Helsinki Have you ever travelled somewhere and found that it hurt to leave? Somewhere that you felt so completely at home that your nomadic nature calmed and you wanted to stay for a while. This happens extremely rarely for me, I am always ready to...
Rotterdam, the Netherlands I left Chris standing on a platform in Belgium waiting for a train to take him Brussels airport; from now on, I am solo travelling. We had both planned our last night together in Brussels but the Belgian rail workers had different...
Bruges in the Rain, Belgium. Board the Eurostar at St Pancras, London and in less than four hours you can be wandering the picture-perfect streets of Bruges. It’s a simple platform change at Brussels: a smooth, roomy Belgian train will transport you for the last hour across the...
3 Free things to do in Singapore, Passing through Singapore on tight budget doesn’t mean you have to miss out, here are three free things to do in Singapore that would fill one full day in the city. Alternatively, if you are staying a bit...
After the golden delights of the Shwedagon Pagoda and the National Museum I couldn’t wait to explore more of Yangon. We set off on foot early the following day, before breakfast to take advantage of the cool morning air, to explore the city centre. Our...
Yangon, Myanmar. Travel plans often change, it’s the natural evolution of a long trip. You set out with a loose itinerary that unravels the further along you get. Other travellers rave about a destination, you spot something in a guidebook you thought you knew inside...
Five in the morning is an interesting time to arrive in a city, and to be in Hanoi at this time of day is to reveal its hidden side. All around Hoan Kiem Lake you will find locals stretching, jogging and practicing Tai Chi....
We spent six days in Shanghai in total, after our initial introductory exploration of the city we got stuck into sight-seeing, dipping into our guide-book for ideas. The first place that took our fancy was the Yuyuan Garden, a walled garden in the heart of...
Shanghai, just the name conjurors up an exotic, exciting city of vice, business, trade and history. Of glamorous Chinese women in vintage posters, of narrow alleys of opium dens and shops, of colonial powers and glittering skylines. The Shanghai of today is a vast, modern...
The ancient walled city of Xi’an is a feast for the eyes, the senses and the taste buds. Brimming with history and culture it requires a few days to take in all it has to offer. Xi’an was certainly my favourite city in China, I...
For many travellers taking the Trans-Mongolian rail route to China Irkutsk is usually the last Russian town they stop at before heading to Mongolia. It is the perfect place to pause for a few days and check out the natural wonder that is Lake Baikal....
On the Jan Kiepura Sleeper Train from Cologne to Warsaw, I had just drifted off in our cabin when there was a knock on the door. The train had pulled into a station somewhere in deepest Germany and we were joined by another passenger. After this...
Lincoln is an attractive Cathedral city in the eastern midlands of England. We found ourselves over there at the weekend on our drive back up north. Always wanting to visit new places, this turned out to be a perfect destination. Mr VB had been here...
So we went to York for the day, last week it was! The primary reason was to visit the Mallard 75 train exhibition at the National Railway Museum however the sun was shining and the beautiful streets of this historic city were calling us… We...
