In the interests of the age old adage – Form Follows Function, I’ve tried to make navigating through the site as easy and organic as possible. Just in case you need a little handholding though, here’s a little primer on how to get around this blog.

You may want to begin by visiting the Welcome and About Me pages. This will give you a better sense of what this blog is all about, as well as, dare I say it, a little bit of insight into me and my travel philosophy.

And then feel free to dive right in.

The key unit of information on my blog is an Article, and there are many ways that you can go about accessing them, based on your interests and needs.

If you are looking for country specific information, your best bet would be to click on DYStinations on the Left Hand Menu, which will take you to all the articles I have written on any given country.

I like to both set the mood for the place I am visiting, as well as indulge in shameless nostalgia about the place I’ve visited after I come back. And the way I do this is by immersing myself as much as possible into the sights. sounds, smells and tastes of that place. You’ll find the books, films, recipes and music that help me do this under DYSpatch.

Brevity is king in the online world, so I try to keep most of my posts to a 1000 words or less, unless of course the subject matter called for a more lengthy exposition. And sometimes, its easier to let images do all the talking. You’ll find these photo essays under DYSplay. A picture is, literally, worth a thousand words.

DYSpense is where I dish out any useful, generic advice that I think may make a trip more meaningful. Packing lists, tipping guides, safety measures, thats all here.

We all love how information is pared down into its most usable form in lists, and you’ll find mine under DYStill. Best of, worst of, most wanted, never again…you get the drift.

And finally, if you are looking to read something which is topic specific rather than country specific, you’ll find that under DYSclose. Maybe you’re an art buff, or an architecture geek. Or a shopping diva who wants to know the best places to buy carpets in Istanbul – (I’ll tell you).

Every article I write is also cross-referenced and linked to related articles, as well as tagged with common themes, so you can use these to quickly find your way to the information you need as well. You can also visit THE VAULT to peruse a monthly archive of articles.

My sincerest hope is that this blog serves as a means to begin interesting conversations, so I hope to hear from you! Please feel free to leave your comments, and if you have any specific queries please contact me, and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Let’s go….