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PERIODICALS & DIGITAL FEATURES
From online to print, and from eagle hunters to wild landscapes, a wide selection of countries, human interest, and outdoor adventure travel features.
Golden Eagles Are Treated Like Family in Mongolia’s Altai Mountains
In Mongolia’s Altai mountains, the nomadic Kazakh hunters that inhabit the area have some additional support when out on the hunt.
Colours of Life
Autumn in Kyoto is eurphoric elixir, a potion served up by the never-ending array of Shinto deities that preside over the dazzling celebration put on by nature. It’s Kyoto at her fines and most ephemeral, making it all the more reason to savour.
Myanmar’s Tattooed Chin Women
In Myanmar’s mountainous and hard-to-reach Chin State, the ethnic minority women are renowned for their remarkable face tattoos.
Bathed in the Spirit
Gondar’s many castles have led it to be called Africa’s Camelot. But a visit to the northern Ethiopian city during Timkat, the festival that marks the Epiphany reveals a spirituality that outstrips even its royal splendor.
Pamir Highway – A wild ride across Central Asia
Stretching more than 1,200km between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the Pamir Highway is one of the world’s wildest roads – and for the intrepid traveller, one of the most epic road trips.
Adrift in the Mergui
You’ve got some of the best dive spots in the world here, and the recent attention to the environment here by groups like Project Manaia may get the word out that the Mergui stands for eco-friendly and alternative tourism.
Winter in the Sky Mountain World
Trudging upwards into a cold, gray drizzle, I was trying to recall why my wife and I had decided to spend our Christmas vacation climbing a Chinese mountain in the middle of winter.
Getting Holy in Gansu
Snow clad peaks, monks with maroon robes, colorful monasteries with yak butter scents, and smoking juniper leaves conjure up images of the high plains of Tibet. But this isn’t Tibet.
The Village that Lost its Country
Turtuk was part of Pakistan until 1971, when the Indian army occupied the village during a border war along the Line of
Throne Room of the Mountains Gods
Pakistan’s Karakoram mountains are Asia’s wildest and most majestic peaks
China’s Wild West: The Backroads of Gansu and Sichuan
In the Chinese provinces of Gansu and Sichuan Dave Stamboulis finds phenomenal mountain and desert landscapes, and a collection of unexpected experiences in China’s so-called wild west.
Land of the dinosaurs in Bolivia’s ‘Jurassic Park’
Set high on the Bolivian Altiplano, Torotoro’s most magnetic draw are some 3,500 dinosaur footprints belonging to biped and quadruped dinosaurs dating from the Cretaceous period.
Central Asia’s Switzerland: Paradise in Kyrgyzstan
I am laughing to myself as my companions and I crest a pass at 3,700 meters, as it is the first time in all my years of outdoor exploration that a loaded down horse, one that happens to be carrying my pack and that of my wife’s, is leisurely outpacing me up the steep slope.
Nepal Shangri-La
While trekking to Mount Everest Base Camp and journeying around the Annapurnas have long been mainstays of the Nepali tourist trade, Manaslu, and a side trip to the enchanting Tsum Valley, is well off the trodden path and gives newcomers the chance to experience Himalayan trekking as it was in its golden age.
Asia’s ‘dead’ lake where boats can’t float
Lake Karakul is almost a Central Asian version of the Middle East’s hyper-saline Dead Sea – although that hasn’t stopped visitors from trying to sail here.
Exploring Middle Earth
Fans of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films have put New Zealand firmly on the world’s National Geographic travel bucket list. While JRR Tolkien’s Middle Earth may have comprised mythical rivers and magical forests, the film versions were shot in the closest real life stand-ins, the gorgeous and pristine landscapes that make up today’s New Zealand.
Go Wild
With a wealth of natural beauty and traditional culture, Laos, Southeast Asia’s untrammelled ecotourism gem, beckons intrepid travellers.
