I had heard about a food called Lagman and never tried it until 2015, strangely I’ve now eaten it about 10 times! At the Almaty Backpackers in Almaty Kazakhstan, my hosts here Ginara and Rahat cooked it for us on the last night before I crossed the border into Kyrgyzstan. There was myself and Oliver from England Read more about Friday’s Featured Food: Lagman in Almaty, Kazakhstan[…]
It was one of those travel days with a more dark and sombre tone. Certainly not the type of place to take selfies at and feel completely happy about. But if you read the first part of my day tour of German Nazi Concentration Camps with Mosquito Hostel in Krakow, Poland: Part 1 – Touring Read more about Day Tour of Nazi Concentration Camps with Mosquito Hostel in Krakow, Poland: Part 2 – Touring Auschwitz II, Birkenau Camp[…]
“Last night I dreamt of San Pedro” – Madonna Ciccone. I’m a fast mover. I’m a fan of pop music. I loved Madonna in the 1980s and can still remember playing ten pin bowling in Bangor for the first time when Like a Prayer was number one single in the UK. “Life is a mystery. Read more about Touring Madonna’s Island: La Isla Bonita, San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize[…]
This post was posted by The Hipmunk on Hipmunk’s Tailwind blog on 5th January 2016. It’s not just the internet and smartphones that are bringing the world closer together. Airlines are expanding and adding more non-stop routes to their schedules, making it easier to get from A to B. In the new year, London residents will be able Read more about The Best New Flight Routes in 2016[…]
I have met so many people from almost every country in the world in the years since I left my hometown, that I want to interview and feature as many of you as I can. All the backpacking buddies I have toured with, roomed with, eaten with, drank with, crossed borders with, sat on night buses Read more about Backpacking Buddies: Pol Klusa from Belgium[…]
It doesn’t get much more crazy than heading on a backpacking journey to “Reactor Number 4”. Indeed, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone attracts less tourists per year than Antarctica, North Korea and Iraq. Here there are 13,000 tourists per year. That’s only 35 people per day on average! And I mentioned in parts 1 and 2 Read more about Backpacking in Ukraine: Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Tour Part 6 – Visiting the Culprit, Reactor Number 4[…]
“I can feel the warning signs running around my mind” – Noel Gallagher. So far the day tour of Chernobyl has the mind constantly churning with thoughts. Against a dirty, smoggy, swollen sky it hardly seems appropriate to smile at any point. It’s easy to know that something bad happened here. You just sense it Read more about Backpacking in Ukraine: Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Tour Part 5 – Backpacking in Kopachi[…]
This article might actually need a quick introduction. Mainly because most people I have met have never heard of a “country” called Gorno Badakhshan. In fact, even some Kyrgyzs people I have met this week were unaware of the existence of this disputed state, an autonomous region that has been claimed by China, Russia and Read more about How to Get a Permit to Visit Gorno Badakhshan While Based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan[…]
So I arrived into “the Stans” in late December 2015 after a brief spell in southern Kazakhstan, where I toured Ile Alatau, Almaty and a few bars, then I crossed the border into Kyrgyzstan. I didn’t need a visa for Kazakhstan (15 days on arrival on a British passport) nor for Kyrgyzstan (60 days on arrival Read more about How to Get a Tajikistan Visa in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan[…]
At the end of December 2015, I crossed the border from the Kazakhstani town of Korday into the magical world of Kyrgyzstan. After initially touring some cool sights in the north of the country, like Ruh Ordo, Ala Archa National Park and the Petroglyphs at Cholpon Ata, it became obvious that I would use the Read more about Staying at the Luxury 4 Star Hotel Evropa (Europa) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan[…]