On weekdays I provide essential and informative travel tips, with a different subject each day!
When I arrived in India for the first time in 2016, my first port of call was the capital city, New Delhi. I found out about the highly rated Smyle Inn Hostel and made this my base for my first three nights in New Delhi before night training it to Mumbai. When I Facebooked the Read more about Backpacking in India🇮🇳: Staying at the Popular Smyle Inn in New Delhi[…]
My first stop in India was New Delhi and I loved it there. I was based in the popular Smyle Inn and Hostel. It seemed to be a perfect first introduction to Indian life. Delhi’s chaotic street life is a backpackers dream, my passion for travel was pumped vivaciously on the streets of this sprawling Read more about Backpacking in India🇮🇳: Getting A Night Train from New Delhi to Mumbai[…]
“It’s a radiation vibe I’m groovin on” – Fountains of Wayne. It had been a truly incredible day of travel and to a place with a sad history – the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. It’s a day I’ll remember for a long time, but after this final part of the story, it’s time to close the Read more about Backpacking in Ukraine🇺🇦: Chernobyl Exclusion Zone☢️Tour Part 9 – Radiation Checks and Escape from the CEZ[…]
“Out comes the goalkeeper [Rinat Dasaev no less]. Nat too sure this time. And it’s a goal! Terry Moore taking the credit for that” – Northern Irish commentator (1988) commenting on the night Glentoran were 1-0 up and just a goal away from taking the mighty Spartak Moscow to extra time in Belfast City. My Read more about The Day I…Lobbed⚽The Goalkeeper🧤From 30 Yards In Afghanistan🇦🇫[…]
For whatever reason life dealt me, I ended up in the city of Shymkent in southern Kazakhstan recently and after negotiating my way across the Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan border despite not having a Kazak visa on the same passport, I finally arrived in this backpacker’s gem – Shymkent. You might have read how I found Read more about Friday’s Featured Food: Wild Boar Roast at Orbita Boutique Hotel in Shymkent, Kazakhstan[…]
On this adventure through Central Asia, I have already written about my wonderful stay in Pamir Lodge and the spontaneous live article from Khorog. This is a region known as Gorno Badakhshan and you need a separate permit to visit, away from the main part of Tajikistan, so pick up your Gorno Badakhshan permit and Read more about Backpacking in Gorno Badakhshan🇹🇯: Top 22 Sights in Khorog, Capital of the Pamirs[…]
I simply loved the pronunciation of this city. SHYMKENT! Wee shimmy. Ess Hym Kent. Shy m Kent. Shimkent. Chimkent. Spelt Shymkent, once called Chernayaev, currently housing 850,000 people, it’s a somewhat inspiring city with low promotion. Is it shy? Why are the first three letters spelling the word shy? I headed to find the answers. Read more about Backpacking in Kazakhstan: Top 7 Shy Sights in Shymkent[…]
“And I travelled round the world from year to year. But each one left me aimless; one more year the worse for wear.” – Jimmy Barnes I’m telling you how it really is with me. I’m telling a story on here, it’s not really a travel guide, it’s really a one man travel blog which Read more about Sundays Inspiration: The Aimless Diary of A Long Term Backpacker, Aged 35 and 3 Quarters[…]
I meandered my way back into the republic of Kazakhstan thanks to a clever visa free passport switch at the border (Irish for Uzbek visa, British for Kazak visa free entry). The toughest part of my Central Asian adventure was over and I’d escaped Uzbekistan. The countries of Kazakhstan and Kyrgzstan were up next, both Read more about Staying at the Orbita Boutique Hotel in Shymkent, Kazakhstan🇰🇿[…]
While backpacking in Afghanistan, I was delighted to be offered the chance of a homestay with a local family in the city of Masar e Sharif. In the years I’ve been travelling, I’ve had homestays in places like Israel, Iran, Uruguay, Nagorno Karabakh, Hungary, Tunisia and Transnistria. However Afghanistan was a whole new experience. The Read more about Backpacking in Afghanistan🇦🇫: My Homestay Experience in Masar e Sharif[…]