My Teetotal Travels

Alongside Angkor Wat, S-21 Prison and Killing Fields were what I came to Cambodia to see - or rather to revisit, 20 years later, with a more mature head on my shoulders. Both are stark reminders of what man is capable of doing to other men, women, and children. Both are stark reminders - in an ever more polarised world - of what happens when you seek the answers in extreme political movements. Both far left and far right are dangerous - be careful what you wish for. The Cambodian genocide was very different to what happened in/around Germany. Hitler and the Nazis were cold and clinical - methodical in everything they did. Pol Pot's regime was about sheer, blunt brutality - savagery...something almost animalistic. S-21 was a prison during Pol Pot's and the Khmer Rouge's regime - one of several prisons across Cambodia, but the most famous...or infamous. It was a school before the Khmer Rouge swept to power, in 1975. When they did seize power, and entered Phnom Penh, the peop...

This isn't so much a trip I went on, or a place I saw - it's more of a silly incident that took place during my 5-day trip to see the Gower Peninsula, in Wales, in April 2024. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I love staying in B&Bs: they're warm, friendly, cosy, and you get a level of one-to-one attention/service that's absent in large hotels. That's just my opinion, anyway. For this particular trip, I decided to stay at Brynawel Farm. If you're ever headed towards the Gower Peninsula, I highly recommend it. Christine runs the place and has a little border terrier, called Doris, who's very friendly. Now the thing is, there's quite a large driveway leading up to the B&B, and a decent sized garden: a large pond, and a wide expanse of lawn - about the size of a good pub garden. On my first full morning there, I'd decided to visit The Mumbles, Oxwich Bay, and Langland Bay - all beaches around the peninsula So after a slow, leisurely break...

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 ...