John Raby's Food & Travel
All things food and travel related. Visit often!
Category: Destinations
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My entry for the World Nomads / Lonely Planet Travel Writing Competition 2016. We listened to our Nepali guide, Nema, as he spoke excitedly on the phone. Then I heard the phrase ‘Car Bundh’ and my heart sank. Bundh meant a political strike and in this part of the world, Car Bundh was a road…
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The name ‘Bahamas’ literally means ‘Shallow Sea.’ And when you first arrive in this archipelago of some 700+ islands, you immediately begin to see why Christopher Columbus graced these islands with this name. We found ourselves on Great Exuma, a beautiful cay (pronounced key), shot over by cobalt blue skies and surrounded by turquoise waters.…
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After a three day standoff with Hurricane Sandy, we are permitted to leave the breezy shores of Great Britain. New York City eagerly beckons and finally embraces us as we descend and come to rest in JFK, Jamaica Bay – a world away from the Caribbean. We have arrived the day after Sandy came to…
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‘What Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow.’ That was how the conversation went on a train heading out of Kolkata towards the railhead of New Jalpaiguri, in the far north of West Bengal. Having found our seats in the carriage, we discovered that by an administrational error, we were sat opposite Monojit & Sudip, a…
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Published in the Western Morning News on Sunday, 15th November 2015 Bologna The Italian City of Bologna is situated in a region known as Emilia Romagna, north of Tuscany. It is reckoned to be the nation’s gastronomic beating heart, and for this reason alone, it is well worth a visit. Yet despite that formidable reputation,…
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I’d only just emerged from Seattle Tacoma airport, and we were heading south on Interstate 5 (i5 to the locals), when I spotted the signage for one of these beauties. You may be thinking cynically, ‘ yes and your point is…?’, but for me Taco Bell is just one of those places you have to…
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Well it’s day 2 and me and my dad wander into the legendary Fish Tale Brewpub in the state capital, Olympia. We were after some much needed liquid refreshment after baking in the hot midday sun. Inside we found plenty of locally brewed beers and a most inviting menu to boot. Sat at the bar…
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Sleepless in Seattle. Well almost, because I’m about 60 miles south of the fair city. However it is 4.30 in the morning so I guess that kind of constitutes sleeplessness. Somewhere in the distance I can hear one of those enormous American trains blowing it’s horn, announcing it’s transit through our neck of the woods.…
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Well we arrived at The Pilot Truckstop, just off Exit 99 of Interstate 5 (the road from Canada to Mexico) in Thurston County for, as my dad put it, ‘a real slice of Americana.’ This was the real deal. Row upon row of beautiful American conventional trucks (engine in front not underneath); many shiny and…
John Raby's Food & Travel 