Voice tips

Our nation's most vital waterways are drying up at an alarming rate due to global warming, increased human water use, and other man-made impacts. Nowhere is this crisis seen as dramatically than in the American West, with its longest drought in 1,200 years. Two of our nation’s critical lifelines—the Rio Grande and the Colorado River—are shrinking tragically with every passing day.

You probably don’t know Monica Poli’s face, but you might recognize her voice. Deep, booming and coming from your phone during a late-night TikTok scroll.

Kampot, a river town in southwest Cambodia, is where my book took root. It’s around a three-hour drive from Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, and it’s close to a mountain where my 10-year quest for answers ended in 2012. Here, in an abandoned casino at the mountain’s peak, I stumbled upon the voice of Cambodia’s most famous mid-century crooner-pop star. Alone, but for a stereo, a stranger and me, the singer’s mellifluous voice took flight in the Cambodian language, Khmer. Bouncing off the empty walls, his vocals entwined with a Farfisa organ, its keys squeezing out the melody of Procol Harum’s A Whiter Shade of Pale. His voice seemed to permeate every cell in my body. I felt as if I was soaring and immediately wanted to know everything about the mystery singer. I discovered later that his name was Sinn Sisamouth. Some call him ‘the Master’, others call him ‘the Golden Voice Emperor’, and many still call him the ‘Elvis of Cambodia’. Some say he recorded as many as 4,000 songs during his 20-year career.

We recently invited community projects and travel businesses to tell us their stories. We especially wanted to hear from initiatives that do things differently to make a difference — projects like the inspirational Creseldah Education Foundation (CEF), based in the Mpumalanga province of eastern South Africa.

There may be no better way to unwind than staying at the Quidenham Carmelite Monastery: a convent of Catholic nuns who have pledged a vow of silence. In the midst of the stress of a university dissertation, Lottie Gross escaped from the world and learned what it’s like to live the quiet life – literally.

On the Tanzanianisland of Ukerewe, and across sub-Saharan Africa, people with albinism are persecuted in devastating and unimaginable ways.

Sitting almost 2000km off the southwest coast of Africa, St Helena is a tiny island paradise – for the moment. A new airport opened in March 2016, but the island still offers a true sense of isolation and relaxation.

Since Rough Guides was founded 1982, we've made it our mission to highlight lesser known places and bring our readers in-depth insights into the culture and history of the destinations we feature. We believe this approach encourages travellers to stay longer, immerse themselves in experiences that enhance local economies and enjoy cultural exchange with their hosts.

The Berlin bear was given a run for its money as the official symbol of Germany’s capital on Thursday. The authorities said that a “free-roaming lioness” in the area had led to a sprawling search with more than 100 police officers, veterinarians and hunters as well as drones and helicopters involved in trying to catch the animal.

Conrad Benner’s phone camera was fixed on Nile Livingston, an artist who stood in front of a blank wall. Mx. Livingston would soon paint a massive mural, and the “canvas” would be the side of an apartment building overlooking a parking lot in the Gayborhood area of Philadelphia. But Mx. Livingston was having a hard time finding the right words for a promotional TikTok.