“It ain’t all bad as far as I can tell” – Noel Gallagher. Namibia is huge. Gaze at a map and you will see the sheer vastness of this African beast! It spans an area of 825,419 kilometres squared, yet houses just 2.5 million people – the same population as tiny Lesotho. Over the course of Read more about My Charming Stay in Namibian Countryside: Relaxation at Vineyard Country Lodge[…]
“Maradona good. Pele better. George Best” – A Northern Ireland flag’s message at George Best’s funeral. Local heroes are real. George Best is a superhero to me. To many of my friends. To many Northern Irish people. To many AFC Bournemouth fans. Even Manchester United fans like him. Hold on – even Leeds United fans Read more about Backpacking in Northern Ireland: Guided Tour of George Best’s Childhood Home in Burren Way, The Cregagh, Belfast[…]
“Escape from our history, history” – Manic Street Preachers. I headed back to Austria recently with two main places to be visited – the Republic of Kugel Mugel (a micronation in a sphere in Prater Park, Vienna) and the town of Braunau Am Inn. Braunau Am Inn is not exactly a backpacker’s paradise and is Read more about Das Alte Gefängnis, Braunau Am Inn, Austria🇦🇹: Spending A Night in a Converted Prison⛓️👮🏛️🚔 in Hitler’s Town[…]
“Pack up your troubles now, take all you can carry” – Mark Morris (Solomon Bites The Worm). From a radio room in weight puncher Belfast (The Northern Irish capital city) to a bar in worm biter Honiara (Solomon Islands capital city), and a gap of 22 years…I should explain how Willy Wonka, The Bluetones and Read more about Staying at the Quirky Randomic “Willy Wonka” Honiara Hotel in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands[…]
Burundi’s former capital city, Bujumbura threw up yet another oddball on our 2019 East African adventure. This country was less than obvious addition to the schedule. A tough visa process, a country bereft of tourists and indeed a country which prompted a good friend of mine to comment “I’ve never even heard of that country”. Read more about Backpacking in Burundi: Our Wonderful Stay at Urban Lodge in Bujumbura[…]
“We sat and watched the sun go down. We picked a star before we lost the moon. Youth is wasted on the young; before you know it’s been and gone too soon ” – Robbie Williams. Togo is for sure one of the world’s hidden gems. It’s a country which inexplicably loses visiting numbers to Read more about Staying in Paradise at the Coco Beach Hotel, Togo🇹🇬[…]
May 2009 saw my third visit to Italy in a period of 7 months, having never previously even visited the country at all! At the time, life was pretty good and I was madly in love with Hungarian dancer and overall good girl, Noemi Linzenbold. This time we backpacked Venice on a budget! Looking back Read more about Staying at the Swanky Hotel Noemi, Venice, Italy🇮🇹[…]
“Don’t kill your dreams” – Adam Topolski. The sea air eased my corporate soul back in 2007 as I smoothed my way for eternity out of daily office work, nothing against the wonderful Bite Communications company I worked for at the time, but I’d barely backpacked the globe and life was as stale as Turkmenistanian Read more about Backpacking in Turkmenistan🇹🇲: Staying at the Swanky Bagt Koshgi Hotel and Wedding Palace in Ashgabat[…]