While I’m certainly not a food freak, a foodie, a food blogger or a fat bastard, I still run my Friday’s Featured Food series. This series started way back in 2012 when the blog became more specific and tailored. And so, in an attempt to backdate and foodpack my way through 5,000 plus meals from…
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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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“We are not born for departure, but we do learn to take it” – R.E.M. In the last 20 years of backpacking the world, only TWO countries charged me for departure tax to be paid in cash at the airport when leaving…and the shitlist reads… 1.New Zealand🇳🇿. 2.Sierra Leone🇸🇱. Of course they are not my…
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“Love’s a hide and hate display” – Nicky Wire. I never expected to visit 5 bars in the CAR, nevermind double figure it, but here we are, there we were. In my previous few countries – Niger I drinkpacked only 5 bars and in Burkina Faso just the 9, with Mauritania limited to 5 non-alcoholic…
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**It’s time to retire my lovely forest green backpack!!** “Days that found you; grace that bound you” – Teenage Fanclub. General wear and tear, two snapped zips, one broken zip cord, a torn sleeve and more stains than a brothel’s bed, but this exact green backpack has successfully backpacked through 101 countries with me in…
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“They can come true yeah. They can come true” – Gabrielle (Dreams). Before you read this, look at the above photo and watch Omam Biyick’s legendary header below. I watched it live after school in June 1990 in Marlo in Bangor, Northern Ireland. I wanted Cameroon to win. I loved it. I love it. I…
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“Another year over; a new one just begun” – John Lennon. I found myself back in Ivory Coast at the end of 2024, and this is where Marek and I celebrated New Year’s Eve 2024 and New Year’s Day 2025. I had backpacked through Abidjan and Grand Bassam before, back in 2018. On that trip,…
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“Down the waterfall wherever it may take me” – Robbie Williams. On a hot Sunday, in the heart of Africa, in the centre of Africa and in the middle of Africa, we visited the Boali Falls. Welcome to the centre of the entire continent, if not the world. Central African Republic is a breath thefter.…
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Thirsty Thursdays: Watching Kennedy Star Live At Bar Caupa Bangou, Niamey, Niger Well on our last night backpacking in Niamey, Niger, we were served up a treat – local live music – guitars, drums, singing live in front of our eyes with cold beers to boot. It was the final night of a wild adventure…
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“Nuts loyal” – this travel blog. While I’m pleased to bring this unique Thirsty Thursdays for you all from Ouagadougou, please note the real smiles and the amazing people I met in these bars! That is what really happens when you really go backpacking, rather than sit on a laptop in your bedroom like so…
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