Tales from the road

Travelling, with it’s essentially risk-taking nature, is the natural home of an anecdote. People who are prepared to challenge their own pre-conceptions and take a leap into the unknown are, more often than not, natural storytellers. By putting on the backpack alone, you have become an observer, your perception is a window and here we are inviting you to share your image.

On our journeys we have had some great experiences that we think others might be interested in.

Our previous stories:

• The confident hitchhike from Albania to Macedonia and Ania’s Ohrid surprise
  (posted on 19th September 2013)
  Crossing borders has never been so easy with the help of our ‘businessman’ friend and his box of tricks and Ania gets the surprise of her life on our nostalgia trip to where we first met. 

• Tanks to Berat in Albania, Visiting Berat Castle and Leaving before it was Time
  (posted on 25th September 2013)
  Join us we hitch-hike in the greatest vehicle of all time as we continue our Albanian odyssey to the wonderful UNESCO town of Berat

• Our first experience of hitch-hiking in Albania, camping wild and getting lost in the forest
  (posted on 9th September 2013)
  We try our hand at hitchhiking in Albania and become a bit too ambitious in hiding our tent so deep in the woods when we only have a rubbish torch. 

• Entering Albania, the Albanian capital and when assumptions makes an arse of you and me
  (posted on 4th September 2013)
  A new country and a new experience. Find us in Tirana, Albania, where we encounter communist architecture, Roma protests and a world we’d known nothing about.

• Our first experience of hitch-hiking in Montenegro, accommodation problems and the beauties of the least touristy of towns, Podgorica
  (posted on 30th August 2013)
  Have you ever competed for a car? We are in the capital of Montenegro the rather ordinary Podgorica. Battling through the rain in search of elusive accommodation.

• Entering Montenegro, Kotor Bay and Tourist Disinformation Office
  (posted on 27th August 2013)
  In search of the beauty of Kotor Bay, we dodge Russian tourists and receive advice from the most unhelpful of Information Centres.

• One last bus to the crowds of Dubrovnik, Croatia
  (posted on 25th August 2013)
  With a heavy heart it was time to leave Bosnia as we direct ourselves towards the breathtaking Dubrovnik in Croatia where we learnt about the effects of mass tourism.

• Hitchhiking failure and on the tourist trial in Sarajevo and Mostar
  (posted on 23rd August 2013)
  After admitting defeat to the hitchhiking gods in Bosnia, it was time to take a bus and visit the wonderful cities of Sarajevo and Mostar.

• Bosnia & Herzegovina, Republica Srpska & the problem of perspective
  (posted on 16th August 2013)
  Join us as we continue our Bosnian adventure by learning more about the country and its traumatic past.

• Our first experience of hitch-hiking in Bosnia & Herzegovina
  (posted on 14th August 2013)
  Hopeful of a hitchhike’s heaven, we enter Bosnia & Herzegovina only to discover that in life you don’t always get what you want.

• Hitchhiking to Plitvice Lakes National Park and the cacophony of noise
  (posted on 13th August 2013)
  We visit the beautiful UNESCO listed Plitvice Lakes in Croatia and instead of admiring the stunning nature we try to escape from the hoards of tourists.

• Krk: Camping on the beach and the poor man’s Slavic Ibiza
  (posted on 10th August)
  We reach the hilariously named town of Krk, where we camp on the beach and indulge in the night-life of this Slavic Ibiza.

• From Zagreb to Rovinj (Croatia): the luckiest hitch-hike and a picturesque seaside resort
  (posted on 8th August 2013)
  We are still hitch-hiking around the Balkans and we finally hit the much famed and stunning Croatian coast, meeting some wonderful people on route.

• Couchsurfing without a host in Ptuj & the depths of human kindness
  (posted on 6th August 2013)
  This is the last story from the tiny country of Slovenia. We visit its oldest town – Ptuj and we are hosted by possibly one of the most generous and easy-going of all men, who we have never even met.

• Zagreb (Croatia) and the Museum of Broken Relationships
  (posted on 4th August, 2013)
  We enter Croatia as the third country on our Balkan route. In its capital we visit one of the weirdest museums in the world.

• Lake Bled, Mount Pršivec and the Return to Nature
  (posted on 2nd August 2013)
  Join us as we hitch-hike to the north of Slovenia and visit the stunning Bled lake and go for a hike in the Julian Alps.

• Our experience of hitch-hiking in Slovenia
  (posted on 31st July 2013)
  If you’ve never considered travelling to Slovenia, read this. It’s a beautiful country in which thumbing is a piece of cake.

• Two random nights in Venice and Ljubljana
  (posted on 29th July 2013)
  We are still hitch-hiking across the north of Italy and the Balkan Peninsula and we are having one hell of a time! First we go to a festival in Mestre/Venice, then we end up in the counter-culture district of the Slovenian capital.

• Cycling, tight rope walking and the tiny capital of Ljubljana
  (posted on 27th July 2013)
  This is the next chapter of our Balkan Peninsula by Thumb trip and we have just entered Slovenia, whose people are friendly and helpful. We enjoy the beauties of its tiny capital and try slacklining for the first time!

