Travel Tales From Beyond The Brochure

Hello :) Yeh, I've not podded for a while. Had an existential crisis. Still have. It's fine. Conditional normal. With fog patches. Rising slowly. This episode is all about me, a couple of events I've been to in the past couple of months, and how my content might change in scope going forward. Because I am the UK's leading AroAce Non-Binary Gen-X Travel and Lifestyle Blogger. Arguably. Topics discu...

Hello :) This is an episode I've been meaning to do for about three years, but for mainly logistical reasons, this is the first chance I've had. The original idea came from the lifestyle podcast Sounds Fake But Okay; whenever they get stuck for content they scour the AITA forums on Reddit, and similar content in other places, to highlight allonormativity and generally go 'NTA, dump him'. I figured...

Hello :) I often say "Everywhere Is Interesting", but what do I mean when I say that? What makes a place 'interesting'? Or rather, given any random place in the world, what can make you 'key in' to that location over and above any other? Of course, this could be very personal, or at least subjective, so when I say 'Everywhere Is Interesting', what I mean is that there is something everywhere, in e...

Hello :) So, despite recently moving out of Salford, I felt it was an interesting enough place to do a podcast about. Partly because 'Everywhere is Interesting' and my VA wanted me to prove it. And what could be more interesting than the location of the world's first municipal public park, the world's first bus route, the world's first street lighting, and the world's only canal swing bridge. And...

Hello :) Given recent big concert tours, it feels like the right time to do an episode on 'travelling for music'. It's a subject I didn't think I'd have a lot to say about, given I don't often go to concerts even locally, never mind for travels, but the more I thought about it, the more interesting comparisons and contrasts I could find between my trips. Topics discussed in this episode are: * My...

Hello :) I've been thinking a lot recently about nostalgia. I mean, I always have, but I think over time my feelings have changed about it. There's so many people who think 'life was better when I was young', and I wanted to probe more into that, into how I felt about nostalgia, why people of my generation tend to be nostalgic, and also put some colder facts around it. I also took a couple of trip...

Hello :) It's been noticed that I've now done 100 episodes. Quite which episode was my 100th is open to question as it depends on your definition of episode - indeed if you don't count the Twitter Space recordings I did with V, I've not got there yet. But, just like with counting countries, there's always going to be arguments either way, and in terms of what my podcast host and the podcast apps s...

Hello :) This is part three of an overview of my recent trip to the Caucasus region of Eurasia, and covers the four days I spent in Armenia. I talk about why Yerevan feels quite Soviet, why Armenia and Azerbaijan don't like each other, and the architectural legacy of being the world's oldest Christian country. Topics discussed in this episode are: * Asexuality Interview with an unexpected newspape...

Hello :) This is part two of an overview of my recent trip to the Caucasus region of Eurasia, and covers the five days I spent in the country of Georgia, mainly the capital city Tbilisi. I also talk about far too much cheese and garlic, the worst beer I've ever had in my life,  Topics discussed in this episode are: * Audio quality of recent episodes * Problems when your debit card gets cancelled *...

Hello :) So, as you know, I've recently been away for two weeks, ostensibly to attend the Traverse Travel Blogger Conference, which this year took place in Tbilisi, in Georgia. I've never been to that party of the world, and it'd always been on my list. I clearly went at the wrong time of year, but that's just what happens sometimes. This is going to be the first of a couple of pods about the trip...

Hello :) It's coming up to Valentine's Day (and Quirkyalone Day), so this feels like the right time to issue an episode all about love, sex, and illicit encounters while travelling. Obviously there's content warnings in here, mainly for, well, sex and kink, but I do always try to keep it quite light-hearted. One might well ask how an AroAce can talk so much about this subject. Well. Topics discuss...

Hello :) Of course it's the New Year, and as such, the travel world is plastered with lists of 'where to go in 2024', 'best places to visit in 2024', and the like. Now, I have to say I've never been terribly fond of these sorts of things on a fundamental level for a number of reasons. I mean, sure they provide a good quick way of inspiring people, especially people who are relatively new to travel...

