Now that the ancient rose red city of Petra has been named one of the new seven wonders of the world, tourists are flying to Jordan for the day from Dubai to tick it off their lists.

Jill Worrall finds herself distracted from Bethany Beyond the Jordan's biblical significance by a man with an enormous paunch wearing a pair of tiny speedoes.

Camel riding for two should really only be permitted for those who are really, really good friends, finds Jill Worrall.

Some company would have been nice, but even on my own, spending a birthday exploring probably the best Crusader castle in the world takes some beating.

Christmas Eve (January 6 in Russia) in Suzdal, north-east of Moscow, was a cloudless, crystalline night.

The Paro dzong is a whitewashed 17th century fortress - the first courtyard is the secular realm, the second is the domain of the monks.

The Down Under Discotech in downtown Jakar hosts the Banga Dance Request and Karaoke Show every weekend.

Over many years of travel to Bhutan I've walked past Punakha dzong several times, driven past it on even more occasions but yesterday was the first time I've floated past it.

I've just come from an archery tournament - a friendly match that was being fuelled by a generous quantity of beer which, combined with high-tech carbon-fibre bows and arrows being fired down a 145m long range, seems somewhat risky.

Even in late September, the streets of Prague's old town and the lanes surrounding the castle are not so much thronged with tourists as swamped.

The Georgian town of Kazbegi is a graphic example of why the Caucasus would be no place to cut one's teeth in the field of international relations.

Outside my bedroom window in Tblisi, Georgia, a gilded St George is slaying his dragon in the morning sunlight.

Officially autumn is here but it is 35C outside and the Caspian Sea is limpid, shimmering in the heat.