singaraja locals

Backpacking in Singaraja, Bali, Indonesia: 6 Things to see and Do

Nobody goes backpacking in Singaraja. In fact, no travellers really ever go to Singaraja. It’s a shame cos this is a great wee city. My Antarctica travel buddy Rodrigo and I headed to Bali last year and incorporated a day trip to Singaraja into our plans just out of curiosity’s sake. It was worth it. Read more about Backpacking in Singaraja, Bali, Indonesia: 6 Things to see and Do[…]

delaneys rugby world cup

Working Wednesdays: Heading Back to Delaney’s Irish Pub (Part 2), Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

After last week’s story on how I went to Hong Kong to go backpacking and hang out with my girlfriend, yet ended up getting a job, now it’s time for part two. So I did my two shifts in Delaney’s, caught my flight to Singapore, found out that I had got and lost the job Read more about Working Wednesdays: Heading Back to Delaney’s Irish Pub (Part 2), Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong[…]

upper trail hike

The Upper Trail Hike – Day 2 – Yunnan Province, China

I must apologise for the lateness of this post. This is the second part of my two part guide to hiking on the Upper Trail Hike in China’s Yunnan Province in and around Tiger Leaping Gorge. To refresh your memory (and also mine), below are the previous two parts of the story which cover this Read more about The Upper Trail Hike – Day 2 – Yunnan Province, China[…]

jonny blair mount kinabalu

Climbing Mount Kinabalu in Borneo: Day 2 Part 1 – Up at 2am for Breakfast and Starting the Hike

OK folks, so if you’ve followed my posts in sequence from climbing Mount Kinabalu in Borneo, you’ll know I completed day one and we headed to the Waras Hut in Kinabalu to sleep for a few hours. And it really was just a few hours! We got to sleep around 10.30 pm I reckon and Read more about Climbing Mount Kinabalu in Borneo: Day 2 Part 1 – Up at 2am for Breakfast and Starting the Hike[…]

delaneys irish pub tsim sha tsui

Working Wednesdays: Barman at Delaney’s Irish Pub (Part 1), Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Today on Working Wednesdays, I’m finally getting round to telling the tale of how I came to Hong Kong in the first place and why I ended up staying there, working there and using it as my base to backpack all over Asia including lots of adventures into China. It’s a story which I’ll separate Read more about Working Wednesdays: Barman at Delaney’s Irish Pub (Part 1), Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong[…]

laban rata waras hut bedroom

Climbing Mount Kinabalu in Borneo: Day 1 Part 6 – Our Base at Waras Hut

After hiking up the first 6 kilometres for the day and arriving at our base at Laban Rata, it was time to rest our weary heads for the night ready for the main event the next morning – the hike to the peak!! Before it got dark I took a few photos of the Waras Read more about Climbing Mount Kinabalu in Borneo: Day 1 Part 6 – Our Base at Waras Hut[…]

mandalay

Thirsty Thursdays: 50 Cent Triple Whiskeys in Mandalay, Myanmar

Tonight I recount yet another alcohol fuelled night of backpacking, as I recollect a night in Mandalay in Myanmar. While staying in the Royal Guest House (much less posh than its title suggests), I met Gijs, a cool Dutch guy who was doing Korea and some of Asia. We decided on a few beers out Read more about Thirsty Thursdays: 50 Cent Triple Whiskeys in Mandalay, Myanmar[…]

mount kinabalu laban rata food

Climbing Mount Kinabalu in Borneo: Day 1 Part 5 – Sunset and Dinner at Laban Rata

  After completing the first day of the hike, we arrived at our base of Laban Rata for the night. We had reached the 6 kilometre mark and would be spending the night in this mountain village. Basically Laban Rata is one massive hut and a few other smaller huts and it is situated just Read more about Climbing Mount Kinabalu in Borneo: Day 1 Part 5 – Sunset and Dinner at Laban Rata[…]

jonny blair pyongyang metro

Revival to Glory: Riding on the Pyongyang Metro, North Korea

“What you see is what you get. You’ve made your bed, you better lie in it” – The Jam (Going Underground). Riding on the Pyongyang Metro System is oddly a highlight from your visit to North Korea’s lively capital city and indeed made it into my top 99 things to do when backpacking Pyongyang. Forget Read more about Revival to Glory: Riding on the Pyongyang Metro, North Korea[…]