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A Few Words on Expeditions and How to Make them Successful Benedict Allen’s greatest journeys have included a five-and-a-half month trek by horse and camel from the forests of Siberia and a 3,600 mile crossing of the Amazon Basin at its widest point, without navigation by map or compass, but with help from the Matses Indians. His latest book, The Faber Book of Exploration , is an anthology of the world’s greatest explorers. Here he talks about what going on an expedition means to him. What, for you, makes an expedition an expedition? Having a clear objective, and a plan with which to pull it off. Unless it’s an expedition of the pure adventure type, there should be some element of research and – importantly – an intention to report back on your findings. What’s the point in going on an expedition? Either to bring back some useful information, or to bring a more considered or “higher” approach to your travels. Most travel is self-ind...

We caught up with 54-year-old Jeremy Fitch, who took five months out to cycle the length of Chile – all 5,000km of it – with his son. What a legend. Tell us a bit about what you were doing before you took your career gap For some years, life had been a bit too stressful. That contributed to heart trouble, six months off work and a heart bypass. Then there were work difficulties, depression, hard times. How did you get the idea of cycling the length of Chile? It’s quite long – did you ever worry that you were being too ambitious? Well, my son Sam had been off backpacking in Australia; the story goes that one inebriated night, back at the hostel, he and some friends were wondering what they’d do next. One of them had a little pocket diary with a map of the world in it; they were looking at that and wondered about the long, thin, orange strip called Chile. “We could go right from one end to the other.” “Hitch?” “Donkey?”...

When I entered Cambodia I travelled straight to Siem Reap to visit the temples of Angkor Wat. I knew nothing about landmines. Before leaving Bangkok I looked on the internet for some information on visa requirements and transport arrangements. I found lots of stuff, including warnings about scams and hazards that the unwitting traveller might be exposed to. There were also warnings about the number of beggars on the Cambodian side of the border – mostly children and landmine victims. They were unsympathetically portrayed as merely another nuisance to be dealt with on a tough journey. I’m accustomed to having people attempt to part me from my cash, so I brushed past them with little thought for their missing limbs and pleading faces, and then got ripped off by a pickup driver. Most beggars have suffered a landmine After a day or two in Siem Reap it became clear to me that most of the beggars in the town had had an unfortunate encounter with a landmine. Most were missing a foot o...

by Alyssa Ramos If you haven’t currently heard the buzz about RESQWATER on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, it’s the well known and powerful new anti-hangover drink that truly Operates. I know simply because I  tested it, and wherever much better of a area to check an anti-hangover drink  than at a pool party throughout Coachella ? RESQWATER’s RESQHOUSE was held at a personal estate ideal next door to the festival, and we have been fortunate adequate to make it onto its unique guest list. Set in a Spanish courtyard-variety atmosphere, with a light blue glittering pool as a refreshing centerpiece, visitors lounged comfortably on plush pool chairs, or in the cool shade of one particular of the seating regions. Scrumptious homestyle food was served inside the classic Spanish type kitchen, though intricate mixed drinks were concocted at the bar outdoors. Fearing the lengthy day of pool-partying ahead of me, I drank down my initially 8 oz RESQWATER to get a head start ...

The gorgeously decorated interior dining room of Villa Blanca in Beverly Hills. Photo Credit: http://www.villablancarestaurant.com/ by Alyssa Ramos Villa Blanca is as prestigious, classy, and tasteful as the famed Beverly Hills roads it resides on. You may well have caught a glimpse of it on The Serious Housewives of Beverly Hills given that it’s owned by Actual Housewife vixen Lisa Vanderpump and her adorably witty husband Ken Todd, but seeing it on display merely does the area the justice it deserves. Out of all of the places in      Hollywood and Beverly Hills, this is by far my preferred lunch spot. The ambiance alone is sufficient to make me smile and come to feel like princess getting a soiree in my Beverly Hills backyard. The front patio is lined with white linen-clothed tables and chairs that are surrounded by the deliciously bright green palm leaves of the oversized silver potted Birds of Paradise plants. You’re most likely to see some acquainted faces si...