Inside Ethiopia’s Sizzling Cauldron
The tribal Afar people have inhabited this arid moonscape for centuries, eking out a living by transporting salt across the brutal desert by camel caravans.
Mongolia’s 6,000-year Tradition
Eagle hunters have been practicing the art of berkutchi across the Central Asian steppe for generations. Now they have almost all gone.
Hoi An, Vietnam – Spellbinding Beauty
Spellbinding Beauty – Vietnam’s Hoi An offers culture, cuisine, history and a heavy dose of charm.
Exploring Ladakh’s Nubra Valley: Sand, Water, and Rock
Stones the size of large animals often rumble down the hillsides here, there are no guardrails, and the wreckage of vehicles that have gone over the edge dot the hillsides, making me pay far more attention to the moment than I’d prefer.
Oslo: Norweigan Perfection
While most visitors come to Norway to marvel at its deep blue fjords, or gawk at its lush meadows set under snowy peaks, the Land of the Midnight Sun isn’t only about natural beauty.
Discover the Hidden Gems of Thailand
While Thailand is well known for its full-moon parties, the bustling Khao San Road, local artisan markets in Chiang Mai and tropical sunshine on Koh Phi Phi, it also has plenty of less-visited attractions that will ensure a memorable holiday. Travel writer and photographer Dave Stamboulis guides us through some of the country’s best hidden gems.
Dhaka: The Captivating City
Dhaka doesn’t make frequent appearances on most travellers’ weekend escapes or summer holidays bucket lists, but give Bangladesh’s colourful capital a few days to beguile you with its captivating chaos and some of the friendliest residents on the planet, and you might end up staying longer than planned.
Goat Rocks Traverse: Washington’s Best Backpacking
Washington ranks right up there with the American West’s best for both hiking and scenery, as it boasts old growth forests, some of the United States’ most epic volcanoes and the stunning mountain scenery of the dramatic North Cascades.
Goat’s Own Country
I’ve spent my life in search of wild and empty places. But staring up at the 5000-foot cliff in front of me, I was starting to question my passion for getting lost. My wife and I were on a multi-week traverse of the Western Hajar Mountains, a dramatic and imposing mountain range that runs across the north of Oman and is one of the wildest and most remote areas of the Middle East.
Nest Intentions
East Java falls well under the Indonesia tourist radar. A few intrepid travelers stop in sleepy Banyuwangi to catch the ferry to Bali. Other adventurers go to check out the sulfur miners plying the world’s hardest trade in the beautiful nearby Ijen Crater.
Truly Remote: Tajikistan’s Bartan Valley
There is remote and then there is really remote. And the latter does a fair job of describing Bartang Valley, one of the highlights of the fabled Pamir Highway.
Shoot To Thrill
As a travel photographer I get excited anytime I’m heading to the airport with my camera bag in tow. Yet while there are always photographic stories to be found, some places are just naturally vivid with picture-worthy opportunities.
On a Knife’s Edge
Kanchanaburi (both the town and province) is known for several things, notably being one of the quickest weekend escapes from Bangkok, and offering a combination of historical, cultural, and physical wonders to travelers.
Chile’s stunning Carretera Austral: How to plan the most epic Patagonian road trip
A journey down Chilean Patagonia’s Carretera Austral (“Southern Highway” in English) is considered one of the world’s most epic road trips. Spanning over 770 miles, this mostly dirt and gravel road passes through the heart of Chilean Patagonia…
Utah’s most epic places: 15 reasons to visit Utah this fall
Summer brings hordes of campers to Utah’s national parks and mountain bike lovers to Moab’s slickrock trails. In the winter, Snowbird and Park City are paradise to skiers and snowboarders.
Bangkok’s Original Foodie Haunt
The name of Nang Loeng may not ring a bell, but the historical area is home to some of the best traditional street eats you’ll find anywhere in the Thai capital.
Cambodia’s Hidden Jungle Temples
Beng Mealea, an eerie jungle temple that invokes the earlier, less-discovered days of Angkor Wat, gives plenty of hope to the Indiana Jones in all of us.
