Visiting the Great Wall of China from Beijing

How to Visit the Great Wall of China from Beijing in 2023

How to Visit the Great Wall of China from Beijing in 2023 Getting from Beijing to the Great Wall of China can be done 2 ways. Either independently (saves cost but takes more time, read below to see how), or you can book a tour from Beijing...

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trans mongolian train from beijing to ulaan bataar

Taking the Train from Beijing to Ulaan Baatar, TheTrans Mongolian

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 the budget backpacker that I am, I bo...

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birds nest stadium china

4 Awesome Modern Buildings to See in Beijing

With everyone (rightly) obsessing with the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven and the Great Wall in Beijing, China’s Capital has been putting up some pretty funky modern buildings when nobody’s been watching! I’ve spent alm...

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temple of heaven beijing

3 Temples Not To Miss in Beijing

Beijing is too big to try and see everything unless you have a month or so (like me!), so I thought I’d list some of the stuff you really can’t miss. Along with the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall, Beijing’s modern building...

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Silk market china

Buying Stuff at the Silk Market in Beijing, the home of counterfeit goods?!

Oh my God, this place is either heaven or hell depending on your point of view. Whatever you’ve heard about China making knock-off clothes, electronics, even food (heard a rumour about fake eggs!) – here is your proof – all 5 air-conditione...

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mao embalmed

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 bar, sta...

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mutianyu great-wall

Seeing the Great Wall of China in Beijing

Seeing the Great Wall of China from Beijing is the easiest way to see one of the 7 wonders of the world. I BLOGGED EXACTLY HOW TO DO THAT HERE. One of the most visited sights in the world, and the icon of China. The Great Wall is absolutely...

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What a week in Türkmenistan 🇹🇲 Not sure wh

What a week in Türkmenistan 🇹🇲

Not sure what it is about these wild adventure trips I run - the lack of sleep, the chaos, the adventure or the illicit booze, but god does it ever attract a cool tribe. So grateful to travel to these places with these people ❤️🌍

6 days in a whirlwind. The gas crater, aka the Gates of Hell, is legit one of THE most epic adventure destinations in the planet. It never gets old. Riding old soviet trains across the country, drinking cheap local cognac, and road tripping to epic scenes. Life is stressful no doubt, but it’s also, fun, wild and beautiful. Don’t waste it folks.

Thanks for the pics:
@constialex
@myepicworldtour
@plne_zivota
@jabra_cadabra

It’s November, where are you off to?! I’d love

It’s November, where are you off to?! I’d love to hear your travel plans for the rest of the year! Where are you guys off to?

October, Nov and Dec are my fav times to travel for some reason. Less tourists, nice (colder!) weather.

Today, I’m in Bangkok airport. About to board my flight to Dubai, then on to Turkmenistan for a week to run one of my trips to the Gates of Hell. And then straight to Mauritania to ride (and suffer) the iron ore train through the Sahara with 20 people who could clearly be doing something a lot more comfortable with the time and money 😂

2 of the coolest trips on our beautiful planet. If you wanna join me in 2024, watch this space ❤️🌍

I’m building my mum a house in Thailand for $150

I’m building my mum a house in Thailand for $150k ❤️🇹🇭

The other side of traveling in Turkmenistan. The G

The other side of traveling in Turkmenistan. The Gates of Hell are the highlight but the rest of it was pretty epic too!

🇹🇲Turkmenistan is bordered by Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Kacakhstan as well as the Caspian Sea. It’s a country that few visit, and that’s a shame. Really fun place to travel around. And to see then leave the Soviet Union and then to create a very ‘unique’ country is fascinating. A brilliant few days ❤️

ITINERARY:
We did 5 nights.
Day 1:Arrived in Ashgabat at 3am and spent 2 hours with paperwork to enter 🤮.

Day 2: Quick morning tour of the crazy marble buildings in Ashgabat, then off to the crater where we overnighted, camped, drank, and tried not to fall into the burning crater.

