“You turn around and life’s passed you by” – Doves.
Don’t Stop Living – a lifestyle of travel.
Welcome to Don’t Stop Living, thanks for your visit. I’m Jonny Blair and this is my website. Don’t Stop Living is condemned to a lifestyle of travel. I’ve managed to live a lifestyle of travel away from my homeland of Northern Ireland since 2003, though I didn’t start this blog until 2007. I have written and released ten printed books so far on my travels, as well as over 5,000 blog posts on this site and other sites and worked with many sites including Linkhouse. Through it, I want to tell my real story of ups and downs and meet a lot of people from different cultures around the world. Read on if you want to see the world…
Taking a photo in Shanghai heaped with my backpacks – the joys of a lifestyle of travel!!
So where do you start?? This page features the best posts from the archive on how you can live a lifestyle of travel like mine. Escape your mundane home towns and see the world. Don’t stop living! I really hope you can all take some encouragement from me and get out and see a bit of the world.
Backpacking Slemish Mountain, Northern Ireland
I want toย shareย my amazing experiences from my travels and prove that YOU CAN DO IT, if you are reading this, I want you to get out there and see the world. Just to give you an idea about my lifestyle of travel, since leaving Northern Ireland in 2003 I have:
- Released a trilogy of books called Backpacking Centurion on my first 100 countries
- Released a trilogy of books called This Is The Next Century on my 100 – 200th countries
- Visited over 200 recognised countries
- Hiked in Antarctica
- Studied Spanish in Uruguay
- Lived in a tent in the mountains of Tasmania for 3 months
- Fed hyenas mouth to mouth in Ethiopia
- Gone scuba diving in Honduras
- Backpacked in Chernobyl
- Had a Saturday night out in Afghanistan
- Played and watched football in Afghanistan
- Stroked crocodiles in the Gambia!
- Toured unknown towns in Poland
- Attended Holifest in Vrindavan, India
- Crossed into the disputed Republic of Transnistria
- Hiked the 4 Day Inca Trail in Peru
Backpacking in Irbil, Kurdistan, Iraq.
– Backpacked in Iraq
– Watched the greatest show on earth – the Mass Games in Pyongyang, North Korea
– Climbed to the peak of Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia (20th highest mountain in the world)
– Celebrated visiting 100 countries (Tunisia completed the century)
– Become the first tourist to backpack in Austenasia
– Worked in Poland as a teacher, writer and itinerary planner.
– Kissed giraffes in Kenya
– Done a quad tour in The Azores
One of life’s better jobs – working on the world’s first broccoli harvester in Cressy, Tasmania.
–ย Worked inย PR for Apple
– Visited the stadium where Diego Maradona did the Hand of God
– Spent Christmas morning at Machu Picchu
– Milked cows in Colombia
– Attended the World Cup Final in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
– Got drunk with International Footballers
– Crossed the border into North Korea
– Met Roger Federer
– Worked in an Irish Pub in 3 different continents
– Witnessed a live fireball fight in El Salvador
– Released an eBook dating back to my first travel journeyย in 1991
In 2010 I arrived in ANTARCTICA. What a life…
– Had my own FM Radio show
– Crossed the equator by foot
– Visited the British Base at Port Lockroy in Antarctica
– Ridden on the world’s longest train – Choum to Nouadihbou in Mauritania
– Been chairman of a highly successful football supporters club
– Got paid to travel
– Toured Rural Kyrgyzstan
– Stayed in a Kibbutz in Mizra, Israel
– Lived with a Chinese family in Lam Tin, Hong Kong
– Flown myย travelling Northern Irelandย flag in over 1,000 locations spanning 7 continents
– Worked on the world’s first ever broccoli harvester in Tasmania
– Got spanked in Lviv, Ukraine
– I’m a published author, I have 10 printed books out. As well as my own websites and e-Books, I have written a chapter on Belarus for Shaun Schofield’s Book Albania to America, in 2010. I contributed to a book on the Green and White Army in 2008 and I have contributed to eBooks from Next Stop Who Knows and Crossing Borders in South America.
Crossing the border into North Korea at the DMZ in 2011.
A few of my slightlyย crazy or wacky travel stories:
– The Day my best mate got expelled for nicking the exam paper
– The Day I got sacked by putting the interest rates up
– My Colombian mate who swapped his camera for a cow
– The Day I did a shit in a broccoli field
– The Day I smuggled drugs through Argentina
– Showing my willy to Germans in Munich
– Bungy jumping in Auckland
– Playing football in Afghanistan
– Buying booze in a death pelanty state
– Sky divingย over Lake Taupo in New Zealand
– White water rafting in the mountains of Brazil at Juquitiba
– 10 Ways to get Sex When you Travel
– Nicky Barmby
– The Grodig Story
– Getting locked in a bus for a night in Australia
I went white water rafting in BRAZIl at Juquitiba!
These are my Regular Features on Don’t Stop Living which are updated regularly!
