For the fourth year in a row I present the top Northern Irish travel blogs for you to follow. Congratulations to everyone that is included on the 2016 list, I’ve enjoyed compiling it once again and catching up with all your stories. I’ll be doing the next one in January or February 2017. There have been Read more about Top 15 Northern Irish Travel Blogs 2016[…]
“And I travelled round the world from year to year. But each one left me aimless; one more year the worse for wear.” – Jimmy Barnes I’m telling you how it really is with me. I’m telling a story on here, it’s not really a travel guide, it’s really a one man travel blog which Read more about Sundays Inspiration: The Aimless Diary of A Long Term Backpacker, Aged 35 and 3 Quarters[…]
I meandered my way back into the republic of Kazakhstan thanks to a clever visa free passport switch at the border (Irish for Uzbek visa, British for Kazak visa free entry). The toughest part of my Central Asian adventure was over and I’d escaped Uzbekistan. The countries of Kazakhstan and Kyrgzstan were up next, both Read more about Staying at the Orbita Boutique Hotel in Shymkent, Kazakhstan[…]
While backpacking in Afghanistan, I was delighted to be offered the chance of a homestay with a local family in the city of Masar e Sharif. In the years I’ve been travelling, I’ve had homestays in places like Israel, Iran, Uruguay, Nagorno Karabakh, Hungary, Tunisia and Transnistria. However Afghanistan was a whole new experience. The Read more about Backpacking in Afghanistan: My Homestay Experience in Masar e Sharif[…]
On my tour of Afghanistan, I had quite a few authentic local culinary experiences, in my homestay, at my hotel, in Haibak and in Masar e Sharif. I’ve already written about trying Mantoo in Masar e Sharif and the smoking Shisha on a Saturday night out with the lads. In Central Asia, Plov becomes part Read more about Friday’s Featured Food: Pilov in Horam Restaurant Haibak, Samangan, Afghanistan[…]
After the madness of the wacaday adventure in the barely known republic of Karakalpakstan, it was time to get back to some textbook Uzbekistan sightseeing and the city of Khiva was on the agenda. I wanted to stay in the Ichan Kala (“Old walled town”) which is the typical tourist option but by far the Read more about Backpacking in Uzbekistan: My Stay at the Lovely Hotel Xiva Atabek in Khiva[…]
My final stop on my Uzbekistan overland trip was in the capital city. It was here that I finally felt at ease with the Uzbeks when I arrived in their glamorous, northern swanky hub of Tashkent. The capital seemed to like me and I liked it too. It was nice to finally find a really cool city Read more about Backpacking in Uzbekistan: Staying at Gulnara Guesthouse in Tashkent (the Capital)[…]
This is probably the first hotel review I ever do where I won’t mention the actual name of the hotel. There are security reasons for this of course and I was there on tour with a cool company and they sorted out my accommodation. I didn’t go online and book any hotels or hostels. In Read more about Backpacking in Afghanistan: My Hotel Stay in Masar e Sharif[…]