My return to Portugal was the longest gap between my first and second visit to a country to date. I first visited Portugal way back in 1981, with my Mum and Dad. I was only a year old at the time. That made Portugal my first ever country outside the British Isles! I have now Read more about Backpacking in Portugal: Touring Lisbon[…]
“You can tell the sun in its jealous sky that we walked through fields of gold” – Sting. “Off the wheaten craic” – Jonny Blair. Welcome to the real “off the wheaten craic” journey. A place with nature, no train station, no airport. This is Kokoszkowy! My Polish adventures continued the last few years despite Read more about Backpacking in Poland: Top 10 Sights in Kokoszkowy, Kociewie Region[…]
Krasnodar is a Russian city of a million people, or more. That doesn’t even guarantee heard-of ness from common tourists and whackpackers. Indeed I hadn’t even heard of this joint before my trip! It was a pure fire wacaday spot of madness to bung into the final days of my visa free entrance into Russia, Read more about Thirsty Thursdays: A Wacaday Night in Krasnodar, Russia[…]
“She’s a Nazi, She’s a Nazi, She’s a Nazi Way oh Way” – Switzerland (Cheatzerland) supporters. This was a weird one, as I have only ever been to Switzerland twice in my life and both times have such similarities to them. They were both in years ending in 7. I also visited a wacaday republic Read more about Backpacking in Switzerland: Staying at the Urban Hostel Culture in Basel[…]
New Year’s Eve has seen me bed hop, city hop and country hop a lot in recent years. 2018 ended in a similar fashion, as I began 2019 in Beirut, capital city of Lebanon. I came across a cosy little hostel online, with its own flashy website and a cool location in the Lebanese capital Read more about Backpacking in Lebanon: A Super Time at Mady’s Hostel in Beirut[…]
“A world in white is underway” – Paul Hewson. First of all thanks to the Russian government’s decision to give all World Cup ticket holders (and therefore FAN ID holders) visa free entry until 31st December 2018. It meant we could all go back for unlimited entries into Russia (any city, by land, by air…) Read more about Backpacking in Saint Petersburg: My Winter Stay at the Kino Hostel, Vyborgsky District[…]
“We get wild, wild, wild” – Slade. I finally made it to Lebanon in 2018 and celebrated New Years Eve here and my entrance to 2019. It was my second time to see the new year arrive in the Middle East having been in Erbil, capital of Iraqi Kurdistan in 2013. That was a special Read more about Thirsty Thursdays: On the Rip in Beirut Lebanon, 7 Cool Bars[…]
Krasnodar was the final stop for me in 2018, as I used up the final days of my visa free entry, thanks to the Russian government’s inspired decision to allow all football fans UNLIMITED visa free entry until the 31st December 2018. I left on the final day, and from my second cosy hostel in Read more about Backpacking in Russia: Budget Dorms at the Loft Hostel in Krasnodar[…]