Saadi's Travels

In this episode, I catch up with a friend of mine Claire Skinner who has been going to Costa Rica since she was a child. 
It is a country of ‘abundance’ she says. 

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to hike up the Cholla Trail in Phoenix, Arizona. It was nerve racking, yet I forced myself to do it. After I summited, I felt alive in a way that I hadn’t felt before. I had a taste of life in all its beauty. And for that I was ever so grateful. 

I travelled to Corfu in September this year to attend the Corfu Literary Festival with the Authors Cricket Club. In this episode I'm reviewing cricket and how it facilitates building bridges across communities. 

In this week, we are exploring Chile, a country that is alive beneath the feet, bubbling with lava. It has all sorts of landscapes, from the driest place on earth in the Atacama up north to some of the coldest regions in Patagonia down south. I was fascinated when I arrived and asked myself how was this country different from its neighbours. And in this podcast, I try and paint a picture on exactly that point. We also explore what is shaping its future.

In this week’s episode, we are going to Havana, Cuba. I visited the country in 2014. Havana is more picturesque than one’s imagination. The people are friendly, hardworking and skilful. The latter being credited to the outcome of the revolution. I have had the opportunity to have a first-hand glimpse of how the Cuban revolution has touched people’s lives. It certainly touched mine with a shot of the finest pina colada in Mirador. I yearn to go back. 

For the past couple of years, I have been going to Murren, a small ski resort, in the Jungfrau region of Switzerland, at the kind invitation of a friend. Every year, it was over the New Year period. 

Each time, strangely, I never had enough time to enjoy the resort properly. Everything seemed to go by in a flash.

This piece is about the resort’s tradition of building an ice bar and how I learnt a very important lesson in life. 

By way of background, it is customary for guests to arrive on time to help the host to build the ice bar. Arriving late is frowned upon and met with the severest punishment. And, so, in one of my visits, I arrived late. 

In this week we are exploring Croatia during my first visit there. I was absolutely enchanted by the country’s beauty and touched by its people, who came across as very kind and compassionate. But underneath this veneer of calmness, lay another side as I would discover talking to a taxi driver.