Tutorials | Travel Lifestyle Of Your Dreams

5 Tips on How to Travel in Finland For Cheap

If you’re used to South East Asia, or if you’re a fan of $30 a day backpacking budgets, Finland is gonna be a shock to the system, this place is pricey. But with the Northern Lights, Lapland, Santa Clause’s official [...]

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Crazy Things On the Trans Siberian Route: My Highlights

Russian only grants 30 day visas, and considering the train itself takes about 7 solid days, it doesn’t give you a lot of time to do what you wanna do as you make your way along the journey. That combined [...]

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Getting Naked and Renting out a Gay Russian Bath House

So apparently Russian bath houses are all the rage, a bit like the Scandinavians and their saunas, so being the willing tourist I am I thought I’d sample a bit of it. My guidebook had it down as a ‘must [...]

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2 Days in St Petersburg

St Petes is to Moscow what Beauty is to the Beast. After a month in Russia I thought I had worked out Russian cities, with their Soviet hangover still lingering, mass apartment blocks, they were interesting if not pleasing to [...]

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Backpacking in Moscow – 5 Best Things I saw

It only cost me $300 in visas, 10 nights on trains and too many bottles of vodka to county to finally make it here, and it was worth all the effort. Moscow, I’d heard, was in the top 5 most [...]

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What to See in Almaty, Kazakhstan

I had planned to dip in to Kazakhstan, visit Astana in the north, near the Russian border and then nip back to Russia a couple of days later. But after telling people I was coming to Kazakshtan, the (very) few [...]

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What to see in Astana, Kazakhstan – The City of the Future

My first stop in Kazakhstan was Astana, aptly dubbed ‘The City of the Future’. Astana was declared the new capital in 1997, with plans to make it a city of the future, a gleaming beacon proudly boasting of Kazakhstan’s success [...]

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Backpacking in Kazakhstan – the Lo-Down

After Borat well and truly put Kazakhstan on the map, people drew misconceptions about the country, their people and the level of development within. Nowhere highlights the radical progression Kazakhstan has made more than their new Capital city, Astana know [...]

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Getting from Russia to Kazakhstan: Omsk to Astana

I don’t like to follow people’s paths, I always have a burning desire to blaze my own trail, to find my own way to when I subscribed to taking the Trans Siberian railroad from China to Russia, 1/3 of the [...]

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Motivational Monday: How Many Hits Do You Need to Make Money from Your Blog?

Everyday you hear about some new blogger cashing in on their website, press trips around the world, free flatscreen tvs or a new pair of shoes sent to their house. How do they do it? How can I do it? [...]

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Things to Bring On the Trans Siberian Train with You

The most epic train journey of them all, and one which every traveler has on their bucket list, the Trans Siberian conjures images on Soviet train carriages, drinking Vodka with people in your cabin, vast landscapes and huge distance – [...]

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Going to Lake Baikal, the World’s Deepest Lake

My first stop on the Trans Siberian proper was Irkutsk, from all accounts it was meant to be quite dreary, non-eventful stop but after a day of sightseeing and a night of vodka, I certainly don’t subscribe to that. That [...]

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Backpacking in Mongolia; What to See in Ulaan Bataar

My first proper stop of my Trans Siberian trip was Mongolia. After a 30 hour train from Beijing to Mongolia’s Capital Ulaan Bataar, I arrived around 8am and went straight to my hostel. I only had a day and a [...]

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Scuba Diving at the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns

A frequent feature on people’s bucket lists the world over, scuba diving at one of the natural wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef, on Australia’s East Coast. This remains my one and only scuba diving experience, and it [...]

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Motivational Monday: How Much Money Can A Travel Blog Make? My Story

When I first started blogging about my travels 2 years ago or so I had read about a couple of people making money from their travel blogs. “No way, that can be true”, I thought it was another example of [...]

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5 Ways to Communicate Better With Locals When You Travel

Traveling in so many foreign countries, I’ve had to hone my communication skills down to a tee. It’s something that every long-term traveler has done, and something that perhaps we only rarely recognize as a genuine skill. However when I [...]

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Tourist Scams From Around the World

Unfortunately every country has people who are looking to grab your money in less than legal ways all around the world. The situation is getting worse but if you keep your wits about, stay strong, you’ll never succumb to any [...]

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Tuesday’s Travel Rant: Late Trains and Buses

Pulling into Bangkok HuaLampong train station, on a night sleeper from Chiang Mai, 4 hours late for the third consecutive time – I finally had had enough, travel rant time. What I don’t get is why trains across the ‘developing [...]

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The Trans Mongolian Train Beijing to Ulaan Baatar: My experience

For anyone who’s interested in taking the train from Beijing to Ulaan Baatar, I thought it’d be cool for you guys to see what it’s actually like, so here’s a quick recount on my time on the train. Being [...]

