Here are my personal travel stories from a lifetime of nomadic living and exploring the world. Some are more informative, typical-blog-style; others are meant to be more entertaining with an emphasis on creative writing. You can browse them by country or subject via the secondary menu above. Or you can check out the most popular or recent ones below.
Kurile Lake, Kamchatka: 30 Humans & 300 Bears at the End of the World
Downhearted, I regarded the scenery behind the drawn-aside curtain. The Orwellian, drab, concrete human containers the Soviets named Khrushchyovkas seemed even drearier behind the veil of the haze. The dense mass of black clouds that covered them did not allow ...
Mosul: An Iraqi City Recovering after 4 Years of Islamic-State Rule
Mosul has never been your typical travel bucket-list inclusion. More recently, it may have rather topped the list of your most sure-to-get-killed places on the planet—by murder, or suicide if by any chance you are a jihadi. But since it ...
A Solar Eclipse, a Rave Party, and a Bunch of Terrorists on Sulawesi
It was winter in the Northern Hemisphere. But as always, it was summer near the Equator. I was overwintering in the tropical latitudes of Southeast Asia. A good German friend had told me that he was about to head that ...
That Hippo Who Almost Killed Me in the Okavango Delta of Botswana
I don’t usually partake in contests of any kind. Never had that habit. But when I saw the latest writing prompt from the Globetrotters traveling publication on Medium, I couldn’t resist it. Wild: that’s exactly how I’d intuitively describe most ...
Two Lone Tourists In Baghdad
We were very lucky it was overcast over the city of Erbil. That’s not a common occurrence. And it happened on the perfect day: the day we had to spend in its entirety dawdling outside. Erbil isn’t a city with ...
When I Climbed that Pyramid in Giza
Under no circumstances could I let this opportunity pass without paying a visit to Giza and its pyramids. So, very early one morning, having started at dawn to avoid the traffic, I was passing beside the welcoming Sphinx and I ...
Ruta De Las Flores Road Trip
Ruta de las Flores (literally the flower route) is famed as one of El Salvador's most scenic traveling itineraries. It runs for about 50 km between the town of Sonsonate and Ahuachapan, going through a diversity of lush landscapes and ...
An Independent, 3-day Island-Hopping Kayaking Tour in Port Barton Bay
Port Barton on Palawan Island, Philippines, is famous for one thing: island-hopping tours. There is a multitude of pristine, heavenly little islands popping out from Port Barton Bay’s clear, blue waters. There are literally hundreds of boats stationed at Port ...
Sailing Evia Island, Greece: Marmari, Almyropotamos
Late summer 2020, Sophie and I were sojourning in my hometown, Chalkida, capital city of Evia, Greece’s second-largest island. On a mellow evening, I received an unexpected call from my old pal, Dimosthenis. To my excitement, he let me know ...
Getting Visited by a Brown Bear, that Night in the Carpathian Mountains
It was an exceptionally hot summer afternoon. Many hours had withered away since I had left my last night's refuge in that cornfield somewhere near Bacau, by dawn that day. Through many towns and villages, and immense extents of fields, I ...
Attending a Senegalese Wrestling (Njom) Contest in Joal
It was that other night. Quite an advanced night it was. Deep darkness had befallen over the west African coast since a few hours ago. And me with a friend we were striding along the lonely road from the town of Joal towards ...
Pompei, an Ancient City Preserved in its Entirety
The advent of this new day found me at a hostel in the town of Pompei, Campania, South Italy. The reason I had ended up there; plus the reason that pretty much anyone ever ends up over there; plus the ...
The Gem Scam in India – How I Scammed those Indian Scammers
It all began that late afternoon. I sat alone at that Sikh-family-owned restaurant I used to go to during my sojourn in Pushkar, one of India's holiest cities, sipping a cup of coffee and waiting for my dinner. Then I ...
Camel Safari in Thar Desert: the Great Indian Desert
Notwithstanding the subtle mantle of high-hovering cirrus clouds that webbed the east, it was a brilliant morning. A soft quietude and a caressing breeze prevailed in the air. A fat grey ox with erected horns was walking lazily along the ...
Tambacounda and Niokolo-Koba National Park – A Travel Story from Senegal
It was a long and uncomfortable journey. Me, a friend of mine, and six more locals together with the driver, squashed inside that wrecked old car, we drove throughout an entire day amidst great portions of flat, arid land till ...
What to see in Moscow in 2 days
Moscow, home to well over 10 million people, is the largest city in Europe. The city is so vast that one would always have the potential to discover new things in it, even after having lived there for an entire ...
Giri Giri: The Magical West African Talisman that Protects against Bullets and Demons
I remember the first time I got introduced to that object known as Giri Giri... It was in that seaside Senegalese town named Joal. By some random circumstances, I and a friend had ended up there, attending a big event ...
A Road Trip in Primorsky Krai
Day #1: Tokarevsky Lighthouse & Land of the Leopard National Park After some really epic adventuring in Kamchatka for a month and a half, we met again the Russian mainland in Vladivostok. We had to get back to Europe soon, ...
