I have been wanting to come to Afghanistan for the longest time, and had finally booked. Hubby had even agreed to come with me, though he was quite sceptical about security and had even packed our emergency locator beacon. We had planned a 9 day trip with the highlight being a trip to Bamian to […]
Killing time in Kabul (part 1) Read More »
Arriving in Sao Tome (especially from Angola) is like having a balm applied to your soul. The immigration guy was so friendly he even gave me a big thumbs up. No visa required here for under fifteen days, so nice relative to many African countries. Nunes was there to pick us up, and we cruised
Chilling in Sao Tome Read More »
Angola is hard to get into and blimmen expensive when you get there. The government are notorious for not issuing visas, and aren’t keen on visitors (unless you are Russians buying their oil). It was a portuguese colony until 1975 when Agostinho Neto (lots of monuments and pictures of him later) became the first
Looking around Luanda/affluence in Angola Read More »
Now I am getting close to completing visiting all of my list of 197 countries, I have started a nice geeky spreadsheet with all the dates of entry for the different countries and noting which of my various passports has the entry stamp. In the process I realised that I had misplaced my very first
Passport stamps in Nepal Read More »
I was off to Dubai for work, and so figured out how to sneak in a weekend in the Seychelles while there. Hubby wasn’t super keen to come as it is a bit far for a weekend so there I was, solo on a flight jam packed with honeymooners and couples! Flying into the Seychelles,
Cheeky weekend in the Seychelles Read More »
Hubby was accompanying me on this trip, and he was delighted to see the french equivalent of the FCO had just downgraded the security risk on Mauritania from ‘advise against all travel’ to ‘advise against all but essential travel” – by my standards lately that is like visiting Disneyland. We were heading to Nouakchott
Meandering around Mauritania Read More »
Given my travel history, I regularly get asked which is my favourite country in the world….. Honestly, that’s easy. New Zealand every time! However, I do have a list of places that I highly recommend, many of which I would go back to (or have gone back to) over and over again. Here it is:
Which are the best countries in the world to visit? Read More »
I am on an instability and poverty roll on this trip – next up Comoros – the third poorest country in the world and they have had over 20 coups since they got independence from France in 1975. It was stunning flying over Comoros…. verdant green hills with few buildings, volcanic black rock and stunningly
Climbing in Comoros Read More »
I was a bit nervous boarding the flight to Juba! South Sudan has had a torrid time of its new independence…, the youngest country in the world, the Christians of South Sudan achieved a hard-won independence from islamic Sudan in July 2011. They managed two years of stability, but there has been an ongoing civil
Surviving South Sudan Read More »
It’s an odd moment when the FD at work emails you and says ‘hey, didn’t you say you were going to Burundi in a few weeks?, I know someone who will be there’. It’s fair to say Burundi doesn’t have much of a profile, and quite a surprise to get an introduction to a British
Being inspired in Bujumbura Read More »
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