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What Visas You Need to Get in Advance to Take the Trans Siberian Railway

I’m almost in Beijing already, from there I’m gonna jump on the train to Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia, and my trans Siberian train adventure will have finally started. It took quite a lot of work, and a fair [...]

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What’s the difference between a hard sleeper and a soft sleeper on Chinese trains?

With my 21 hour train journey from Yichang in Hunan Province to Beijing finally over (all 1500km of it) I thought I’d cast a little light on how the class system of the Chinese trains work. Basically there are 4 [...]

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Tuesday’s Travel Rant: Elevator Etiquette

If you travel a fair bit, you’re gonna be in lifts all the time. 7th floor please, ground floor please. More often than not you’re gonna have your backpack strapped on, your mobility (and patience) is at an all-time low [...]

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Motivational Monday: Don’t Be Afraid to Ask

I’m currently writing this on a train from Beijing to Ulaan Baator, Mongolia on the first leg of the Trans Siberian Express. I’m in a 4 bed carriage with 2 guys that are fast becoming close friends of mine, I [...]

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5 Great Ways to Keep in Touch When You’re Traveling

Life on the road can be tough when you’re missing your friends and family, but the world is becoming a smaller and smaller place and with all the tech available to travel with you don’t need to feel so far [...]

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How much does it cost to travel in China?

This is my 5th time in China and once again I’m loving every second. Hopefully you guys are seeing another side to this massive country, different to the one the western media try to propagate (big factories, communist government, stifled [...]

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Visiting the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China

If you’re staying in a hostel in Beijing, chances are it’ll be around the city centre, hopefully walking distance from these two iconic areas in Beijing. I’m typing this from my hostel, 400m from Tiananmen, sitting in the 6th floor [...]

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Tuesday’s Travel Rant: Running with your backpack on

You slept in, too many beers last night, long goodbye to new found friends, lost on your way to the airport/bus stop/train station, whatever the reason running late for your next mode of transport is a nightmare situation. What’s worse [...]

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How to Buy Your Trans Siberian Train Tickets in Beijing, China

I’m about to embark on my epic journey through Mongolia, Russia and Kazakhstan on the transsiberian railway. Trying to keep it cheap, I wanted to buy the tickets destination by destination as opposed to buying the whole thing in one [...]

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I’m A Self-Confessed Flash Packer! 5 Pieces of Tech I travel With…

As I write article after article on my laptop, and snap away with my SLR camera it dawned on me that over the years of backpacking around the world I’ve slowly developed into a fully=fledged flashpacker. If you’re not familiar [...]

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5 Tips to Keep Yourself Healthy on the Road

Staying healthy on the road is a tough ask especially with all those late nights, long journeys, cheap booze and dodgy food taken into account. If you’re on a two week holiday, your body can take the hit but try [...]

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Motivational Monday: Living with Passion

An Irish travel buddy, Gerard Darragh, of mine was sitting on a bus beside me this week in China and we were talking about life. He recollected a story about how the Romans were the first people to use obituaries [...]

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The Joy of my 8 Hour Bus in China

Oh the joys of backpacking are all coming rushing back to me now. So I left Chengdu to head to Juizhaigou to check out its UNESCO national park. A simple 8 hour bus journey they said, no worries. Hmmm…. [...]

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Packing light for backpackers

When it comes to packing, it’s perfectly proper to be prepared, but it’s also pointless and possibly perilous to panic. In any case, (for want of a better expression) items will be bought, discarded, given and received as gifts along [...]

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Things to See in Ranong, Thailand

I was off to find a true island paradise in Koh Phayam and on the way there I stopped off in Ranong to recover from the night bus journey from Bangkok. The boat to Koh Phayam leaves from Ranong so [...]

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The Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland – UNESCO World Heritage Site

I’m a proud Irishman so I thought I’d take the opportunity to promote Northern Ireland, my home country. Northern Ireland has a very chequered recent past with its religious issues, I wrote a quick explanation here, but with all that [...]

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The Metro Guide to Barcelona

Barcelona has an extensive metro network that takes you everywhere in the city at a very small price. Here’s a guide and route of landmarks and sites in Barcelona that you can get to by using the city’s underground system, [...]

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Top 10 Travel Apps For Iphones and Smartphones

Remember when you took that first grainy photo on your camera phone in 2004 and it blew your mind? Those were the days, sort of. Well we’ve moved on since then, so jump on the technology train, grab your smart [...]

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5 Best Places to Shop in Bangkok

Sorry about this article gentlemen, it could cause a few very comfortable days getting dragged around Bangkok by your enthusiastic better halves (queue sexist furore). Bangkok is a huge international city, but it’s still much cheaper than our home countries [...]

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Koh Phayam – Thailand’s Best Kept Secret Island

I’ll take your Koh Samuis, Koh Changs and Koh Phangans and raise you my perfect Koh Phayam, an island on Thailand’s Andaman coast that the tourist boom seemed to bypass, and it’s all the better for it. I just [...]

