The Solo Traveller
Your independence, passion, and lifelong memories.
Cultural immersion
Cultural immersion begins when we stop trying to decode difference and start recognising connection. These are not unfamiliar rhythms to master, but life-enhancing encounters that shift perspective and deepen how we understand the world and our place within it.
Dr Peter Hohenhaus has spent nearly two decades at the forefront of dark tourism, documenting the places where history’s shadow falls heaviest. In the first of a two-part conversation with Geoffrey Williams, Peter explores his motivations, his most affecting encounters, and the role dark tourism can play in remembrance and understanding. Content warning: this feature contains words and images that may be confronting to some readers.
By Geoffrey Williams | December 2025
In the second of a two-part conversation, Dr Peter Hohenhaus shares his insights into personal and psychological safety and wellbeing, balancing introspection and respect for local narratives, and the future for dark tourism destinations. Content warning: this feature contains words and images that may be sensitive, distressing, or confronting to some readers.
By Geoffrey Williams | December 2025
Festivals and Events
From lantern-lit skies to street parades and sacred rituals, this is where the world gathers to celebrate – and you can too!
From 1 February to 15 April 2026, the exhibition Arduna (‘Our land’) will be one of the undeniable highlights of the fifth annual AlUla Arts Festival, Saudi Arabia. Presented by Arts AlUla, Arduna is a collaborative co-curation with Centre Pompidou with the support of the French Agency for AlUla development and brings together more than 80 diverse artworks from Saudi Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa region, and beyond.
By Geoffrey Williams | 6 January 2026
Marking 60 years of independence, the National Museum of Singapore presents two immersive experiences tracing Singapore’s journey from early settlement to global hub. Through multimedia, artefacts, and interactive storytelling, visitors are invited to explore Singapore’s past and reflect on its evolving identity.
By Emily Clarke | 5 January 2026
In Calabria, Italy, Anthony Neal Macri – the Calabria Food Fest’s Creative Director – has seen food become the bridge that transforms strangers into companions. At Calabria Food Fest, the chef-led dinners, nonna-run cooking classes, and seaside communal tastings aren’t just activities, they’re catalysts for a sense of belonging.
By Anthony Neal Macri | November 2025
Each Memorial Day (the last day of May) in the USA, thousands gather at Ala Moana Beach Park in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, to set lanterns afloat in remembrance and hope. The Shinnyo Lantern Floating Hawaiʻi blends Buddhist tradition, Hawaiian culture, and universal compassion in a sea of light.
By Josh Chandler | September 2025
Every year, as the new moon rises in late October or early November, homes across India, and hearts across generations, begin to glow. Lanterns flicker in doorways, firecrackers crackle through the dusk, sweet cardamom-laced aromas drift from kitchens, and a collective sense of hope and renewal takes hold.