden age was from the …

In October 2017, I made an easy, but long, day trip by bus from Puerto Montt to Castro, probably the best base from which to visit the wooden churches. One …

In October 2017, I made a long day trip from Santiago to Sewell Mining Town. Weekend trips organized by VTS (http://www.vts.cl) depart at 8:30 am from the international coffee chain …

In October 2017 I visited Talampaya National Park by public transport from La Rioja, which is much easier than I was led to believe by the information I read on …

In October 2017, I spent a few days at Península Valdés, probably the best place on the South American mainland to see marine wildlife, where I saw nesting Magellanic penguins …

In September 2017, I rented a car in Turku to visit southwest Finland's World Heritage Sites. Early on a Tuesday morning, I found myself traipsing through a moss-covered forest floor …

In August 2017, I traveled by bus from Guangzhou to Kaiping, where there were several taxi drivers awaiting to take travelers to visit the local sites. I had used my …

In August 2017, I made a day trip (organized by Sichuan Travel Guide; http://www.sichuantravelguide.com) from Chengdu to Gengda Wolong Panda Center, one of several areas created to protect giant pandas. …

I visited Lhasa and the Potala Palace in August 2017. The Potola Palace was the residence of the Dalai Lama from the 17th century until the current Dalai Lama fled …

In June 2017 I spent a couple of days visiting Jeju, where I stayed at Hotel RegentMarine, which is located in Jeju City on the waterfront between Black Pork Street …

In June 2017 I visited Nagasaki, where I stayed at Hotel Monterey Nagasaki, which is located a very short walk from the departure point for the Gunkanjima Concierge Company (https://www.gunkanjima-concierge.com/en/). …

In June 2017 I made a day trip by train from Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station to Suzhou Railway Station and then took Suzhou Rail Transit to Binhe Lu Station since …

In June 2017, I spent five days visiting Kosrae, one of four states in the Federated States of Micronesia. With my visits to Yap in December 2008 and Pohnpei and …

In May 2009, the Baron Hotel in Aleppo organized a car and driver to take me and another guest on a day tour to visit Serjilla and Al-Bara, two of …

In August 2016, I flew from Zanzibar to Mombasa, where I stayed at the Castle Royal Hotel, which dates from 1909 and is centrally located between the Moi Avenue tusks …

I visited Syria largely by public transportation in May 2009. After taking a bus from Palmyra to Aleppo, with a stop in Homs, I checked into the Baron Hotel, the …

In August 2016, I flew on Airkenya Express from Nairobi to Lamu. I ignored at my peril the admonishment on Airkenya's ticket to only travel with soft-sided luggage. Airkenya apparently …

In February 2011, I took the bus from Loreto to San Ignacio, where I spent two nights at Ignacio Springs (www.ignaciosprings.com) and visited the two nearby UNESCO World Heritage Sites. …