Popular Intrepid Travel Experiences

Not far from the geographical center of Laos, I had made the journey (by local bus from Luang Prabang) to Phonsavan, a relatively backwater town, for one reason – to visit the mysterious Plain of Jars.  It’s not known for

Towards the end of March, while Marius and I were still travelling around India, we couldn’t stop our thoughts drifting towards April and our much anticipated trip to Nepal to trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC) in the Sagarmartha National

It was my second trip to Japan, the first a few months earlier as a stopover for a few days in the southern city of Osaka (and Hiroshima) as part of a work trip to Korea, but this time a

As my epic intrepid adventure along the Trans-Mongolian Railway reached its end by arriving in Beijing, a new adventure would begin; a month exploring the Mighty Dragon. Beijing is the capital of the China and is the political, educational and

A 45 minute drive by shared taxi from Amritsar (the most convenient way of getting to the border), is the Wagah border between India and Pakistan; site of the world famous border closing ceremony. You would think, as in almost

Ahoy me maties.  Ever since I became interested in ships and shipping at my first professional job as an Export Logistics Planner, I had wanted to spend some time at sea aboard a merchant vessel.  David, an English friend I

Sri Harmandir Sahib, informally referred to as the "Golden Temple", is not only a central religious place of the Sikhs, but also a symbol of human brotherhood and equality. It is the holiest Gurdwara of Sikhism, located in the city

Hadrian’s Wall was the defensive wall built by the Romans on the northern border of their empire during the reign of Emperor Hadrian (117 to 138A.D.) and is officially recognized as a World Heritage Site. The wall, primarily made of

After making our way from Kathmandu to Namche Bazar, via Lukla Airport, we decided to spend two nights to explore the surrounding area. On our ‘day off’ from hiking we made the short hike from Namche Bazar to visit the small

On the penultimate day in Dubai, I opened Derrek’s Arabian Lonely Planet and started to read about Oman.  Towards the bottom of the first page it read:"Oman is not the easiest of destinations, particularly for lone travellers on a tight

As part of my overland journey from India to Egypt, I would take the opportunity to visit and explore Syria, which in 2009 was stable and peaceful. My Belgium travelling companion (who I’d first met while travelling in Iran) Catherine

The Central Otago Rail Trail is 150kms in length, located between the small towns of Middlemarch and Clyde in New Zealand’s South Island. With its wide gravel path and gentle 1:50 gradient, the trail has become popular with walkers, cyclist and horse

Having been to the steps of Mt Everest after three amazing night at Gorak Shep we began the long hike back to Lukla. We would stay at the lodge village of Zonglha and trek over the ice covered Cho La

For a number of years I’d been wanting to not only explore the Stonehenge complex, but also to witness the summer solstice at the world famous prehistoric monument located 13 km north of the English town of Salisbury. The Summer

Jerusalem is the capital and largest city in Israel and is holy to three of the world’s great religions (Islam, Christianity, and Judaism) and is considered as one of the oldest cities in the world and one of the world’s

Damascus (nicknamed City of Jasmine ) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth and on account of its physical location has been a transit point for many trading routes over the millennia.   The old-walled city, in

Several decades ago Dubai’s Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, realizing that oil reserves would one day be exhausted, began a process to diversify the economy to relieve it of the dependence on oil and gas.  You might be surprised

Trooping the Colour is a traditional ceremony performed by regiments of the British and Commonwealth armies with a long history that originates on the battlefield where a regiment slowly marches their colours between the soldiers’ ranks.Since the early 18th century Trooping

On day 11 of our three weeks hiking and climbing in the Sagmartha National Park we arrived into Gorak Shep after the relatively short hike up the valley from Lobuche. Gorak Shep is the closest group of teahouses/lodges to Kala

It all began early in 2010 after I had returned from travelling abroad and was considering what career path I wanted to change to if I didn’t want to pursue Farming, Forestry Management and Shipping; which I had been involved

From Sur, I drove the 50km to the eastern most point of the Arabian Peninsula to visit the Ras al Jinz Turtle Reserve, south of Ras Al Hadd. The turtle reserve was formed in 1996 and covers a large area

A mere 19km from the Swedish Lapland town of Kiruna lies the tiny village of Jukkasjärvi world famous for being home of the iconic ICEHOTEL. Jukkasjärvi is located approximately 200km north of the Arctic Circle and next to the Torne

California has some of my favourite wilderness areas in the world, with unparalleled diversity from coast to alpine and desert to montane. There are 150 wilderness areas that cover nearly 15 million acres—roughly 15 percent of the state! We were

Gothenburg (known in Swedish as Göteborg) city, located on the west coast of Sweden and on the mouth of the Göta älv (Göta river) is the second-largest city in Sweden after Stockholm. A short distance down river lies the archipelago

It’s common to make your way from Jaipur to another popular far flung destination on the intrepid travellers trail – the desert fort village/town of Jaisalmer.  However, it’s a 600km, 10 – 12 hour journey, so my advice would be

While living in London it is popular to made regular trips to and around Europe, so when I was invited to join a group of 12 others (10 of them girls) on a long weekend visit to explore the Champagne

Covering an area of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain of nearly three quarters of a million acres, Yosemite National Park is internationally renowned for its magnificent granite cliffs, waterfalls, crystal clear streams, giant sequoia groves and biological diversity. The geology

Tarifa is a small town at the southern tip of Spain on the Costa de la Luz in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Its walled old town has bared witness to centuries of conflict since the invasion of the Moors

I had made my way to one of the largest cities in Siberia, Irkutsk, by travelling east along the Trans-Mongolian Railway (upto this point it’s the same railway as the Trans-Siberian railway too) from Moscow. The two legs of the

