Gateway Countries – Cameroon (West Africa)

  Welcome to another ‘Gateway Countries’ blog, this time I am heading to West Africa. Please note – WEST Africa. I haven’t been much to the rest of Africa, bar Ethiopia, and I’m sure as an introduction to the whole continent, there are easier countries to start with such as South Africa for example. West …

Continue reading Gateway Countries – Cameroon (West Africa)

Foto Friday – Smiles in Mali

I thought I would do a regular, short Friday spot where I would present one photo and let people comment. 2007, I went trekking at the Dogon Escarpment in Mali. Stunning place, where the Earth shifted at some point dramatically and there is a giant cliff in the middle of nowhere. Villages on top and …

Continue reading Foto Friday – Smiles in Mali

Sunday Spotlight – Lome, Togo

Let’s be honest, Lome is probably NOT at the top of your list of places you want to see in your lifetime. Togo is a small, and very thin country in West Africa, between Ghana and Benin, and although it’s pleasant enough, there just isn’t a lot of reasons to head there. BUT, if you …

Continue reading Sunday Spotlight – Lome, Togo

Train Journeys – Cotonou to Parakou, Benin

Howdy all! I thought I’d start a new series of weekly articles today (aiming for every Thursday) about some of the train journeys I have taken. I have to confess to not having taken all the world’s greatest train journeys – for example I haven’t done the trans-Siberian or the Orient Express, but I thought …

Continue reading Train Journeys – Cotonou to Parakou, Benin

Trekking the Simien Mountains – Ethiopia

Hey folks.Today's blog I talk about one of the most amazing places I've been in the world - the Simien Mountains in Northern Ethiopia. One of the most stunning settings you'll find anywhere in the world, a great place for trekking too. I am not a big 'trekker' (and not a big trekkie either, I …

Continue reading Trekking the Simien Mountains – Ethiopia

The Frustrations of Self-Publishing

Hello all. Today, please forgive me, I am going to be quite self indulgent. I will do my best to keep away from 'Oh woe's me!' and the like, but I can't make any firm promises. So this self-publishing ebook lark. I started back in 2011 with no real idea what I was doing. I …

Continue reading The Frustrations of Self-Publishing

Culture Shock Part Two: First Experiences in West Africa

When I went to India, I was a very green traveller. It was my first solo trip, the first time I had travelled alone. When I went to West Africa in 2006, I couldn’t claim the same. I had been to India three times, I had visited Bangladesh twice and been through Pakistan and Iran …

Continue reading Culture Shock Part Two: First Experiences in West Africa

Five awesome places I’ve seen

Every blog needs a hook right? Okay so I thought I would sit down and think of five awesome places I have been, chuck in some photos and blab on a little about them.   5. The Pyramids, Egypt.   When I first headed overseas to backpack about, I knew there were a couple of …

Continue reading Five awesome places I’ve seen