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Jeremy Ferguson

Canada

Vancouver’s Dynamic Restaurant Scene:  Vancouver arrives as Canada’s most adventurous restaurant city—and host to the 20l0 Winter Olympics.  A look at Vancouver’s best restaurants and the food and wine of the Pacific Northwest.

Rent a Villa on Canada’s Wild West Coast:  Rent a luxe villa on the remote west coast of Vancouver Island, soak in the grandeur, watch the migration of 20,000 Gray Whales, hike the ancient rainforests at Pacific Rim National Park, fish for salmon and halibut—and steam your own Dungeness crabs.

Luxury “Roughing It” in Canada’s West Pacific Wilderness: Sleep in a luxury tented camp, fish for Pacific salmon, explore unspoiled wilderness by kayak and
on horseback and wine and dine in the five-million star Clayoqot Wilderness Resort on Vancouver Island.

Toronto, Canada’s Multicultural Dining Capital:  A guide to the city UNESCO called “the world’s most multicultural city.”  Here we go, Italian to Indian, Thai to Turkish, Cantonese to Californian and the great Toronto fusion adventure of melding cultures on the plate.

Relais & Chateaux of Canada:  The elite fellowship of country inns and small hotels based in Paris now boasts 12 luxe outposts in Canada, from Quebec’s Auberge Hatley to British Columbia’s acclaimed Wickaninnish Inn.

Railroading the Canadian West:  Exploring the Canadian Rockies on two legendary trains: the celebrated Rocky Mountaineer through the mountains between Jasper and Calgary; and the Skeena Train forging through the northern wilderness of Alberta and British Columbia.

Alberta’s Grand Railway Hotels:  The road through the Rockies from Banff to Jasper is the greatest scenic drive in Canada. Its classic hotels are the great railway “palaces” built in the 19th century--the Banff Springs, Chateau Lake Louise and Jasper Park Lodge.  Movie stars from Marilyn Monroe to Anthony Hopkins have signed in.

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United States

Cruising’s New Style: Alaska and Canada’s Yukon: Cruising takes a new twist as passengers sail to the blue-green glaciers of Alaska, then jump ship to explore the magnificent northern wilderness of Alaska and Canada’s Yukon overland.

Latin America

The Maya Route: Yucatan:  Following the archeological trail of the most accomplished and enigmatic civilization of the Americas to the Yucatan cities of Chichen Itza and Uxmal.

The Maya Route: Palacial Palenque:  The most elegant city in Mayadom has one of only two tombs discovered among hundreds of Maya pyramids scattered through Mexico and Central America.

Mexico City:  The staggeringly congested capital of Mexico compensates with archeology from the ruins of the Aztec capital of Tenochititlan to the grand National Museum of Anthropology, a vast storehouse of Aztec, Olmec, Zapotec, Toltec and Maya art and artifacts.  Plus dining out on Mexican fare from fried maguey worms to chicken sauced in chocolate and chilies.

GUATEMALA:

The Maya Route: Guatemala’s Tikal:  Mighty Tikal, Manhattan of Mayadom, sprawls over miles of jungle in Guatemala, with temples, pyramids and the tomb of the king known as Lord Cocoa.

BRAZIL:

Brazil, The Whirlwind Tour:  Journeying South America’s largest country from Iguacu Falls to Rio de Janeiro, from the eco system of the remote Pantanal to the African sensuality of Bahia.

The Caribbean

Barbados Dining Out: Flying fish, silken Bajan rum and nouvelle Bajan cuisine at 12 of the island’s top restaurants from the elegant Coral Reef Club to the jazzy Waterfront Cafe.

First Class: Antigua’s Carlisle Bay Resort: Britain’s maverick hotelier Gordon Campbell Gray realizes his Caribbean dream in a resort with in-room Gaggia espresso makers and a Thai restaurant.

Europe

BRITAIN:

Relais & Chateaux of Britain:  Follow a “Relais route” to six Relais Chateaux—the elite fellowship of great country inns based in Paris—including 16th century Gravetye Manor and chef Raymond Blanc’s celebrated Manoir aux Quatre Saisons.

