Podworld - Exploring interesting places

One of the pleasures of travelling is the opportunity to return to places one has not visited for some time. Such was the opportunity with Crete where, through a family connection, I was able to return 25 years after my previous visit. This was to be my third time on the island. Just four years had separated my first two trips and even then then the coast town of Malia had altered out of all recognition. So how would the island shape up after more the decades away? There was one significant difference this time. This was an out-of-season holiday in October rather than the June days of the previous vacations. Questions about about what might be open and how warm would the weather be, were obvious. The answer in the first case was pretty much everything was sill functioning. Crete, as with much of the Mediterranean area was enjoying an extended summer. Temperatures was frequently more that 20C during the course of the day. Tiny Beach Church   The village of Analipsi was my...

It is fair to say that part two of the road trip did not proceed as well as part one. This took us to the island of Penang and to its incredibly busy and dusty old capital Georgetown. First of all a word about the accommodation. It was excellent. We stayed in two locations. The first, Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion is what can best be described as a grand home constructed for a former merchant whose name it bears. It was a quality and classy place to stay and the staff were warm and helpful. Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion The second place was the Mango Tree Place. Different from Cheong Fatt Tze but no less enjoyable. These are individual converted houses on the edge of town where the whole street makes up the hotel. Individual and collective together. It works wonderfully. Not cheap but worth the money. Elsewhere Penang was a little disappointing but this might be in part to myself contracting food poisoning from what at the time was a splendid curry in Little India. It made the what c...

The Cameron Highlands This blog is usually written retrospectively but occasionally time allows for it to be scripted as the journey in undertaken. This is the case with an entry about the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. The Cameron Highlands seemed to be a Nirvana on the previous trips taken to Malaysia. As one marvelled at the modernity of Kuala Lumpur or the tropical excellence of Langkawi here was a part of the Malay peninsula that evoked images of Scotland. Surely not. The Lakehouse Inevitably the journey began in KL but fears of hours spent negotiating traffic were unfounded and within twenty minutes were were on the road north, initially on the main highway to Ipoh. Tea Plantation Then after turning to the Highlands we came across extraordinary scenery. Here the single carriageway road rose and twisted through rain forest and lush vegetation. No need to rush. Only one road takes traffic through the Highlands and it is not long before you come up behind a slow-mo...

Ornate Work Sagrada Família Sagrada Família Ceiling Sagrada Família Windows The other focal point of a trip to Barcelona is the Sagrada Família the city's astonishing new cathedral which is still under construction a century after it was started. In recent years the main basilica has been covered but at least another ten towers are yet to be completed if Antonio Gaudi's vision is to be realised. A provisional completion date of 2026 has been targeted. Do not bet on it. Paid entry can be obtained by turning up and queuing at the cathedral which has its own metro station. However it is possible, for a small additional fee, to select your time and book ahead online using a credit card. This was our choice rather than spend two hours of our valuable holiday time sweltering in the summer sun. The basilica is simply stunning. It has all the grandeur of a medieval grand church like Seville, Notre Dame, Paris or York Minster but with a style and flourish un...