Inspiring Travel Writing from Sue Carpenter
Sue Carpenter is a freelance writer and travel photographer, working for publications such as Harpers & Queen, The Times, Daily Telegraph, High Life, The Guardian, Sunday Times Travel Magazine and You magazine. She was the original author of Courvoisier's Book of the Best, the biennial guide to the best hotels and restaurants worldwide.
Sue is also the founder of Jaisalmer in Jeopardy, a charity formed to help protect and conserve the ancient fortified city in Rajasthan, and she has returned to India each year since starting the campaign in 1994. She is a Trustee of Asha-Nepal, a British human rights organisation working for women and children in Nepal.
Sue is also the founder of Jaisalmer in Jeopardy, a charity formed to help protect and conserve the ancient fortified city in Rajasthan, and she has returned to India each year since starting the campaign in 1994. She is a Trustee of Asha-Nepal, a British human rights organisation working for women and children in Nepal.
Articles by Sue Carpenter
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Easter In Guatemala
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Sue Carpenter
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Antigua & Barbuda
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Antigua
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Antigua
The night we arrived in Antigua, the old colonial capital of Guatemala, the streets were awash with ancient Israelites. Most of the men in the town looked as if they were on their way to an Israelite fancy dress party, in their purple silky nylon...
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Kerala
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Sue Carpenter
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India
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Kerala Region
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Kerala City
Narrow wooden fishing boats, blackened and weathered over the years, lay on the beach like charred carcasses. On them sat fat black crows, awaiting the fishermen's booty. Their cries clashed with the rhythmic chant of the men as they hauled in their...
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Cycling in Tuscany
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Sue Carpenter
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Italy
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Tuscany
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Florence
It was perfect cycling weather. The sky was a sharp, Prussian blue, marbled with white. Though it was hot in the direct sun, there was a chill in the air, filled with the vapour of fermenting wine. Grapes had shrivelled on the vines and leaves were...
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Climbing in Thailand
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Sue Carpenter
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Thailand
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Southern Thailand: The Andaman Coast
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Krabi
In the clogged heat of the day, we clambered up the steep hillside, clutching at jutting rock and tree roots, our backs and faces running with sweat and smeared with red earth. ‘It’s an easy climb up to the low viewpoint,’ we...
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Before You Die: A Feast in the Thar Desert
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Sue Carpenter
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India
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Rajasthan
Have a feast in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan under the stars, organised by the Jawahar Niwas hotel, Jaisalmer, the former private guest house of the Maharawal of Jaisalmer. Magical, as long as there's not a sandstorm. Also, sitting on any rooftop in...
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Before You Die: Le Petit Jumilhac
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Sue Carpenter
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France
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Dordogne
Watch the sunset in the tiny stone chapel at Le Petit Jumilhac, in the Dordogne, when the burning orange sun streams through the door and lights up the altar. It'll inspire you to break into hymn. ‘The Lord's My Shepherd (original version)...
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Before You Die: Hike a Cliche
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Sue Carpenter
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Tibet
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other areas of Tibet
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Himalayas
Cliched, but go trekking in the Himalaya. I love the atmosphere and sparkling view from Ghandruk in the Annapurna Sanctuary in March - a rural way of life unchanged since medieval times, glistening mauve mountains, pink blossom, absurdly deep blue...
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Before You Die: Luminous Aquamarine
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Sue Carpenter
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Thailand
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Southern Thailand: The Andaman Coast
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Krabi
Bask in the sea at Pra Nang, near Krabi, southern Thailand, after a strenuous hike up to the High Viewpoint. This is The Beach territory, only somehow the film managed to make it look less cinematically stunning that it actually is. Luminous...
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Shopping in Rajasthan
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Sue Carpenter
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India
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Rajasthan
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Jaipur
It’s not until you arrive in Rajasthan that you realise you have been asleep, existing rather than living. India awakens the senses with a jolt. Each day is a pageant of colour and costume, light and pattern, sound and smell; appealing not in a...
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Polo in Mongolia
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Sue Carpenter
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Mongolia
Whether stories of Genghis Khan’s troops playing polo with the enemy’s head for a ball are apocryphal or not, the sport certainly originated in the great Mongol warrior’s extensive empire. It has continued to flourish in lively...