Day 3: Back to the capital, sauna, shower, then off to the train station for an epic overnight Soviet sleeper train, 14 hours and 650km across the country.

Day 4: Arrive at the Caspian Sea, and road trip to the spectacular Yangy Kala canyon. Then a little tour of Turkmenibashi. Gatecrashed a birthday for dinner.

Day 5: fly back to the capital. Check out the UNESCO Nisa fortress, and visit the famous Turkmen horses. Free time to either chill, shop, or check out more epic monuments in the capital. Dinner and drinks at the 6* rooftop restaurant to sign off.

Day 6: awful 3am departure and I’m off home. Chiang Mai is calling!

The Gates of Hell, Turkmenistan 🇹🇲 A tough

The Gates of Hell, Turkmenistan

🇹🇲 A tough country to visit, a tricky visa, but home to one of the coolest attractions in the world - the gates of hell!

⛺️20 of us pitched our tents beside this place, swapped stories, drank whiskey and had a pretty epic time

🌎 I first visited back in 2016 and have been dying to run a OneStep4Ward trip here for years, but it was the last country in the world to open from Covid. The day it opened, we made it happen!

💚 There’s a lot more to Turkmenistan than just this, I’ll share more pics tomorrow.

✈️ I’m back in 3 weeks with another group and cannot wait. Special, special place.

The last pic though. My girls making friends in Ir

The last pic though. My girls making friends in Iraq 😂🇮🇶

Photo dump from my last few days in Iraq. Such a fun group in a gorgeous, misunderstood country. I’m in Istanbul tonight before I head to Turkmenistan tonight. I love Istanbul but there are so many tourists (I know, im one of them too!). It makes me appreciate these trips to epic places even more. We always have these beautiful, fascinating destinations to ourselves 😍🌍

Ill be running another trip here next year, but if you can’t wait and you wanna do something epic before then…

🇦🇫 Come to Afghanistan with me in February!
🇵🇰 🇨🇳 Or Pakistani Kashmir and China with me in June!
🇸🇾 Or Syria in October
DM me for more info if you think you wanna join 🍻

A few days in Iraq 😍🇮🇶 Some people just

A few days in Iraq 😍🇮🇶

Some people just can’t get excited for another 2 weeks in the Costa Del Sol or Cancun, and those people are my people. I know this kind of travel isn’t for everyone, but I’m so happy there are enough of us around so we can explore the world together!

Just finished 3 nights in Baghdad and Babylon. Trying to see the other side of Iraq, aside from the media narratives and the horror stories. And if you take that leap of faith you’ll discover a city on the up. The warmest smiles, the welcoming nature of the Iraqis. The country is full of history, Modern and ancient, and it’s a privilege to explore a place like this.

Great to hang out with old friends and new, and even sink a few drinks in a speakeasy. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and Saddam Hussein’s hot tub in his summer palace are particular highlights but the whole trip is pretty epic from start to finish.

Big thanks to Faez, Mousa, Muhaned and Ali for sharing their hospitality and culture with us. I’ll be back soon, maybe even later this year. I love that I can help bring people here to see the real Iraq. That’s the beauty of travel. Next stop… Istanbul. Then Turkmenistan!

If you wanna join one of my trips, the next batch are sold out, but we have a couple of spots available on:
🇦🇫 Afghanistan in February
🇵🇰 Pakistan and Kashmir in June
🇸🇾 Syria in May
🇮🇶 🇲🇷 And probably Iraq and Mauritania again in October/November. DM me to join.
Come see the countries that no one else goes to. You won’t regret it 🤜🏻🤛🏻🫡

SKIING IN AFGHANISTAN... My Jordan is OVER, thank

SKIING IN AFGHANISTAN...
My Jordan is OVER, thank you so so much all for donating to help find a cure for Parkinson's! If you liked the look of that trip, and want an EVEN WILDER trip, then mark February 2024 in your calendars and come join me SKIING IN AFGHANISTAN!
This is not a joke! I climbed Everest this year with the first ever Afghani everest summiter. During the 2 months together, we put together a cool trip where we'll be doing a big food donation to a community in need.
After the donation, we'll be exploring Kabul, the destroyed Buddha Statues of Bamiyan, and SKIING IN AFGHANISTAN for 2 days.
So if you're keen, DM me or email me and secure your spot. We have 14 spots gone, 4 spots left. These are the adventures that make us feel alive, see you there!

