About us
HELLO FROM SUE AND COLIN!
FOURTEEN years ago our love of travel led us to give up good jobs on newspapers in the UK to widen our horizons by moving abroad. Since then we’ve lived in Dubai, Beijing and Hong Kong, had extended spells in California, the Seychelles, Saudi Arabia and the South of France, and visited a host of other countries.
NOT YOUR AVERAGE TRAVEL BLOGGERS
We have the perspectives of expats, travellers and tourists; as a married couple we can give both a male and a female view; and our age informs our impressions of the places we visit.
EDITORIALLY INDEPENDENT
We pay for most of our travel ourselves, and if we accept complimentary hospitality or transport we make this clear. Either way, we always write what we think.
NEED MORE INFO?
We include links to other sites to help you find the up-to-date details you need if you’re planning a trip.
We love exploring the world, and hope you enjoy our site.
COLIN
SUE
COLIN SIMPSON was born and grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital. He started travelling in his mid-teens, visiting Scandinavia and Morocco. He began his journalism career on a local newspaper in Fife before
SUE BRATTLE was born in Kent, England, and trained as a journalist on her local newspaper. Her first big trip was to Sarawak, Borneo and Brunei – which left her broke and used up all her holidays for a year at the evening paper
Sue Brattle
- FORMER EDITOR of The Correspondent, magazine of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club Hong Kong.
- GHOSTWRITER for The Valueholder: The Future of the Employee by Roberto Fusté (Bensilina, 2018). Also available in Spanish. “People are the asset that makes a mediocre or a good company into a great company.” – Roberto Fusté.
- CO-WRITER with Carole Mackie of Me and My Shadow: Learning to Live With Multiple Sclerosis with foreword by Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones (Aurum Press, 1999). Also published in Mandarin, Italian and in Australia. “It is 1991 and Carole Mackie is on top of the world: 23 years old, in Rio on the job of her dreams as a British Airways stewardess, with a boyfriend she loves dearly. Two weeks later, she is flown home in a wheelchair…”
- GETTING twitchy about not driving in Beijing, healthcare, keeping children safe, broken homes and more… Column in China Daily.
- TOURISM in Pakistan, life after breast cancer, going green in the country with the world’s third highest carbon footprint per person, education and more… News and features in Gulf News.
- NO standard working hours in Hong Kong? This is an opportunity – Workable blog.
- FROM Bob Dylan to country house opera, from an airport Holiday Inn to a fabulous five-star at the foot of the Himalayas… Level five attraction expert on TripAdvisor.
Colin Simpson
- PIRATE castles, markets, economics, China, IPL cricket, investing in whisky, cryptocurrencies, equality, and much more… Dozens of articles on Bloomberg News, with many more available to Bloomberg Terminal subscribers.
- EXOTIC pets, crime, alcoholism among Muslims, art, the illegal wildlife trade, conservation, Expo 2020, the exploitation of domestic maids, Iran, luxury goods, skyscrapers… Hundreds of exclusive stories in the UAE’s National newspaper.
- GIANT PANDAS, spicy Sichuan food, London’s Chinatown under threat, tech, cricket in China, and much more… News stories and columns in China Daily.
- TECH reviews, the QE2, cars, what it’s like to dive with sharks in a Dubai mall, sport, and the day the personal computer was born… News stories, features and columns on Emirates 24/7.
- VENICE under water and a spooky Google doodle, on CNN.com.
Our Partners
- AFARANWIDE is an affiliate of leading travel operators such as Booking.com and Japan Rail Pass. If you purchase through our site we receive, at no additional cost to you, a small commission. We only work with companies we have used and recommend.
- WE ARE partners with Google Adsense, an online advertising programme run by the search giant. You’ll see the same ads on our blog as you do on some of the world’s biggest sites.
- AFARANWIDE photos are available from the Adobe Stock image library. Adobe is a top software developer famous for its image editing, graphics and design apps. The Adobe Stock library is used by designers, creatives and media professionals around the world, and it’s integrated into industry-leading apps such as Photoshop.
EXPLORE
RECOMMENDED
WELCOME TO OUR WORLD! Afaranwide’s home page – this is where you can find out about our latest posts and other highlights. READ MORE
TOP 10 VIRTUAL ATTRACTIONS: Many of the world’s most popular tourists sites are closed because of the coronavirus crisis, but you can still visit them virtually while you’re self-isolating. READ MORE
SHIMLA, QUEEN OF THE HILLS: Government officials once retreated to Shimla in the foothills of the Himalayas to escape India’s blazing hot summers. Now tourists make the same journey. READ MORE
TEN THINGS WE LEARNED: Our up-to-the-minute guide to creating a website, one step at a time. The costs, the mistakes – it’s what we wish we’d known when we started blogging. READ MORE
TROUBLED TIMES FOR EXPATS: Moving abroad can seem an idyllic prospect, but what happens when sudden upheavals or the inescapable realities of life intrude? READ MORE
LET'S KEEP IN TOUCH!
