Editor. Writer. Traveller. Keeping tabs on all things fab. susan@excessallareas.com.au
* This post may contain affiliate links. Excess All Areas may receive a small commission, at no cost to readers, if a purchase is made The thrill of a new place often starts with a book. Here, travel writers share some surprising inspirations. Even with their wings clipped, travel writers are frequently asked to nominate…
Japan in springtime, Morocco in an orange haze, London dipped in derring-do … experience exotic locations through a fragrance filter. There’s a new wave of niche perfumes that aim to re-create a destination in a bottle. It’s a cache that lets the perfume lover daydream about travel that might still be, once closed borders are…
After the terrorist attacks that rocked Colombo, Sri Lankan creatives shaped an arts-driven recovery that could become a template for a post-Covid-19 world… Over glossy Beijing duck and tiger prawn kung pao at the Shangri-La Hotel’s Shang Palace, Ajai Vir Singh is explaining how the arts community led Sri Lanka’s recovery after the Easter 2019…
From Japan to Canada, Switzerland to the Scottish Highlands, top-end train travel can be addictive. Just ask trainspotter Rylie Heathfield… As a boy, Rylie Heathfield could go one better than a bedroom full of Thomas The Tank Engine books and toys. Across the valley from his aunt and uncle’s property east of Melbourne was the…
From joss-sticks to beaded slippers to rattan chair repairs … ancient trades are part of the warp and weft of Penang’s heritage George Town Lee Beng Chuan is perched on a low orange stool in a cluttered workshop in George Town’s Muda Lane. Next to him is a yellow bucket containing a lump of brown…
There are many great places to stay in the Penang’s heritage city of George Town, most with a colourful story to tell… George Town’s architecture is like the special family occasion where everyone brings a plate and you cross your fingers for a fine feast. Scotland arrives with the lacy cast iron, England turns up…
From penthouses at sea to safaris by private jet, Australians’ passion for top-end travel knows no bounds In 2019, at least 30 million people embarked on a cruise, up 6% from 2018. According to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), 1.34 millon of them were Australians. The 10 most popular cruise destinations last year were…
Somewhere else you’d rather be? Here’s where the expert travel advisers will be sending you… When it comes to wow factor it’s hard to beat lunch in the prow of Sydney’s three-hat Quay restaurant, overlooking a harbour shimmering with ferries, global landmarks and pre-Christmas energy. A menu of hand harvested seafood eaten with tweezers, smoked…
An art deco vanity case collection in memory of Freddie Mercury dazzles at the V&A Museum’s new jewellery gallery It was what the Italians might call a colpo d’amore – a gust of love, something that takes your breath away. For Kashmira Bulsara, a frosted rock crystal card case depicting a Japanese weeping willow…
Bouillabaisse, baguette, Bastille Day … and the Breton stripe. What could be more French? Royalty and the literati have had much to say about Paris. “Paris isn’t a city, it’s a world,” declared King Francois 1 in the 16th century, when it probably was; Ernest Hemingway wrote: “If you are lucky enough to have lived…