Carl Thompson

“Why not live there?” It must be 20 years since a colleague uttered those four life-changing syllables. He probably forgot them just as quickly – but from that illuminating moment, I was always drifting eastwards in my mind. Back then, I was locked in a free-and-single cycle of work followed by bouts of backpacking, concerned with nothing but my next Asian destination.

Later on, when responsibility caught up with me, nobody was surprised when I married a Filipina – and that’s how I found myse...

Here's a question: which capital city contains within its official borders virgin forests, lava domes and eerie deserts of volcanic rock sloping down into one of the world's most pristine marine environments? If you correctly identified Tokyo, you must be one of the few people familiar with Japan's best-kept secret, the seven Izu islands.

As the midsummer humidity presses down in the concrete canyons of the airless capital, the prospect of sea breezes and cool greenery is irresistible, especi...

Emerging onto a 3,000-foot plateau in central Norway, the snow tyres of the minibus sliding and biting the icy road, a wintry vista unfolds and the moment freezes. To the east, hundreds of miles of virgin tracks glide enticingly away through the countless conifers of Rondane National Park; to the west, the Scandinavian sun melts over the darkening domes of the Jotunheimen range, its last watery rays winking the promise of adventure through drifting clusters of snowflakes. I can’t wait to get out there. True, I’ve never tried cross-country skiing before, but putting one foot in front of the oth

A familiar scene of velvety highlands and soft moor unfolds as the plane approaches the far north of this island nation, entering a proudly independent province where a resilient people guard their distinctive language, dress and culture. But I'm not touching down in Scotland, as the thousand-metre volcano at the end of the crumbling runway confirms: this is Batanes, the Philippines' last frontier.

The contrast with Manila, just 70 minutes of flying time behind me, could hardly be greater. Th...

Article on Sukhothai in central Thailand for Hello magazine's Wonders of the World column

Visit to the winter festivals of Hokkaido, written for the Daily Telegraph

Short piece for the Evening Standard on unusual consumer gadgets

Independent Explorer piece on the remote hill tribes of northern Philippines

Sunday Express article on the easing of Cyprus border restrictions

Article describing an unexpected trip to the khlong (canals) of Bangkok.

Hokkaido is Japan's northernmost island, a remote and rugged place of forests, mountains and plunging gorges. In winter, with the prevailing winds from Siberia to the east and north frequently forcing temperatures down to minus 30C, it can be a forbidding place. Reason enough, you might think, for the inhabitants to hibernate behind triple glazing and await the thaw. Instead, people here take the cold season as a signal to get outside to celebrate some remarkable winter festivals.

The best kn...

Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, visited for the Wonders of the World column of Hello magazine

JAPANESE public transport being the sleek, unnervingly efficient machine that it is, I found myself whisked 3,000 feet up Mount Koya, Japan's most venerated mountain, before I could wonder what I'd let myself in for.

As I timidly approached the heavy, studded door of my shukubo (temple lodgings), questions began to surface. The place was sunk in the kind of deep, unaccustomed silence your ears need to adjust to. Knocking produced no response, and for a moment I suspected a test. (I'd read som...

It’s not easy to imagine now, but the serene landscape of windswept hills and quaint villages that makes up the Yorkshire Dales was once a lawless frontier of ruthless warlords and cattle-stealers: hence the need for castlebuilding long after such fortifications had become redundant in the rest of the country.
To this day, there’s no getting away from the stamp of history in these parts. Harefield Hall, the Pateley Bridge hotel where I’m taking a break from ghost-hunting in the region’s castl...

MANY visitors hoping to crack the enigma of Japanese culture are drawn to the ancient capital of Kyoto, and most meet with frustration. The language barrier, the natural reticence of the people and a nagging sense that one is breaching some unknown taboo all conspire to keep the curious gaijin on the outside.

Happily, volunteer Goodwill Guides are available to afford the bemused visitor a glimpse behind the curtain. Oshima, my appointed guide, smiled as I described how I'd barely scratched th...