Inspiring Travel Writing from Bradley Winterton
Bradley Winterton began his working life as a school-teacher in the UK, then moved on to lecturing in English literature. After some years as a theatre director and actor, he moved east and hasnt been back home for eighteen years. Hes the author of guidebooks to Bali and Thailand, and co-author of another on Japan. Hes also published two books on operas performed in Macaus annual music festivals. He now lives in Taipei, and his latest enthusiasms are for travelling in Vietnam and China. Hes contributed to some 35 publications worldwide.
Articles by Bradley Winterton
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Bali Nights
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Bradley Winterton
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Indonesia
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Nusa Tenggara/ Southeast Islands
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Bali
“The witch at Batubulan is only illusion,” said the man in the blue headdress and mauve sarong standing beside me in the temple forecourt. “But here she will be for real.” A full moon was shining, and the high palms stood silhouetted against the...
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Hanoi
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Bradley Winterton
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Vietnam
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Central Coast
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Hanoi
All the Harry Potter books were in Hanoi’s bookshops in Vietnamese when I visited. This, together with the bright autumn sunshine and the sweet apples from the hill-station of Sapa, confirmed for me that Vietnam is no longer an isolated...
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Four Moments in Thailand
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Bradley Winterton
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Thailand
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Bangkok Region
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Bangkok
My first encounter with Thailand was inauspicious. I’d made landfall at Bangkok’s Hualampong station in the immense heat of an April noon after a two-day train ride from Singapore. I felt disgorged out of an iron mouth into the heart of a fiery...
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Before You Die: The View of Scafell Pike
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Bradley Winterton
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United Kingdom
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Lake District
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Scafell Pike
One of the steepest roads in the English Lakes, rising from the head of Eskdale, culminates at Hardknott Pass. Once there, turn left (if you’ve arrived from Eskdale) and head up the nearby fell. It’s only 15 minutes to the summit, but the view...
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Before You Die: Saigon on a Sunny Morning
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Bradley Winterton
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Vietnam
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Ho Chi Minh
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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
It’s a sunny morning every morning in southern Vietnam from November to April. Humidity is relatively low, too, and with the resplendent architecture left behind by the French, the largely two-wheeled traffic, and the almost total absence of...
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Sailing to Byzantium
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Bradley Winterton
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Greece
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Mainland Greece
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Mount Athos
This was no country for young men, nor women either, of any age. “Beardless youths”, plus female humans and animals, were all forbidden to land on this mountainous peninsula that was an ecclesiastical state-within-a-state, where the clocks all ran...
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On Writing the Guidebook
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Bradley Winterton
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Indonesia
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Nusa Tenggara/ Southeast Islands
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Bali
When I was first invited to write a guidebook, I accepted with what now seems the alacrity of the innocent. It was one of those gorgeous autumn days that seem to reward Hong Kong after all the unpleasant, humid months of summer. The sunlight danced...
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Old Macau
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Bradley Winterton
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China
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Macau
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Macau City
The Old Asia Hand, an Australian like so many of them, leaned back in his chair, took a swig of Tsingtao beer, and said “Ah, Macau! Now there’s a place I wouldn’t mind spending the rest of my days in!” We were sitting on a ferry between Hong Kong...
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Taiwan
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Bradley Winterton
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Taiwan
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Chiayi
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Alishan
Taiwan boasts the highest mountains in East Asia. When the Japanese took control of the island in 1895, aiming to mirror the great European powers by acquiring a colony or two, they were shocked to discover that Yu Shan, at 3,952 metres, out-topped...
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Saigon: City in the Sun
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Bradley Winterton
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Vietnam
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Ho Chi Minh
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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
The travel publicity of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam refers to the country as a destination for the new millennium. This piece of self-promotion is spot-on. Whereas Thailand and Bali have been offering tropical vacations - beach-side relaxation...