In all my five years of living in Hong Kong I never got sick of that skyline. In fact, saying goodbye to that view was the very last thing I did before I left for the airport. And with so many incredible angles to see the city from, it’s hard to pick my favourite. Here are just a few of the best views in Hong Kong. Read more
Don’t Tell Your Mother | A Mother’s Day Special
Dear Mum, I have a confession or two. Sometimes when I travel or I relay an anecdote from an adventure somewhere, I may leave out a few choice details. But, especially for Mother’s Day, I thought it was time to share/scare you with a couple of revelations:
I have travelled without insurance. Not a lot (I’m usually pretty good with this), but there’s definitely been once or twice where it’s slipped my mind or didn’t quite make it into the budget. If it helps, I’ve worked out that I’ve spent thousands on travel insurance, but I’ve never actually got anything back with a claim, so I saved myself some dosh. Read more
The Great British Cake-Scoff: A Guide to British Food
So, I’ve put on a lot of weight since I’ve moved back to the UK and with very good reason. British food is not an internationally beloved cuisine. In most large cities around the world, you may be able to find a decent pizzeria, Chinese takeaway or Irish pub.
But, you will never ever find a good chippy or a proper British pub outside the British Isles. Read more
Don’t Miss Saigon! | A Few Days in Ho Chi Minh City
I had spent 10 days in Myanmar, only one week in Laos and then two weeks in Cambodia, but I had only set aside a few days to explore Ho Chi Minh City, also known fondly as Saigon. It was my second visit to Vietnam, having been to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay back in 2013, but I desperately wanted to see ‘the Pearl of the Orient’ before I left Asia for good.
Having wangled a bus journey from Cambodia and rearranged some flights, I managed to squeeze a few days in HCM City into my Southeast Asian tour. Here is my travel diary from my very short dip into Vietnam and Saigon: Read more
Ho Chi Minh City Travel Advice & Budget Planning
So, I’d covered Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. Next was a brief few days in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, also known fondly by its previous name, Saigon. I only spent a few days in the city, so here is my Ho Chi Minh City travel advice and budget planning for a brief visit.
This was my second trip to Vietnam, having visited Hanoi and explored Ha Long Bay back in 2013. I’d heard great things about Saigon, so even though I’d experienced some of Vietnam before, I didn’t want to leave it off my Southeast Asia backpacking trip. Read more
Two Weeks in Cambodia | Travel Diary
OK, so if you’ve been keeping track then you’ll know that so far on my travel diary, I’ve done 10 days in Myanmar, one week in Laos. Next up in my Southeast Asian adventures is two weeks in Cambodia.
I had been anticipating a trip to Cambodia ever since I first moved to Asia, so this part of my trip was definitely a treat for me. For a detailed itinerary of my trip, you can read my previous post on Cambodia travel advice.
Here is my travel diary from my two weeks in Cambodia:
Day 1 – Vientiane, Laos to Phnom Penh, Cambodia
After an intense one-week fling with my new lover, Laos, I was now ready to head to my next destination. I started my two weeks in Cambodia in Phnom Penh, flying into the capital city. Read more
How I Saw 10 Temples in Angkor in Just One Day
My recent trip to Cambodia was on a shoestring budget. With tickets to visit the ancient city of Angkor starting at US$37 for one day and a limited time in Siem Reap, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to see that many temples in Angkor.
Hostel staff advised that I would be able to see five temples in Angkor if I took a bike, more with a guide. My trusty Lonely Planet told me I could only manage three Angkor temples in 24 hours.
Not to be thwarted, I rented a bike for the day for US$3 and decided I would try and see as many as I could. I left my hostel at 4am, cycling through unlit city streets to get to the ticket office (confusingly, notwhere near the entrance of Angkor), before heading to Angkor Wat for sunrise.
I didn’t see five temples. I didn’t see three. I saw TEN temples in Angkor and I have the sweat-drenched t-shirt and toned glutes to prove it! Here are the ten temples in Angkor that I managed to squeeze into just one day: Read more
Easter in New York City | Top 10 Tips by Stephanie Fox
It’s been a few years since I enjoyed Easter in New York, but I loved the long weekend in the Big Apple. I’d previously only visited NYC in winter. However, the month of April transformed the city into a bright airy place full of colour – and chocolate!
It’s hard to imagine, with all that concrete everywhere, but in America and especially NYC they manage to be so flamboyant and colourful that the infectious Spring vibe filters along the streets.
Stephanie Fox blogs about Newcastle and Travel at her blog www.stephaniefox.co.uk. She’s kindly contributed this Easter-themed guest post to help me with my #40days40blogs Lent challenge! Here are her top 10 things to do for Easter in New York City: Read more
The Best Free Museums in London
London has a reputation for being expensive and often with good reason. A standard cup of coffee will cost you a cheeky £3-4, one stop on the tube can go for as much as a fiver and a trip to St. Paul’s Cathedral will set you back eighteen of your English pounds! However, one redeeming factor is that there are hundreds of free museums in London.
Here are just a few of the free museums in London and why you should visit them:
The British Museum
The iconic British Museum is instantly recognisable for the Great Court (pictured above), Read more
How Many Countries Are There? & Other Reasons Why I’m Not Counting
My passport expires in 2020, but it’s almost certainly going to be filled by then. I’ve even stuck post-it notes onto the few empty pages left to save them from an Immigration officer’s careless stamp. But no matter how much I love flicking through the pages and admiring the ink, I don’t ask how many countries are there?
I don’t count countries.
I see a lot of travel bloggers, travel Instagrammers and travel enthusiasts with a running total on their websites or profiles, ’27 countries and counting!’ And I think it’s great if you want to do that. It’s a great way to quantify the places you’ve travelled to, it’s satisfying to hit the big landmark numbers and it’s good motivation if you want to see ‘all the countries in the world’.
I just don’t think it’s the only way to measure travel (if it can be measured at all). And it’s certainly not for me. You’ll never see a running total on here or on any social media page I’m on and here’s why: Read more