MORE INFO IN LINK IN BIO

100km charity cycle through the Jordanian Desert D

100km charity cycle through the Jordanian Desert DONE ✅ 🚴‍♀️💨

A few crashes, a lot of sweat and tears, a fair chunk of sunburn but our cycle from Petra to Wadi Rum desert was a success. Thank you everyone for you support. My mum is feeling exhausted but happy.

It’s been a brilliant few days with our group of 20 people. No wifi, no signal, sharing war stories from the cycle, and drinking cheap whiskey!

Now a couple of days to relax and recover on the coast of the Red Sea in Aqaba.

We are just £250 or so from hitting £10k, so anyone who would like to make one final donation to help to fund a cure for Parkinson’s, it would be hugely appreciated. The link for the donation is in my bio. Thank you everyone.

Now… what’s the next challenge for my old dear 🤔⛵️ ?

Our 100km charity cycle with my mum across the Jor

Our 100km charity cycle with my mum across the Jordan desert starts tomorrow! Link to do help to find a cure for Parkinson’s in my bio ❤️

Before we start the cycle though, 20 of our fundraisers and cyclists have spent a few days getting sun burnt in the Dead Sea, a little drunk in Amman, and power walking at 6am to be the first tour group at Petra 😍 PLACE TO OURSELVES!

I then went back to get this legend, where u got to fulfill a promise to me mum, to show her this Wonder of the World. Mission accomplished. The 100km cycle starts tomorrow 😬😬😬

Come SKIING IN AFGHANISTAN with me in March 2024!

Come SKIING IN AFGHANISTAN with me in March 2024!

Yup, I'm serious. Our foundation is going to do a food donation in Afghanistan next year and we want you to come and join us.

By joining, you'll be funding a large food donation in Bamiyan, Afghanistan.

The whole trip is a week long, starting in Dubai where we pick up our visas, then to Bamiyan, and finishing in Kabul, Afghanistan.

HOW?! I climbed Everest with Afghanistan's first ever Everest summiter, during the 2 months together, we planned this.

IS IT SAFE? This trip is no endorsement of the current regime. It's now very safe with the regime no longer needing to show force since they took the country. Sadly, with the Taliban in charge, all the charities left. So we want to help this community out.

The link for more info is in my bio…, and I'll share the booking page tomorrow. THIS WILL SELL OUT SO BE QUICK!

PS. The pic of me and my mum was the last time I was in Afghanistan. Beautiful country.

I just blogged the whole process of how I built my

I just blogged the whole process of how I built my dream home in Thailand. Check out my blog homepage, or the link in my stories to read all about it 🏡 🇹🇭

😭 How I ran out of money
💰 How much it all cost
💵 Monthly cost to run
🖼️ Design process
🌎 How foreigners can do it too

Where was the tech when I was traveling to every c

Where was the tech when I was traveling to every country in the world?! The @vascotranslator is a game changer for our travels, for doing business in other countries, for communication in general ❤️

🌍 Instant translator
🌍 NO internet needed (it’s built in, and free!)
🌍 NO monthly fee
🌍 90% of the world’s population covered

The device I’m using in the quick vid is the Vasco Translator 4. You can use my discount code for 5% off - ‘onestep5’. I also blogged about the device too, it was so helpful in Japan where few people speak English, and I don’t speak Japanese.

