Born in Africa, Jan Dodd caught the travel bug early. She learnt how to read maps – and drink Newkie Brown – while studying Geography at Durham University. These essential life-skills got her as far as Hong Kong where she spent several happy years in the 1980s exploring Southeast Asia. Then it was on to Tokyo and some serious language studies. In her spare time, Jan set off around Japan in search of the ultimate rotemburo (outdoor hot spring). Since the early 1990s she’s been living in southwest France, eager to ascertain whether duck fat, red wine and garlic really are the key to longevity. In between tending the vegetable plot and walking in the Pyrenees, Jan spends her time writing and updating guide books and providing European and Asian coverage for various media.