Sitting on a plane wearing protective breathing masks for a ten-hour flight seemed a little bizarre. But we were terrified of getting sick. And for good reason. We were on our way to see the gorillas high up in the mountain forests of Rwanda and Uganda and if we had even the slightest sniffle, we would be banned from visiting them. We were under surveillance as soon as we arrived early in the morning at a holding field for gorilla trekkers on the edge of Virunga National Park. The guides watched us closely for an hour for any signs of sneezing, coughing, or multiple visits to the washroom. Any symptoms…

Deep in the Cambodian jungle lie the remains of a vast ancient city, which was hidden for centuries. New archaeological techniques are now revealing its secrets – including an elaborate network of temples and boulevards, and sophisticated engineering. It is, of course, Angkor Wat. And for half a lifetime that’s been high on my bucket list. I finally got to see it in 2010, as part of an extensive trip through SE Asia. We all have bucket lists – and not only did we get to see Angkor Wat, but the Great Wall of China as well, one of the seven wonders of the world. Also, the Terracottas warriors, which…

Yadunath Sen spoke only one word of English. And that was “tiger”. And when he calmly, but softly, said “tiger” and pointed with his left arm into the distant bush he had our complete attention.  We were in Bandhavgarh National Park in India. It was our fifth – and last – safari in two national parks searching for the elusive and endangered tiger. And our luck appeared to have run out. At that time there were only about 3,000 tigers left in the wild and they had completely eluded us. One hundred years ago there were 40,000. But early one August morning our Toyota Land Cruiser eased to a halt…

I doubt many people can stay they saw the world’s fastest man and the world’s fastest animal in the same week. But I did in 2012. Firstly I watched Usain Bolt win his third 100-metre Olympic Gold medal in London. He was running at just under 30 miles an hour.  Later that same week I watched a cheetah clocking about 75 miles an hour on the Serengeti Plains in Tanzania. Both were never to be forgotten moments.  Let me start with Usain Bolt. When he won his second Olympic 100 metre Gold medal in Beijing in 2008. I knew then that I had to get a ticket to see him…

Sailing along the Neva River, right into the city of St Petersburg, Russia, is a perfect way to arrive in the city called Venice of the North. Past golden domed churches and museums, galleries and centuries old buildings the cruise ship was small enough to dock within strolling distance of the fabled Hermitage Museum and the Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood. No flights, no taxis, no hotels – just the small 600 passenger Ocean Princess, which became our base for three days in one of the world’s most beautiful cities.   And that in a nutshell sums up the tale of two cruises we took in 2014…

My friend Ted is normally a calm, placid man. Nothing really bothers him. That was until 4.00a.m. in the pitch black of an African night, when he heard a rustling sound, looked at the shadow cast by the tiny light outside his tent flap and saw a hyena looking in on him.  For an hour the hyena stalked Ted’s tent. They are one of the most dangerous animals in Africa with jaws capable of crushing bone and known to attack humans. It eventually ambled off after marking its territory all around Ted’s tent. Thirty minutes later Ted came to breakfast looking as white as a sheet. Just hours before the…