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SOLANGE IS HONOURED TO BE INVITED TO BHUTAN TO ATTEND THE 2008  CORONATION OF THE FIFTH THUNDER DRAGON KING, JIGME KHESAR NAMGYAL WANGCHUK


Solange Hando
TRAVEL WRITER AND PHOTOGRAPHER






SPECIALITIES


DESTINATIONS

ARTICLES

PICTURES

AWARDS


 





I am a full time travel writer and photographer, bilingual (English/French), contributing to a range of magazines in the UK and worldwide. Regular outlets include francophile and property magazines, in-flight and travel publications, women’s and over 50s magazines (travel pages) and niche markets such as BBC History magazine (cultural attractions).

I love the challenge of writing in different styles and take my own pictures, people and scenery, which have been widely published, including front covers of in-flight magazines.

 


 

SPECIALIST TOPICS

I am definitely a butterfly who enjoys hovering here and there. Most of my work is magazine features although I recently contributed to Journeys of a Lifetime and Sacred Places (National Geographic books) and wrote a 5000 word introduction on Paris 1909 for Bookcraft. Topics include winter sun worldwide, offbeat destinations (Bhutan), France, Mediterranean resorts, self-catering holidays, city breaks, activity holidays, from painting to trekking (Himalayas, Isle of Man, Madeira), and hotel reviews.

Insatiable wandering instincts have taken me from hidden corners of France to Everest Base Camp. I visited a lepers’ colony in Vietnam, met the rebels in Nepal and was scrubbed lobster red in a Tunisian hammam. But don’t get me wrong. I don’t mind roughing it now and then but I can cope with five star luxury.

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DESTINATIONS

Africa
Tunisia, Morocco, Gambia, Kenya, Mauritius

Americas
Boston, Grenada, Peru, Cuba, St Lucia

Eastern Mediterranean
Crete, Cyprus, Turkey (Bodrum, Lycian Coast)

Middle East
Jordan, Oman

Asia
Nepal, Bhutan, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia

Europe
Britain - S.E. England, Wales, Isle of Man
Croatia
France - South, hidden Paris, Alps
Germany - Northern Bavaria
Gibraltar
Iceland
Italy
- Amalfi Coast, Sardinia, Sicily, Sorrento
Maltese Islands
Poland
- Bydgoszcz, Torun
Portugal - Madeira, Algarve
Spain - Costa Calida, Costa Daurada, Majorca, Canaries

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RECENT ARTICLES

Isle of Wight Visitor Guide - 2008 (contributor)
Morning Calm - Grenada (Feb 08)
BBC History - Hylands House (Feb 08)
Holiday Villas - Lycian Coast, Turkey (Feb 08)
Tashi Delek - Phobjikha Valley, Bhutan (Jan 08)
BBC History - Carreg Cennen, Wales (Jan 08)
Portunus - Vietnam/Cambodia (Jan 08)
Travel Magazine - Nancy/Metz (Winter 07-08)
Travelbag - Lake Titicaca (Winter 07-08)
Trailfinders (Australia) - Rajasthan (Summer 07-08)
BBC History - Hong Kong (Dec 07)
BBC History - Dickens's World, Chatham (Oct 07)
French Property News - Brittany (Oct 07)
People's Friend - Cyprus (Oct 07)
French Property News - Toulouse (Sep 07)
Destination France - Nancy (Autumn 07)
Living France - Metz (Autumn 07)
Tashi Delek - Bhutan's Mountain Passes (Autumn 07)
Holiday Villas - Sardinia (Autumn 07)
Bthere inflight - Toulouse (Autumn 07)
Destination France - Aix les Bains (Summer 07)
Cyprus Airways inflight - Sicily (Summer 07)
Tashi Delek - Bhutan's Fire Blessing Festival (Summer 07)
BBC History magazine - Crathes Castle (Jul 07)
BBC History magazine - Great Orme Mines (Jun 07)
Holiday Villas magazine - Palma (Jun 07)
RCI Holidays - Portugal, 10 reasons to visit (May 07)
French Property News - Pays Basque (May 07)
BBC History Magazine - Duff House (May 07)
Incredible India - Agra (Apr 07)
Cyprus inflight - Luxury cruise on Burgundy Canal (Apr 07)
Tashi Delek - Trekking in Eastern Bhutan (Apr 07)
Holiday Villas - Croatia (Apr 07)
Destination France - Week-end in Biarritz (Apr 07)
Destination France - Discover Beaune (Apr 07)
French Property News - Marseille (Mar 07)
Holiday Cottages - Snowdon (Mar 07)
Destination France - Week-end in Dijon (Mar 07)
Destination France - Discover Peyre (Mar 07)
People's Friend - Sardinia (Feb 07)
Tashi Delek - Bhutanese arts and crafts (Jan 07)
Holiday Cottages - Winchester (Jan 07)
Living France - Burgundy Canal (Jan 07)
Holiday Villas - Grenada (New Year 07)
Holiday Villas - Tenerife (New Year 07)
Destination France - Discover Canal du Midi (Jan 07)
Destination France - Discover Limoux (Jan 07)