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Climbing Mount Teide, Spain’s Highest Mountain

After climbing Kilimanjaro, checking out Mount Fuji, hiking up Mount Kinabalu and trekking to Everest base camp, I’m starting to get a thing for mountains, so the next one I’ll be taking on is Mount Teide in Tenerife, Spain in [...]

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Should I go Traveling Alone?

Waking up in the morning not knowing where your next destination will be, making new friends from all corners of the globe, finding romance on some foreign shores – there’s nothing better than hitting the road but doing it alone [...]

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Teaching at English Camps in Asia – FAQs

I have spoken about English camps in Asia briefly before but I wanted to go into a big more detail considering the fact that I’ve just finished a 3 week camp in South Korea in January. I just had one of the [...]

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Tuesday’s Travel Rant: Barefoot backpackers

So you see a few poor people running around with no shoes on, any rational person would feel sympathy but what do my favourite backpackers do? Mimic then. In the seemingly endless quest to be a ‘real’ traveller, these hard [...]

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Backpacking in North Korea (Yes, I did it!)

With only around 1800 visitors per year, North Korea is one of the least visited countries in the world. That, coupled with it’s role as one of the few ‘functioning’ communist states around mean that’s is arguably the most intriguing [...]

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Motivational Monday: Jealousy isn’t all bad

It’s easy to be jealous of someone who travels around the world, of someone who doesn’t put in the hard corporate yards, of someone with the handsome/beautiful partner, but jealousy is a weak emotion, so acknowledge that and transform it. [...]

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How to extend your Thai visa in Bangkok

I’m flying to Korea on Christmas day for 3 weeks in South Korea, one week in North Korea and then a trip to North Eastern China for the ice festival in Haerbin. I’m currently in Bangkok and my visa expired [...]

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A Backpacking Guide To Cuba

The largest island in the Caribbean and one of the most politically charged countries in the world, Cuba is most famous for Che, rum, cigars and and communism! Cuba has only been open to the modern world since the 90s [...]

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How to Visit Uluru & Should You Climb it?

Uluru (Ayer’s Rock) is one of the main draws of any backpacking stint in Australia. However, you have to earn your stripes with this one as it’s in the middle of bloody nowhere. Although everyone visiting Oz seemingly wants to [...]

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Tubing in Vang Vieng, Laos

South East Asia is a backpacking hub, no doubt about it. Booze flows, full-moon parties rave and sometimes, just sometimes, you get to float down the Mekong river in an inner tube, getting pulled into wooden shacks as you go [...]

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Getting A Chinese Visa in Bangkok

With my Tibet to Ireland by land trip just around the corner, I had to apply for my Chinese visa while I was in Bangkok, and to be honest it was surprisingly easy! Read up on how to do it, [...]

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Is Dubai A Country? What is the UAE?

So I had a conversation with an American dude the other day, and he had never heard of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he though Dubai was he capital of Saudi Arabia and he through their nationality was Muslim. Where [...]

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Top 10 Things to See in Western Australia – amazing pics!

When people backpacking in Australia all you hear about is the trip down the east coast – Sydney, Cairns, Whitsundays etc and while that is undoubtedly awesome there’s more to see in Australia. Locals will tell you if you wanna [...]

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Working Holiday Visa in Australia

Having spent over a year in Australia myself, I really wanted to explain in detail how the working holiday visa in Australia works. It’s a great opportunity for people to explore Australia in depth and if you’ve got no cash, [...]

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6 Tips on How to Find Cheap Accommodation

The largest expense of your travels if where you’re going to lay your head for each night you’re wandering around the globe, check out these 5 ways of finding dirt-cheap napping spots: 1) Couchsurf! Not such a big secret anymore [...]

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Backpacking in Sri Lanka – Colombo

Sri Lanka is a great way to escape the madness of India during your sub-continent backpacking trip, although it can still be pretty manic itself. It’s a slightly cleaner, less chaotic version of it’s Indian big brother but it still [...]

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Backpacking in Kanchanaburi

So I finally made it to Kanchanaburi, and what a place it is. It’s about 2 hours from Bangkok and has become quite a traveler hangout. Laid back atmosphere, plenty of stuff to see and do, dirt cheap accommodation and [...]

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Backpacking in Pai, Northern Thailand’s travelers retreat

I’ve just spent the last few days in Pai, Northern Thailand. A place I’ve never been to before despite living 100km away in Chiang Mai for over a year, criminal I know. Anyway, I had clearly been missing out – [...]

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Best 5 nightclubs in Beijing

Backpacking in China is real traveling – difficult language, huge culture shock, crazy foods and general mass confusion so when it all gets a little much for you, find a place to kick back, grab a long-island and forget all [...]

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Backpacking in Malta: Top 6 things to see in Malta

100 km south of Sicily, Italy Malta is the sort of island country where people seem to live forever. The country is actually made up of three islands (Gozo and Comino) where Malta is the largest. With Malta being accessible [...]

