If I have a main regret about my time in Vietnam, it’s probably that I didn’t spend as much time on the rails as I could have. Yes, there was the toy train at Da Lat which I’ve mentioned before and deserves a ‘train journeys’ of its own one day (And I’d say will …
Let me take the Sunday Spotlight and shine it on the most beautiful spot in China that I have ever visited. Yangshuo is near Guilin, a town revered for its beautiful location by the Chinese. I travelled from Hong Kong, across the border to China and then by overnight train to Guilin, and in the …
India for the first time. Where do I start? For any intrepid world explorer, or simple backpacker such as myself, India is the essential place to visit. At least once, if not several times considering just how big the country is and how much there is to see there. But for me in 1999, it …
Ahhh yes I’m taking you Central Asia today for today’s train journey. The journey northward from Kazakhstan’s cultural capital Almaty to the somewhat Russian Semey in the north is certainly a long one, and although a good portion of it is overnight, it’s still rather a special time to spend on the rails. An …
Continue reading Train Journeys – Almaty to Semey (Kazakhstan)
As budget airlines become more common and popular around the world, the area where they’ve probably ‘taken off’ the best is Asia. I seem to recall that the ball started rolling in the UK around 12-15 years ago with Ryan Air and Easy Jet, then several budget airlines in mainland Europe, but despite so many …
Most of the train journeys I have written about so far have been longish journeys, overnighters, epic stories of survival (ok that’s an exaggeration) but not all worthwhile train journeys in the world are like that, in fact some are quite short. Take the seven-kilometre toy train journey from Darjeeling as a prime example. It’s …
Every week I get to Sunday and I have to put up my ‘Sunday Spotlight’, and I gets to thinking, then thinking a little more and then, yes, a little more. No, it’s not that there are no cities left, but that there are so many interesting ones out there that it’s so hard to …
Welcome to a new series of Friday articles which will tide us over for the next four or five weeks until the podcast resumes called ‘Gateway Countries’. People often talk about ‘gateway cities’, a good place to start if you’re going to a new country, one with plenty of transport in and out etc, but …
The main city in southern Vietnam, and the former capital, Ho Chi Minh City is the most popular starting or ending point for backpackers and tourists heading into Vietnam. One thing’s for sure, the place has a lot going for it, I had a brilliant time a couple of years ago when I visited again. …
If there was one city in China I was keen to visit before I went there, it was Shanghai. Why? Perhaps it seemed the most romantic of China’s cities? The most forward-thinking even back before China opened itself up to tourism, full of shiny skyscrapers and technology. Ripped off technology, sure, but technology none-the-less. I …
A Scottish island girl exploring the world on a budget
exposing the inner-world of my brain
My second blog page
Put pictures on your travel dreams
The beautiful picture of angels makes you happy.
inspiring journeys and friendly advice
A Scottish island girl exploring the world on a budget
exposing the inner-world of my brain
My second blog page
Put pictures on your travel dreams
The beautiful picture of angels makes you happy.
inspiring journeys and friendly advice
Andy's World Journeys 