EXAMPLES OF PUBLISHED WORK

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PICTURES

My photographs of people and scenery have been widely published, including front covers of in-flight magazines


PHOTOGRAPHY SELECTION

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AWARDS

ABTOP Travel Features Awards, finalist 2007.
WWN / Thomas Cook Archives and TNT travel writing competitions.
WN Freelance Journalist of the Year.

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TO CONTACT ME

Contact me by email

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BY SOLANGE HANDO -
EXAMPLES OF PUBLISHED WORK

Bhutan – Fire Blessing
Draped in silk and hand-woven gowns shimmering like rainbows, town folk and farmers came from all directions, women with babies bobbing on their back, old people leaning on bamboo staffs, men in knee-length chequered gho and sweeping white cuffs and sashes, and garlands of children whose dark eyes sparkled with excitement. …
Read full article ...                            (first published: Tashi Delek)

Snowdon – Three Generations to the Top
‘Which one is Snowdon?’ asked my 10 year old grandson.
‘The one you can’t see, up there in the clouds,’ said my daughter.
We’d been waiting for three days but whenever we stepped out of our cottage, Snowdon remained out of sight, teasing us now and then with just the briefest of glimpses.

Read full article ...                            (first published: Holiday Cottages)

Burgundy Canal Cruise
‘We’re being followed,’ said Alan, ‘take a look.’
A pretty blonde in skimpy red shorts was fast catching up with the boat, riding her scooter along the tow path.
‘That’s the lock keeper,’ explained crew member Tiffany

Read full article ...                            (first published: Living France)

Bhutan – Land of the Thunder Dragon
It was festival time and luckily we all had shoes. If you don’t, the policeman at the gate waves a bunch of stinging nettles.
Lack of respect, he warns. Draped in their finest clothes and chunky necklaces of turquoise and coral, villagers arrived from afar for five days of merit-making and fun. There were women with babies on their back, old men leaning on bamboo staffs, little girls with their shiny black hair in a bob, monks, farmers, dignitaries. Soon the eerie call of horns made from human thighbones echoed across the mountains and masked dancers pounced on the flagstones to chase away evil…
Read full article ...                            (first published: Spirit & Destiny)

Morocco- Desert Dawn
‘Good morning, wake up call please’. I glance at my watch, four o’clock, time to leave Erfoud and our snug Kasbah-style hotel. Outside the sky is full of stars, the night almost chilly. A mini-convoy stands on the alert, three Land Rovers spluttering in the dark.
  Yawning, unsteady, we squeeze aboard and head for Merzouga on the edge of the desert. As we rattle and swerve over the stones, tumble grass hurtles out of the way like an army of frightened hedgehogs…
Read full article ...                            (first published: Travel Africa)

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Solange Hando


CONTACT ME

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EXAMPLES OF
PUBLISHED WORK


 
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