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Top 5 things to see in Hanoi

Vietnam features heavily on the South East Asia tourist trail, and rightly so. Thanks to the Vietnam war there’s plenty of opportunity for some morbid tourism (grim), along with endless beautiful beaches and a great modern party scene, everyone should [...]

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Backpacking in the Peak District

After chatting about the things to do when you go backpacking in Wales and Scotland last week, I thought I’d being it back to England. The general backpacking trail in England struggles to get out of London, and if it [...]

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UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Tunisia

After getting far too excited about all the awesome UNESCO sites in Turkey I thought I would spread the love to Tunisia. Other than Ethiopia, Tunisia has more UNESCO world heritage sites than any of the other 54 African countries, [...]

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5 Tips on How to Find Cheap Air Fares

Travel costs money, there’s no two ways about it so when it comes to booking flights, you’re gonna want to cut costs at every available opportunity. Have a look at my 5 tips on how to save money when it [...]

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Top 5 sights in Sydney

I lived in Sydney a while back saving cash from my trip across Africa from Cape Town to Cairo. Australia is a great country and there’s loads of stuff to see and do, aside from following the hordes of backpackers [...]

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The Ferry from England to France: Five things you never knew

I know, I know another post about awesome boats, what can I say – it’s the best way to travel!! Anyway, jumping on board the ferry to France is one of the best ways to make the short trip across [...]

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Five Tips for Finding Last Minute Deals

Travel is not expensive as people think BUT expenses can soon add up so it’s smart to keep your ear to ground and save money where you can. In the internet age research is key, forgot old-school practice like travel [...]

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The Perhentian Islands, Malaysia’s best kept secret?

After me singing the praises of Langkawi last week I thought I should let you in on another of Malaysia’s backpacking secrets, the Perhentian Islands. The Perhentian Islands consist of 2 main islands – Pulau Perhentian Besar (The Large Perhentian [...]

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Backpacking in Langkawi, Malaysia. Cheap Island Paradise!

I just spent the last week or so in Penang and Langkawi so I wanted to let you guys know about this gem of an island. Langkawi is island paradise, and a tax free haven to boot ($0.45 beers anyone?!), [...]

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2 Days in Berlin

Berlin is a massive city, and it’s pretty tough to squeeze it all into a couple of days but us hard-core backpackers need to undertake a spot of speed-tourism now and again to keep costs down and experiences up! This [...]

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What is a Visa Run?

I’m writing this sitting on a local bus to Cambodia from Bangkok on a ‘visa run’. Basically, a visa run is a trip you have to take in order to remain in a country where you’re visa is soon to [...]

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Motivational Monday: Dispelling Myths

We should all embrace lifestyle design, in our own way. We can do what we truly want in life, we just have to believe it. I just want to remove some barriers that a lot of people feel hold them [...]

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Essential Tips for Not Killing Your Significant Other on an Extended Backpacking Trip

My rules, my schedule, my itinerary and my trip! That’s the mantra of a solo traveller. Romantic relationships formed on the road often fizzle out because of a difference in travel style, which is ok since you didn’t really have [...]

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The 5 Coolest Things to See in Jamaica

Home to Bob Marley, some of the funkiest, greenest grass and insane beaches – Jamaica’s is a hotspot for package tourism BUT it doesn’t have to be that way. Independent travel is easy in Jamaica, and if you can prise [...]

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Top 5 Destinations in Cuba

Cuba – famous for Che, big cigars, cracking rum and package holidays. I’m a big fan of delving deep into the first 3 but package holidays really aren’t my thing. The resorts are strewn across the (very beautiful) Northern beaches [...]

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Motivational Monday: Tomorrow is Promised to No One

When did the world become so obsessed with planning? Finance plans, pension schemes, mortgages. It used to be house and cars on long term finance plans, now it’s designer jeans and watches. Keeping up with the Jones is not the [...]

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What’s It Like To Work in the Middle East? Q&A

Ever though about moving to Dubai? Dreaming of a tax free life and saving some real cash? Lots of people I come across talk about it so I thought I’d give you guys the lo down! So, if you’re interested [...]

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Europe to Africa by Boat

Crossing countries by land is a cool thing to do, crossing continents? Even cooler! Here’s a quick look at escaping Europe and heading into Africa without taking a flight. If your heart is set on arriving in Africa by boat [...]

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Motivational Monday: Make Money from Your Travel Blog

I’ve wanted to share this concept with the travel blogging community, and my readership, as a way to motivate other would-be travelers and travel bloggers to get out there and do it and to show that it really is possible. [...]

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TEFL: Ultimate Guide to Finding Private Students To Teach

If you’ve had some experience in the TEFL world you must have thought, at least once, about ditching the institutions and going solo. How do those teachers with 10-15 private students do it? The good news is that it isn’t [...]

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Bucket List: Running of the Bulls

Straight to the top 10 in my bucket list is the ‘Running of the Bulls’, held in Pamplona, Spain each year from the 6th to the 14th of July. What is the ‘Running of the Bulls’? Held in a few [...]

