“Hotcha ladakh!” we call out, causing the children to scatter in fits of giggles like frightened mice. Slowly, little faces reappear from behind broken masonry and an old rusting car. “Hello” the least timid one whispers back at us. “Hotcha ladakh” we say again. This time they literally roll over each other laughing. “Are you sure that means hello?” “Perhaps not the way we are pronouncing it.” “Maybe he was winding us up and it means my mother is a horse or something like that”. The reaction to our attempted politeness has become more pronounced with each person we pass; from a wry smile by the lady all in black at the bottom of the hill to a shared chuckle from the sturdy women carrying vegetables a bit further up. As we now approach a group ... read more

I’ve often thought, particularly while walking the Camino de Santiago in 2009, that Spain would be the place where I’d settle, at least for a good few years, if not forever. Therefore I’d been putting off moving to Spain for as long as possible because I thought I should get other ambitions out of the way first, such as living and working in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia, and travelling around Africa. Seeing as all of those things had been achieved, I started applying for work in Spain. The north of Spain appealed the most. It is the greenest part of Spain without the excessive summer temperatures found inland and, unlike the Mediterranean, the north coast isn’t destroyed by endless ugly hotels with grey sand beaches covered in pink Brits. Fortunately there is still a ... read more

After I had seen the many beautiful Portuguese streets, villas, churches and forts of Macau, I popped across to Hong Kong expecting it to be similar. It isn’t. With the exception of the street names I didn’t see a great deal that would lead you to remember that this place was British until not that long ago. True, there are lots of western business types busying along the pavements and on the metro but I don’t think that there are particularly more than many other Asian cities that I’ve visited such as Bangkok or Tokyo. I decided to stay in Kowloon, which is the more Chinese part of Hong Kong. Very little suggests you are not actually in China proper (I think, although I haven’t actually been to China proper). Most of the billboards, shops’ signs ... read more

I’m writing this just over two months after leaving Tokyo, which isn’t ideal but you don’t get a great deal of free time while teaching English in Japan. Admittedly, my day was easier than four of the other six teachers who lived in the same block as I did; the ambitiously named “Leo Palace”. I would hear them leaving at 0745 which was 15 minutes before my alarm went off. I gave myself 45 minutes to get showered, breakfasted and suited up. Unlike anywhere else I’ve ever taught, in Japan, I had to be in a suit every day. Even in my old engineering job it was very occasional that I wore a suit. I did feel very smart but in mid-September when the temperature was over 30C it seemed ridiculous to be sweating in ... read more

“It’s really smelly.” “It’s so full of tourists.” “Don’t go during the summer.” “It’s the most expensive place in the world.” “It’s become like a theme park.” Just a few of the many things I had heard about Venice before I got around to paying a visit. “It’s so beautiful.” “The views are spectacular.” “It’s so romantic.” “It’s like nowhere else on earth.” Just a few of the many things I had heard about Cinque Terre before I got around to paying a visit. An advantage of living in Slovenia, as well as its inherent attractions, is the ease of going abroad. Italy is only an hour’s drive from Ljubljana and I’ve been able to nip over there on quite a few occasions during my time in Slovenia. Most often this has been to Trieste. Trieste ... read more