Backpacking In Somaliland: Staying At Jees Hotel In Hargeisa On 1st January 2026, after a frustrating Somaliland visa procedure, I became the first tourist this year to cross the land border between Djibouti to Somaliland at Loyaada. No pleasure cruise. Shortly after that, I heard the border had closed (that could of course be fake…
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When backpacking in Somaliland (after a nuts visa experience and a mental border crossing), I decided to try their traditional breakfast, which is locally known as Beer Iyo Basal. Ironically the local spelling includes the word “beer” as this is a dry, alcohol-free country. In English, it is known as Somali-Style Liver. I had heard…
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“Don’t tell me it’s not worth fighting for” – Bryan Adams. Tears drained naturally from my eyes when I heard this Bryan Adams song being sung in a bar I once worked in – 21 years later, in a hotel I once stayed in – 31 years earlier. The Heathlands Hotel in East Cliff, Bournemouth,…
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“Have I gone up in the world or has the world gone down on me?” – Robbie Williams. As a hardcore long-term backpacker, who is currently single and loveless after too many ruined romances and disaster relationships, I only ever wanted to visit The Maldives with a lovely lady. That was the dream. That was…
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“Though the oceans are wide and the mountains are high, it’s a small world after all” – Sherman Brothers. Seasons Lodge! Well this is just a wild one. Seasons Lodge is the place to be. But perhaps this time, this story is more phenomenal than the destination, and a crazier one than many that have…
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In The Maldives, I ended up backpacking 4 islands. I could have done more in 4 days, which almost ran into Day 5, but this was enough for me, and enough of The Maldives, for this lifetime. The fourth and final island in my The Maldives tour was Maafushi. It promised so much yet…
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“You might prove them wrong” – Del Amitri. Forget all the preconceptions that Male and The Maldives is a haven for rich suitcasers, business capitalists and shrewd money bankers. I blew that into oblivion by spending less than £15 Northern Irish pounds (“UK” pounds) in my first 24 hours here!! (£10 hostel, £0.70 coffee, £0.80…
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“All’s well that ends well” – William Shakespeare. I arrived into Mayotte in July 2025, and it was the last new country on my Rainy Summertime tour. The tour had many flaws, more downs than ups and some ridiculous hiccups that threatened to amalgamshake my entire backpacking journey and make me skip 3 of the…
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“Everyone’s changing; I stay the same” – The Corrs (2004). Sentimental journeys are no stranger to my wandering heart or backpack. Neil Finn said it long before I rode my weary soul onto the streets of Bournemouth Town in 1994…my first trip to the iconic seaside town…10 years later I’d be working in a bar…
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“Stand by me; nobody knows the way it’s gonna be” – Noel Gallagher. I certainly didn’t go to Niger for a booze up or even to pub crawl it, nobody does that do they? But somehow in the madness of it all we actually still managed to drink in 5 different bars in 4 days…
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