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Tuesday’s Travel Rant: Walking escalator things

I’m not sure about the name of these things, but you know what I mean right? The conveyer belt things you find in airports and malls, where you walk on them and they move in the same direction thereby taking [...]

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A Backpackers Guide to Nepal

One of my favourite ever countries Nepal is a backpacking feast! It’s a landlocked country flanked by Bhutan to the east, Tibet to the North East, India to the south and China all around so it offers some great overland [...]

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Things to See in Bangladesh – Top 5 Sights

Bangladesh is a country that most people skip on their Asian backpacking trip, and it’s a real shame. Sandwiched between 2 backpacking hotspots, India and Thailand, I’m surprised that more people don’t take the plunge and visit a country where [...]

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Loy Krathong Festival – Thailand

Another Awesome Thai Festival: I’ve waxed lyrical about the Thai festival ‘Song Kran’ on my site countless times before, but Loi Krathing is another festival that should demand your attendance too. Less chaotic and fast paced than Song Kran, Loi [...]

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Day trip to Macau

Macau, ‘Vegas of the East’, lies very close to Hong Kong, and so most tourists nip on a ferry for day at this place and then make their way back to the city. A day will give you enough time [...]

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The Top 5 Sights in Cairo

Touristy it may be but Cairo is so popular for a reason. Arguably the most visited city in the world, this place has sights to impress even the most disinterested of backpacker. The Egyptian capital is a sprawling city along [...]

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Tuesday’s Travel Rant: Tuk Tuk Drivers

Getting from A to B shouldn’t be so difficult, nor should it cost double the real fare. Furthermore, if I want a tuk-tuk (which is unlikely), I’ll search for one. There are few things more infuriating in the world than [...]

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The Top 5 Sights in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is one of Africa’s hidden backpacking gems – this place propelled itself to one of my top 5 countries to visit. It’s nothing short of amazing. It has a magnificent cultural heritage, seven sites of which are included in [...]

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Top 5 Sights in San Francisco

San Francisco, many people’s favourite city in the whole of the US, offers backpackers a real treat. The cosmopolitan vibe that lurks in every corner of San Francisco lends a charm that is irresistible. Once there you will be strongly [...]

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Tuesday Travel Rant: Air Conditioning in South East Asia

Ok Mr Businessman, you have spent $500 on a brand-spanking new air-con unit, well done. And yes, it is bloody hot outside and using the air-con unit is completely acceptable. However, it’s not necessary to blast it on 100% power, [...]

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Motivational Monday: Don’t Miss Your Opportunity

It’s Monday again and the weekly grind may be kicking in round about now but it doesn’t have to, not if you really want your life to be something different, something exciting, something fun. It’s scary but it’s possible. How [...]

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MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY: It’s All About The People

Sorry for being a couple of days late with this – I was stuck on Koh Chang (a beautiful Thai island) for a couple of days longer than expected, I had a great time with some cool people and it [...]

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Damnoen Saduak Floating Market – Day Trip From Bangkok

Another great day trip from Bangkok is the much-fabled floating market. Bangkok attracts tens of thousands of backpackers every day but few make the effort to visit this cool site. Found west of Bangkok, Thailand’s most famous floating market is [...]

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Ayutthaya – Awesome day trip from Bangkok

I don’t know what it is about temples but I’ve got them on the brain at the moment. After a full temple session in Burma last week at the Bagan Temples, I took another trip to a vast temple complex [...]

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MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY: You’re Never As Young As You Are Tonight

“Do it while you’re young”, “Youth is wasted on the young”, “You’re only young once” – same old clichés, same old story. It’s true that youth is an awesome thing but it’s all relative. As a kid I thought I’d [...]

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Booking Domestic Flights in Burma (Myanmar)

Just a quick note about booking flights in Burma because it’s quite a strange system – read on… The big 4 (Mandalay, Yangon, Bagan and Lake Inle) and generally a full day’s overland travel apart from each other regardless of [...]

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5 Cool Day Trips from New York City

I love NYC, it’s a city like no other and it’s well worth a week or so of your time on any backpacking trip to the US – last week I wrote an article about how to spend a weekend [...]

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5 Items Not To Pack When You Travel

Packing for your travels is a stressful activity, and the default answer is to pack too much. Not a good idea when you’ll be lugging your backpack around bus stations and hostels for months on end. I’ve covered what you [...]

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How to Get From Yangon to Mandalay

Burma is an awesome country to backpack around, and thanks to the fear-mongering by western media sources you have the country practically to yourself. As far as a ‘tourist-trail’ goes, there are four places you’ll definitely want to visit – [...]

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Bagan Temples – Burma (Myanmar)

Burma’s biggest draw is their awesome temple complex at Bagan. Rivalling Angkor Wat as the most impressive temple complex in the world, the Bagan temples come without the tourist hordes, relentless hawkers and overpriced fees. Bagan is located roughly between [...]