Kayaking to Koh Libong Island
Day #8 (27/6/2020) Distance travelled: 0 km (but 32 km kayaked!) More on YouTube Conditions overnight were uneventful; no storm, no heat, not even a barking dog. No sooner than we blinked our eyes open, we made our way down ...
3 Winter Days in Gjirokaster: Travel Guide
Overwhelmed with awe we regarded our new surroundings as we ambled through the timeworn city of Gjirokaster. We had just arrived there after a 2-day hike from Delvina over Mount Gjere. It was one of the last days of 2020 ...
Tham Krasae Bridge Railway Station: Day Trip from Kanchanaburi
After a motorbike trip to Erawan Waterfalls, as a second destination for a day trip from Kanchanaburi, we chose Tham Krasae Bridge Railway Station. That is part of the Siam-Burma historic railway built by the Japanese army during the WW2 ...
Cycling in Malta – Guide & 2-day Trip Report
Upon arriving on the island of Malta, one of the first things I noted was its tiny size. Of course, I knew from before that it is a very small country, but I expected it somewhat bigger. Peering at the ...
Things to see and do in Minsk, Belarus
Belarus recently changed its visa policy, allowing for the first time EU citizens to enter the country without a visa. Given this opportunity to remove one more of the very few remaining European countries from my bucket list, a chilly autumn ...
From Kandy to Sigiriya day trip by scooter
While traveling in Sri Lanka with a friend, we eventually wound up in Kandy. We had a few days to spare there, before moving onwards to Ella, and there wasn't much to do in such a bustling and rowdy city ...
Saxon Switzerland Trip day #2 – Bastei Bridge, Zschirnstein, Königstein
One who's been used to be sleeping in no other place than a soft bed would probably not describe a car as an ideal, cozy night shelter. As I though, have been used to be resting my body in pretty ...
Climbing Mount Giona, the Highest Mountain of Southern Greece
This is a post about climbing Mount Giona, the highest mountain in southern Greece. If you are looking for information and inspiration for planning out your hiking adventures throughout Greece, check out this resources page. Profound darkness was prevalent on ...
Banjul Ferry across Gambia River
The Banjul ferry service operates regularly between Gambia's capital, Banjul, and the town of Barra, located on the north side of Gambia River's mouth. It is the most popular ferry crossing in the Gambia, serving thousands of people daily. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HWqZYlaiJ8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igmNAJO_RYI ...
Yoff Beach, Dakar, Senegal
Along Dakar's, Senegal's capital city, northern coastline, and before the vast, wild Atlantic Ocean lies Yoff Beach. For the 90,000 inhabitants of Yoff, Dakar's largest town (commune d'arrondissement), Yoff Beach is not just their beach: the place where they'll spend ...
Climbing Mount Cithaeron
Mount Cithaeron is a mountain located north of Athens, of which the highest peak, known as "Profitis Ilias" or "Elatias", rises to 1409 AMSL. The homonymous, elongated mountain range to which it belongs used to form the boundary between the ...
Hiking Mount Aigaleo in Athens
A sunny and peaceful Saturday morning... and we were driving our way out from Athens. Our destination was the Gereneia Mountains on the west border of Attica; however, there was only a tiny portion of the distance separating us from ...
Hiking Mount Pyxarias on Evia Island
This is a post about hiking Mount Pyxarias on north Evia Island in Greece. If you are looking for information and inspiration for planning out your hiking adventures throughout Greece, check out this resources page. Pyxarias is the fourth-highest mountain ...
From Bissau to Serrekunda – Traveling in West Africa
The sun that rose over the West African coast, that morning, was the last one to find me in Bissau. My plan for that day was to farewell that country and move up north to Serrekunda, Gambia's largest city. I ...
Getting Visited by a Brown Bear, that Night in the Carpathian Mountains
It was an exceptionally hot summer afternoon. Many hours had withered away since I had left my last night's refuge in that cornfield somewhere near Bacau, by dawn that day. Through many towns and villages, and immense extents of fields, I ...
Attending a Senegalese Wrestling (Njom) Contest in Joal
It was that other night. Quite an advanced night it was. Deep darkness had befallen over the west African coast since a few hours ago. And me with a friend we were striding along the lonely road from the town of Joal towards ...
Tambacounda and Niokolo-Koba National Park – A Travel Story from Senegal
It was a long and uncomfortable journey. Me, a friend of mine, and six more locals together with the driver, squashed inside that wrecked old car, we drove throughout an entire day amidst great portions of flat, arid land till ...
Visa for Guinea Bissau in Ziguinchor
A visa for Guinea-Bissau may very easily be obtained from the country's consulate in Ziguinchor. Indeed, much more easily than from the embassy in Dakar (of what I heard from people having done so). I literally had to spend 10 ...
Cycling in Casamance – The Story of a short day trip
Yet another flaring sun rose in the all-clear blue sky over the West African coast. Another exquisitely beautiful day had just started at Cap Skirring Beach, Casamance. I had already spent there more days than what I could have kept ...
