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Armchair traveller

Armchair traveller

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Jun 20

Armchair Martinique: Rhum, rhythm, and post-slavery capitalist trauma

Although Birmingham can deliver many national cuisines, it wasn’t until a trip to Paris that I found a Martiniquais restaurant — whose menu…

Armchair Martinique: Rhum, rhythm, and post-slavery capitalist trauma

Armchair traveller

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Jun 5

Armchair Marshall Islands: The Liechtenstein of Micronesia or a recovering giant ocean state?

In the middle ocean, half-way between Australia and Hawaii, 42,000 people have made their home on 18,143 hectares of land spread across…

Armchair Marshall Islands: The Liechtenstein of Micronesia or a recovering giant ocean state?

Armchair traveller

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May 3

Armchair Malta: A week of war, wine, jazz and lots of carbs

Thirty-three years ago, a friend and spotted a last-minute-trip taped to a travel agent window — £85 for a week in Malta, flights and hotel…

Armchair Malta: A week of war, wine, jazz and lots of carbs

Armchair traveller

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Apr 19

Armchair Mali: Where music, literature and film endure despite jihadis and colonialism

Thanks to bizarre, post-colonial borders, landlocked Mali takes the shape of a misaligned bowtie, with arid deserts in the North and lush…

Armchair Mali: Where music, literature and film endure despite jihadis and colonialism

Armchair traveller

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Apr 11

Armchair-travelling the Maldives: Where iconoclasts battle history and tourists meet contradictions

The Republic of Maldives may just be the world’s most contradictory country. Let’s take, for example, the fact that it manages to be both…

Armchair-travelling the Maldives: Where iconoclasts battle history and tourists meet contradictions

Armchair traveller

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Mar 12

Malaysia: Milo-Dinosaurs, multicultural flavours and the pushback against state-sponsored…

The map of Malaysia is crazy. There’s a peninsular sandwiched between Singapore and Thailand, and then, 400 miles away by boat, there’s…

Malaysia: Milo-Dinosaurs, multicultural flavours and the pushback against state-sponsored…

Armchair traveller

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Jan 19

Malawi: Small Country, Big Lake — A Great Place to Sip Gin and Hibiscus Juice

Malawi makes up for its diminutive size by having a massive lake — one big enough to border Mozambique and Tanzania. This lake is so…

Malawi: Small Country, Big Lake — A Great Place to Sip Gin and Hibiscus Juice

Armchair traveller

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Jan 11

Madagascar: settled by canoe, stuffed with vanilla and home to slave-freeing pirates

Situated off the East coast of Africa, Madagascar is the world’s fourth largest island, hosts vast amounts of unique flora and fauna, and…

Madagascar: settled by canoe, stuffed with vanilla and home to slave-freeing pirates

Armchair traveller

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Dec 14, 2025

Macedonia (North): Where films make you cry, wine makes you dance and history sings

I rarely start these blogs with the film, but that’s because few movies touch me like Honeyland — a documentary filmed over three years in…

Macedonia (North): Where films make you cry, wine makes you dance and history sings

Armchair traveller

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Oct 5, 2025

Macau: A fusion of cultures and history in a land six times smaller than Birmingham

To those who may be saying “dude, Macau is a Special Administrative Region, not a country”, I respond with Aboriginal writer Melissa…

Macau: A fusion of cultures and history in a land six times smaller than Birmingham

Armchair traveller

Armchair traveller

Near-zero carbon travel through books, drinks, food, films, music and the magic of living in multicultural #Birmingham.

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