On the Buses – Ecuador and Peru

If you’re heading to South America for any length of time, you’re going to be spending time on buses. Unless you fly everywhere I guess, but one thing is for sure – it’s not a continent widely connected by rail. Which is certainly disappointing for any rail buffs out there. Like myself. I did get …

Continue reading On the Buses – Ecuador and Peru

Accommodation Review – Hotel La Dolce Vita, Sucre, Bolivia

Well. The name says it all, doesn’t it? Sucre is a delightful city in South-Central Bolivia which is definitely worth a short stop if you’re there. It can be reached in a couple of hours from Potosi by share taxi which was great as at the time I was well and truly sick of the …

Continue reading Accommodation Review – Hotel La Dolce Vita, Sucre, Bolivia

Andy’s Travels – Then and Now

Travel. Backpacking. Both have changed an incredible amount in the last two decades. My first solo trip was 18 years ago now. Early February 1999 and I headed out on my first round the world adventure stopping in Thailand as my first stop. Khao San Road was far more basic compared to today. No fast …

Continue reading Andy’s Travels – Then and Now

Accommodation Review – Hotel Tren Dorado, Riobamba, Ecuador

Riobamba is around four hours by bus from the Ecuadorian capital Quito. The drive is quite impressive at times with the mountains and so on, and Riobamba itself seemed like a nice small city, with a bit of a University vibe. I was there to catch a bus to the Nariz Del Diablo, the Devil’s …

Continue reading Accommodation Review – Hotel Tren Dorado, Riobamba, Ecuador

Accommodation Review – Hotel San Francisco, Quito, Ecuador

I stayed at the Hotel San Francisco (de Quito) in early October. I stayed there principally because it was the hotel used by my Intrepid tour to Galapagos which included a night at both the start and end of the tour in Quito. I also stayed an extra two days before the tour commenced, so …

Continue reading Accommodation Review – Hotel San Francisco, Quito, Ecuador

Accommodation Review – Cosmic Guesthouse, Hong Kong

To stop for a second wrapping all my accommodation reviews into one post for this once, I felt that Cosmic Guesthouse deserved its own review. Not because it was the most amazing place I’ve ever stayed, neither was it the most dire. But it certainly is an institution. I mean, it’s not often that you …

Continue reading Accommodation Review – Cosmic Guesthouse, Hong Kong

City Rumble – Vilnius versus Riga versus Tallinn

Time for three cities to step into the ring in the Baltic showdown to end all showdowns! Okay well, not quite. However, the three Baltic capitals are all cities with something special and indeed different to each other. And it's been ages since I did a city rumble so it was well overdue! The Baltics …

Continue reading City Rumble – Vilnius versus Riga versus Tallinn