The kingdom of Thailand lies in the heart of Southeast Asia, making it a natural gateway to Indochina, Myanmar and Southern China. Northern Thailand is renowned for its stunning mountain scenery, home to all manner of wild orchids, not to mention temperate fruits such as strawberries and peaches. Central Thailand is one of the world’s most fertile rice and fruit growing areas, home to sandy beaches on the east coast and vibrant, cosmopolitan Bangkok. Further south along the peninsula, unspoiled beaches and idyllic islands dot the landscape, offering some of …

When I think of Tuscan hill towns and the countryside surrounding them, an ideal stretch of roadway comes to mind. Off to the left is row after row of gnarled olive trees, limbs spread in arthritic helter-skelter, to the right, vineyards neat and laden with grapes. Dirt roads, white as chalk, run cursively through dry grasses and fields of grain. In the middle distance, upon one of those soft rolling hills that are verdant in the spring and sere by August, there is a straight line of dark cypresses marking …

This tale is one of passion, intrigue and even of ghosts. It spans a period of 800 years and goes back to the time of the Crusaders and to the time of the legendary outlaw Robin Hood. In the year 1187 the Seljukian Turks, the Saracens, captured Jerusalem once again in the name of Islam. Incensed, the Europeans set off on a crusade to recapture the fallen city and marched to the Holy Land. They were led by Phillip Augustus of France, and King Richard I of England and such …