Not on everyone's list of places to see in the world, Albania had always been a country that appealed to me. With my pal Michael, we flew into Tirana on a warm and sunny evening in May. One of Europe's poorest nations (a legacy left over from ex-ruler Enver Hoxha, or Supreme Comrade as he liked to call himself), Albania embraced communism in the 1940s. At first Hoxha made friends with the Soviets, but later decided he preferred the Chinese version of communism, especially when they sent him billions of dollars worth of aid. Clerical workers were sent to the fields [View Full Entry]

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Our day began bright and early for our daytrip to Senegal. With our fellow passengers, Angela and I arrived in Banjul, the capital of the Gambia, in order to catch a ferry across the river. The ferry terminal was a hive of honking, shouting and dust. The queue for cars and trucks was a mammoth snake stretching through the port area. There was humanity everywhere. As we milled about waiting for the 9am ferry to arrive (it was already 20 minutes late) we had ample time to observe the hustle and bustle of our first African dock. A couple of women [View Full Entry]

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Arrival To most British tourists, The Gambia (a former British colony which gained its independence in 1965) is an easy, accessible package holiday destination, a step (but only a small one) above the bucket and spade destinations offered by Spain, Greece and Turkey. Oddly though, it also has a shady reputation as a country where middle-aged white women can meet young Gambian men. Rather like their male counterparts who flock to the fleshpots of Bangkok, these women are the sex tourists of West Africa. Angela and I eventually landed at Banjul Airport and were soon shepherded abo [View Full Entry]

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“This bloody blizzard!” I said to Angela as we traversed yet another slippery footpath, this one leading towards a bridge spanning the Danube. Snow was blasting into my eyes and the wind was chilling me to the bone. Angela was suffering too, and like arctic explorers we traipsed onto the bridge, pausing only to pull down our hats. The river below was dark and brooding, the cruise ships of the summer nowhere to be seen. It was like Siberia. Despite the February weather, our first impressions of the Austrian capital were favourable. Beautiful, elegant buildings were on every stree [View Full Entry]

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A scene of white awaited us as we touched down at JFK International. Heavy snowfall the previous day had given everything a winter coating just in time for Christmas. Two hours later, after clearing customs, night had arrived and we were sitting inside a yellow New York Taxi heading into Manhattan, the heart of downtown New York. What a year it had been. We'd celebrated the start of 2008 in Finland, and a month later we'd haggled our way through the souqs of Morocco. By April we'd visited the Taj Mahal in India, and then ridden an elephant in Sri Lanka. [View Full Entry]

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From Cairo, our flight initially took us over the Red Sea, then across the heart of Saudi Arabia. From there, we turned south, heading over the tiny gulf states of Bahrain and Qatar until we crossed into the United Arab Emirates, the bright lights of Dubai easily visible along the horizon. Finally we flew into the Sultanate of Oman, a flight time of just three and a half hours. Angela and I had high hopes for Muscat. We couldn’t wait to see the white buildings and the clear blue waters of the Gulf of Oman. In every picture we’d seen, Muscat [View Full Entry]

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The agenda for our first day was quite hectic. In the morning we'd visit the Pyramids, then over lunctime, we'd wander around the Antiquities Museum. For the remainder of the afternoon, we'd take a trip to the Citadel of Saladin. A lot to see in one go, but with only two full days in the Egyptian capital, we had little time for dallying. Our hotel, the Sheraton Towers, looked plush from the outside and even better from the inside. Porters hurried across the marble-floored lobby whilst businessmen in traditional dishdashes sat hovered over laptops, all under the gaze of a grand [View Full Entry]

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Thailand’s largest island was once a major trading point between India and China where the island derived its wealth from the export of tin and rubber. Nowadays of course tourism is Phuket's main source of income and for Angela and I, it was to be the final stop of our eighteen day trip around South East Asia. After travelling through Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, the lure of a luxurious hotel with its own private beach was simply irrisistable. Touching down at the Phuket International, the sun was shining, the sky was blue and our mood was good. The Cape Panwa Hotel [View Full Entry]

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It only took forty minutes to fly from Siem Reap to the Cambodian capital. The landing was smooth and were soon out of the airport, driving through the hustle and bustle of downtown Phnom Penh. Outside was hot and dusty, the streets clogged with motorcycles and pedestrians. Compared to Siem Reap, this was indeed a third world city. Shoeless children and scrawny dogs wandered the pavements, trying to keep out of the sunlight. After being dropped off at the hotel, Angela and I headed outside. The streets were crowded with people, the stench was horrendous, and the children hawking bottles of [View Full Entry]

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A flat landscape of green fields and water logged floodplains could be seen out of the window as we descended into Siem Reap. Occasionally we'd catch a glimpse of a settlement, but by and large the vista outside was one of countryside. The aircraft made a smooth landing and we taxied to the terminal. The airport was modern and highly efficient. Passport and visa control went smoothly and we were soon on our way into town. “Siem Reap’s a boom town. It's like the gold rush towns of the American Midwest,” I said as Angela and I headed into town. Construction [View Full Entry]

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