About us
HELLO FROM SUE AND COLIN!
FOURTEEN years ago our love of travel led us to give up good jobs on newspapers in the UK to widen our horizons by moving abroad. Since then we’ve lived in Dubai, Beijing and Hong Kong, had extended spells in California, the Seychelles, Saudi Arabia and the South of France, and visited a host of other countries.
NOT YOUR AVERAGE TRAVEL BLOGGERS
We have the perspectives of expats, travellers and tourists; as a married couple we can give both a male and a female view; and our age informs our impressions of the places we visit.
EDITORIALLY INDEPENDENT
We pay for most of our travel ourselves, and if we accept complimentary hospitality or transport we make this clear. Either way, we always write what we think.
NEED MORE INFO?
We include links to other sites to help you find the up-to-date details you need if you’re planning a trip.
We love exploring the world, and hope you enjoy our site.
COLIN
SUE
COLIN SIMPSON was born and grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital. He started travelling in his mid-teens, visiting Scandinavia and Morocco. He began his journalism career on a local newspaper in Fife before
SUE BRATTLE was born in Kent, England, and trained as a journalist on her local newspaper. Her first big trip was to Sarawak, Borneo and Brunei – which left her broke and used up all her holidays for a year at the evening paper
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Sue Brattle
- FORMER EDITOR of The Correspondent, magazine of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club Hong Kong.
- GHOSTWRITER for The Valueholder: The Future of the Employee by Roberto Fusté (Bensilina, 2018). Also available in Spanish. “People are the asset that makes a mediocre or a good company into a great company.” – Roberto Fusté.
- CO-WRITER with Carole Mackie of Me and My Shadow: Learning to Live With Multiple Sclerosis with foreword by Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones (Aurum Press, 1999). Also published in Mandarin, Italian and in Australia. “It is 1991 and Carole Mackie is on top of the world: 23 years old, in Rio on the job of her dreams as a British Airways stewardess, with a boyfriend she loves dearly. Two weeks later, she is flown home in a wheelchair…”
- GETTING twitchy about not driving in Beijing, healthcare, keeping children safe, broken homes and more… Column in China Daily.
- TOURISM in Pakistan, life after breast cancer, going green in the country with the world’s third highest carbon footprint per person, education and more… News and features in Gulf News.
- NO standard working hours in Hong Kong? This is an opportunity – Workable blog.
- FROM Bob Dylan to country house opera, from an airport Holiday Inn to a fabulous five-star at the foot of the Himalayas… Level five attraction expert on TripAdvisor.
Colin Simpson
- PIRATE castles, markets, economics, China, IPL cricket, investing in whisky, cryptocurrencies, equality, and much more… Dozens of articles on Bloomberg News, with many more available to Bloomberg Terminal subscribers.
- EXOTIC pets, crime, alcoholism among Muslims, art, the illegal wildlife trade, conservation, Expo 2020, the exploitation of domestic maids, Iran, luxury goods, skyscrapers… Hundreds of exclusive stories in the UAE’s National newspaper.
- GIANT PANDAS, spicy Sichuan food, London’s Chinatown under threat, tech, cricket in China, and much more… News stories and columns in China Daily.
- TECH reviews, the QE2, cars, what it’s like to dive with sharks in a Dubai mall, sport, and the day the personal computer was born… News stories, features and columns on Emirates 24/7.
- VENICE under water and a spooky Google doodle, on CNN.com.
Our Partners
- AFARANWIDE is an affiliate of leading travel operators such as Booking.com and Japan Rail Pass. If you purchase through our site we receive, at no additional cost to you, a small commission. We only work with companies we have used and recommend.
- WE ARE partners with Google Adsense, an online advertising programme run by the search giant. You’ll see the same ads on our blog as you do on some of the world’s biggest sites.
- AFARANWIDE photos are available from the Adobe Stock image library. Adobe is a top software developer famous for its image editing, graphics and design apps. The Adobe Stock library is used by designers, creatives and media professionals around the world, and it’s integrated into industry-leading apps such as Photoshop.
EXPLORE
RECOMMENDED
WELCOME TO OUR WORLD! Afaranwide’s home page – this is where you can find out about our latest posts and other highlights. READ MORE
TOP 10 VIRTUAL ATTRACTIONS: Many of the world’s most popular tourists sites are closed because of the coronavirus crisis, but you can still visit them virtually while you’re self-isolating. READ MORE
SHIMLA, QUEEN OF THE HILLS: Government officials once retreated to Shimla in the foothills of the Himalayas to escape India’s blazing hot summers. Now tourists make the same journey. READ MORE
TEN THINGS WE LEARNED: Our up-to-the-minute guide to creating a website, one step at a time. The costs, the mistakes – it’s what we wish we’d known when we started blogging. READ MORE
TROUBLED TIMES FOR EXPATS: Moving abroad can seem an idyllic prospect, but what happens when sudden upheavals or the inescapable realities of life intrude? READ MORE
LET'S KEEP IN TOUCH!
