“We’re in the army. Now. Woah oh we’re in the army.” – Status Quo. I find it hard to believe that it has been nine years since I backpacked my way to the unknown and non-touristy city of Bobruisk in Belarus. This obscure journey was the story I wrote for Shaun Schofield’s book “Albania to…
Read MoreI kind of forget some of the travel experiences I have had down the years. Something that sticks from my time working and living in Hong Kong is the amount of visits I went on to neighbouring China and Macau. Macau is a country in its own right and I toured it many times. You…
Read More“It’s easy to fall into something new that shines” – Ben Paulley (2005). So a week ago yesterday I arrived in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan having crossed overland from Kazakhstan. On arrival I received a 60 day entry visa stamp, so yes I can stay legally as a tourist here for a brace of months. At the…
Read MoreThe country of Kyrgyzstan seems to hide shyly in the back streets of the backpacking world. It’s not so much a “sleeping giant”, but an “awake baby”. It’s crying to be found, and sometime it will be. While the “self-professed cool crowd” backpack their way through Bangkok, Ulun Danu, Siem Reap and Chiang Mai on…
Read MoreAs with most of my journeys, I go to places without a huge amount of advance research. I find it clouds my method of thought and gives me an opinion of what to expect before I arrive. Sometimes, we go with the flow. I headed to Chernobyl with a clear head and the memory of…
Read More“Happiness is not a dream, it is a reality…” – Quote at Ruh Ordo. When backpacking in Kyrgyzstan, myself and two dorm buddies from the hostel decided on a trip to the stunning Lake Issy-kul. It can be done on a day trip from Bishkek and in winter, this is a good option as the…
Read MoreThis post was posted by The Hipmunk on Hipmunk’s Tailwind blog on 28th December 2015. T-minus less than a week until New Years; do you have those resolutions ready? In 2015, travelling more and enjoying life to the fullest made Nielsen’s top 10 list of New Year’s resolutions. Chances that you still want to explore the world, meet…
Read MoreThis post was posted by The Hipmunk on Hipmunk’s Tailwind blog on 27th December 2015. You’ve booked your stay in a beautiful locale and are excited to immerse yourself in gorgeous scenery for the duration of your trip. Then you arrive and discover that the hotel is actually miles from the pretty parts of town and your room…
Read MoreKyrgyzstan continues to surprise the everyday backpacker and with a blast from the past we ended up visiting some cool Petroglyphs near the lakeside town of Cholpon Ata. I say blast from the past because back in 2013, we visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Qobustan in Azerbaijan and there we saw many ancient…
Read MoreWhen you are out travelling the world you never know where you will end up next. Every new city or town I arrive in, I do little research. It’s only when you get to these places that you get extra ideas. A couple of my blog followers, Laura and Kyle alerted me of Cafe Masoch…
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