It surprises me a little that you don't see more of the real Venice, California, on travel shows - as opposed to Venice Beach, which they seem to be all over like the plague. Don't get me wrong - I love the party lifestyle and don't care mentality of the beach as much as the next man - but surely, when you've gone to all the trouble of creating a little clone of Italy complete with canals and beautiful European style waterfront houses, it would be nice if somebod...

This morning, I took a bus to Santa Monica and strolled along the sea front, but unfortunately was unable to see much due to a thick fog which had chosen to descend on the city John Carpenter style. The famous Santa Monica pier was almost entirely obscured from view, the twinkling lights of the Ferris Wheel on the end being the only sign that there was anything out there at all. It's always a shame when you visit somewhere as iconic as Santa Monica and find that ...

The following entry was originally written in February 1999, and minor updates have been made for this blog. As I strolled along Hollywood Boulevard yesterday afternoon, I overheard two people talking as they passed by. One of them was complaining to the other "Man, you hear about all the glitz of Hollywood, and then you get here and find this...." He might've even added another word on the end, but I'm far too polite to mention it here - however, in many ways, ...

Due to a lack of time at the moment, I will be coming back to my European trip at a later date. In the meantime, for those of you unfamiliar with my rantings, I'll be filling these pages with entries from my previous travel blogs and books. We begin with the United States of America, a country in which I have done a great deal of wandering in my time. Please bear in mind that the following entries, unless noted, have not yet been updated and may contain out of d...

Telling people about Kagyu Samye Ling Tibetan Monastery and Buddhist Centre is one of those things I can always rely on to make them look at me as though I've finally lost the plot. Not in a million years would it occur to anyone that there might be an authentic Tibetan Buddhist retreat hidden away in the lowlands of Scotland rather than perched precariously with several goats on a mountaintop in the Himalayas - but the more you think about it, the more obvious i...