No trip to Iran is complete without venturing to Esfahan; Iran’s most scenic city.  The central city is awash with beautifully maintained parks delightful hand-painted tiling and a magnificent public square. The city also enjoys a temperate climate and regular

If you are travelling around Iran, no doubt with Esfahan somewhere on your itinerary (at some point) then make use of Iran’s ultra modern line of intercity buses and travel the 6 hours to Shiraz. It's a pleasant city to visit

Having spent a few days relaxing on Cambodia’s southern beaches, it was time to get back to some serious sightseeing. What better place than the northwestern town of Siem Reap which is the gateway to the world famous ruins Angkor,

Varanasi is an historical city in the northern part of India, not far from Nepal that is located on the banks of the holy Ganga (Ganges) River. It is considered the spiritual capital of India and the holiest city in

Flights to and from the offshore platforms and drilling rigs is by helicopter with flights lasting anywhere between 10 minutes and 2 hours 30 minutes depending on distance and weather. Flights conducted in the British North Sea typically use the

Jordan’s most popular attraction is the UNESCO World Heritage site of Petra, located in the southwest corner of the Hashemite Kingdom. Petra was once the thriving trading hub and capital of the Nabataean empire between 400 B.C. and A.D. 106

The Munich Oktoberfest is held over 16 to 18 days in the final weeks of September and early October and is regarded as the largest beer fest in the world, attracting up to 6 million visitors annually. However, it is

Situated near the center of the Syrian Desert, Palmyra - the former desert oasis trading hub - dates from as early as 200 B.C. and thrived for hundreds of years, persisting under the rule of successive empires. Modern day Palmyra contains

The next stop on our Coast to Coast adventure across the United States, after leaving Tucson, is to another world class attraction in New Mexico – the White Sands National Monument –but not before getting a blown tyre enroute!The White

Deira is a suburb of Dubai which is located near the International Airport, in the U.A.E. Historically, Deira has been the commercial center of Dubai, but has been losing its dominance on account of the rapid development seen further along

As our time west of the great continental divide comes to an end, and the big drive east of our Coast to Coast journey looms on the horizon, we still have the Grand Canyon, the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group

One of the most popular items on a traveller’s bucket list (and if not it should be included) is to view the Aurora Borealis (commonly known as the Northern Lights) as it’s probably natures most spectacular regular phenomena. The Aurora

I had arrived into Moscow with the ambition of eventually riding the Trans-Mongolian Railway east to Beijing, however I decided not to pre-arrange tickets with a booking agent as I believed I could get them much cheaper once in Moscow.

Berlin is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Germany and its largest city with a population of 4.5 million. Berlin is known for its historical significance as the German capital, lively nightlife of clubs and bars, street art,

The modern day city of Luxor in Upper (southern) Egypt is another tourist and intrepid traveller mecca as it is the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes on the eastern side of the Nile River. With the ruins

Brighton, on the south coast of England, is a renowned seaside resort and delightful city. Often referred to as "London-by-the-Sea" on account of it being conveniently close (only an hour train ride due south) to London, it is also known

For over 2,500 years Persia (modern day Iran) has been home to various Empires, including some of history’s greatest, that was until January 1979 when the ‘Glorious Islamic Revolution’ overthrew the Shah, installing religious clerics and Mullahs into power, headed

During my time living in Sweden in 2010 I decided to take the opportunity to visit several Israeli friends that I had met while travelling through Southeast Asia who lived near Tel Aviv, along with an old university friend who

In case you weren’t aware, the Orkney’s are an archipelago comprised of approximately 70 islands, situated off the north coast of Scotland. The closest major Orkney Island (South Ronaldsay) is a mere 16 kilometres off the coast of Caithness.  My colleague (and best

Xi’an in Central China is a city of some eight million souls and one of the oldest cities in China. Xi’an is the former home to 73 former emperors including the Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang dynasties making it undeniably

Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States of America and the seat of its three branches of government, as well as the federal district of the U.S. The city has an unparalleled collection of free, public museums and

Once I had returned from exploring Mongolia’s Gorkhi Terelj National Park and UlaanBaatar I would take my 4th and final Trans-Mongolian train, Beijing was a mere 27 hours and 7 minutes (according to the official schedule) and 1,553km away now.

Not long after returning to work after a recent trip around the former Yogoslavia, I thought to myself as I stared out the window that 'if I didn't do it now, I never would....' So after making the tough decision to leave

Some have likened it to being in the Navy or being on a container ship, well I don’t know about the Navy part, but it’s certainly very similar to being on a ship seeing Jackup rig, Semi-Submersibles and Drillships are

New Zealand (known in Māori as Aotearoa) is often referred to as ‘the Land of the Long White Cloud’ and for good reason. The mountains and hills that run the length of New Zealand (and predominately perpendicular to the prevailing

When I first arrived offshore I was in awe of where I was and what I was seeing, the scale of operations/machinery, the logistics involved and disbelief at what they were achieving; I was inspired to learn more! On a

The East Africa country of Uganda is home to one of the most varied and densely populated habitats of African fauna on the continent that is accessible and affordable while being more authentic and less predictable than the heavy weight

The Central South Island of New Zealand is characterized by grand open tussock covered landscapes and a sense of space and freedom. A backbone of mountains aptly called the Southern Alps, divides the island and creates a distinctly unique environment

Bangkok is an enormous modern city that is alive with nightlife and energy. It is Thailand's spiritual, cultural, political, commercial, educational and diplomatic centre. Many intrepid travellers may initially be put off by the sterile high-rise buildings of the city

Once my time in Kerala’s west coast town of Kochi had come to an end, my French travel buddy and I boarded a local open-air bus from Kottayam enroute to the beautiful hill station of Kodaikanal. The journey would take