Maldives

The Maldives is the ultimate picture-perfect destination. The sand really is that white and the sea really is that azure. But you still want to know the right place to go – I’m afraid not every resort lives up to the promise of its website. Some of the resorts I have visited have had that pristine first impression but disastrous food or complete lack of privacy whereas others have gone beyond all expectation with the sort of service which ensures that the fresh coconut juice is there before even you yourself knew you wanted it, let alone ordered it.

You really don’t want to travel to a paradise island to find the accommodation more akin to a business hotel in Manhattan. Equally you don’t go there for an Ibizan clubbing experience. The key is finding the right resort for you, with the right atmosphere, the right style and therefore the right crowd....

India

It’s not so much a country as a continent. India is an assault on the senses: spices, colours, palaces, temples, bustle and a magic hard to articulate. India is the sort of place you dream of visiting. But with only limited time, where do you start?

Rajasthan offers the archetypal introduction, with its famous cities, forts and palaces; Kerala is an altogether more relaxed state with rolling green hills and sleepy backwaters; and the country is crowned by the majestic Himalayas, showcasing the most spectacular vistas in the world.

Having spent five months backpacking in the country during my gap year it was with some apprehension that I returned as a high end tourist however I found that many of the rural hotels offered an experience which had on the whole eluded me.....

Bhutan

With a sophisticated and well preserved culture, the Kingdom of Bhutan has a draw like few others. Images of a country can often mislead ­­­– glamorous films, angled photography or old pictures. Bhutan, however, just doesn’t disappoint.

Rolling velvet hills meander up to the distant snowy peaks of the various Himalayan ranges. Passionate about their cultural history and identity, the Bhutanese have fought to maintain the integrity and individuality of their unique nation, so much so even the airport is a thing of beauty. In fact when I disembarked the breathtaking flight into the Paro Valley on my first visit, I assumed the building was one of the ancient monuments and marvelled at the imagination of the Bhutanese at incorporating this into what is generally considered a more mundane and administrative style of building.....

Sri Lanka

Gorgeous, verdant, oft-overlooked Sri Lanka, takes shelter just to the South-East of India and its relationship with its neighbours in Tamil Nadu is well documented. For some time now the country has experienced peace and the signs of prosperity however tourists are still reluctant to visit. Quite why is beyond the comprehension of those who do visit.

Exquisite cuisine created from the very freshest produce welcomes the visitor alongside an easy sincerity and a warm smile. Actually I think that the cuisine really clinched it for me. I love Thai food but have always been more wary of Indian food: Sri Lanka married the two and I cannot get enough of it. Not from the half baked curry houses here but fresh from the trees, straight from the fishing nets, as Sri Lanka intended...