March 26, 2017
“Don’t go to Varanasi.” That’s what we’d been told by a few people we’d met on our trip. “You’ll either love it or hate it,” others had said. It’s certainly not for the faint-hearted. Filthy, smoggy, the traffic is insane – it makes New Delhi seem like The Cotswolds. But it is one of, if not the most mesmerising and unforgettable…
March 7, 2017
Alipura is a small rural town in Madhya Pradesh. Around eighty percent of the Indian population live in small towns and villages like this one, so it was really great to visit another. We stayed in Alipura Palace which is over 150 years old and has been partially converted to a heritage hotel by descendants of the original ruling family. Staying here…
February 28, 2017
One of the new seven wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal is high on everyone’s list when visiting India. Out of everything to see in the country it wasn’t top of our list, but we went and stood in the queue in the dark to be there for the sunrise anyway.
February 18, 2017
Jaipur, the capital of India’s Rajasthan state, is an amazing, colourful city, with chaotic streets and lively bazaars. Camels and elephants share the roads with scooters and cycle rickshaws. In the hills, the remains of palaces and forts show the splendour of the city’s ancient royal past.
February 15, 2017
Namaste India! This one has been on the bucket list for a long time. We arrived to an extremely smoggy New Delhi late at night and the next day set out to try some of our favourite cuisine.
February 13, 2017
Sapa is a town in the mountains of North Vietnam, originally a hill station for the French in 1922, now a base for trekking in the surrounding countryside through cascading rice terraces and small hill-tribe villages.
February 10, 2017
In May 2014 we set off on our first long-term adventure, 7 months travelling through South East Asia and on to New Zealand. We started that trip by flying straight into Hanoi and it was a hot, crazy, noisy, intense sensory overload, where our love affair with Vietnamese food began. Returning two and a half years later we were intrigued…
February 1, 2017
The tubing haven of Vang Vieng in central Laos is an example of tourism gone wrong. This sleepy town on the Nam Song River became a famous party mecca for backpackers, who would float down the river on inner tubes, stopping off at bars along the way. Drunk revellers would dive into the river from rope swings and down the…
January 28, 2017
We missed out Laos on our last trip, it was monsoon season and we decided to go to Myanmar instead, so we were happy to get the time to fit it in on this trip. There wasn’t a lot to do in the capital Vientiane, but an interesting place to visit is the COPE centre. About a twenty minute walk…
January 9, 2017
What better way to finish off five months in Latin America than a few days in Mexico City. We had three things to tick off the list – sampling the delicious street food, visiting Arena Mexico to watch some Lucha Libre wrestling and a trip to the pyramids of Teotihuacan.
January 3, 2017
Puebla was just a quick two night stop on our way to Mexico City, although we had a lovely little hostel in the centre of the city and wished we had stayed a few more days. The main reason we went was to head over to the town of Cholula and see if we could catch a glimpse of the Popocatepetl…
October 18, 2016
San Cristobal de las Casas is a small colonial town up in the mountains of the Chiapas region of Mexico. It sits at an altitude of 2200 metres so can get quite chilly at night. The town is very pretty, with colourful buildings, typical Mexican style churches, small cobblestone streets, great food, lively bars and a fantastic market. It is…
October 8, 2016
Valladolid is a pretty little colonial town in Mexico’s Yucatan region. It doesn’t see that many tourists but is a great base to visit Chichen Itza which is only 45 minutes away. The town is very quiet, with a pretty main square, cathedral and brightly coloured buildings. We found a great local restaurant in a food court off the square…
September 22, 2016
Playa Del Carmen is just an hour down the coast from Cancun and is a much more compact town. All of the beaches are public and there is a small walking street called 5th Avenue filled with shops, restaurants and bars. Our hotel was just a few blocks back from the beach in more of a local area with much…
September 20, 2016
You may have noticed we haven’t posted as much about food on this trip. Sadly, apart from Ceviche, the cuisine in South America just didn’t live up to the standards of Asia and it was so unhealthy! At first it seems great but a few weeks of eating only fried food and carbs with absolutely no flavour in any dish…
September 16, 2016
Puerto Viejo is a small town on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast. It’s known for its laid- back vibe and great food. It’s also very expensive for a backpacker budget so unfortunately we could only stay a few days.