John Oseid
Travel Writer
Travel writer with a love for covering world music. Graduate of Columbia School of International Affairs. JohnOseid@gmail.com
PROJECTS
Forbes
Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok
Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok: A Landmark Hotel Anchors A New Creative District
Forbes
Lodge At Ashford Castle
The Lodge At Ashford Castle: Where Comfort And Fine Service Meet Fine Art
Forbes
Terracotta Army
Home To The Famed Terracotta Warriors, Xi'an Is The Cradle Of Chinese Culture
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Virginia Museum of Fine Arts To Headline Manhattan's Winter Antiques Show
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) arrives in New York City this week with a small selection of its fine works. Now's your chance to discover, or get better acquainted with, one of America’s great unsung cultural institutions.
The VMFA will be setting up shop on Park Avenue where every year the celebrated Winter Antiques Show at the Park Avenue Armory invites notable institutions to showcase highlights from their collections.
The VMFA show’s title may be a mouthful but sums all you need ...
Forbes
St. Regis Bora Bora: Bungalow Luxury With Island Roots
Put on your party hat, it’s celebration time in French Polynesia. All this past year, Bora Bora has been fêting the fiftieth anniversary of the development of overwater bungalows. While that simple room style is now a staple of island resorts worldwide, it started right here.
And the decade-old St. Regis Bora Bora was one of the first to take the concept to new levels of luxury and location. At the St. Regis, the overwater bungalows extend far into the lagoon for maximum views of the iconic M...
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Le Méridien Bora Bora: A Luxury Resort Doubles As A Turtle Rehab Center
Hope is the cutest little thing. And when you brush her arched back, you almost expect her to purr like a kitten. To be clear, Hope is a green sea turtle who lives at Le Méridien Bora Bora.
Daily brush treatments aside, Hope is not at the resort for pampering, but for rehabilitation as she is missing a flipper. And the brushing you get to assist the staff with is done with a toothbrush as you scrub away parasites from her shell.
You might have booked Le Méridien expecting days of kayaking, pa...
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Milaidhoo Island Maldives Makes A Big Splash In One Short Year
Spread over not much more than a dozen acres of a white-sand islet within a Maldivian atoll, Milaidhoo Island Maldives is not at all a large place as resorts go. Should you seldom see any other people as you stroll the grounds, however, that’s by design.
The water pool villas lie at one far end, while the ultra-private, beach pool villas are set discreetly off the main path that encircles the property. After eating in the handful of fine dining venues for guests to choose from daily, you’ll r...
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Rioja: A Top Spanish Wine Region Gets Its Due
It may be Spain's smallest region, but Rioja in the North is known as “the orchard of Spain.” And for good reason. With imposing mountain ranges surrounding it to the north and south, Rioja is blessed with distinct microclimates that prove suitable for producing an abundance of earthy treasures.
Both in the Rioja Alta area to the west, where the climate is more temperate, and Rioja Baja which is affected by the dry Mediterranean climate, the opportunities to tour wineries seem endless. Here b...
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From Tapas To Michelin Stars, Rioja's Capital Logroño Is A Culinary Giant
Logroño, the capital of Spain’s Rioja region, lies along the legendary pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. This medium-sized city reaps greater acclaim perhaps for giving the neighboring Basque Country a run for its money with a rich pintxo, or tapas, culture. Which means that you're always in for a great treat there.
Called pinchos in Logroño, Rioja's tapas tradition makes for a popular dinner tour, with so many venues along Calle Laurel that it's like hitting a theme park of small b...
Forbes
Echaurren Inn And Restaurant: Rioja's Refined Valley Retreat
Tucked into the Oja valley in Spain’s northern Rioja region, Ezcaray is one of those tiny hamlets that turns out to have an unexpected big profile. In the middle of town, and facing a fine little Gothic church, the Relais & Châteaux member inn Echaurren and its two-Michelin star restaurant are alone worth the drive up the valley.
First, the town: With plenty of half-timbered houses set around pedestrianized plazas that are lined with outdoor cafes, Ezcaray was made for strolling. It takes per...
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Baros Maldives Resort: An Original Just Gets Better
The airline and hotel industries might be far more accommodating of pets lately, but it’s still not all that easy to take your furry pals on holiday with you. At Baros Maldives resort, you don’t need to. You’ll find a popular pet of another sort—the property’s exotic mascot—already waiting there for you.
Just about anytime you dive or snorkel within the 300-yard-long Baros house reef, Finny is highly likely to show up. Finny is a curious, five-foot-long blacktip reef shark.
Given that blackti...
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Sweetwater County: A Ruggedly Rich, Undiscovered Corner Of Wyoming
At 10,500 square miles, southwestern Wyoming's Sweetwater County is larger than nine U.S. states. Yet, unless you’re a Wyoming or Utah native, you’ve likely never heard of this rugged high desert region with a rich western lore to it.
Lodged between the iconic terrain of the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone to the north and Utah’s deep canyons to the south, Sweetwater makes for a great few-day excursion in the region. You’ll chalk down a visit as one of those unexpected wonderful discoveries that...