When I started planning my trip to Borneo, the two things I wanted to see were orangutans and turtles laying eggs. I planned my Sandakan itinerary around Turtle Island as I did not want to miss it. I got to spend a lovely afternoon snorkelling and watching the sunset before the turtle viewing experience. This…
When I was looking at how to get to Sandakan, the cheapest option was flights. However, while looking at trips on the Kinabatangan River, I noticed that the tour company I was using offered a Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan bus called the West to East shuttle. This would pick me up in Kota Kinabalu and…
I love cats, and so when I heard about the sheer volume of cats in Istanbul I was very excited to visit. Even though I knew beforehand, I was unprepared for just how many cats I would see. Everywhere you turn, there’s another cat. According to the Wikipedia article on the cats, there are over…
When I was getting ready for my move to China, people kept sending me articles about the amazing new Binhai Library that opened in Tianjin. It had gone viral because of the stunning looks, and then went viral a second time once people learned the books were all fake. It even made The Time’s list…
I first visited Poland back in 2005, on a school trip. I spent a few days in Krakow and I remember having a really great time. For some reason, I’ve just not made it back since then. Finally, I found some cheap flights to Poznan for a weekend when choosing a destination for June. I…
One of the main things my sisters wanted to do in Seoul was to take a day trip to the DMZ. During our trip, the JSA area was still unavailable to visit. I personally didn’t really think the DMZ was that interesting. However, I think that’s partially because I’ve actually visited North Korea so didn’t…
Although I stayed for two nights in Tirana, because I did a day trip to Prizren I was only there for one day. Still, I felt this was a perfect amount of time to get a feeling for the city and to see the main sights. There are a few things I didn’t have time…
Hanbok, also known as Chosŏn-ot, is the name for the traditional Korean outfit. Historically, a Hanbok was everyday clothing. Now, they are worn at festivals and important occasions and are now considered semi-formal. The name refers to both the male and female versions of the outfit as it translates as just “Korean Clothes”. You can…
I really enjoyed writing my books to read before visiting Egypt post, so decided to do the same for Iceland. Iceland has a very strong literary scene so it was a challenge to just pick a few for this post. After visiting a bookshop in Iceland, I ended up adding even more books to my…
When I was looking into visiting Iceland, everybody advised visiting for at least several days. However, I found a total bargain on flights, so I decided to go and spend one day in Reykjavik. My flight landed at 8pm on the Saturday night, and left at 9pm on Sunday— giving me just over 24 hours…