While looking through my photographs in order to participate in this week's #FriFotos, which has the theme of 'Peaks', I realised something. I have not spent nearly enough time in the mountains. I love mountains,
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Five Fabulous Natural Wonders (And three I’d Like To See)
There are so many different lists about the Seven Wonders of the World that it is pretty difficult to remember which ones are actually on the official lists, but this post is not about the
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How to Avoid Saigon’s Rip-Off Taxis: A Comprehensive Guide
Whenever anybody asks me for advice about an upcoming visit to Saigon I always start with the same tip: be careful which taxi you choose to get in. "Never take a taxi from directly outside
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How to do Saigon (even more) Cheaply!
Brooke vs. the World has asked travel bloggers to put together their best thrifty and resourceful travel tips for a helpful, free ebook. If you think you’re thrifty and would like to participate, check out
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I Had LASIK Surgery in Vietnam!
If you’re unlucky enough to be short-sighted you’ll know what an extra hassle wearing glasses or contact lenses can be when you’re travelling. If, however, you are blessed with the gift of perfect vision then
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Jungle Fever in Dalat
It's 10pm, dark and raining. Four friends and I huddle on the cracked leather of an ancient sofa, playing cards. A few beer cans sit on the table and our muddy, rain-sodden clothes of the
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Goodbye Classroom, Hello World!
Four years ago I was in an auditorium in Vietnam alongside my teaching colleagues and we were listening to a lecture that only served to strengthen my already iron-clad resolve to travel. I don’t think
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Top 3 Beaches in Vietnam
When most people think about travelling to an exotic beach, Thailand is often high up on their wish-list. But did you know that next-door Vietnam has some equally spectacular beaches to rival many of those
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Free to Travel – How I Broke Free From Debt
On the evening of March 15th 2007 I sat in a small bar in Northampton confessing to a friend of mine that I was struggling with debt. I didn’t know how I had reached that
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A Close Call in Nha Trang, Vietnam
"Careful. Bad people around" whispered the aged street-vendor who had just sold me a banana for an extortionate price, making me wonder if she might be one of the 'bad people' that she was referring
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Ha Long Way from Home
I have read many blog posts about visiting Ha Long bay in Northern Vietnam, some recounting positive experiences but many negative. I almost decided not to write about my own experience as I feared it
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My Saigon Ink
Getting a tattoo while travelling. Great souvenir or terrible mistake? Personally I think that it is a great idea and I had one done while I was in Vietnam. The downside of travelling for prolonged
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The Working Women of Vietnam
Sometimes it's hard to be a woman. Especially in Vietnam. Street Seller Ferrying tourists down the Mekong Selling freshly made juice Collecting Garbage Washing laundry in the lotus pond Bringing home the groceries - most
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Read Your Way Around The World
Travel books don’t necessarily have to be books written by travellers, most of the books that have inspired me to travel are novels in which the setting is important to the atmosphere of the book.
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My Top Five Asian ‘Chill-Out’ Destinations
Travelling is all about taking time out of the craziness of modern life to experience new cultures, meet new people and to reflect. Here is a selection of my favourite places for peace, tranquility and
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Miss(ing) Saigon
I was inspired by a post about Saigon that I read on another travel blog recently. So here is my very own tribute to the place that I once called home. These are some of
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Viking Booty
"The Viking conquests of yesteryear were often undertaken by the fierce Nordic warriors to "make contact" with new cultures and warmer climes...Today, however, Swedes have ditched the unkempt beards and longboats in favour of designer
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Don’t Stop BIS-lieving!
This is my tribute to my friends at BIS, the school I worked in during my time in Vietnam. It's good to remember the fun times :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NULMiA9z8U
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Beating the January Blues
Christmas is over, the New Year's resolutions have already been broken, and the beautifully glistening snow had turned to brown mulch - January has well and truly set in but things are not all bad.
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Another New Home
My Baltic adventure ended a week ago today as I stepped off the Tallink-Silja Festival and back onto Swedish shores. But new adventures are always awaiting and it was with a spring in my step
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