March 29th 2009, 15:38

How much help we could really be would always be in question. They certainly didn’t learn as much from me as I did from them, although Alex had a queue of people wanting him to do to their computer what he’d done for others. But that was not reflected in their send off for us, which was more appreciative than I’ve ever experienced in my entire working life. We even featured in one of the songs they sang and danced for us. Four weeks goes quickly, but it’s long enough to dev

Kids living in one of Nairobi's 183 slums

February 27th 2009, 12:30

The next Monday, just like the rest of you, we were at work for 9am. And, as working weeks do all over the world, they have flown by. As I type, we are approaching the end of our four weeks. During that time, we have been privileged to see both how the trust works and the good that it does, as well as being exposed to what doesn’t work so well, i.e. the problems associated with unreliable power supplies, poor internet connections

I won a  free trip to Manchester through Virgin Vacations and Visit Manchester.They really were wonderful.I also have looked at Virgin Vacation's prices and they are good even if I had to pay.Visit Manchester has been great and really does a good job of promoting their city. It's good to see people proud of their city and welcoming.

“Words represent your intellect. The sound, gesture and movement represent your feelings.” – Patricia Fripp. Many people consider the spoken word as the main mode of communication around the world. We forget that non verbal communication also forms a large part of what we are saying to the person we are communicating with. Different gestures mean different things across the world, what is acceptable in your home country like for instance handing someone an item using your left hand, may be consi

February 27th 2009, 12:00

My face wasn’t much better when I woke up the next morning. What wasn’t peeling off was red and raw and I was in a bad mood so I didn’t say much as Francis drove us out of Nairobi towards the Ngong hills, past the towns of Kiserian and Rongai Ongata, to the small holiday resort that is Whistling Thorns. It’s named after the acacia trees that populate the surrounding landscape. Ants make holes in the seeds and, as the wind blows, it causes them to whistle. Acacia trees al

Hong Kong’s no. 1 Tourist Attraction has queues, bloody great big queues.       

The Peak Tram is a wonderful way to travel to The Peak for first time visitors and even for jaded old lags such as myself, I never ever get tired of it.

Which brings me to the subject of queues.
Because The Peak is the no. 1 attraction in Hong Kong and the Peak Tram is the best way to get there, naturally queues form which can be a bit of a bugger in hot and humid weather, the number of ticket options do not help matt

February 25th 2009, 18:00

Back at Jane’s, we sat down for a soda and a chat with Bill (but not before I’d gone to the bathroom and doused my face liberally with Dettol, there not being enough ice cream). When, in his first email to me back in London, Bill had said, “My culture is circumcision and I hope you will enjoy it,” we’d assumed there had been some sort of communication breakdown. But as we sat with him in the sitting room while he told us about his culture and traditions, we realised ther

The ‘pearl of the Adriatic’, Croatia is a magnetic fusion of trendy bars and buzzing nightlife amid ancient ruins. It is a fascinating country with 1778km of coastline, a glistening sea winds around rocky coves, lapping at pine-fringed beaches. Stay in a private beach home amidst the roman ruins! Croatia is an old time holiday favorite that has made a comeback and in a short time grown into one of our hottest summer destinations. Many of those who came here before the war broke out in the 1990s

February 25th 2009, 17:30

The following day was our last day with Jane before we left for the weekend to Whistling Thorns, and then on to begin another of the arrangements we’d made before we left, a monthlong internship at Pamoja Trust. It was to be a day of pottering about, writing emails, uploading photos and just not much. I was really looking forward to it.

Up until around 2pm, everything went according to (no) plan. Then, just as I was organising a second slideshow, Jane told me she was off

February 25th 2009, 17:00

Jane, who runs our guesthouse, is one of four directors of an orphanage in Githurai, one of the few stone buildings on the edge of one of Nairobi’s 183 slums. Thursday was her visiting day and she was happy to take us along. We arrived just in time for a bible reading, which was weird because only the previous day, I’d told Alex I’d like to go to one. I’m not religious, and don’t believe in God, which is not something I’d recommend bringing up in conversation in Africa (

No, I did not spell the title wrong. I made the word up to define a new philosophy in travel.

The real word is Vagabonding. Vagabonding has a new guru. His name is Rolf Potts. In his book, called not surprisingly Vagabonding, he defines vagabonding as “The act of leaving behind the orderly world to travel independently for an extended period of time.” And “A deliberate way of living that makes freedom to travel possible”.

The book does a fine job of advocating vagabonding as an alternative to taki

February 6th 2009, 15:38

The words ‘slum’ and ‘poverty’ are well used. Maybe you’ve read Shantaram, which some say romanticises these terms. Trying to tread the line between, on the one hand, outright horror and on the other, sheer awe at the spirit of human nature to exist, it’s impossible to say that, up close, it isn’t everything you’d expect, and worse, without also saying how much more to it there is than just squalor and poverty. 

So far, we’d only seen Kibera from a distance. We’d stopped a

“Donors don't give to institutions. They invest in ideas and people in whom they believe.” - G.T. Smith. Volunteering abroad can be expensive to the individual; most people use their own money to cover expenses while they volunteer in a foreign country. Especially, if you want to volunteer and you are either in high school or college, with no source of income. To decrease financial burdens on yourself, you can carry out some fundraising campaigns maybe from organizations or even from other indiv

In the summertime, especially, whole Europe vibrates with the rhythm of the music events sic this summer with more festivals than ever. Many are huge, other still small and intimate with green grass instead of mud. Check out our list and hurry to plan trips! 

Rock, pop & r’n'b

June 22-26: Glastonbury.

Incredibly large. Sold out in four hours when tickets were released in October, although no names booked yet been presented. Reported to 177 500 visitors. Among the top names include U2, Coldplay, Bey

February 6th 2009, 10:09

Being at the park in time for sunrise was my bright idea, but I was alright once I was in the shower. It was still dark when we arrived at the park, and Francis was annoyed that by the time the gates were open to let us in, the sun had risen well into the sky. But in fact, the timing was perfect. There was enough light for photos, and everything was bathed in a warm, golden glow and a silky cloak of early morning mist.

I’d thought we’d have to work hard to find the animal