Where to Why
Challenging the status quo, thinking differently about travel begins with our Where to Why Ideas Incubator. Take this moment in time to reflect and shift your thinking from where you want to go, to how you could get more from travel and why you’re travelling at all.
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Isolation
June 14, 2020 by Philippe, 4 minute read time
Isolation is an interesting concept. Humans are such innately social creatures, it's hard to imagine isolation as being anything other than a negative experience. Prisons use isolation as a punishment. Schools are admonished for using isolation as a discipline method, as it's thought to be too damaging to students' mental health. All through history we've formed social groups and bonds, and those who live solitary lives are often considered 'odd' and 'other'.
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Meditation
June 07, 2020 by Melinda, 5 minute read time
Meditation in isolation is a key element of Buddhist practice, particularly for Tibetan Buddhists. Retreating from society allows you the space and time to actually explore your own mind through meditation. It has been found that through intensive isolated meditation, you begin to attend to your mind in a direct and unmediated way. Your mind begins to work differently, and you can perceive life in an alternative way.
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Sensory Travel Makes Sense
June 05, 2020 by Mark, 6 minute read time
The importance of sensory experience is much researched. Sensory play is an essential element in early years education, and young classes are often taken out to explore nature by touch, smell, sight, sound and taste.
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Grief & Loss go Hand in Hand.
June 03, 2020 by Rose, 7 minute read time
There is an assumption that grief is solely a reaction to death. This isn’t true. The actual emotion of grief is more about loss. The loss of something valued in your life. There are many different ways in which we grieve throughout our lives. With that in mind, yes, a loss of a relative or friend would of course trigger grief but losing a relationship or a lifestyle is also a bereavement.
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Why travel at all?
June 02, 2020 by Philippe, 10 minute read time
Why do you travel? Perhaps that’s not the easiest question to answer. Some people would say they travel to relax. Some to experience something new. Some to spend valuable time with their family. But all of these things can be done from the comfort of our own homes. So why do we really feel the need to invest our valuable time and resources in exploring the globe.
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Lessons from the Sandbox: What luxury travel should learn from gaming to thrive and survive
June 02, 2020 by Philippe, 7 minute read time
Computer games are infinite worlds. They provide escapism, companionship, education, challenges – they are a very quick way of slipping into a different state of mind and a different state of place.
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Discovering Happiness at Home and Abroad
June 01, 2020 by Mark, 10 minute read time
The pursuit of happiness is a fundamental right. It is mentioned in the US Declaration of Independence that all persons have the right to freely pursue joy, and live life in a way that makes them happy (as long as they don’t do anything illegal or violate the rights of others).
More Thought Pieces >>
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Isolation Goals
June 01, 2020 by Sara, 5 minute read time
As everyone knows, time spent without a specific aim or goal can drag on interminably. And if you’re suddenly working from home, you’ll start to find it’s important to differentiate your work time from your relaxation time. We recommend making use of this sudden gift of free time to put together a list of targets and get started on making some changes for the better.
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Virtual Reality: The next stage in social evolution?
May 29, 2020 by Philippe, 7 minute read time
Virtual reality has been around for a while now. But perhaps in recent months, humankind is starting to access a different kind of VR. Our new reality is that a lot of social interaction, work and play must be done virtually.
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Healthy Working from Home Habits
May 24, 2020 by Sophy, 5 minute read time
For many of us, this will be our first experience of working from home. We’ve gathered together some helpful hints and tips, to make working from home as easy and productive as possible.
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Stargazing
May 24, 2020 by Catherine, 5 minute read time
With the current lack of air traffic, and emissions down globally, now is a brilliant time for a spot of star gazing!
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Living in Confined Spaces
June 02, 2020 by Paul, 10 minute read time
Suddenly being in the situation where I have to spend a lot of time at home with other people, led me to ponder the question: how small is too small?
More Working from home >>
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ART-ISTRY
June 14, 2020 by Mark, 4 minute read time
Just as travel offers therapeutic benefits art does too. Last time I spent time in an artist’s studio I was visiting Adam Dix and Piers Secunda in London. An hour with each of them felt like mind-blowing time travel. It was journey into their mind, their inspiration, their particular artistic brilliance and of course, into their art.
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Shooting in Monochrome
June 04, 2020 by Philippe, 6 minute read time
Sometimes you have to take a step back to go forward. I started shooting with a Leica M Monochrom a few years ago. My friends said I was weird. Why would I use a digital camera, that only shoots in black and white, that’s only manual focus and that makes me take every other possible creative decision to make the photo my own?