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Live your life, take it all and don’t feel guilty for it

Life is meant to be lived, it’s meant to be enjoyed and appreciated. It’s not supposed to be taken for granted, and it should never be wasted. It’s a gift, one that we should cherish every day. The best thing [...]

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How to spend a weekend in New York City

NYC – the city that never sleeps. What a place, this was one of the first cities I ever truly traveled through and what a time I had (lost my wallet, passport, phone, camera and bag in a drunken stupor [...]

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The 5 Best Beaches in Sydney You Never Heard Of

When I was living in Sydney, people were always harping on about bloody Bondi beach so I wanted to show you guys a few other (better?) places to spend your Sunday afternoons! Nature’s bounty gets amplified in the hidden beaches [...]

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2 day itinerary for London

London town – everybody gets here eventually! When you finally make the journey to England’s capital you’re going to want a set itinerary otherwise you’re budget will be straight out the window, London is pricey so my advice is to [...]

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5 sites not to miss in Edinburgh

The Whisky capital of the world? Maybe, and that should be enough to draw the tourists in. If not, there’s a lot more to boot! Though the essence of the cosmopolitan world has started looming large in the city it [...]

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Best 5 Nightclubs in Bangkok

Bangkok rocks every night of the week, and if you’re here you have to party! But forget your conceptions of Thailand being all flip-flops, vests and cheap drinks – these clubs can charge $30 cover charge, $10+ drinks and require [...]

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Travel Rant Number 4: Transport Touts

Wow, the people in this new country are so friendly. Everyone is trying to help us get a ticket, they’re literally fighting over who should help us – amazing. Hmmmm – the only thing amazing about this is how many [...]

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How to get a Burmese Visa in Bangkok

This is just a quick post about visiting Burma/Myanmar while you’re in South East Asia – because the embassy proved quite elusive to me over the last few days, so I’m gonna share what I’ve learned! There are only two [...]

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Inspiring Travel Quotes

Inspiration can come in many forms, but sometimes a little nudge in the right direction is all you need. So if you’re waiting around for something to happen, stop – go and grab it, do it now. If you need [...]

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Teaching English in Taiwan – Case Study

*Neil Dutfield is a 26 year old marketing graduate from England who is currently teaching English in Taiwan. I asked him to write a little bit about what it’s like to teach English there, what’s the money like, does he [...]

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Mexico’s Top 5 Attractions

If world wonders, tasty tequila and cheap Spanish lessons sound appealing then Mexico is the next spot for you. There are lots of awesome places to backpack in the world these days but some people are getting a bit jaded [...]

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What is there to see and do in Hong Kong?

Hong Kong’s tourism industry is booming and it’s easy to see why. As I mentioned in my previous Hong Kong article, you need 3 or 4 days to truly appreciate everything that Hong Kong has to offer – when you’re [...]

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Siam Park City – Bangkok’s Best Theme Park

Bangkok is an international metropolis full of shopping malls, movie theatres and starbucks but a common complaint about BKK is that there simply isn’t that much to do there. Well, if you find yourself with a day to spare make [...]

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10 Reasons Why You Should Never Travel

You’ve thought about it, hitting the road for an indefinite amount of time, ‘living the dream’, you want people to live vicariously through you for a change – but you’re scared, is it the right thing to do? It’s a [...]

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A Quick Guide to Backpacking in Paris

Paris oozes culture, sophistication and style which is why it is so often the highlight of a trip around Europe. With so many monuments, museums and old architecture to feast your eyes on, you’ll find it difficult to leave (until [...]

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Malaria – What Drug You Should Take to Prevent It!

I think it’s fair to say that nobody wants to die on their travels around the world. Death avoidance 101 begins with preventing malaria. Having spent the best part of a year in Africa during 2010 and a good few [...]

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Are You Successful? Is it me or do we have it all wrong?!

Was does it take to be successful? Do you deem yourself successful? Presumably the opposite of success is failure and everybody actively seeks to avoid that – but what is success? As I continue to gallivant around the globe, visit [...]

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10 Cheap Things To See and Do in Tokyo

Fly to New York, Bangkok, Cairo, Paris and, sure you’ll see some amazing sights and see some awesome cultures, but deep down you know you’re in the conveyor belt of travelers, fly to Tokyo and you’ll feel like you’re really [...]

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Traveling rules of thumb / tricks of the trade

When we travel we learn things from country to country, tricks of the trade so to speak so I thought I’d share a few that I have managed to pick up along the way: 1) You cross a border and [...]

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Is travel harmful to my career prospects?

People often email me and share their concerns about going traveling, which is entirely understandable – I did exactly the same thing before I set off in 2006. A common concern from Generation ‘Y’ers, whether directly out of school/university or [...]

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Climbing Mount Kinabalu in Borneo

At 4,095 (13,435ft) Mount Kinabalu is the tallest mountain in Borneo (20th tallest in the world) and to normal backpackers and travelers alike, takes around 2 days to summit and descend. After conquering the mountain, prepare to have your ego [...]

