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No holiday to Hoi An is complete without a trip to one of the town’s renowned tailors. Armed with magazine tear-sheets from the latest catwalks, Joanna Peios hits the tailor shops of Hoi An in search of a fashion fix. You could be forgiven for thinking the streets of Hoi An are paved with silk: the Unesco World Heritage listed town boasts more than 400 tailors who can whip up a made-to-measure outfit quicker than you can say airline baggage allowance.  Inside the showrooms, satisfied customers swirl elegantly before mirrors while others pour over catalogues and browse walls seemingly built from coloured bolts of fabric. Some have come prepared, armed with magazine cut-outs of celebrities parading the perfect dress. Tape measure wielding assistants wander the floors like fairy godmothers, ready to turn dreams into reality. Whether you’re after a trip down the red carpet, out to snare that promotion, or just in need of a fashion fix, Hoi An is a great place to indulge fa...

Foodies are heading 50 minutes north of Chiang Mai to dine at small boutique mini-resort, Chiang Dao Nest. Joanna Peios discovers its not just the food drawing the crowds. Chiang Dao Nest, or The Nest as its affectionately known by regulars, is a popular remote mini-resort for trekking and birdwatching, and is fast becoming a foodie destination in its own right. One well known food bible recently named it: ‘The best restaurant between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai’ and it certainly lived up to its accolade. If you are looking for a place to get away from the bustling urban jungle, Chiang Dao Nest is a back-to-nature experience that’s hard to beat. With car rental cost at around 1000 Baht a day, my husband and I decided to make a weekend of it and explore the surrounding area. We took Highway 107 north from Chiang Mai towards Fang and Tha Ton and drove 72km to Chiang Dao town. The scenic drive was easy and you really felt like you were getting away from the city as we weaved our way ...

I started blogging in 2006 as I was travelling quite a bit and needed somewhere to share my stories and photos with my friends, family and publishing contacts. Back then Blogger was the only decent blog publishing tool and limited bandwidth in places like Vietnam was a continuous struggle. Frequent power cuts and software glitches meant I’d often reel off paragraphs of text in some overpriced, hot and hectic internet cafe only to see it disappear as quickly as I’d typed it. With the birth of my first child in 2007 I dropped off the blogosphere and now with her finally starting school and as the workload/travels pick up again I find myself attempting to pick up where I left off. It’s amazing the range of social media tools out there now and simply choosing which publishing tool is frankly baffling. At least internet speeds have improved. And I've become quite addicted to Twitter. On a recent trip to Vietnam I was delighted to be able to pick up wifi in most places and the majority o...

With the big Xmas shop nearly upon us, I thought it apt to post this report from Ethical Consumer. In case you are wondering where to go, this report may sway you. And with credit crunched shoppers turning to the hard discounters (Aldi, Lidl and Netto) what’s the true cost of bargain shopping? Ethical Consumer has released a new report on the social and environmental records of 19 supermarket and convenience store chains. The report contains a detailed breakdown of the chains’ environmental reporting – the best rating goes to Co-op, M&S, and, consumers’ will be surprised to learn, Budgens and Londis (both owned by the Musgrove Group). Progressive policies on product sourcing are reviewed - from animal welfare to timber sourcing – with Waitrose, M&S, Sainsbury and the Co-op clear leaders. Consumers’ concerned with animal testing policy will be surprised to learn Aldi shares the top spot with M&S and Co-op. Both Co-op and M&S are signed up to BUAV’s humane cosmetic stand...

I am saddened to hear the devastation caused by the forest fires in Olympia, Greece, where more than 60 people have been killed since last week. Thousands of internal refugees are now homeless across the Peloponnese. The ancient ruins of Olympia, site of the original Olympic Games, were close to destruction but thankfully an operation involving 15 fire engines supported by aircraft and helicopters managed to save this sacred site. Approx 4m olive trees have been ravished by the fires so far. These beautiful trees can be exceptionally long-lived, up to several centuries, and can remain productive for as long, provided they are pruned correctly and regularly.The problem is that they grow very slowly, so the landscape will remain naked and scarred for many years to come. I'm off to Crete in under 3 weeks time, so to pay homage, I plan to seek out an olive tree in Crete, claimed to be over 2,000 years old. Let's hope its still there.

The new rather special person in my life, Alethea, is 3 months old today. She makes me SO happy. I'm trying my hardest to be the model eco-mama but am faced by daily dilemmas. Time allowing (and boy is it limited right now!) I plan to log all the highs and lows of this new adventure into parenthood.

New owners of the Playstation 3 released in the UK today, might be forgiven for overlooking the impact of their new purchase on the planet amid all the excitement. But the PS3 saps power, consuming 380W, more than double its closest rival, Xbox 360, which runs at 160W, and over EIGHT TIMES more than its predecessor, the PS2, which runs at 45W. Isn't it time consumers of gadgets and gizmos such as these were given accurate data on the label about their energy efficiency, in the same way that we can for white goods such as fridges and dishwashers?