music is a travel essential

Tuesday’s Travel Essentials: Music

Yes, music is today’s Tuesday’s Travel Essentials – as travellers we need it and the way I see it there are only two types of music when we travel: 1. Music we play ourelves (normally MP3 player or on guitar) 2. Music other people play (in hostels, in shops, on buses, at concerts etc.) And both types are Read more about Tuesday’s Travel Essentials: Music[…]

temporary 72 hour china visa

How to Get a 72 Hour China Visa at Beijing Airport

I’ve now been to China officially 18 times, and it was only recently on my 17th visit that I decided to travel without a visa in advance and check out the system for getting a visa on arrival. My first trip to China in 2007 was to Beijing and I had my visa in advance. Read more about How to Get a 72 Hour China Visa at Beijing Airport[…]

tarangire

Safari in Tanzania: Tarangire National Park

My recent safari tour in Tanzania saw us visit three massive national parks, and this, the first installment comes from Tarangire National Park. I had been on some safaris before, but none of them really on a grand scale to be honest. I’d been to Singapore Night Safari, watched monkeys in Borneo, seen a load Read more about Safari in Tanzania: Tarangire National Park[…]

tandem cycling in China's Yangshuo

Tandem Cycling In Yangshuo, Guangxi Province, China

Believe it or not, but until recently I had never done tandem cycling before! You might have read my adventures cycling in places like Montevideo, Soweto and Taiwan, but China was the place where my girlfriend and I first hopped on a tandem bicycle! We were backpacking in the Guangxi Province of China and staying Read more about Tandem Cycling In Yangshuo, Guangxi Province, China[…]

jonny blair on the air nerve

Working Wednesdays: BBC Radio🎤📻Ulster Interview, Northern Ireland🔴✋️☘️

I’ve always loved media. There’s something about TV, newspapers, radio and the whole public sphere thing that I love. As a teenager I did some work experience in the BBC and Belfast Telegraph as well as studying a City and Guilds course in Journalism. At university I wrote for the magazine, starred in 2 TV Read more about Working Wednesdays: BBC Radio🎤📻Ulster Interview, Northern Ireland🔴✋️☘️[…]

family and friends marko danny blair northern ireland

How I Cope With Being Away From My Family

A reflective and personal post now having reached 6 years of travel blogging and almost 10 years of living away from my home country of Northern Ireland. I’ve done a load of interviews recently for other sites and they often ask me: 1. Do I travel alone all the time? 2. Do I ever see Read more about How I Cope With Being Away From My Family[…]

Don’t Stop Living is SIX Years Old Today!!!

Get the champagne out. Don’t Stop Living is SIX years old today. The travel blog I started while backpacking in Toronto in 2007 has now amassed over 1,200 travel stories over a six year period. Life’s been pretty good in the intervening years. I’ve managed to backpack my way to almost 80 countries, across all Read more about Don’t Stop Living is SIX Years Old Today!!![…]

hong kong free wi fi

Monday’s Money Saving Tips: 6 Places in Hong Kong to get FREE Internet

More free internet tips today for you on Monday’s Money Saving Tips as I scour the streets of Hong Kong looking to get online. Here are 6 places in Hong Kong to get FREE internet. 1. MTR Stations Some of Hong Kong’s MTR Stations have free internet portals for public use. While there are not Read more about Monday’s Money Saving Tips: 6 Places in Hong Kong to get FREE Internet[…]

mount kinabalu hike making notes

Climbing Mount Kinabalu in Borneo: Day 1 Part 4 – Layang Shelter to Laban Rata

While the first part for the hike from Timpohon Gate to Layang Shelter was basically just a stroll in the park – walking through a forest, climbing upward slowly with views of trees, soil and rocks, the next bit got steeper and slightly more challenging. It was also misty and therefore the first part of Read more about Climbing Mount Kinabalu in Borneo: Day 1 Part 4 – Layang Shelter to Laban Rata[…]

harar ethiopia old city walls

Backpacking in Harar, Ethiopia: 10 Things to See and Do

Harar in Ethiopia ends up sticking in your mind. It’s a World Heritage City and it’s a crazy place. It’s also in the middle of nowhere if truth be told. Getting there isn’t the easiest thing you’ll ever do in life, believe me. But for the love of travel and with no real reason why, Read more about Backpacking in Harar, Ethiopia: 10 Things to See and Do[…]