Living It Up in a Toney London Flat: Finding value in the world’s most expensive city: Rent a luxe apartment in a fashionable neighborhood, cook for yourself and live as the Londoners do.

Shopping Where Shakespeare Shopped: London’s Borough Market: Explore and shop London’s revived Borough Market, where Shakespeare shopped and Celebrity TV Jamie Oliver still does.

IRELAND:

Renting a Thatched Cottage in Ireland: Rent a thatched cottage with peat-burning fireplace in Ireland and live as the Irish do. We take you to two houses, one in Galway in Ireland and a second in Northern Ireland.

Dining Out in Ireland: The Irish discover their great indigenous foods--salmon and oysters to salt-meadow lamb—and transform restaurants from Dublin to Belfast into dining treats.  A journey though Ireland’s booming food scene.

FRANCE:

Great Rivers of France: Along the Dreamy Dordogne: Follow the Dordogne--France’s longest and loveliest river—through a magical realm of deep gorges, medieval villages, ruined castles, confit, truffles and foie gras.

Paris Off-Season :  When the Parisians are at home and in harmony with their magnificent 15th to 19th century architecture, rent an apartment and live the way they do from walks on the Champs Elysees to grocery shopping in Parisian street markets: Ooh-la-la.

Great Rivers of France: Along the Lot: following the second great river of Southwest France through a ruggedly exquisite medieval landscape almost unknown to international travellers.

A Week in Provence:  Rent an 18th century farmhouse on the fringe of Provence and live as the French do, with side trips to the towering Roman aqueduct of the Pont du Garde, the Gorges de l’Ardeches and the Palace of the Popes in Avignon.

France's Great Relais & Chateau Route: Follow the world's greatest fellowship of small hotels and country inns from Paris to the Dordogne and Loire.  Six Relais Chateaus deliver the famous five "c"s of calm, comfort, character, courtesy and cuisine, including chef Michel Guerard's Pres d'Eugenie, an ebullient menage of hotel, spa and restaurant.

ITALY:

Cruising Sicily on a Small-Is-Beautiful Ship:  Cruise Sicily and its islands, putting in at little-touristed ports-of-all, aboard the tiny, perfect ship Hebridean Princess.

Tuscany's Villa Delia Cooking School:  Spend 10 days at the famous cooking school established by Vancouver restaurateur Umberto Menghi in the hills of Tuscany.  Students cook Tuscan in the villa's state-of-the-art kitchen, then spend afternoons and evenings sightseeing (Florence, Siena, San Gimignano) and dining out—school turns into one big party.

AUSTRIA:

Vienna’s Deadly Funeral Museum:  Vienna’s most intriguing museum is a showcase of macabre memorabilia from frilly funerary fashions to a contraption devised to prevent premature burial.  It stops visitors dead in their tracks.

NORWAY:

World’s Greatest Voyage:  Cruise 11 days and 4,000 kilometres into Norway’s heart of darkness, an Arctic as far east as Cairo, aboard the legendary “hurtigruten” or coastal steamers.

MALTA:

Malta’s Layers of Time:  From the Crusaders to Napoleon, this tiny island occupies a giant chunk of history, and it’s beautiful to look at, too.

TURKEY:

Turkey’s Grandeur:  From the eerie “fairy chimneys” of Cappadocia to the Greek and Roman ruins of the Mediterranean, Turkey engages and beguiles as easily as it straddles Europe and Asia.

The Middle East

SYRIA:

Syria and the Ancient Incense Route:  International travellers follow the paths of ancient incense traders from the Indian Ocean to the shores of the Mediterranean. The Syrian lap reveals a land of enormous antiquity from the site of the first written alphabet at Urgit to the incredible ruin of Zenobia’s empire at Palmyra.

JORDAN:

Jordan, the Desert Kingdom:  The Desert Kingdom is an adventure from the red sands of the Wadi Rum Desert, where Lawrence of Arabia rode, to the lost city of Petra.

Petra, the Lost City:  Exploring the lost city of the Nabateans huddled in Jordan’s red-rock canyons.

