Latvia Latvia: Christmas trees and castles It was only a couple of weeks into December, but already Riga was bitterly cold. The Daugava river had begun to freeze around the edges, and the air stung my ears, numbed my fingers and toes. I ducked into a café to warm up, and the waitress, keen to give
Albania Krujë: Searching for Skanderbeg “Shkodër! Shkodër! Shkodër!” The row of drivers yelled out their destinations in staccato bursts, eyeing us hopefully as we walked hesitantly towards where their minibuses were parked, along the edge of the sprawling Zogu i Zi roundabout. “Durrës! Durrës! Durrës!” We were looking for a ride to Krujë, a town
Montenegro The Bay of Kotor It was an aerial photo of the Bay of Kotor that first really piqued my interest in Montenegro, and I’m sure many other travellers have been lured here in the same way. The bay is simply jaw-dropping, a fjord-like inlet hemmed in by crumpled mountains, with a string of
Macedonia On the shores of Lake Ohrid The Macedonian city of Ohrid sits on the lake of the same name, a vast expanse of impossibly blue water that straddles the mountainous border with Albania [http://not-here.ghost.io/tag/albania/]. I was immediately struck by the seaside feel of the place, a little unexpected given that Macedonia
London God's Own Junkyard, Walthamstow When you live in London it’s easy to take your surroundings for granted. I’ve lived here for five and a half years and I still haven’t been to some of the city’s biggest tourist attractions, places that would be at the top of your list if
Laos Luang Prabang: Buddhism and bowling The fluorescent green ball bounced and skidded wildly across the lane into the gutter, and I stumbled back through the fug of cigarette smoke to retrieve my pint, shouting to be heard over the blaring Rihanna medley assaulting my ears. “Not quite what I expected from our first night!” It
Croatia Dubrovnik: War and peace We shuffled through the Pile Gate, the tourist-choked entrance to Dubrovnik’s Old Town, in something of a daze. After two weeks in the Balkans meandering along the road less travelled, the herd of badly dressed, camera-wielding cruise ship passengers spewing out across the gleaming marble of the Stradun, Dubrovnik’
Italy Palermo: Refusing to pay Our host, Salvatore, beckoned us inside with a theatrical flourish, and welcomed us to his self-proclaimed Sultanate in the heart of Palermo. Exuding eccentricity, with wild, fuzzy hair and a pointy beard, he looked a little like a wizard, or perhaps ajinni. His Arabian-themed guesthouse was beguilingly bonkers, an Aladdin’
Albania Welcome to Tirana It’s probably fair to say that most people arrive in Tirana with low expectations. Dismissed by many guidebooks as dusty and dilapidated, with little in the way of tourist sights, the Albanian capital still struggles with something of an image problem. The chaotic mishmash of communist-era apartment blocks, rusting
Travel literature The best travel books that I read in 2014 Although the last week of January is perhaps a little late for a ‘Best of 2014’ article, I nevertheless thought I’d share a selection of the best travel books that I read last year… The Way of the World Nicolas Bouvier, 1963 The Way of the World chronicles the
Albania Backpacking in Albania: 6 things you need to know Albania is a fascinating place, quite unlike anywhere else I’ve been in Europe. Having suffered years of isolation and hardship under a particularly harsh dictatorship, nowadays this friendly country is rapidly developing and can often feel like a nation struggling to keep up with its own progress. The tourist
Macedonia 24 hours in Skopje Our driver, a surly and uncommunicative brute of a man, lit another cigarette, cradling his mobile phone between ear and shoulder as he swung out into the path of the oncoming traffic. The engine growled and strained as he accelerated past the car in front, before ducking back into the
London The View from The Shard The Shard is, depending on who you ask, a visionary addition to the skyline of a dynamic 21st century metropolis, or a vulgar display of Qatari oil wealth that’s out of kilter with a city steeped in history. Visible from just about anywhere in the city, Renzo Piano’s
Portugal Holiday memories: 1989 - 1998 Stuffed into a battered old cardboard box at my parents’ house, where I’ve been staying over Christmas, is a veritable treasure trove of childhood holiday memories. Hundreds of photos document the tortured evolution of my haircut and fashion sense against a backdrop of Spanish beaches, Swiss mountains and French
Vietnam The streets of Old Hanoi The traffic honked and screeched and beeped and buzzed, a seething mass of organised anarchy. A constant stream of motorbikes, carrying up to four people at a time, wove in and out of fruit sellers in conical hats and precarious cyclo taxis ferrying wide-eyed tourists to and fro. Hanoi’s