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Thought Pieces
Working from home
ART-ISTRY
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Before the Storm: Memories of My Youth in Old Prussia by Marion, Countess Dönhoff
June 17, 2020 by Philippe, 2 minute read time
Although the memoir of Marion, Countess Dönhoff, takes place in East Prussia, now an exclave of Russia, her experiences shed light on what life was like on the great estates of Mecklenburg, as well. “Before the Storm” becomes a page-turner as she flees the advancing Red Army on horseback, accompanied by hundreds of thousands of others seeking refuge farther west.
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Paris was Ours edited by Penelope Rowlands
June 12, 2020 by Catherine, 2 minute read time
The 19th-century American writer Thomas Gold Appleton famously said, “Good Americans, when they die, go to Paris,” and this is certainly the premise behind “Paris Was Ours,” an anthology of essays about the city by 32 writers, compiled by editor Penelope Rowlands. Discover a curiously mixed assortment of very personal vignettes about living in the City of Light.
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China in Ten Words by Yu Hua
June 11, 2020 by Philippe, 4 minute read time
Relatively unknown in the United States, Yu Hua is one of the most respected novelists in China. Nevertheless, he elected not to publish this part-memoir, part-cultural critique in his homeland.
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The World of Venice by Jan Morris
June 09, 2020 by Philippe, 2 minute read time
Morris’ engaging work, first published in 1960, captures the soul of this celebrated city in the sea, uncovering legends, mysteries and fascinating historical titbits around every crooked, cobbled lane. Among other highlights, the description of Sant’ Ariano, the ossuary island, is simply unforgettable.
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Films to Inspire
June 05, 2020 by Philippe, 6 minute read time
Films have the power to make you dream. Here are a few that we’ve found captivating. Tell us yours and why you love them and we may add them to the collection.
More Films to Inspire >>
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Nasi Goreng
May 27, 2020 by Freddie, 4 minute read time
Nasi goreng literally means ‘fried rice’ and although you can eat it any time of the day it is particularly popular in many South East Asian countries for breakfast.
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Khachapuri Recipe (Georgian Cheesy Bread)
May 15, 2020 by Chris, 5 minute read time
When you travel to Georgia, you’ll see this ubiquitous dish everywhere you go.
More Food for thought >>
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Free Endorphins
June 08, 2020 by Philippe, 5 minute read time
Endorphin Generation
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Rapa Nui
June 07, 2020 by Philippe, 4 minute read time
Rapa Nui, more commonly known as Easter island, is on the of the most remote inhabited islands in the world. Oral tradition claims that the island was originally settled around 1200 AD when a Polynesian colony took to the seas to flee from a neighbouring chief.
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The Other Amazon
June 01, 2020 by Catherine, 6 minute read time
The Amazon is the topic of a million school projects, a thousand charity fundraisers, hundreds of government deals and treaties. People around the world are familiar with this vast rainforest ecosystem and the exotic animals that dwell there. But how familiar are we with our fellow human inhabitants of the jungle?
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Tuvalu
May 24, 2020 by Mark, 10 minute read time
Tuvalu. Truthfully most people would struggle to pinpoint it on a map. And fair enough. It is officially the least visited place on earth with just 2,000 international visitors in 2017, and only one flight arriving in the country every three days.
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Elgaland-Vargaland
May 23, 2020 by James, 4 minute read time
If you’ve ever crossed an international border, you’ve visited the country of Elgaland – Vargaland. When you pass from sleep to wakefulness, you will go via Elgaland – Vargaland. When you die, you automatically become a citizen of Elgaland – Vargaland.
More Improbable Places >>
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Inspiration for More Meaningful Travel – Altered States
June 17, 2020 by Philippe, 10 minute read time
A subject that came up recently during a team lunch on Portobello Road, was ayahuasca ceremonies, and the impact altered states can have on mental health.
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In the Footsteps of 19th Century Parisians
June 17, 2020 by Dean, 7 minute read time
19th century Paris was a city undergoing great change. The chaos of a once rowdy city was being tamed as the city was restructured under the watchful eye of the architect Georges-Eugene Haussmann.
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Trends for Post Covid-19 Travel
June 17, 2020 by Catherine, 7 minute read time
This time of uncertainty begs the question – what will happen next in the travel industry? Earlier this year in our 2020 Annual Travel Trends Report we made some predictions. Here are some updates about what the rest of 2020 will hold.
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Optimism Bias
June 10, 2020 by Philippe, 5 minute read time
I was asked why I am so optimistic about the future. We all know people who are irritatingly optimistic for no apparent reason. They can be annoying. The more preferable type of optimism is based on knowledge. I’m optimistic because I see signs for hope.
More Insights >>
