Backpacking in Turkmenistan🇹🇲: Staying at the Swanky Bagt Koshgi Hotel and Wedding Palace in Ashgabat

Posted on May 14, 2018October 21, 2024 by Jonny Blair

“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[…]

Backpacking in Oman: Staying At the Naseem Hotel in Mutrah

Posted on April 23, 2018March 7, 2023 by Jonny Blair

After my time backpacking in Saudi Arabia, I hung around on the peninsula for a while longer, by taking a flight from Jeddah to Muscat in Oman. Oman has changed its visa laws as of March 2018. This meant I needed to fork out $53 US for an online Oman visa in advance. Oman was Read more about Backpacking in Oman: Staying At the Naseem Hotel in Mutrah[…]

Backpacking in Saudi Arabia: Staying at the Hotel Mercure in Al Hamra, Jeddah

Posted on April 21, 2018March 7, 2023 by Jonny Blair

After arrival into Jeddah for the Saudi Arabia Hotel Show in April 2018, I got a taxi to my hotel from the main international airport. It was my first time in Saudi Arabia and was a business trip on a 10 day adventure. We were staying in the Al Hamra district which is pretty close Read more about Backpacking in Saudi Arabia: Staying at the Hotel Mercure in Al Hamra, Jeddah[…]

Staying at the Ibis Plateau in Abidjan, Ivory Coast

Posted on February 13, 2018February 18, 2018 by Jonny Blair

Since 2015, I have been using Ibis Hotels as one of my consistent brands to stay in. I have so far stayed in their hotels in Poland, Kaliningrad, Kuwait, France and Bahrain. Next it was the turn of the Cote d’Ivoire or the Ivory Coast. I was backpacking in Abidjan and Grand Bassam after getting Read more about Staying at the Ibis Plateau in Abidjan, Ivory Coast[…]

Backpacking in San Marino: My Stay at the Affitta Camere Franciosi Hostel, San Marino City

Posted on January 24, 2018June 27, 2022 by Jonny Blair

“On that damp and lonely Thursday years ago” – Jarvis Cocker. When I look back on my early travel adventures, I forget how many obscure and ridiculous cities I was crackpacking through. Quite simply, I never wrote about lots of them on here. I have all my notes and folders still and will get them Read more about Backpacking in San Marino: My Stay at the Affitta Camere Franciosi Hostel, San Marino City[…]

My Stay At The Green Park Merter Five Star Hotel, Istanbul, Turkey

Posted on January 12, 2018March 7, 2023 by Jonny Blair

Istanbul is a city I wrote about a few times before and on my travels, it’s the only city outside the U.K. that I have visited in each of 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. That;s five years in a row – ridiculous. Bizarre when the previous 33 years, I neglected it completely as I Read more about My Stay At The Green Park Merter Five Star Hotel, Istanbul, Turkey[…]

One of the Most Ridiculous Places I Have Slept In: The Eclectic Hotel in Vank, Nagorno Karabakh

Posted on January 11, 2018January 11, 2018 by Jonny Blair

“If Timmy Mallet made hotels, this would be it”. – Jonny Blair. A short intro first – I stayed here in 2013 (so five years ago and never finished this article) BUT this is far and away the most ridiculous hotel in my backpacking history. A hotel shaped like a boat in the middle of Read more about One of the Most Ridiculous Places I Have Slept In: The Eclectic Hotel in Vank, Nagorno Karabakh[…]

Backpacking in Western Sahara: My Stay at the Hotel Jodesa in El-Aaiun

Posted on December 30, 2017January 8, 2018 by Jonny Blair

In December 2017, after a couple of days in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh, I took a border bus south to Africa’s west coast, this time crossing from Morocco into Western Sahara (still a debated country). I was ready to explore El-Aaiun the capital city of Western Sahara in 2017 and it was time to Read more about Backpacking in Western Sahara: My Stay at the Hotel Jodesa in El-Aaiun[…]