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Getting from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok by land

You’re backpacking through Asia on a budget and you don’t want to fly right? Ok so how do you get from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok cheaply and quickly – this post should sort it out for you. Also, if you’re [...]

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What is Lifestyle Design?

I remember growing up and people saying to me that your school days are the best days of your life so make the most of them. This scared me. Then, at university, even more people told me that your university [...]

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Getting from Bangkok Airport To Khao San Road (or the city centre)

Bangkok’s main airport, Suvarnabhumi Airport, is located around 30km from Bangkok city. If you’re flying into Bangkok from pretty much anywhere, this is the airport you’ll fly into. I’m in and out of this place every month so I thought [...]

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Teaching on English Camps

Moving to a new country to teach English is a daunting process on many accounts – culture shock, new industry to work in, the logistics involved in setting yourself up in a new country – all of these things are [...]

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Taking a political tour in Belfast, Northern Ireland

Belfast, the Capital of Northern Ireland, is a city with a distinctly checkered past, a past that belies the laid back, welcoming nature of the people who live there. One of the most poignant, fascinating and eye-opening things to do [...]

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Should You Bring a Laptop When You Travel?

To laptop or not to laptop huh?! A tricky question indeed. This is an issue close to my heart, one that thought long and hard about before first hitting the road. Lets look at some of the pros and cons [...]

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Is Long-Term Travel Selfish?

As I sit in the airport waiting for yet another jaunt to Asia I got to thinking about the ethics behind long-term travel and lifestyle design in general. I’ve been on the go pretty much since summer 2006 and since [...]

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Choosing the Right Backpack

Choosing the right backpack is absolutely essential to any successful traveling experience, but with the market being flooded with so many sub-par, generic rucksacks it difficult to know what to choose! How many litres should your backpack be? Is the [...]

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New Year Resolutions That Will Improve Your Life

Another year has come and gone – I hope we can all look back on 2010 with a smile on our faces. If not then this year can be different, will be different. This can be the year where we [...]

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Trekking to Mount Everest Base Camp – Nepal

50% less oxygen than you’re used to, freezing temperatures, no showers for a week, blisters bursting through your socks and one of the best experiences of your life – that is Mount Everest Base Camp Trek in a nutshell. At [...]

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Cage Diving With Great White Sharks in South Africa

South Africa has a lot to offer backpackers and a few weeks gallivanting across Africa’s wealthiest nation wouldn’t be complete without coming face to face with nature’s oldest killing machine – the Great White Shark. How much does it cost [...]

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Trekking with Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda & Uganda

For any keen backpacker, the first question is presumably “How much does it cost to see the mountain gorillas in Rwanda?”. Rumours of crazy expenses are unfortunately pretty accurate – to trek with the Mountain Gorillas in either Rwanda or [...]

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5 Books to Read When you Travel

Lounging in a hammock on a Thai island or squeezed into a minibus with 25 locals for 12 hours, a good book can complement any scenario. Reading another generic John Grisham novel you picked up in the airport might pass [...]

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The Benefits of Studying Abroad

I have just started my Masters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this week (dec 2010) so studying is on my mind. Moving to a new country and getting immersed in education has really got me feeling positive so I thought therefore, [...]

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How Much Does it Cost to Go From Cape Town to Cairo?

Cape Town to Cairo may be a classic backpacking route but what a trip it is! From snorkeling in the azure blues of the Indian ocean, the white beaches of Zanzibar, wildlife galore in the Serengetti, standing on a glacier [...]

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The good, the bad and the ugly of Khao San road, Bangkok

Bangkok, Thailand’s fabled capital, is frequently the first stop for round-the-world (RTW) trippers and certainly features heavily in many long term travelers histories but what is it that draws in the hordes exactly? Well, first off Thailand is cheap (not [...]

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Partying in Beirut, Lebanon

I was expecting Beirut to be more bombs than bars but I was very much wrong – this city parties hard. I’m currently in a very hungover state, with a disgusting Beirut shaped hole in my bank account and (hazy) [...]

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A Backpackers Guide to Jordan

If Indiana Jones felt the need to visit Jordan then who are we to argue with its merits? What Jordan lacks in geographical size it more than makes up for in world class attractions. In Wadi Rum, Petra and the [...]

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Top or Bottom Bunk?!

You sort out your dorm, wander into the room and there’s one bunk left that is completely free. Moment of truth – do you choose the top or bottom bunk?! This is a common dilemma for us backpackers and one [...]

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Seeing Sights Because You Feel You Have To?

‘The traveler’s obligation’ Being on the road a long time, we get to see some of the most amazing sights imaginable – Great Wall of China, Sydney Opera House, Empire State Building, Machu Picchu. Often they blow our mind and [...]

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A Backpackers Guide to Egypt

Taking a picture of you pretending to pick up the Pyramids of Giza must be the most over taken tourist picture in the world…. still it’s a classic isn’t it?! Egypt plays host to some of the World’s most famous [...]

