City Rumble – Quito versus Lima

Two cities on the western side of South America, two countries that share a border, Quito and Lima both have good and bad sides. They are quite different cities despite being in neighbouring countries, and both offer quite a bit for the visitor. Quito is the Ecuadorian capital. It’s at altitude – 2,850 metres above …

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City Rumble – Budapest versus Bucharest

I guess it was only natural that eventually I would pit these two Eastern European cities against each other in a ‘City Rumble’, and so today is the day! The capital of Hungary against the capital of Romania. Two cities with similar sounding names (just ask Michael Jackson who called Bucharest Budapest to his fans …

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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 …

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First Taste – Douala, Cameroon

I once was planning a trip to West Africa and was telling a friend about it. He told me he really wanted to go to Cameroon, which was not one of the countries I had originally considered. This was back in the early naughties. I didn’t go until my third venture to Cameroon. I’m not …

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First Taste – New York City

  So, my first taste of the US of A was the Big Apple, New York City. ‘Twas back 1999 at the end of my first round-the-world adventure, and I was tiring. Nevertheless, I definitely found New York City to be the highlight of my time in North America. Let’s be honest though, New York …

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City Rumble – Singapore versus Kuala Lumpur

Ahhhh here we are! Almost neighbours, hubs for budget travel, shopping, bright lights and more, well, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, looking on from an outsider’s perspective, seem naturally to be rivals. I wonder if people living in either city feel that way (yes, cue for comments!). I’ve been through Kuala Lumpur a couple of times, …

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