Better than using my phone too, as it has instant internet pretty much everywhere and i don’t have to mess around with SIM cards, Wi-Fi etc.

I’m gonna gift this one to my mum when she comes back to Thailand for the winters, it’ll be a real game changer for her! 🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭

#vascotranslator #vascotranslatorv4 #ad

Tomorrow (Monday, August 21st) Im giving a 100000%

Tomorrow (Monday, August 21st) Im giving a 100000% FREE online chat about how to make money blogging, and how I personally made over $3m from blogging.

It’s going to be super simple, and informal where I’ll explain everything!

@safetywing have hired me to do it, so I’m not selling anything, don’t worry. They paid me so you don’t have to! 😂

To join, click the LINK IN MY BIO please folks.

Time zones I’ll be doing the chat:

EST (New York etc): 12pm. Midday
PST (LA, Vancouver etc): 9am
BST (London): 5pm
UTC (Thailand etc): 11pm

Join me on zoom! Click the link and register with email then you’ll get the zoom link. See you guys soon 🙏🏼

This is the bike my 74 year old mum and I will try

This is the bike my 74 year old mum and I will try to cycle over 100km on through the desert in Jordan. Wish us luck, and if you can afford to donate to help us find a cure for Parkinson’s, please do 🙂 (Donation link IN MY BIO)

As many of you guys know, my mum has Parkinson’s Disease, and has had for over a decade already. She’s fighting hard, and this is part of that.

My mum is back in Europe, training hard. And I’ll meet her, with 16 other friends, next month in Amman, Jordan where we’ll attempt to cycle from Petra to Wadi Rum.

The disease currently has no cure, and even someone as strong as my mum, each year it gets a bit worse. So this will be here biggest challenge yet. We’re aiming to raise $10kUSD for Cure Parkinson’s, and every dollar or pound adds up.

Honestly. So if you can afford to help please do. If you can’t, then please share 🙂

Thanks everyone! And once again, the donation link is IN MY BIO!

Wrapping up my post-Everest celebrations, and some

Wrapping up my post-Everest celebrations, and some tips for you guys for Prague, Czech Republic!

HOW WE GOT THERE: I took a train from Bratislava, Slovakia. And for an extra €40 I upgraded us to first class. Highly recommended, complete with champagne and olives 🥂

HOW LONG TO STAY? We did 3 days and 4 nights. It’s my 3rd time in Prague, and I think that this is the sweet spot tbh.

WHERE TO STAY? If you’re on a boozy boys trip, stay somewhere cheap. If you’re on a romantic break, I’d suggest @alchymist_hotel and Spa, Praha Czech. The building is over 500 years old, booking.com score over 9, the most beautiful architecture and the right energy and architecture for Prague. Rooms start around $200. Insane value for such a luxury place.

SIMPLE ITINERARY:
Day 1: Old City stuff
Begin at Prague Castle for stunning views. Explore St. Vitus Cathedral, Golden Lane, and Charles Bridge. Discover Old Town Square's Astronomical Clock.

Day 2: Art and Unique Experiences
Visit the National Gallery and Jewish Quarter. Experience Wenceslas Square and shop. DO NOT MISS the @originalbeerspa , soaking in hops and barley goodness. It was a really highlight of my trip! Enjoy an evening river cruise.

Day 3: Local Flavors and Nightlife
Morning at Vyšehrad Castle. Savor a Czech lunch in Vinohrady. Explore Letná Park and the metronome. Visit an absinthe bar for a taste of the iconic green spirit. Enjoy Žižkov's vibrant nightlife.

BUDGET?
On a boozy boys low-end trip last time, I spent $100 a day.
This time on a high-end luxury trip with my mrs, it was $150 a day each or so.

TLDR? When in Prague stay at a boutique hotel (not a chain), don’t miss the beer spa, wander the old city. Maximise the experience by using the train to visit nearby countries (for us we did Bratislava, Slovakia and Vienna, Austria).

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