5 Japan Winter Festivals: Naked People and Sake
From naked men to setting off fireworks and lots of sake, here is our round up of Japan Winter Festivals ranging from the quirky to the strange. Matsutaki Festival…
5 Wonderful Festivals of Lights Not to Be Missed
The symbolic power of light has always played a powerful role in the world’s many cultural and religious traditions. But apart from their traditional significance, festivals of lights are also…
5 Unmissable Hindu Festivals of India
Considering its vast size and enormous population, it’s no surprise that India is an incredible diverse country home to many different ethnic groups and religions. And with each of these…
7 Great Beer Festivals in the UK, Belgium, Germany and the US
Travel Begins at 40 looks at seven great beer festivals in the UK, Belgium, Germany and the US. There is certainly no lack of beer festivals in the UK –…
The Longest Beach in the World: Cox’s Bazar
After crisscrossing Bangladesh by boat and bus, Johan Smits concludes his Bengal travel saga in Cox’s Bazar and gets away from it all on the longest beach in the world…
Travel Begins at 40 Guide to Carbon Offsetting
Thanks to Greta Thunberg, it’s all the buzz at the moment in the aviation world, but is effective carbon offsetting more complicated than it sounds? Travel Begins at 40 walks…
Into the Chittagong Hill Tracts: Rangamati
Johan Smits visits Rangamati Bangladesh in the travel-restricted Chittagong Hill Tracts – the country’s highlands and home of the Jumma people. I’m on my way from Chittagong, Bangladesh’s largest port…
Bangkok Attractions – A Nostalgic Journey
In the second of this two-part series featuring his favourite Bangkok attractions, Johan Smits leads us off the tourist trail to five nostalgic gems. Bangkok Attractions: Scala Cinema Remember the…
7 Undiscovered Things to Do in Bangkok
In the first of this two-part series on things to do in Bangkok, Johan Smits brings us to seven of his favourite creative and green spots that Bangkok is hiding…
Bangladesh Travel: Rivers, Relics and Wrecks
After visiting the capital Dhaka and taking a voyage to the Sundarbans mangrove forest, Johan Smits continues his Bangladesh travel by road, river and rail, encountering ancient relics and huge…
5 Great Mongolia Festivals Not to Be Missed
From horse-drawn sledges on a frozen lake to the world’s biggest camel race in the Gobi desert, Travel Begins at 40 has selected five great Mongolia festivals for 2020. Tsagaan…
Bangladesh Rickshaw Art : Photo Journey
Travel Begins at 40’s Johan Smits shares his love of the brilliant rickshaw art in Bangladesh with a series of colourful photos. To foreign visitors in Bangladesh, the ubiquitous and…
How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint When Flying
Travel Begins at 40 looks at how to optimise your carbon footprint reduction when travelling by plane is unavoidable. The aviation industry is increasingly painted as the black sheep amongst…
5 Wonderful Asia Off-The-Beaten-Track Destinations
Travel Begins at 40 spills the beans about five themed and truly off-the-beaten-track destinations in different parts of Asia. When travelling in Asia, you may feel it’s getting increasingly hard…
9 Things to Do in Antwerp in Winter
Antwerp, one of Lonely Planet’s top 10 cities in 2018 and unofficial capital of Flanders, belongs on everyone’s bucket list. Home to Belgium’s best nightlife and filled with historical monuments…
Climate Change and Tourism: Plane, Car, Train or Boat?
Travel Begins at 40 looks at the relationship between climate change and tourism by comparing various modes of travelling to your next destination. Asking yourself what’s the greenest way to…
The No Fly Movement and Flygskam: What Is It?
Johan Smits discusses abandoning flying with flygskam or the No Fly movement in the UK and Sweden. Have you heard yet of flygskam, Swedish for ‘flight shaming’? It’s the No…
6 Things to Do in Chiang Mai Off the Tourist Trail
A persistent visitor to Thailand’s Rose of the North, Johan Smits spills the beans about his favourite tourist-proof things to do in Chiang Mai; some of them might well surprise…
A Global Beer Trip: Is There an Oktoberfest Near Me?
In a thirsty quest around the world, Travel Begins at 40 helps you answer the question “Is there an Oktoberfest near me?” for when you can’t make it to the…
Venice Film Festival History: through its Poster Art
It’s no less than 86 years ago since the famous Venice Film Festival first saw the light of day in August 1932, making it the oldest film festival in the…
Voyage to the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest
Taking an old paddlewheel steamer from Dhaka to the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest in Bangladesh, Johan Smits finds poetry, a lost city and a vast water forest. “What beauty, what shades…
Dhaka, Bangladesh – the World’s Most Crowded City
Johan Smits takes a deep breath before plunging into the world’s most crowded city, Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka. I’m a fan of Sci-Fi films. And often it’s the atmospheric, non-tech parts…
Things to Do in Ubud: a Town Hiding in Plain Sight
A firm fixture on the tourist trail, Ubud upholds its integrity as Bali’s cultural hub, finds Johan Smits looking for things to do in Ubud. “You can’t just go in…
Luang Prabang: Laos Past or Future?
Searching for peace, quiet and beauty, Johan Smits finds in Luang Prabang a stunning little town at a crossroads. One tropical evening we find ourselves sitting in the nearly empty…
