United Arab Emirates

So for something to be ‘off·beat’ it has to be original, unusual, quirky or kitsch, something that doesn’t conform to conventions or expectations – but as Kim Wildman argues in relation to sights, “it is the story behind them, how did they get there? who created them and why? that makes them so fascinating…” Take … Read more about Offbeat: to be unconventional, original, quirky and weird – and tell a story

To continue from my previous post’s reflections on offbeat travel… it seems that conversely, and curiously, out-of-favour mainstream attractions can come to have kitsch-appeal to some. Now when exactly that starts to happen is something I find intriguing. Take Australia’s ‘big things‘, the Big Pineapple, Big Banana, Big Sheep, etc. And yes, please take them, … Read more about More reflections on offbeat travel: when the mainstream starts to have kitsch appeal

If something is ‘offbeat’, it’s strange, quirky, eccentric, so travel to offbeat destinations means visiting weird places and seeing unusual things that the average tourist might not think (or want) to see. Right? Travel writer Kim Wildman wrote ‘Offbeat South Africa: the travel guide to the whacky and wonderful‘ which the blurb describes as “a … Read more about What does it mean to be ‘offbeat’ in an age where everyone is so ‘switched on’?