Sri Lanka is a small country off the coast of India, formerly known as Ceylon. It has a rich culture and history and there are archeological findings dating back 100,000 years or even further. It has been a very important port and in the past it has been occupied by the Netherlands, Portugal and Great [...]

Eritrea is a small country in the Horn of Africa, a single-party republic (gulp). In 2010 it received the lowerst press freedom rating in the world. It has been in constant problems, including a 30-year war, with the neighbouring Ethiopia. Eritrea used to host a large population of elephants, but currently there are thought to [...]

Tanzania is a fairly large country in East Africa, which is thought to be the earliest areas inhabited by humans and prehuman hominids, as far as two million years ago. Like many African countries, it gained independence (from the UK) in the early 1960s, as two separate countries, Zanzibar and Tanganyika, which merged soon afterwards, [...]

Bulgaria is located in Southeast Europe, by the Black Sea, neighbouring Romania, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey. It has over 500 rivers, the most famous being Danube. Both the climate and the terrain vary a lot through the country, from plains to mountainous areas. Over 1/3 of the country consists of forests. Not surprisingly Bulgaria [...]

Oh boy. Life has been busy. Interesting but busy. My first novel will be out soon, so a lot of work with proofs, promotion, etc. And I signed a contract for a food-related book (partially also a vegan cookbook!) which will be out next year. Quite excited about both! Unfortunately for most of you, they [...]

Benin is a fairly small country in West Africa, neighboured by Nigeria, Niger, Togo and Burkina Faso, with only little coastline. Owing to its colonial history it is mainly a French, Roman Catholic country, but significant language and religious minorities also exist, including Vodun. Considering how poor it is, Benin is in a fairly good [...]

The Maldives is a strictly Islamic island nation consisting of 26 atolls located in the Indian Ocean near India and Sri Lanka. It is the smallest Asian country both by population (about 400,000) and by land area and the lowest country on the planet. Sadly, the latter also means it is very vulnerable to some [...]