My Teetotal Travels

My start in Cambodia had been wonderful yet brutal – relentless. I didn't stop, from the moment I set foot off the plane after travelling for 20 hours. I covered Angkor Wat in this post . And I'll cover S21 prison and Killing Fields in separate posts. But this post will be about the true paradise I discovered, that slowed things right down and gave me time to actually breathe out for a bit and take in what I'd seen. When I'd looked in Lonely Planet guides, Koh Rong was a beautiful yet busy island off the coast of Cambodia. Koh Rong Sanloem was less well known and the quieter of the two islands. Quiet is what I wanted. Getting there involved a 3-hour drive to a bit of a nothing area called Sihanoukville - pretty much just a port for boats ferrying people to and from Cambodia's islands. I'd bought my ferry tickets in advance, so that was all sorted, and I was wafted towards my boat by the sassiest 8 year old (maybe 10, at a push) I've ever encountered: furry b...

My third stop on my Costa Rica trip was Monteverde — a cute little town, but also home to the Monteverde Cloud Forest. I didn't even know cloud forests were a thing. They most definitely are. Monteverde is where the warm Caribbean air hits the cooler Pacific air, at the top of a mountain range, and condenses - forming clouds. These clouds are low lying (think fog) and envelop everything in the surrounding area. So, with my group, and a guide, we set off into these otherworldly forests. Our guide was called Nacho and was ridiculously handsome, and - somewhat annoyingly - charismatic too. Everyone - regardless of their persuasion - was attracted to him. When we decided to focus on the forest again, we noticed something: how eerily quiet it was. I'm not sure if the wildlife here is shy, squirrelled away, or creatures simply don't like the moisture, but very little could be heard, bar the odd bird call. There was a strange stillness. Moisture was everywhere. It wasn't raini...

I arrived in Tenby on a Thursday afternoon, after a 5-hour drive, with a sense of freedom. I had 5 days away from everything and everyone - away from any responsibilities. This is always dangerous for me. This freedom comes with a sense of excitement, and a sense of excitement leads to that 'f*ck it, I'll have a pint' feeling...and there were lots of nice pubs in this cosy seaside town. With that in mind, I took myself away those pubs, onto the beach, and just walked...until I was distracted enough that it wasn't an issue any more. It was more important for me to have a fresh head for the next day. ______________________________ When the morning came, I got up at a decent time and had my full, cooked breakfast, then headed out. I'd been told about Bosherton Lily Ponds and Barafundle Bay, so that's where I headed. I went to Bosherton Lily Ponds first, as - according to Waze - that was nearest to me. I was told they were peaceful. They were. These aren't ponds...

Rainy season in Costa Rica truly means rainy - they're not f*cking about when they say this. This means take a completely waterproof anorak (lightweight - because it's rainy, but bloody humid), or a poncho, or anything that'll cover you/your stuff and not let water in. I didn't do this. I took a 'water resistant' lightweight jacket - very different. Once water saturates it, it draws it through...so you still get soaked, but it just takes a little longer than usual. On the day I went for treetop 'hanging bridges' walk, in the rainforests of Arenal (the second stop on my trip), I was even more idiotic - I took nothing rainproof with me: just the t-shirt and shorts I was wearing, and my backpack. I was with two women from my tour group, and our guide - plus various other groups on the walk, all of different sizes. It got off to a promising start. The sun shone, clouds were scattered, and we saw a lot of wildlife in a short space of time; collared peccaries ...

Wales is a beautiful part of the world. If I can't/don't want to go abroad, and I want some peace and quiet, and serenity, that's where I head. In fact, in 4 days' time, I head to Tenby. In April 2024, I visited the Gower Peninsula. I knew it was an area of outstanding natural beauty and had tons of beaches. Not pretty, palm-tree-fringed, tropical beaches, but raw, rugged, windswept beaches. A Welsh friend had recommended a number of them; Oxwich Bay, Rhossili Bay, The Mumbles (which wasn't actually that impressive), Langland Bay etc. But the pick of the bunch was to be Three Cliffs Bay. It was a ball ache to get to, as was everywhere round that way. I'm lazy and rely on Waze to get me everywhere. If there's no signal, I'm f*cked. I don't keep paper maps, so I don't know how to get anywhere. In that part of Wales, the signal was patchy...including on the approach to Three Cliffs Bay. You can't park near the beach — it's all private land. ...

Over 20 years ago I saw this same sight, at the same silly time in the morning. Except 20 years ago, I was whizzing my tits off, on some cheap yaba I'd bought off some random in the street (always a safe bet). Actually, I may well have been on a comedown by then. Either way, the dumb, reckless, 23-year-old me didn't appreciate what I saw, because I wasn't fully on this planet. ...so I decided to do it again, as a 40-something. I arrived in Angkor, Cambodia, after another 20-hour journey (including stops) — knackered and unable to hold a thought. It was 9pm, but I needed food and a wash...not necessarily in that order. By the time I got to bed it was 11-ish, but the owner of the hotel I was staying at was a bit of a hustler ('Do this trip, do that trip, I know a good English-speaking guide, I'll take you on my tuk tuk, only $50' etc) so I'd agreed to get up at 6am the next morning, to do a day tour of the world-famous Angkor Wat. For those not in the k...