YEMEN:

Old Sana’a and the Arabian Nights:  Yemen’s capital of mosques, minarets and mud-brick skyscrapers remains a pristine medieval world from its mud-brick towers to the most perfectly preserved medina in the World of Allah.

Yemen: Sightseeing with the Queen of Sheba:  Journey Biblical Sheba, Arabian Nights villages, villages perched on mountains, and Shibam--the skyscraping “Manhattan of the Sands”, a 2,500-year-old mud-brick city that appears like a mirage in the desert.

The Ancient Incense Route Across South Yemen: Traverse Wadi Hadramawt and the tip of the Empty Quarter in the camel tracks of the frankincense and myrrh traders of ancient times.

OMAN:

Oman, Land of Sinbad the Sailor:  Prior to 1970, few tourists came to the Sultanate of Oman, land of Sinbad.  Now foreigners crawl around a 17th century Iman’s fortress one day and toast on the beach at Salahalah the next.

Africa:

BOTSWANA:

Botswana’s Luxurious Game Camps:  Botswana offers some of southern Africa’s most exclusive, exciting and ecologically responsible game lodges from the vast Okavanga Delta to the edge of the great Kalahari Desert.

ZAMBIA:

Zambia’s Unknown Jewels: The little-known game lodges of Zambia rank alongside the finest in southern Africa.  Come see, from Tongabezi Lodge near Victoria Falls--dine with candlelight and hippos--to the camps of the Luangwa Valley at the southern end of the Great Rift Valley.

Asia E. The Orient

JAPAN:

Hokkaido, Japan’s Wild North:  Explore Japan’s northernmost island of hot springs spas and crimson maples, aboriginal villages and bustling fishing ports--plus Canadian World, a theme park based on the popular Canadian girls’ novel, Anne of Green Gables.

Kyushu, Japan’s Deep South:  Japan’s volcanic south sizzles from the hot springs “hells” of Beppu to the belching crater of Mt. Sakurajima..

Japan: Going to Hell in Beppu:  Go to volcanic “hell” in Beppu and cure yourself in hot springs baths, mud baths and sand baths.  Then go to heaven at one of Japan’s most celebrated ryokans or traditional inns.

CHINA:

Dining Out in Hong Kong:  Now part of China, Hong Kong maintains its gastronomic groove with international finesse.  Come dine Cantonese, Hunanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Italian and French in the former Colony.

Hip, Hip Hangzhou:  A princely day trip from Shanghai is the ancient capital of Hangzhou, where yanguedze (the venerable word for “foreign devils”) sit down to $300-per-lb Dragon Well tea and are dazzled by  Vegas-meets-China entertainment extravaganzas.

Sizzling Sichuan Province: Here are 10 good reasons—from the world’s largest Buddha to China’s raciest cuisine—Sichuan will jump to the head of the tourism hit parade before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Following Marco Polo’s Tracks in Xinjiang: China’s Great Silk Road takes you to westernmost Xinjiang Province, the world’s second-largest desert and sand dunes the size of Singapore.

Tribal Guizhou Province:  China’s poorest realm comes rich with tribal cultures and Minority Peoples so numerous, they’re the majority.  Come meet the silver-headdresses Miao, the Black Miao of Basha, and the exuberant, singing Dong people.

In the Foodsteps of Marco Polo: Dining on the Silk Road: Dining across China’s Taklamakan, the world’s second largest desert, means a lot of grilled lamb plus wok-fried donkey and male-virgin silkworm liquor.

Keeping Up with Shanghai: A dozen recent developments keep the reader in touch with the world’s most dynamic city and host to this century’s first “Class A” Expo in 2010.

Shanghai’s Landmark Arts Museum:  China’s greatest museum is a 21st century wonder testifying to 5,000 years of history, civilization and art.

Yunnan Province, China's Shangri-La: For European and Asian travellers, China's southwest Yunnan Province is the hottest ticket in the Middle Kingdom, touted as the real Shangri-La of Lost Horizon.

Beyond the Icons: Fun Beijing: Beijing touring can be staid and scholarly, but travellers who stay another day or two get to the exuberance of the Chinese capital as it's transformed by Olympics fever.

