So I spent 10 days in Saudi Arabia backpacking in April 2018 as part of a Business Trip with Young Pioneer Tours. My friends, family and followers were unsure if I would still find time to explore these places and go backpacking in the country as I was here on business. Well, I milked it Read more about Backpacking in Saudi Arabia: Top 14 Sights in Jeddah[…]
“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[…]
“Is this burning an eternal flame?” – The Bangles. Another travel dream was made when I visited the Darvaza Gas Crater in central Turkmenistan in 2018. This country was also my final FIFA country in the former Soviet Union. I really recommend a trip here, this is my story of Darvaza, go and see it. Read more about Backpacking in Turkmenistan🇹🇲: Camping⛺At The Darvaza Gas Crater🔥, Karakum Desert[…]
I was recently backpacking in Turkmenistan, where I visited Ashgabat, Mary, Merv, Darvaza, Dashogus and Konye-Urgench amongst some other cool sites. It is by far the strictest country I have been in in terms of website banning. I was shocked by how many websites have been blocked by the government there. Although since depression kicked Read more about 5 Websites Blocked in Turkmenistan🇹🇲[…]
“Got no reason but I’m king of the castle”- Wamdue Project. While on a tour of the Mary province in Turkmenistan, we spent a day exploring the spaced out sights of Merv. It was another highlight from my time in Central Asia and helped complete my journey through every former Soviet Union FIFA country. I Read more about Backpacking in Turkmenistan🇹🇲: Touring Merv, The UNESCO City of 5 Cities[…]
“Ridahah Ridahah ” – Arabic Desert Song. While based in Hail City in Saudi Arabia we did two day trips out into the remote desert. The first of these included an ancient dwelling place and a hike. This hike brought reminders instantly back from my 2013 adventure to Jordan. On that trip I celebrated 10 Read more about Backpacking in Saudi Arabia: Mashar National Park and Tawarun[…]
“Ridahah Ridahah ” – Arabic Desert Song. While based in Hail City in Saudi Arabia we did two day trips out into the remote desert. The second of these days was a trip to the historic settlement of Jubba, Jubbah. I had never heard of Jubbah before! In fact some of us knew only of Read more about Backpacking in Saudi Arabia: Touring Jubbah and Jebel Umm Sanman Petroglyphs[…]
“I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey” – Seal. After attending the Hotel Conference in the cool city of Jeddah, we headed inland to the famous city of Taif. Taif is often dubbed the “City of Roses” and it isn’t hard to see why this title has been allocated Read more about Backpacking in Saudi Arabia: Touring the Rashid Husain Al Qorashei Rose Farm and Factory in Taif[…]
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[…]
“Another turning point; a fork stuck in the road” – Green Day. This is a world border which is slightly different to those in my normal World Borders series, as whether you enter this border or not depends solely on one thing – if you are a Muslim or a Non-Muslim. I am a Non-Muslim Read more about World Borders: Muslims Only☪︎🕌🕋🤲🌙- The Fork in the Road Near Mecca, Saudi Arabia🇸🇦[…]