ABOUT US
HELLO FROM SUE AND COLIN!
FOURTEEN years ago our love of travel led us to give up good jobs on newspapers in the UK to widen our horizons by moving abroad. Since then we’ve lived in Dubai, Beijing and Hong Kong, had extended spells in California, the Seychelles, Saudi Arabia and the South of France, and visited a host of other countries.
NOT YOUR AVERAGE TRAVEL BLOGGERS
We have the perspectives of expats, travellers and tourists; as a married couple we can give both a male and a female view; and our age informs our impressions of the places we visit.
EDITORIALLY INDEPENDENT
We pay for most of our travel ourselves, and if we accept complimentary hospitality or transport we make this clear. Either way, we always write what we think.
NEED MORE INFO?
We include links to other sites to help you find the up-to-date details you need if you’re planning a trip.
We love exploring the world, and hope you enjoy our site.
COLIN
COLIN SIMPSON was born and grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital. He started travelling in his mid-teens, visiting Scandinavia and Morocco. He began his journalism career on a local newspaper in Fife before
SUE
SUE BRATTLE was born in Kent, England, and trained as a journalist on her local newspaper. Her first big trip was to Sarawak, Borneo and Brunei – which left her broke and used up all her holidays for a year at the evening paper
Sue Brattle
- FORMER EDITOR of The Correspondent, magazine of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club Hong Kong.
- GHOSTWRITER for The Valueholder: The Future of the Employee by Roberto Fusté (Bensilina, 2018). Also available in Spanish. “People are the asset that makes a mediocre or a good company into a great company.” – Roberto Fusté.
- CO-WRITER with Carole Mackie of Me and My Shadow: Learning to Live With Multiple Sclerosis with foreword by Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones (Aurum Press, 1999). Also published in Mandarin, Italian and in Australia. “It is 1991 and Carole Mackie is on top of the world: 23 years old, in Rio on the job of her dreams as a British Airways stewardess, with a boyfriend she loves dearly. Two weeks later, she is flown home in a wheelchair…”
- GETTING twitchy about not driving in Beijing, healthcare, keeping children safe, broken homes and more… Column in China Daily.
- TOURISM in Pakistan, life after breast cancer, going green in the country with the world’s third highest carbon footprint per person, education and more… News and features in Gulf News.
- NO standard working hours in Hong Kong? This is an opportunity – Workable blog.
- FROM Bob Dylan to country house opera, from an airport Holiday Inn to a fabulous five-star at the foot of the Himalayas… Level five attraction expert on TripAdvisor.
Colin Simpson
- PIRATE castles, markets, economics, China, IPL cricket, investing in whisky, cryptocurrencies, equality, and much more… Dozens of articles on Bloomberg News, with many more available to Bloomberg Terminal subscribers.
- EXOTIC pets, crime, alcoholism among Muslims, art, the illegal wildlife trade, conservation, Expo 2020, the exploitation of domestic maids, Iran, luxury goods, skyscrapers… Hundreds of exclusive stories in the UAE’s National newspaper.
- GIANT PANDAS, spicy Sichuan food, London’s Chinatown under threat, tech, cricket in China, and much more… News stories and columns in China Daily.
- TECH reviews, the QE2, cars, what it’s like to dive with sharks in a Dubai mall, sport, and the day the personal computer was born… News stories, features and columns on Emirates 24/7.
- VENICE under water and a spooky Google doodle, on CNN.com.
Our Partners
- AFARANWIDE is an affiliate of leading travel operators such as Booking.com and Japan Rail Pass. If you purchase through our site we receive, at no additional cost to you, a small commission. We only work with companies we have used and recommend.
- WE ARE partners with Google Adsense, an online advertising programme run by the search giant. You’ll see the same ads on our blog as you do on some of the world’s biggest sites.
- AFARANWIDE photos are available from the Adobe Stock image library. Adobe is a top software developer famous for its image editing, graphics and design apps. The Adobe Stock library is used by designers, creatives and media professionals around the world, and it’s integrated into industry-leading apps such as Photoshop.
EXPLORE
RECOMMENDED
WELCOME TO OUR WORLD! Afaranwide’s home page – this is where you can find out about our latest posts and other highlights. READ MORE
TOP 10 VIRTUAL ATTRACTIONS: Many of the world’s most popular tourists sites are closed because of the coronavirus crisis, but you can still visit them virtually while you’re self-isolating. READ MORE
SHIMLA, QUEEN OF THE HILLS: Government officials once retreated to Shimla in the foothills of the Himalayas to escape India’s blazing hot summers. Now tourists make the same journey. READ MORE
TEN THINGS WE LEARNED: Our up-to-the-minute guide to creating a website, one step at a time. The costs, the mistakes – it’s what we wish we’d known when we started blogging. READ MORE
TROUBLED TIMES FOR EXPATS: Moving abroad can seem an idyllic prospect, but what happens when sudden upheavals or the inescapable realities of life intrude? READ MORE