I awoke to the sounds of countless cockerels in the gardens of the homestay. The day started with a noodle breakfast overlooking the Mekong. There seemed to be some cloud cover ahead and I wondered whether it would be slightly cooler today. No sooner had I thought this, the sun burned through the clouds and it was once again, sweltering.…
I flicked the lightswitch next to my bed in the hotel. The light did not turn on so I panicked, not because I was afraid of the dark, but I was on the fifth floor of the hotel and today was my day of departure. I was facing carrying all four panniers bags and my bicycle (still in the box)…
It all started with a freakishly promising weather forecast in one of my favourite places in the world – Snowdonia. The last weekend of October wouldn’t ordinarily be associated with good weather, but this weekend was different, so Dave and I decided to plan a weekend of adventure in North Wales. We left early on Saturday and arrived into Betws-y-Coed…
Monterey is a picturesque seaside town in mid-California. The peninsula juts out into the Pacific ocean just north of the infamous Big Sur, a dramatic stretch of wild, ragged coastline that runs around 80 miles from San Simeon in the south to Carmel in the South. In a recent 2015 BBC documentary, marine biologists stood in awe as blue whales…
Having spent the last two weeks leading a group cycling from San Francisco to Santa Monica, I’d had a couple of days of the bike and was ready for the next challenge. The route had been plotted to go north from Santa Monica Pier along the coast for nine miles then turn right and up into the mountains. Looking at…
I was on a round-the-world trip, my second long-haul trip since leaving university. My trip so far had taken me through Northern India and Nepal. I had seen the most incredible sights, eaten the most fantastic food and met the most amazing people. Flying into Perth from Chennai, I was alarmed at how different Australia was from India. It was so…