• Trieste: The God question and the most German of Italian cities
  (posted on 25th July 2013)
  We are in Trieste, enjoying the last stop on our Italy tour, spending time with the most intelligent crowd possible!

• Venice: a tale of two cities
  (posted on 23rd July 2013)
  There are only two types of people in the world: the ones that love Venice and the ones who hate it. This story is written from both perspectives. Check it out and decide for yourself!

• Nostalgia Bolognese
  (posted on 15th July 2013)
  As we visit Bologna, Jon reminisces about his university days in Bristol and the similarities between the two places.
  

• A hitch-hiking day that could have gone so easily…
  (posted on 14th July 2013)
  This story proves that hitch-hiking is not only about the destination, but the journey. Come with us to Italy, as we try to thumb our way north…

• Art and leather in Florence
  (posted on 12th July 2013)
  As we continue our hitch-hiking trip, we arrive at yet another architectural gem, Florence or Firenze, as the locals call it. And we get drunk with youngsters, which make us realise how old we really are…

• Siena and the search for a fair price
  (posted on 8th July 2013)
  Join us as we arrive in the beautiful Renaissance city of Siena and learn that in Italy everything has its price. And the price is high.

• On the road that leads to Rome
  (posted on 7th July 2013)
  This post describes the beginning of our 4th grand hitch-hiking trip. This time we will be thumbing across the North of Italy and the Balkan Peninsula. In our first destination, Rome, we admire the marvels of ancient architecture and spend a great time with our Italian hosts.
• Family celebrations in Southeast Asia – Part 2: funeral (Thailand)
  (posted on 25th June 2013)
  This is the second part of a series of posts about family celebrations in Southeast Asia. This time we visit a jungle village in northern Thailand where we attend a funeral.

• How we were tricked by an old woman in Vietnam
  (posted on 28th May 2013)
  A tough lesson in which we learnt that not all poor old women are kind-hearted.

• Family celebrations in Southeast Asia – wedding (Laos)

  (posted on 23rd November 2012)
  Our first days in Laos, dealing with the insupportable heat and attending a local wedding. This is the first part of a series of posts about family celebrations in Southeast Asia.

• A day in the life of a hitch-hiker: from Spain to Portugal 

  (posted on 27th October 2012)
  Have you ever wondered what a day in the life of a hitch-hiker is like? Then read our soty about our journey from Spain to Portugal. With everything from baking heat, via a drug addict to a van full of hippies… Who’d have thought getting from A to B could be so interesting?

• Our squat-surfing experience in Madrid
  (posted on 7th October 2012)
  Have you ever slept in a squat? a dingy, murky house that smelled of shit? that was owned by people from the margins of society? where the only way to forget was to drink to oblivion… No? well, we have and this is our story with a valuable lesson for us all.

• The story of a jungle hike and our first lift
  (posted on 8th June)
  Our first jungle hike and the first hitch-hiking experience. How exciting can one day get?

• The night and the morning after: an evening at a Georgian Supra (posted on 15th May 2012)
  A heady mix of food and chilled red wine?
  It can only be a Georgian supra.

• The unofficial border crossing (posted on 22nd April 2012)
  If you are a hitch-hiker, you might not always remember all the drivers who gave you a lift, but you will remember all the border crossings you have ever crossed on foot.
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• JP & the thousand km hitch-hike (posted on 17th April, 2012)
  Occasionally things take a turn for the strange and you find yourself in a Thai bierhalle eating spicy fish with your new Thai best friend…
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• A Tale of Two Border Crossings (posted on 15th April 2012)
  Crossing in borders in Turkey is not for the faint-hearted. Read our tale and learn how to wrestle though a crowd and stare longingly across no-man’s-land.
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• Crazy traffic in Vietnam (posted on 14th April 2012)
  In Vietnam crossing the road in one piece verges on the miraculous… Have a look at the pictures and our VIDEOS of this death-defying exploit!
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• My hitch-hiking nine to five (posted on 13th April 2012)
  Have you ever wondered what it’s like to hitch-hike? so here you are, we’ve got a first-hand experience for you! hope you enjoy the read.
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• Reisefieber (posted on 1st April, 2012)
  A 3 minute read for you…. about the calm before the storm and the apprehension that goes hand in hand with travelling.
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• Our hitch-hike to Gaziantep, Turkey
  (posted on 28th March, 2012)
  What are the chances of meeting your hitch-hiking driver again? It happened to us only a few times; this is one of these stories…
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• Jon’s Laotian malady (posted on 26th March, 2012)
  What would you do if you thought you contracted a tropical disease? This is what we did…
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• Thaksin’s Red Shirts (posted on 17th March, 2012)
  Political activism meets 100km an hour motorway madness. Read about our encounter with Thaksin’s red shirts…
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•  Sulphur Baths, Tbilisi (posted on 4th February, 2012) 
  While in Tbilisi, we had an opportunity to visit the city’s famed sulphur baths and look at Tbilisians from a slightly different perspective.