A Modern Wayfarer

Ungasan Beach Bali and Finns Beach Club: Paradise Found

Getting to Finns Beach Club is half the adventure, you must take a steep inclinator from the Semara Villa Resort perched high atop a sheer cliff-face staring at the breathtaking turquoise water of Ungasan Beach below. This ruggedly handsome patch of the world is also one of the most deserted beaches you’ll find on Bali’s main island. Just make sure you stray away from the sometimes crowded deck-chairs and funky DJ beats of Finns Beach Club in the late afternoon so you can mosey along the beach ... Read More

Los Angeles Cool: AMW Top 4 LA Restaurants

For a city spanning 469 square miles, the Los Angeles food scene is overwhelming at best. Granted, a lot of that distance is serviced by a series of never-ending highways and intersections, but as the saying goes, every road leads to somewhere. And judging by the sheer scale of bitumen frantically darting from one edge of the horizon to the other from a Hollywood Hills vantage point, there's a lot of somewheres to be found. Unfortunately it's absolutely  impossible to try every single ... Read More

Tulum Highlights: Things To Do In Tulum Mexico

Tulum is my spiritual mecca. And by that I mean it's a place where sipping Mojitos on a white-sandy beach while having your palms read by a local healer is totally acceptable. It's all about the Yin and Yang, and striking that perfect balance between mindful, eco-conscious travel and blissful relaxation. A two hour drive south of Cancun, Tulum is devoid of those rundown all-inclusive resorts clinging like desperate has-beens to the Yucatan Coast. You won't find high-rises here. Instead you'll ... Read More

La Zebra Hotel Tulum Review: Rustic Beach Chic

Located on one of the most tranquil and pristine stretches of beach in the Caribbean, this luxuriously low-key hotel is a far-cry from those terrifyingly commercial all-inclusive resorts dotting more of the Riviera Mayan coast than I’d care to share.  With its 16 simple, yet modern bungalows and palm-lined private beach, La Zebra Hotel Tulum is the epitome of a chillaxed jungle-meets-seaside hotel where the point is to pretty much to do just that, relax. You could probably get a PhD in ... Read More

Top Ten Travel Destinations for 2015: The AMW Hot List

As the year hastily draws to a close it's time to start brainstorming your next overseas trip for 2015. So many of us return to the same place year after year, but why not escape travel ground-hog day and explore somewhere new? There's an entire planet out there. No, really, there's 7 continents, 196 countries and thousands of cities to discover. And trust me, each and every one of them is more interesting than going coastal for the fourth consecutive year. But where in the world should you ... Read More

Desert Modern Commune: Ace Hotel Palm Springs Review

Ace Hotel Palm Springs is the coolest roadside motel since the ones from Thelma and Louise. Basically, if Elvis Presley and Young Hollywood teamed up to produce a place for the hipster bohemia to spend a few nights then this hotel would be it. On the outside, the kitschy, two-level buildings look like they were cryogenically frozen in the sixties only to rise in 2009 from their Austin Powers-like slumber with a lick of white-wash and some seriously edgy interior renovations. And in reality, this ... Read More

United Airlines Dreamliner Business Class Review

United Airlines Dreamliner Business Class Review As far as airlines go, I think you're doing something right when a customer can proudly say they slept for a solid 7 hours on your flight without so much as a toilet break. Let me put that statement into perspective for you: the customer, obviously yours truly, never sleeps for more than 2-3 hours straight on a plane. So for me, a full night of ZzzZZ's is like the holy grail of air-travel. And I'm rather happy I found it…. I'm not entirely ... Read More

The Great Danes: Copenhagen Travel Highlights

Copenhagen Travel Highlights It’s a well-documented fact that the Danes are some of the happiest people in the world, and after spending time in this charming and compact Scandinavian city it’s easy to see why. Hans Christian Anderson was onto something when he sung about this “Wonderful Wonderful” place in his 1952 musical, because Copenhagen is a city full of interesting (and might I add, extremely well-dressed) citizens who truly savour the simple things in life: good food, good work, good ... Read More

Courtyards and Cool Spaces: Avenue Hotel Copenhagen

I’ll let you in on a little secret: I’ve found the best hotel courtyard in all of Scandinavia… and it just happens to live out the back of award-winning luxury Avenue Hotel Copenhagen. It’s a truly gorgeous and inviting space, with comfy pillows strewn all over the carved wooden benches, and in the warmer months it’s filled with the most divine Geraniums you ever did see. There’s nothing better than coming home from a day of exploring Copenhagen, grabbing your laptop (and a rose from the ... Read More