– Monday’s Money Saving Tips
– Tuesday’s Travel Essentials
– Working Wednesdays
– Thirsty Thursdays
– Friday’s Featured Food
– World Borders
– Travel Collectables
– Random Rants
– Sunday’s Inspiration
– World Travellers
– Backpacking Buddies
– My Visa Tips
– Accommodation Reviews
There’s also my own Travel Timeline from the last 12 years which gives a rundown of where I lived, worked, travelled and studied each year. Aside from this, there is also the option of making money from your travel blog…
So I really hope you can feel encouraged or inspired to get out and see the world. Like I said before, I’m just a normal guy from the seaside city of Bangor in Northern Ireland living my travel dreams and seeing the world while I can.
So there’s is nothing stopping you from living a lifestyle of travel!! Get out and see the world!!
Jonny Blair
jonny at dontstopliving dot net
My Book Anthology
Buy myย Backpacking Centurion bookย series โ
Volume 1 โย Donโt Look Back In Bangor
Volume 2 โย Lands Down Under
Volume 3 โย Taints And Honours
Volume 4 โย The Black Volume
Buy my This Is The Next Century Series โ
Volume 1 โย Aftershot
Volume 2 โย Starogard Girl
Volume 3 โ Fool Circle
Volume 4 โ The Darker Volume
By my book onย Supporting The Northern Ireland International Football Team โ Champian Stewartnova
Buy my story on How A Northern Irishman Ended Up In Poland โย I Went To Gdansk With Somebody
Buy myย First Ever Travel Blog
Buy myย Guide to Hiking the Inca Trail in Peru
My travelling Northern Ireland flag website โย http://www.travellingnorthernirelandflag.com/
My Social Media
– Like Don’t Stop Living on Facebook
– Follow me on Instagram
– Subscribe toย Don’t Stop Livingย videos on YouTube
– StumbleUpon Don’t Stop Living
– Follow Don’t Stop Living on Twitter
– Follow Don’t Stop Living on TikTok
Backpacking the Upper Trail Hike – Yunnan – China
Gosh, you’ve done more than I could ever dream of! I’m going to read it all at leisure! Can’t wait for more!
Hi Jade, thanks for the comment. Yes I travelled far and wide but it made me depressed sadly after I met serial liars and guruGods. Safe travels. Jonny
Hi
Thank you so much for sharing very help full sites
I never seen before like this blog
Great Job!
Hi Anirudh, thanks for your comment. Safe travels. Jonny
Wow! You are living a life that I am dreaming of. Hoping that I can find the courage outside Southeast Asia. Thank you. You encourage me a lot!
Great article. This is very useful for me. Thanks for sharing your experience.
You’ve definitely had a ton of adventures! Loved reading a few of your posts! You are inspiring us all to get out there!
Cheers!
Sherry
Sherry recently posted…Dec 24, Michigan Wine
Hi Sherry, thanks for the comment. I hope you can backpack your way to some of these exciting places sometime. Stay safe, Jonny
Hi Kathy, thanks for the comment and apologies for the delay in response. The blog and I have been going through serious mid life crisis and depression, caused (not by me of course) by a serial liar and a Guru God wannabe. Yes cool time travelling – not just southern Asia- my book is now available – Backpacking Centurion – A Northern Irishman’s Journey Through 100 Countries: Volume 1 – Don’t Look Back In Bangor (1)
. Stay safe. Jonny
Hi Kiran, Thanks for the comment and for checking my website. Apologies for the delay in response. Unfortunately I have been suffering from long-term depression caused by a liar and I wasn’t checking all comments and messages or replying. I hope you enjoyed my article. Stay safe. Jonny
Hi Jonny,
Thank you for sharing your interesting life with all of us wanna-be-s. I like how original your traveling and travel conversations are and I like how you seem like a great person to travel to other countries and represent your country.
I’m enjoying the blog during COVID and I hope you continue to keep working on your mental health and get rest and nourishment. If you never travel again and just take it easy yo’ve done more to promote LIVING than anyone I’ve ever heard of.
Best, Karl
Hi Karl, Thanks for the comment. Sadly I suffer from long term depression and neglected looking and replying to comments for a while. I’m getting back into it now and have about 800 to go through. The blog will return to its best one day. Safe travels to you! Jonny
I admire you for visitng North Korea. Not so many people have a chance to experience like this. I like that ๐
Hi Lukasz,
Thanks for the comment. It’s nice to hear from a fellow blogger and you are also Polish, where I now live. Safe travels! Powodzenia! Jonny
Jonny, your adventurous lifestyle is truly inspiring! From backpacking in Iraq to celebrating 100 countries, your travel is a testament to the incredible experiences waiting for those who dare to explore. Looking forward to reading more about your travel tales and learning from your adventures. Keep living the dream!
Hi Jack thanks for following my trip and stories. Best wishes and safe travels. Jonny