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How much Does It Cost To Climb Kilimanjaro

Africa’s highest peak (5895m) and the highest free-standing mountain in the world, climbing ‘Kili’ is a huge highlight of any trip to East Africa. I’m going to dispel a few of the myths about the costs involved and give you [...]

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How Much Does it Cost to Go Traveling?

I must have googled this 100 times before I first set off traveling in 2006 and only now, 4 years and 50 countries later, do I feeling truly qualified to answer it categorically. The answer is reassuringly simple – not [...]

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10 Things I Hate About Traveling on Buses

Long distance buses are part and parcel of any backpacking trip so love ‘em or hate ‘em, you’ll be spending countless hours on these mobile prisons. Poultry, screaming babies, puke, any and all forms of wild stock, cockroaches, sheer drops, [...]

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What is a TEFL course exactly?!

So you want to teach English overseas, you want to travel the world while you work, you want to live in far flung and exotic countries, you want to enhance your CV and learn a language, you want to have [...]

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A Backpackers Guide to East Timor

Portuguese flavoured East Timor became the newest country in the world when it was finally granted its official independence in 2002. Due to that face and the political turmoil its found itself in, this country is almost untouched by tourism [...]

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What to Do with a Couple of Days in Luxor, Egypt

If your impression of Egypt is well refined tourism, world-class ancient sites and too many pairs of fake ray bans then Luxor is its poster child. That being said, it’s a tourism hub for a reason so prepare to be [...]

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You know you’ve been traveling too long when…

When you’ve been on the road longer than you remember, sometimes you forget what the ‘real world’ is like. If the following statements apply to you then you, like me, have gone past the point of no return! You think [...]

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A Backpackers Guide to Ethiopia

Ancient temples, wild hyena feedings, the most delicious cuisine in Africa, cheap as chips – now that sounds like a backpackers dream. Welcome to Ethiopia! I spent just shy of a month in Ethiopia and even that didn’t seem to [...]

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Visiting the Pyramids of Sudan

- “Have you ever seen the pyramids?” - “The ones in Egypt or the ones in Sudan?” Instant backpacking points! Seriously though, when people talk about the pyramids they are generally referring to the ones in Egypt. Then again that’s [...]

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A Backpacking Guide to Sudan

Sudan is reportedly the place where Africa meets Arabia and I would struggle to disagree with that. I suppose I should add that despite what people’s preconceptions of Sudan may be, as long as you stick to the approved areas [...]

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5 Tips to Save Money on Food While you Travel

If you’re on a long backpacking trip then naturally eating 3 times a day will take its toll on your bank balance. My initial solution to this was simply not to eat 3 times a day, but excessive weight loss [...]

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5 Tips to Help you Barter

So as you make your way around the world it is inevitable that you will find yourself bartering for pretty much everything you need to buy – accommodation, taxi rides, generic touristy goods that we all seem to fill our [...]

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5 Great Travel Movies for Africa

Africa is something else. The source of mankind, natural beauty that will take your breath away, history that will shock and amaze you in equal measure. If you haven’t yet made it to the continent, if you have and you [...]

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A Backpacking Guide Djibouti

Djibouti – the only country name I’m aware of that contains a synonym for ass, that alone should be enough to justify a visit but if that doesn’t quite do it for you, there are a few other gems in [...]

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A Backpackers Guide to Tanzania

Tanzania, blessed with some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the world. Not an expensive country yet if you want to ‘do everything’ here you’ll spend a fortune and be heading home before broke before you know it! Highlights [...]

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7 Tips for working at American summer camps

OK, so having worked at 3 summer camps in America over the years and having unforgettable times, meeting unforgettable people and seeing unforgettable things – I want to impart onto you some of the hard earned knowledge I’ve accumulated over [...]

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16 FAQ about Teaching English Overseas

I have been teaching English around Asia for a while now and am currently studying part-time in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to get my Masters in the field so I’ve had a bash at thinking about all the questions I had when [...]

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Backpacking in Somalia – How To Get There

The last frontier of traveling? Perhaps, but in reality it’s really not that daring – that’s not to say, however, that Somalia isn’t a great place to go if you’re trying to get off that well trodden path because after [...]

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A Backpacking Guide to Somaliland

Somaliland may not have the Taj, the Statue of Liberty or even a Macdonalds but I’d trade all three of these for one trip here. Really, of all the places I have been Somaliland really shakes up your preconceptions. You [...]

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10 Things to Pack When You Travel

It’s always a huge dilemma – you’ve got all the stuff you want to bring placed on your bed at home, you stare at it then glance at your tiny rucksack, then back at your bed and back at your [...]

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Backpacking in Malawi – Guide to Malawi

Goodbye to the Portuguese-flavoured Mozambique and on to a whole new world – hello Malawi! I hate to repeat myself time and time again but Malawi is yet another amazing country (thinking about it, maybe it’s the traveling that’s always [...]

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