Hello :) And so to the second part of 'let's make a podcast that's going to cause more unfollowers than followers'. Mind you, let's be honest, I've had several podcast episodes like that, and nothing untoward has happened. Maybe I should be more controversial. There again. I wasn't originally sure what to do for this episode. I toyed with the idea of doing one on 'ancient and mediaeval Travel Blog...

Hello :) Well, you may be pleased to know I survived my trip to SE Asia. But it was a close-run thing as you'll hear at the start of this episode. Anyway. It's Christmas. I should do a pod about this time of year. And this is one I've cobbled together at the last possible moment. I think I might well whine a bit more than usual in it. But it's fine; this isn't my time of year by definition. Topics...

Hello :) As I'm currently away on a backpacking trip around South-East Asia, it makes sense to issue a podcast episode about the previous time I went to this part of the world (mainland, anyway, not the many islands off the coast) - back in 2012 to Laos and Cambodia. This episode is specifically about the Laos part of the trip; the subsequent Cambodian adventure will be my featured in next podcast...

Hello :) I've been meaning to do a pod specifically about running for a while; it's something that I mention quite often in my housekeeping and I've also tangentially talked about it in smaller sections on pods covering a wider remit. As such, some of what I'll talk about you'll have heard before, but I felt it was the right time to cover this topic again now. Topics discussed include: * My purple...

Hello :) Well, this is an unusual episode in several ways, but the main one is the relative lack of personal updates and housekeeping. If you want to know what I've been up to this past month, now would be a great time to sign up to my monthly Newsletter, deets below! Now, I'm aware I don't talk about my background or my family much, save for the occasional regular subtweet to my my mother. But an...

Hello :) Well, that was an unexpectedly long break. To be honest I wasn't planning it but I did kind of need it. But just in case you needed confirmation: Everything Has Been All Right. So far at least. Anyway, this episode is a short one, just in part to let you know I'm still alive, partly to give you an indication of what to look forward to in the new series of episodes, for a given definition...

Hello :) So, why did I call this episode 'everything is going to be all right'? Well, it's a mantra I've been repeating to myself quite a lot over the past month or so. If I say it enough, I might actually believe it. In this episode I talk about my feelings about moving to Manchester, and why while I was initially emotional about the move, I quickly realised why it will go all rather well. I also...

Hello! Yep, I've created a podcast with the help of AI, in this case specifically ChatGPT. Now, the first question you might ask is of me is why, given my skill with words, my unique and distinct voice, both literal and metaphoric, and a preference for real stories and experiences over auto-generated ones, am I dabbling with AI? Well, the answer is manyfold, as you'll find out. What I look at here...

Hello! This podcast episode is all about Chernobyl. It's an episode I've had pencilled in to do for quite some time, if in part because I went there in 2014, and never wrote anything about my visit at the time so I felt I ought to, you know, get round to it at some point. I even mentioned this in a podcast I did last year, Back In The USSR. Didn't do it then either, because, and I quote, "I think...

Hello! As you know, I'm always touting the idea of Hometown Travel, and exploring places close to home. Remember, people travel across the world to visit other cities but other people travel across the world to visit yours. Everywhere is interesting, And of course many people might not be able to visit places far away, but still want to enjoy the experience of travel and discovering somewhere new....

Hello! As you know, I am The Barefoot Backpacker. My tendency is to go backpacking around lesser-visited spots around the world, independently, and usually solo, staying in hostels, airBnBs, and Premier Inns. I tend to move around from place to place a lot rather than spending too long in the same destination, and I generally book my onward journeys on-the-fly rather than having things booked in a...

Hello! I've had a bit of a residual cold-type bug this week and I've been feeling quite fatigued (but apparently it wasn't covid), so I'm a few days later than planned with this episode. In addition, I had trouble getting time writing it so I persuaded V to chat with me about it in our old Twitter Space format. Which isn't ideal but does at least still seem to work. It's about my recent trip to La...