Postcard from New York: The warm, friendly, iconic NYC is open for business

January 23, 2026
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Jeff Wilks and family in Times Square, New York, for New Year 2026 celebrations. The warm, friendly, iconic city is open for business.

While oth­er coun­tries are rolling out the red car­pet for inter­na­tion­al vis­it­ors there are sug­ges­tions that the US is put­ting up the ‘closed’ sign. As recent vis­it­ors to New York, this was not our exper­i­ence. Quite the con­trary, ser­vice was excep­tion­al and con­sist­ent, with warm and friendly hosts at attrac­tions, tours, res­taur­ants, and sport­ing events.

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Posted in "GT" Travel in the USA, "GT" Travel in North America, "GT" Travel World
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Postcard from Benidorm: ‘It takes all sorts, and that’s okay’

March 18, 2025
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Adaptation of the cover of 'Benidorm', a photo book by Rob Ball published by Hoxton Mini Press

Over 12 months, I explored Ben­idorm with an open mind, aware that it hosts more Span­ish than Eng­lish vis­it­ors. I was curi­ous about what remained of the ‘Pan-European Hol­i­day Uto­pia’ envi­sioned at its incep­tion.  Ben­idorm’s repu­ta­tion often pre­cedes it, sym­bol­ising (and draw­ing cri­ti­cism for) mass tour­ism. Yet, nestled between the Puig Cam­pana moun­tain and the […]

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Posted in "GT" Travel in Spain, "GT" Travel in Europe & the UK, "GT" Travel World
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Postcard from Thailand: ‘Thai people are the kindest in the world’

September 30, 2024

Postcard from Thailand The smiling eyes of a Bangkok taxi driver Image by David Gillbanks (CC BY 4.0)

Thai­l­and is kind of a second home for me. I have been vis­it­ing the coun­try for more than 40 years. Although Thai­l­and receives so many tour­ists every year, I real­ise that most vis­it­ors have no clue about the etiquette and way of life of the Thai. This is a shame because they miss the essence of Thai […]

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Posted in "GT" Travel in Thailand, "GT" Travel in Asia
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Postcard from Vietnam: Guided by young people through Hanoi’s Old Quarter

and November 16, 2023
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Postcard from Vietnam: Guided by young people through Hanoi’s Old Quarter. The authors and their guides. Background image by Frida Aguilar Estrada (CC0) via Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-carrying-woven-tray-and-white-pail-while-walking-on-wet-market-PEgu_IdF1BM

Arriv­ing in a new des­tin­a­tion, trav­el­lers often scramble to get their bear­ings. One can read a map, identi­fy key land­marks, get a vant­age from some­place high such as a moun­tain or tall build­ing or, if one is for­tu­nate enough, meet a loc­al who will help them. Ori­ent­ing one­self is most chal­len­ging in large cit­ies, par­tic­u­larly those […]

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Posted in "GT" Travel World, "GT" Travel in Asia, "GT" Travel in Vietnam
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Postcard from Rwanda: Ubumuntu

September 1, 2023

Postcard from Rwanda: Ubumuntu

The Kigali Gen­o­cide Memori­al is … … affect­ing. Today was the first day of a 10-day famil­i­ar­isa­tion tour of the coun­try hos­ted by the Rwanda Devel­op­ment Board (RDB). I am in Rwanda at the invit­a­tion of RDB, as well as “GT” Part­ners Red Rocks Rwanda and Red Rocks Ini­ti­at­ive for Sus­tain­able Devel­op­ment. I will try to reg­u­larly post travel impressions […]

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Posted in "GT" Travel World, "GT" Travel in Africa, "GT" Travel in Rwanda
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Postcard from Rwanda: A banana beer moment

August 26, 2023
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Red Rocks Cultural Festival 2023 at the Red Rocks Cultural Center, Musanze, Rwanda

The Red Rocks Cul­tur­al Fest­iv­al is a very relaxed affair. There are no mad­ding crowds nor tour guide flags to make you feel like you’re part of a machine. Over the five days of the Fest­iv­al, there are sched­uled activ­it­ies that are free to join.  Or you can show up at Red Rocks Cul­tur­al Cen­ter independently, […]

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Posted in "GT" Travel World, "GT" Travel in Africa, "GT" Travel in Rwanda
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