A Danish Doll House: The Hotel Alexandra Copenhagen

The warm, friendly vibe of Hotel Alexandra Copenhagen was the perfect start to my whirlwind Copenhagen trip. After landing at the airport and catching the train through what seemed like an actual full-force hurricane, complete with horizontal rain, 100 kilometre winds and requisite upside down street umbrellas to match, all I felt like doing was curling up in a ball somewhere that felt familiar. Sometimes when you’ve been travelling for a while you wish you could snap your bright red heels ... Read More

Gozo Travel Highlights: Into The Deep Blue Sea

Gozo Travel Highlights While the island of Malta is a melting-pot of contrasts, a real city schism of high/low, business/play and history/modernity, Gozo, it’s unspoilt sister island a mere 8 km off the southern-most tip of Malta, sways toward the more calm and relaxed side of the destination scales. If you’re looking for hidden caves, pristine bays, fresh seafood and unbelievable rock formations jutting out of the sea like calcified waves reaching for the sky, then exploring this pint-sized ... Read More

5 Best Beach Holidays Around The World

5 Best Beach Holidays Around The World So you want to go on a beach holiday? But not just any beach holiday - you want that whole… sand between your toes, wind in your hair, salty-sea spray on your skin type of thing? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Guest-blogger Jane Roberts has compiled a list of 5 of the best beach holidays around the world. Nothing but crystal clear turquoise water and relaxation 2.0 on this list ladies and gents, and even though I tend subscribe to the whole ... Read More

Flying To The Moon And Back: Malta Travel Highlights

Malta Travel Highlights “Where’s Malta”, my friend’s quizzical expression was obvious even through the fuzzy Skype connection at the Hotel Intercontinental. “Where’s Malta? Never heard of it. I think you made it up!”  Ignorance isn’t exactly bliss but can you really blame her for never having heard of the tiny country about 90km south of Sicily? Maybe you’ve heard of it but haven’t the foggiest where the iPhone dropped pin would go if push came to shove?  For your information, it’s right down ... Read More

My Whirlwind Travel Adventures in Europe: An Update

Once upon a time there was a girl who ran a little website called A Modern Wayfarer, but she disappeared off the face of the planet (save for social-feeds) for a couple of weeks while she gallivanted around Europe at Star-Trek warp-speed on a whirlwind travel adventure. Well folks, I'm glad to say that she's back online. And that she is actually me and I'll stop talking in third person now. :) My sincerest apologies that posts have been minimal , but after a real-life game of the amazing race ... Read More

Jungle Book Luxe: Natura Resort and Spa Hotel Bali

Natura Resort and Spa Hotel Bali Praise the lord; it is possible to stay in the lap of luxury without dropping one month’s pay on a one-night stay! There are plenty of smaller 4 and 5-star resorts in Bali that are just as breathtaking, just as accommodating and just as unique (maybe even more so) than your normal run-of-the-mill big name brand hotels. One of these places is Natura Resort and Spa in Ubud. Set high on a mountain-top overlooking the lush and vibrant jungle of Petanu River below, ... Read More

6 Qualities of A Modern Gypsy Traveler

A Modern Gypsy likes to plan, but never over-prepares. They value holiday spontaneity over strategizing.  They don’t feel the need to painstakingly plot every single intricate pre-holiday detail, right down to the cab ride from the airport! Sure, an imaginative traveler is well researched and versed on what to see and do in a city (after all, pre-trip planning is nearly half the fun), but these culture-hunters live for spur of the moment experiences and won’t baulk at diving headfirst into the ... Read More

Beyond Bintangs & Bogans: Bali Travel Highlights

It’s surprising just how many Aussies still view Bali as our tabloids portray: a red-hot global no-go zone filled with drug-smugglers and “jungle juice”. But the small island off the Indonesian coast is not the boganville it’s made out to be. Beyond the headlines, clichés and warnings lies a melting pot of cultural travel highlights offering the imaginative traveler utter sophistication, beauty and charm. However I do feel the need to put a disclaimer on this article because - let’s face it - ... Read More

Casa Luna Cooking School in Ubud

The gourmet restaurant Casa Luna, founded by Australian-born Janet de Neefe (who coincidentally also founded The Ubud Writers Festival), is a veritable institution. So it’s not surprising, then, that her gourmet food tours and Casa Luna Cooking School in Ubud is renowned the island-over. Aimed at putting the sensuality and romance back into cuisine, the Casa Luna Cooking School classes provide insight into the Balinese way of life, love and belief system. They promote active participation while ... Read More