No-impact armchair travel

I love to travel. The further away, the better. By plane of course - sure, the journey is the destination but, I mean, you've got to get there. It goes without saying that there are carbon offsets involved. But who doesn't love a dose of armchair travel now and then? The kind where you see the world through someone else's eyes. Could there be sweeter union than the one between travelling while remaining firmly planted in one's armchair (or swivel chair in front of a laptop) and one's love of the environment? I think not.

All pics by Louise Hawson

On this note, today's post is an ode to Louise Hawson, travelling photographer. If you live in Sydney, you might know about her 52 Suburbs project a couple of years ago - every week she and her camera explored a different suburb of Australia's largest city, posting the results in a blog that became an exhibition that became a book. (Beware, name-dropping ahead: Louise and I were in the same year at school. Fancy that.)

Now she is far away, taking in the unsung suburbs of other cities around the world: she's been to Hong Kong, she's in Delhi now, and she'll be spending the next few months travelling through Istanbul, Paris, Berlin and New York - all with her 8-year-old (and highly photogenic) daughter Coco in tow. Sign up for her weekly updates at 52 Suburbs Around the World. Her images will brighten your day/week/year.

See what I mean? And it's not just the images that are wonderful, but her observations that accompany them.They really make your laptop/iPad into a window on the world. No carbon offsets required. Enjoy...