F. Southeast Asia:

THAILAND:

Elephant School on the Golden Triangle:  Learn to feed, bath, talk to, drive and love an elephant at a three-day elephant resort where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar come together.

Cooking Thai at Chiang Mai: Tourists learn to cook the world’s favorite Asian cuisine at the comprehensive Four Seasons cooking school in Northern Thailand.

Thailand’s Ancient Stones:  Discover the joys of Thai archeology from the Khmer ruins of the northeast to the ancient capitals of Sukothai and Ayutthaya.

Off the Beaten Track in Thailand:  Journey Thailand’s untravelled “Elephant’s Ear” road to the annual elephant round-up in Surin and the ruins--the greatest Khmer outside Angkor--of Phanom Rung and Muang Tam.

Overland from Bangkok to Chiang Mai: most travellers fly from Bangkok to Chiang Mai in Thailand's north, but the overland journey, encompassing an emerald landscape, glittering temples of the magnificent ruins of the ancient capitals of Ayutthaya and Sukothai, proves the better way; winding up at the Regent Chiang Mai, the only resort in the world to be built around working rice paddies.

LAOS:

Laos, Southeast Asia’s Hot New Old Destination: During the Vietnam War, the U.S. dropped more bombs on tiny Laos than it did in WWII.  Now Laos is returning from the dead, with a young tourist industry and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Luang Prabang.

World’s Smallest Beautiful Cruise: The Lao Mekong: Cruise this undiscovered stretch of Asia’s mighty Mekong aboard the riverboat Wat Phou.  Ports-of-call on the singularly beautiful voyage range from the early Khmer ruins at Wat Phou to the “4,000 Islands” of the Mekong.

CAMBODIA:

Phnom Penh: Cambodia’s Capital Rising From the Ashes: Emerging from the hangover of Pol Pot’s genocidal regime, the Cambodian capital presents fascinations from the National Museum with its statuary from Angkor to the grim but must-see Killing Fields.

Angkor, Southeast Asia’s Greatest Ruins:  The hub of a warrior Hindu civilization a thousand years ago, Angkor now stands as the most amazing archeology in all Asia.  Angkor Wat is the largest temple in the world.  Reserve a week to see it all.

BURMA/MYANMAR:

Cruising Burma's Irrawaddy River: Riverboat the “Nile of Southeast Asia” on a replicated 1870s steamer from fabled Mandalay to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bagan, a panoply of 2,000 temples scattered on a dusky plain.

Burma's Up-Country Paradise: Seek out Inle Lake, Burma’s great beauty spot, where tribesmen row their fishing canoes with their feet, farms float, foreigners sleep in cottages on stilts and ruins worthy of Indiana Jones lay hidden among lagoons.

VIETNAM:

Eating in Vietnam: Southeast Asia’s Gastronomic Adventure: Food in Vietnam ranges from barbecued dog and cobra wine to some of the most refined dining in Southeast Asia, with visits to great restaurants in Hanoi and Saigon.

Riverboating the Mekong: Board a replicated 1870s steamer and riverboat Asia’s mighty Mekong River from Vietnam’s Mekong Delta all the way to Cambodia’s magnificent ruins of Angkor.  A once-in-a-lifetime river cruise.

INDONESIA:

Cooking Balinese at Jimbaran Bay:  Foreigners learn to cook the Balinese way at Bumbu Bali and Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay cooking schools.

Indonesia’s Staggering Archeology:  Crawl around the ancient Buddhist ruin of Borobudur and Hindu ruin of Prambanan in central Java.

Bali: Two of the World’s Top Resorts:  Guests rarely emerge from their private villas at the sybaritic Four Seasons Resorts at Jimbaran Bay and Sayan.  Named the best resorts in Asia by magazines such as Conde Nast Traveller, they continue to surprise.

SINGAPORE:

Singapore Foodie:  Singaporeans eat 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year—and snack on the world’s safest and most exciting streetfood.  Join them.

Eastern & Oriental Express From Singapore to Bangkok: This luxe train embarks on a 2,000-kilometre journey from the urban pleasures of Singapore to the temples and rice paddies of Thailand in grand style.  Pass the Veuve Clicquot.

