On weekdays I provide essential and informative travel tips, with a different subject each day!
“In Camden Town we’ll walk there as the sun goes down” – Suggs. Mauritius is an exotic tropical paradise location. That is undisputed by most of us. I wasn’t here to backpack hardcore, go sightseeing, go hiking or deep sea diving! I was here to chill out, write the chapters for my 11th book (and Read more about Thirsty Thursdays: My Top 5 Bars In Blue Bay🔵🏝, Mauritius🇲🇺[…]
“The night seems to fade, But the moonlight lingers on” – UB40. In April – May 2023 I managed to visit 5 new African countries, 4 of which have coastline on the Indian Ocean, 4 of which begin with letter M and 3 of which are island countries. Some of that I had titled my Read more about Friday’s Featured Food: Chicken Egg Fried Rice And Phoenix Beer at Blue🔵 Bay🏝 Snack Shack in Mauritius🇲🇺[…]
“Now the sun’s gone to hell; and the moon’s riding high” – Mark Knopfler. Although Mauritius is a small island, I still decided to stay relatively close to the main international airport – Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport. I was here on a stopover between France and Reunion Island and the way things worked out Read more about Staying At Explora Prestige Guest House by Blue Bay Beach🔵, Indian Ocean🇮🇳🏝, Mauritius🇲🇺[…]
On my last big trip (February 2020) as COVID was beginning, I toured seven African countries – South Africa, Angola, Zambia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia. Although our first flight landed in Luanda, Angola – our first country to leave the airport on that trip was Namibia. I was here with two friends, Malina (from Read more about Friday’s Featured Food: Zebra Loin Steak, Salad And Chips At Joe’s Beerhouse, Windhoek, Namibia🇳🇦[…]
“Alone on the beach🇷🇪, on my own, out of reach, but you just passed me by” – Noel Gallagher (quoted by Jonny Blair when referring to someone who let me down). When I went backpacking (or whackpacking) in Reunion Island, I was here mostly to chill out, get a glimpse of the lifestyle, backpack the Read more about Backpacking In Reunion Island🇷🇪: Day Trip To Saint Gilles Les Bains[…]
“Eponymous” – Rapid Eye Movement. It was summer 2009 and my life was in disarray. I was coming towards the end of a 12 month renting lease on a flat in the seaside district of Southbourne in Bournemouth, Dorset, England. Times were changing and looking back at that now (here in May 2023), it is Read more about Backpacking In Saint Malo, Brittany🇫🇷: The Time I Stayed In A Hotel Called Hotel![…]
In the glory days before COVID arrived I used to love doing pub crawls. I even helped set up the first organised pub crawl in Bishkek Kyrgyzstan in 2016 and did a Monopoly Pub Crawl in London and a superb pub crawl in Gdansk, Poland. But COVID closed the bars and that avenue of pleasure Read more about Thirsty Thursdays: Pub Crawl in Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel Island, The Azores[…]
“When your turn comes round” – Neil Finn. I finally made Mozambique my 34th African country in April 2023 (and it was also my 216th recognised country). It helped me complete a jigsaw of the South of Africa. I had already been in 4 countries that border the Bique. They were South Africa (2011, 2020), Read more about How To Get A Mozambique🇲🇿Evisa Online Before Your Trip[…]
It’s often said that capital cities of Africa are usually not the best spots to backpack through to experience that there country. Underwhelming and lackadaisical could be said of a few of my prior capitals on that there continent. Examples that springbourne to mind are Porto Novo (Benin), Lome (Togo) and Kampala (Uganda). In Malawi, Read more about Backpacking In Malawi🇲🇼: Cosy Dorm Bed At Mabuya Backpackers Hostel In Lilongwe (The Capital City)[…]
“My smile as real as a hyena’s” – Nicky Wire. (de ja vu, just the 10 years later eh?!) I have now racked up eight visits to Ethiopia, nutspacking it as a hub at Africa away time and time again. I have known Addis Ababa was a hub since my legendary 2013 trip to the Read more about 10 Years Later In Ethiopia🇪🇹: Staying At The Plush 5 Star Skylight Hotel In Addis Ababa[…]