I had been to Scotland around 20 times in my life – but mostly to Glasgow, Irvine or Stranraer. Growing up in Northern Ireland made that an easy option as a child and teenager – I usually went by ferry from Larne or Belfast. However I had never once been to Edinburgh until I turned…
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“I follow the Moskva, down to Gorky Park, listening to the wind of change” – Scorpions. After exploring Romania and Moldova, it was time for something even more sublime as I took my eager backpack and soul across the border into Transnistria. Screams of “where?” were screeching out from my friends as I told them…
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You might be surprised to see me do a top 5 of a really popular city and one that has ben covered so much on travel blogs, but it was my first time to tour Barcelona this year and I was quite impressed by it so I thought I’d get a top 5 typed up…
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My recent travels in England took me to the town of Windsor (& Eton) in Berkshire for what I thought was the first time. However I realised that back in 2000 I had actually visited the Legoland nearby, so this on my return to the town of Windsor on another backpacking journey, was a chance…
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While backpacking in Costa Rica recently you might have read how I stayed in the inspiring Hemingway Inn in the Barrio Amon in San Jose. During my stay, not only did I meet traveller and author Deacon Blake, but I also met Michael Miller, who has written a guidebook on exploring the real San Jose.…
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A sure fire recent shock for me was backpacking in Andorra. This is a country renowned for ski-ing, mountains and cold winters. I went there simply to experience life here as a backpacker rather than a ski-er or a luxury traveller. While there is definitely not a hardcore backpacking scene here, there is one hostel…
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While this might seem like a sweeping and super fast compilation, then yes folks, that’s exactly what it is! I’m not claiming to be any kind of Andorran Bar expert but if you’re on a short trip to undermined Andorra then I hope you’ll enjoy these five cool bars, like I did. I’ve chosen bars…
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Let’s start with my main observation here – Guatemala City is a breathtaking beast of a city. An absolute beast pumped to the max. The weird thing is a lot of backpackers, and especially luxury travellers like to give it a miss and use the “it’s too dangerous says my mate” excuse. Quite frankly that…
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“I’ve never heard of him either” – Gareth McAuley (2013 when referring to some Russian footballer). Most travellers to Belize “skip” the capital. In fact most people don’t even know what the capital of Belize is. The answer is – Belmopan. The city of Belmopan has been the capital of Belize since August 1970, although…
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The town of Chalchuapa will linger long in my mind. I hadn’t heard of it the day before my visit and I won’t forget it after my day out there. It was a truly magical little town well off the tourist trail and I was completely inspired. El Salvador gave me more stories than I…
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