Singapore’s Incredible Night Zoo: In 40 hectares of rainforest and artificial moonlight, the world's first night safari transports visitors to the wild world of the nocturnals, including the one-horned Asian rhino, leopard and tiger.

South Asia:

INDIA:

India’s Golden Triangle:  The first-timer to the Mystic Subcontinent can do no better than the easily travelled triangle of Delhi, the Taj Mahal at Agra and the “pink” city of Jaipur in the desert state of Rajasthan.

Rajasthan, India’s Desert State:  Journey the golden realm of the Rajputs to the royal cities of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Udaipur, whose white marble Lake Palace is the most romantic hotel in the world.

Off the Beaten Track in Rajasthan: away from the crowd to the fantastical desert cities of Amjer, Pushkar, Bikaner, Bundi, Kota and Mondava, with stays in the palaces of the maharajahs all the way.

Pushkar Camel Fair:  Shop around at the world’s largest camel fair, with 60,000 camels, 200,000 buyers and sellers, mystics, musicians, dancers, sword-swallowers and touts who’d sell you the Taj Mahal for a fistful of rupees.

India’s Deep South:  Travel India’s Deep South from the Arabian Sea to the Indian Ocean, from the Portuguese colonial city of Cochin to the lush tea plantations of the Nilgiri Hills.

Indian Foodie:  Eat your way through 4,000 years of Indian cooking and the incomparable symphony of spices at the palaces of maharajahs.

Unknown Eastern India: Explore the Subcontinent’s east from the backstreets of Calcutta to the stunning beaches and fishing communities of Puri and Golpalpur.

Southeast India: Exploring India’s southern tip from the Technicolor temples of Madurai and Trichy to Cape Cormorin, where the three most exotic seas on Earth meet and mingle.

SRI LANKA:

Sri Lanka, India’s Teardrop:  Journey from the golden beaches to “up country” with its ruined temples and toppled Buddhas, ancient monasteries and tea plantations.

The Himalayas:

LADAKH:

Ladakh, India’s Roof of the World:  India’s “Little Tibet” goes through the roof of the world with desert-in-the-clouds landscapes and perched Tibetan Buddhist monasteries to the enormously cheerful capital of Leh.

Leh to Manali, Through the Roof of the World: Driving from Ladakh over the world’s highest passes to mainstream India remains one of the world’s great scary adventures.

BHUTAN:

The Unworldly Kingdom of Bhutan: Tucked away in the Himalaya between India and Tibet, Bhutan--Land of the Thunder Dragon--remains untravelled, untrammelled, unspoiled, unpolluted, unhurried and unstressful—and as far from home as you can get without actually leaving the planet.

Australia and the Pacific:

Australia’s Not-So-Wild West: Australia’s Indian Ocean city of Perth may be the most livable city on Earth.  Go south to the vineyards of Margaret River.  Go north to the amazing rock formations known as the Pinnacles.

Food Down Under: The New Australian Feast: In the short space of a decade, Aussies have taken the quantum leap from chips and suds to kangaroo and Cabernet.

Award-Winning Daintree Eco Lodge and Spa: Come stay at Australia’s cutting-edge eco-lodge, set in the Daintree Rainforest, the world's most ancient rainforest and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And do try the roast camel.

WORLD PERSPECTIVES:

A Passion for River Cruising: A veteran traveler takes you cruising on Burma’s Irrawaddy, Vietnam’s Mekong, Egypt’s Nile, Brazil’s Amazon, America’s Mississippi and other great rivers of the world.

A Passion for Archeology: A veteran traveller takes you through the romance of ruins to Turkey’s Ephesus, Syria’s Palmyra, Jordan’s Petra, Burma’s Pagan, Thailand’s Ayutthaya and Cambodia’s Angkor.

Food Fright: A globe hopping gourmand confronts the edible world on the plate, including fugu in Tokyo, dog in Vietnam and camel steak in Australia.

Spa Silliness:  In a flurry of healing oils, exotic massages, algae wraps and miracle elixirs, spas are going overboard to pamper, but not please.  Welcome to a bemused memoir of spaaahing in Europe, Canada, the U.S., Caribbean and Asia.