Madagascar’s heritage site that few can reach
Getting to Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park isn’t easy, but those who make the trek are handsomely rewarded.
Poetry in Motion
Dhaka’s lack of tourists guarantees an authentic and genuinely touching experience.
Island of Captivity
In the early 1930s, Koh Tarutao was chosen by the Thai Department of Corrections as the top spot for a penal colony, and by the end of the decade, it was home to thousands of prisoners.
Mongolia’s Gobi Desert
Bounded by the Altai Mountains and grassy steppes of Mongolia, the vast Gobi Desert is entrenched in iconic images of Marco Polo’s Silk Road and the yore of Genghis Khan. It may sound enchanting, but the realities of the Gobi are quite different.
Tsumwhere Out There
Trek Nepa’s less-trodden Manaslu and Tsum Valley to see the relatively untouched beauty of the Himalayan region.
Living on a prayer
Yarchen Gar is home to over 10,000 nuns. It is the site of the world’s largest gathering of practising Tibetan Buddhists, drawn here for the chance to hear the teachings of Asong Tulku, a highly revered spiritual leader.
The Great Rice Bowl
Rice planting is back-breaking work, but in Yuanyang in Yunnan, China, it takes on a whole other meaning.
Sleepy Kerala
From houseboats to hill-top tea estates, discover India’s calmer side in Kerala.
Go Rowing in Ninh Binh
Most visitors to Hanoi make a beeline for Halong Bay – the popular UNESCO World Heritage Site – to spend the night aboard a houseboat gazing at the seascape of limestone karsts.
10 Best USA Today Bangkok
Dave Stamboulis is the “Bangkok expert” for USA Today’s 10Best website.
Mongolia
While the eagle hunters do have mobile phones, they still live a hard life on horseback, living in tents, and carrying on the traditions of their great great grandfathers.
Play It Again, Casablanca
Discover Morocco, minus the tourists, in a city brimming with ancient architecture history, cuisine and culture.
Behind The Mask
Pulling back the curtain on Bangkok’s Chinese opera scene, where troupes are content to perform for the gods.
Travel Time in Laos
Luang Nam Tha, this part of the world still remains in a time warp where one can be magically.
People of the Omo Valley
Ethiopia’s Omo river, birthplace of human civilisation and the last frontier of tribal Africal culture.
Wild and Wonderful Myanmar
Myanmar beckons for adventure. The countryside is beautiful, the people are nice, and yet it is tough to get off the beaten path.
Standing Stones
The Naxi, the indigenous people of historic Lijiang city, have weathered everything from a major earthquake to a rapid influx of tourists, but their traditions are still the bedrock of China’s Yunnan.
Bako Magic, Sarawak
There’s something about arriving at a destination by boat. Once you leave the road behind, you feel a lifetime removed from the modern world as billboards, shopping malls and satellite dishes disappear.
Jungle Journeys
Trekking through Khao Yai Nationl Park, away from the crowds, offers some amazing natural attractions—just watch out for the leeches!
Adventure Travel Through the Center of Iceland
The central highland of Iceland is a place of lore, magnificent nature and hard-to-pronounce-syllable.
Salt of the Earth
Dubbed the ‘Gateway to Hell’, the Danakil is officially the hottest place on earth, with average temperatures reaching 35 degrees and summers soaring into the 50s.
9 Secret Beaches in South-east Asia
If overcrowded beaches and selfie sticks are your idea of a nightmare, you’ll be glad to know there are secret slices of sand and sea across South-east Asia waiting to be explored.
Thailand’s nefarious island paradise
Tarutao is one of the most beautiful islands in Thailand, but its white-sand beaches and lush rainforests were once home to hardened criminals.
Secret Valley
While the trails of Nepal’s Everest and Annapurna regions can now resemble Kathmandu at rush hour, the more recently opened Manaslu Circuit and the hidden Tsum Valley remain the Himalayas at their purest.