I think I surprised a lot of people by my decision to go down the backpacker route. I mean, it’s me – hotel and suitcase all the way, normally. My own bathroom, towels, maid service, privacy, a nice comfy bed, coat hangers and room service. …
Read MoreOut of my depth
I’m in Byron Bay at the moment, sitting overlooking the beach, in clear blue skies, sun kissing my cheeks with a cool breeze blowing through my hair and listening to some tunes. Watching the rolling waves crash on the shore below, I now realize just …
Read MoreSurf’s up!
6am Tues 14th. It’s pissing down. I’m in Surf Camp, a few hours south of Byron Bay, and it’s a bit of a dive. In one hour, I have my first surfing lesson. My dream of being Keanu Reeves in Point Break is near. And …
Read MoreDisappearing mountains, getting totally lost, hookers, massages and naked men
Did that grab your attention? I’m staying in a capsule hotel in the famous Shinjinku area. What can I say about this? The facilities are top notch – sauna, bathing area, Internet (that I’m using now) massages, restaurant, sleeping lounge etc. But the accommodation – …
Read MoreDevastation and Beauty
Today I went to Hiroshima. As you should know, the city is known as the first city to have an atomic bomb dropped on it. On August 6th1945, during World War II, the Allies exploded a bomb over the city, vaporising thousands in a single …
Read MoreSomething fishy going on
4am and my alarm goes off. What the heck am I doing? I went to bed gone one o’clock last night and am about to get up to go see some dead fish!! Why? Should I just stay in bed instead? Sod it, I’m awake …
Read MoreLost in translation
I’m in Japan! I’m actually in Tokyo! Me! I can barely believe it! For a man who’s got previously got lost a few hundred metres from the home he’s lived in for over a decade, with a bad sense of direction, speaking no other languages …
Read MoreDestination Tokyo
So my big trip is here! Japan – wow, for most of my life that was just a far away place I thought I’d never see; now, I’m just hours away from being in one of the most exiting places on Earth. I’m at the …
Read MoreSeven days
That was some week! I’m a month into my sabbatical, have been to Norway and Madrid, about to go to New York, with Japan and Australia coming up at the end of the month…and yet I had one of the best weeks of my life …
Read MoreSabbatical – the story so far
“How’s the sabbatical going?” “So what do you do all day now that you’re not working?” “Do you get up at, like, 12 o’clock?” “Do you miss work?” “When and where are you off next?” These seem to be the regular questions I get asked …
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