Top 5 Once in a Lifetime Travel Experiences
All you wanderlusters out there, what is it that makes your heart pump out loud? Watching that beautiful sunset over the Tanah Lot in Bali, the sunrise at Giza’s Great…
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…
6 Alternative Places to Visit in 2020
The world is getting smaller so they say with less new places to explore. Think again. Espousing the philosophy of undertourism, Travel Begins at 40 suggests alternatives places to visit…
Cultural Dance Festivals Around the World
Dance like nobody is watching – well, there’s little chance of that happening in today’s modern world with Instagram and selfie sticks. There are thousands of cultural dance festivals around…
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…
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…
Why Sri Lanka Travel Industry Needs You
Jacinta Lim, co-founder at Seek Sophie, makes the case for how we all can work together to help the Sri Lanka travel industry recover from the impact of the Sri…
Julian Carnall, Responsible Travel with Large Minority
Johan Smits discusses Sri Lanka, tuk tuk challenges and responsible travel with Julian Carnall, the man behind Large Minority and the Lanka Challenge. How did Large Minority come about? The…
10 of the Best Hikes in the World
Although hiking is fulfilling for many reasons, there’s no denying that it’s always better when the scenery is spectacular. These ten hikes are some of the world’s most scenic and…
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…
Levison Wood: Return to Nepal
Explorer, best-selling travel writer and former British army officer Levison Wood returns to Nepal on behalf of the Gurkha Welfare Trust to become acquainted with friends old and new…
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…
Simon Albert: Charity Challenge
Travel Begins at 40 chats with Simon Albert, Director of Charity Challenge, which celebrates its 20th birthday in 2019 helping raise over £55 million for charity in the process. How…
Macao Holidays: Where Portugal Meets China
On his Macao Holidays, Mike Pickup discovers a place that fuses its Portuguese and Chinese heritage in three quite distinct ways. It’s little wonder that at times Macao seems more…
Valentine’s Day Ideas for the Over 40s
It’s never too old to fall in love, nor to show you love that special someone. So, to provide some romantic inspiration, Travel Begins at 40 has rounded up a few…
Mauritius Holidays: Arrive a Visitor, Leave a Local
On his Mauritius Holidays, James Clark is overwhelmed by the hospitality of the island nation’s people and the rum…
Cultural Taiwan: Top Five Unmissable Experiences
For a small island nation, cultural Taiwan has been punching well above its weight with the establishment of several world-class performance venues in only…
Elephant Sanctuary on World Elephant Day
To mark World Elephant Day on 12 August, Travel Begins at 40 interviews the World Animal Protection, formerly known as WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals), about what…
The LifeCo Detox Retreat in Bodrum
Intrigued by what all the fuss is about Eileen Wise embarks upon a The LifeCo detox retreat in Bodrum, Turkey, and comes back a totally rejuvenated woman. Maybe there was…
Travel Photography Tours: Getting to Know People
Nathan Horton has been running travel photography tours in Asia for more than a decade, he discuses the latest trends in the sector, arguing the case for responsible tourism and…
Almaty: the Coolest City in Central Asia
Johan Smits explores Kazakhstan’s former capital Almaty and discovers an overlooked city destination full of cafe culture and a respect for its former Soviet heritage waiting to be discovered by…
Female Explorer Elise Wortley: Woman with Altitude
Last November, Elise Wortley set out into the Indian Himalaya, following in the footsteps of legendary female explorer Alexandra David-Neél, who crossed the Himalayas…
