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Riots, Revolutions and Why You Should Backpack
Sometimes things go wrong when travelling. I’m not just talking about misjudging the slightly dodgy lunch stop a Kyrgyz marshrutka dumped you at, forcing you into a state of simultaneous regret and literal buttock-clenching as you aim to prevent soiling an already soiled seat even…
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Between Mountains and Myths: A Journey Into Berat, Albania
The setting sun set the town ablaze, an orange glow ricocheting off windows and onto whitewashed plaster walls. As the heat of the day faded away, I sipped a cold beer and gently appreciated how the Albanian town of Berat had managed to maintain all…
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Discovering Tbilisi: Georgia’s Food, Culture, and Soviet Legacy
Few tourists visiting Georgia know about the war. In 2008, Russian troops marched across the mountainous border and occupied the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. A ceasefire was agreed but no formal treaty has ever ended what quickly became one of the world’s many…
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Peru’s Colca Canyon: The Hike Which Defied Logic
The path was steep and loose. The sandy gravel, smoothed by countless pairs of walking boots trampling over the same path made the descent treacherous. Despite the not insignificant difficulty in getting there without the help of a guide or tour group, I had made…
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How Not To Get To The Colca Canyon
Often the best adventures are when you set out with no plan, no notion of any consequences and no idea of the many pitfalls you may just squeak past. Watching condors soar over the canyon dropping precipitously below me, I was content, proud even, that…
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A Love-Hate Letter to New Delhi
“Where are you going?” “Come with me, I’ll take you to a hotel.” “Come this way, the exit is this way.” I was overwhelmed as I stepped off the train at New Delhi’s main station only to be swamped instantly with an onslaught of colour,…
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Skopje: Remodelling A City, North Macedonian Style
North Macedonia’s capital city was crazy. As dusk set across the main square, crowds milled around the giant statue of Alexander the Great, proudly claimed by the country’s citizens as one of their own. The vast paved expanse was peaceful, perfectly obscuring the almost complete…
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The Edge of Europe: Hiking Georgia’s Svaneti Trail
Knee deep in glacial melt water as it rushed beneath me and down the valley, I wondered whether this was a sensible decision to be wading across a river, carrying my worldly belongings on my back.
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History and Contradiction in the Centre of the World: Samarkand
Anyone visiting Uzbekistan will head to Samarkand and the Uzbek government knows it. The city, home to truly monumental medrasas, historic mausoleums and, at one point, some of the world’s most cutting-edge scientific discoveries, was, as I visited, a Mecca for anyone seeking the fabled…
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Into the Heart of Lake Titicaca: the Isla del Sol
Standing on the cold concrete beside all the buses parked outside Puno bus station, I was glad I had made the decision only to pass through one of Peru’s most visited cities. Grey-brown, non-descript structures rose around me, mainly thrown together using concrete columns and…
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Into The Elsewhere 