As part of my ongoing reports from backpacking in Iraqi Kurdistan I now report on my time in the city of Sulaymaniyah. After seeing the impressive mountain village of Amadiya, touring Duhok and Sulav, we headed way out east towards the Iran border, to the city of Sulaymaniyah which is astonishingly a city of over a Read more about Backpacking in Iraqi Kurdistan: Top 10 Things to see and do in Sulaymaniyah[…]
The Background to my adventure backpacking in Turkey to Adana This is probably my first ever backpacking adventure that led me by chance to watching my beloved Northern Ireland football team. It was just amazing. Having made my return to Northern Ireland matches after more than four (count them, four) years at the 2-0 defeat Read more about Backpacking in Turkey🇹🇷: Watching Northern Ireland Lose 1-0 to Turkey in Adana[…]
I couldn’t decide whether this was a Thirsty Thursdays or a Friday’s Featured Food but I ate quite a bit and so I’ve gone with food. You might also be thinking “what is so special about pizza and beer?” And you’d be right – essentially nothing. Pizza and Beer are what I love – there Read more about Friday’s Featured Food: Pizza and Beers on a Night Out in Stepanakert, Nagorno Karabakh[…]
The tiny republic of Nagorno Karabakh is easily one of the oddest places I have ever been. It completely feels like a separate country here. It should be and while I’ll certainly class it as a country on my own terms having seen the place with my eyes, United Nations and FIFA still don’t recognise Read more about Backpacking in Stepanakert, Nagorno Karabakh: Top 13 Things to See and Do[…]
Don’t paint yourself a picture of travelling as beaches, hot sun and cocktails please. That’s not backpacking, and in all honesty it’s not reflective of travel as a whole and it’s certainly biased. You’re only seeing the good things. Yes we love the good moments, but on my travels I feel the need to explore Read more about 5 Most Horrific Places To Go Backpacking In[…]
Xinaliq is a magical place. Anyone who has ever explored this spot has had a truly memorable experience for sure. Some references site Xinaliq as “Europe’s Highest Village”, a fact that could well be true, though geographically the inclusion of Azerbaijan as ‘Europe’ is slightly misleading. It’s more Middle East than Europe. Yet it’s more Read more about Backpacking in Azerbaijan🇦🇿: Exploring the Mountains of Xinaliq, ‘Europe’s Highest Village’[…]
Despite the fact that the Imam Reza Shrine is one of the most touristy places of Iran, that fact passes you by fairly easily and quickly. The tourists and visitors are mostly Muslims and “local tourists”. This place is truly off the normal travel wall, I can assure you of that. We were the only Read more about Touring The Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad Iran🇮🇷: The Biggest Mosque🕌In The World[…]
This is the second part in a “brunch fest” we experienced while backpacking in Jerusalem in Israel recently. When you stay at the fantastic Abraham Hostel, the amount of different activities you can try and the range of foods available is amazing. Just thinking about it makes me miss the Israeli food. It comes with Read more about Friday’s Featured Food: Helping Prepare Shakshuka🍲for Brunch in Jerusalem, Israel🇮🇱[…]
Time for one of the most random posts ever on here. I’m not giving you a visa guide for Suriname, a backpacking overview of Taiwan or indeed how to get a farming job in the land down under. Life can freak you out sometimes. And in this case it’s a good thing. If you have Read more about Barmby Army: The Freaks, A 10 Year Journey With Lock In Lee and Jonny Blair featuring Nicky Barmby, Jonny Evans and Jack Barmby[…]
On my backpacking travels, I’ve done a lot of “walking on walls”, “crossing borders” and “climbing fences”. So here’s a quirky backpacking list of my Top 10 fences, walls or borders – whatever you want to call them. As humans we have felt the need to build walls to “keep out the foreigners” (copyright Paul Read more about My Top 10 Fences, Walls and Physical Borders From My Travels[…]