An Interactive Photo Map of Conrad Rangali Island

16/08/2026dancozzi Leave a comment

Aerial view of Maldives atolls from a seaplane window, titled Rangali Island, an interactive photo map of the Conrad Maldives

We have stayed at Conrad Rangali Island four times now, and I have written about it here in pieces: the resort review, dinner underwater at Ithaa, the wine cellar, fifteen things I wish someone had told me first. What I never had was a way to show the whole island at once.

So here it is.

The map is satellite imagery of both islands with 25 places pinned on it. Click a pin and you get our photos of that exact spot, 171 of them, all captioned. There are 13 videos in there too, including a full walkthrough of Grand Water Villa 418 and one of the sunset water villas. Videos only load if you ask for one, so clicking through the photos stays quick.

None of it is a press photo. If you are deciding between a sunrise villa and a sunset villa, or you want to know how far Ithaa really is from the beach, or what the walk over to Vilu looks like at six in the morning, that is what this is for.

Open the interactive map

Everything else I have written about the Maldives:

And the stops we made on the way there and back:

A Culinary Journey Through Baku: Traditional Azerbaijani Foods to Try

08/08/202608/08/2026wareontheglobe 1 Comment

Four folded qutab flatbreads on a blue plate, two filled with herbs and two topped with purple sumac

Baku, Azerbaijan (read my post about it here). I almost skipped a food tour. I was late planning, and I only found one option online. I booked it a few days in advance. Very unlike me. This turned out to be a fantastic idea, and took us on an Azeri culinary journey through Baku, trying all sorts of traditional Azerbaijani foods that we would never have discovered on our own. This post describes our food tour, and the delicious Azerbaijani foods we sampled.

Baku, Azerbaijan.

STOP ONE: A TRADITIONAL AZERBAIJANI DINNER

After meeting our guide in front of a KFC (yes, the US fried chicken chain) near Nizami Park, we jumped right into dinner at an approachable restaurant serving traditional Azerbaijani foods. Fisincan Restoran was our destination. The exterior reminded me a bit of a 1990s Parisian restaurant, with the interior featuring traditional tablecloths, but the ceiling full of plastic flowers popular with the Instagram crowd.

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3 Days in Baku: A Luxury Long Weekend in Azerbaijan

04/08/2026wareontheglobe Leave a comment

Last updated: August 2026

Our 3 days in Baku, Azerbaijan closed out our big Georgian vacation, which had been in the making since its cancellation in 2020 (due to Covid). Back then, I chose Baku due to a direct flight from Baku to JFK on Azerbaijan Airlines. The flight is no more (as of August 2026), but I kept the itinerary. Going in, I had no idea what to expect from Azerbaijan, and I hoped that we would be admitted entry after our 2020 visa was formally revoked due to border closings….

Map of the Caucasus showing Baku, Azerbaijan between Russia and Iran on the Caspian Sea

Baku on a map. It is situated right between Russia and Iran.

Spoiler alert, we had a wonderful time in Baku, and will 100% return. This article details our time in Baku, Azerbaijan and provides some practical information.

For those unfamiliar with Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan was formerly part of the USSR, having declared its independence in 1991, a few months before the USSR dissolved that December. Since then, it’s done quite well financially, capitalizing on its natural oil and gas. I’ve often heard it compared to Dubai for that reason, as well as its modern architecture. Located directly between Russia and Iran, with foreigners currently only able to enter by air (as of August 2026), it’s not exactly an easy destination to reach. A visa is also required for many nationalities, including US and Italian citizens (our nationalities). I found Baku to be, surprisingly, more European than Middle Eastern, having absolutely delicious food, friendly to foreigners, and honestly, making decent wine (a very big shock!).

Baku skyline of modern high-rise towers above the Caspian Sea waterfront

Baku, Azerbaijan. Not what I expected…

We began our trip a few months in advance, by applying for a tourist visa online via Azerbaijan’s official website. We were approved within 1 business day (we applied on a weekend and were approved on Monday). The visa cost $20 USD (as of August 2026) and was valid for 90 days from the date of issuance, permitting us a single entry for up to 30 days in Azerbaijan. We printed the visa and brought it with us, but we did not need to show it in Azerbaijan (we were not even asked about it). The only place we needed to show the original visa was at the Batumi airport leaving Georgia.

DAY ONE: ARRIVAL IN AZERBAIJAN & DINNER IN BAKU

We arrived at Baku’s Heydar Aliyev International Airport in the early evening from Batumi, Georgia. Arrival and immigration were quick and easy. Our luggage arrived promptly, and we called a Bolt (a company similar to Uber) to our hotel in downtown Baku, the Four Seasons. The Bolt cost less than $10 USD. We arrived at our hotel about 30 minutes later.

Retro Soviet-style signage inside Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku

Welcome to Baku! The airport had a lot of old school signage.

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Restaurant Review: Dishoom Breakfast, Kensington, London

06/05/202505/08/2026wareontheglobe Leave a comment

Close-up of the Wrestler's Roll with egg, bacon and sausage at Dishoom Kensington, London

Loving our Dishoom Edinburgh experience so much, we returned to Dishoom in London (Kensington, specifically) for brunch on the last day of our trip. This post reviews our excellent brunch at Dishoom Kensington.

Rainy Kensington street scene in London on the wet January Sunday we visited Dishoom

Rainy Kensington – we even saw a real Dalmatian!

Dishoom Kensington

There are numerous Dishoom restaurants in London, and there is a great one right in the heart of Kensington. We made a brunch reservation a few weeks in advance, but we probably didn’t need it on this wet, January Sunday. In fact, numerous parties walked in around the same time without a reservations and were seated without issue. Dishoom Kensington’s interior, and sign, has an art deco vibe that I absolutely love.

Dishoom Kensington.

The main bar area of Dishoom Kensington.

Art deco light fixtures in the dining room at Dishoom Kensington, London

I was loving these lights.

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Restaurant Review: Dinner at Dishoom, Edinbough

04/05/202505/08/2026wareontheglobe Leave a comment

Blackened Butterfield Prawns served at New Year's Eve lunch at Dishoom Edinburgh

I absolutely love, nay, LOVE, Indian food. Dan doesn’t enjoy it nearly as much as I do but luckily for me, someone recommended Dishoom to Dan before our trip to Scotland (and London), so I had an excuse to reserve a table. In sum, and while Dishoom has been written about many, many, many times, our meal was fantastic and it is absolutely worth the hype.

Dishoom – the UK’s most famous Indian restaurant

Dishoom is a chain of 13 (currently) Indian restaurants in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2010, Dishoom is often described as “Indian street food” and was designed to feel like “an Irani cafe popular in Mumbai in the 1960s”. The founders left the business in 2017, but Dishoom is still incredibly popular and totally delicious. And, rumor has it that Dishoom is opening a location in New York in 2026…