“Bogota has very colourful street life, as you can see. Unfortunately there are also many homeless people on the streets in the city. During the tour, homeless people may come and stand near our group. Don’t worry. They are just curious because we speak English. They will not do anything bad…”
In the dark ages of backpacking we carried heavy paperback books, to while away the weary hours. Now you can carry all the rainy-day entertainment you need on your phone. One of my favourite things to do when I’m bored is listen to podcasts…
One Australian, two Colombians and two Belgians go up a mountain to see a giant Jesus. On the way we listen to music and swap travel stories. The music sounds a bit like a hip-hop boy-band produced by Ricky Martin…
Some of these graves look more comfortable than hostels I’ve stayed in. The neighbours wouldn’t wake you up banging doors in the middle of the night either…
Sunday afternoon I was in jolly old England, wearing two jumpers… Monday lunchtime I’m eating a gigantic pork chop with fried bananas in Ecuador, South America…
Things that are usual: 1. working; 2. shopping; 3. eating; 4. drinking beer; 5. procreating; 6. watching television. These are usual things. If you see something not usual, report it. It won’t hurt you. You’ll feel so much better if you report…
It is very important to make really good tools for killing other people. Bad people, of course. Bronze is OK, but if you want to build a serious empire, make your stabbing tools out of iron…
When I see street art in London, it’s exciting, almost shocking. So much of the city is like a surreal homage to history…
The original Wat Chedi Luang was built six centuries ago, so it looks a bit battered and falling down. It has big elephants on it. It’s like a giant birthday cake after the kids grabbed fistfuls of it…
It’s full of bacteria” he spat. “Look, there’s rats shitting on the floor, and flies landing on the rat poop, and then the flies are landing on the meat!” He looked outraged. “You take two mouthfuls of that curry, and you’ll be shitting through a straw for a week…
Hitchhiked 900 kilometres across Eastern Australia to Drake Village. Rode my bike 15 kilometres to the banks of the Rocky River. Hiked through the bush, pitched my tent, lived on mung beans and lentils for a week… all so I could be at Rainbow Gathering. Was it worth it? Yep. Absurdly beautiful river. Lovely, lovely…
Outback Australia is pretty sparsely populated. The people you do meet are colourful characters: stoic, steadfast and sunburnt; shaped by the harsh landscape and climate. Meet a few Mount Isa residents we bumped into. Termite Hill Terry. Jawa Jack. Fish Head Fred. Hunter S. There’s always a few city folk doing the tourist thing in…