Tales & tips? Tell me more!

Yeah, I bet you're thinking doesn't this cover your ENTIRE blog? And okay, technically it does. But that's not the point of this page.

We love travel writing that tells a story. So we are only including articles that do just that, like my piece about encountering culture shock for the first time in India at age 11, or Jeremy recounting our awkward bus ride to the Hill of Witches.

So what you can expect to find from this side of our blog?

These articles are all about making you feel something: happiness, anger, sadness, stress. Whether you facepalm at our misfortune as we try to cross the India-Bhutan border, or laugh along at Jeremy's absolutely inability to sit still for more than two seconds while we learn about coffee culture in Croatia, we want these articles to showcase our travel stories. 

These articles are not about recommending our favourite dark tourism sites or how to create the perfect alternative itinerary in X.

That isn't to say we won't write stories about specific places from those lists. For example, Jeremy writes about his unnerving experience nearly fainting at the Old Operating Theatre in London and wondering if Dark Tourism is for him. But we have also included the Old Operating Theatre on a list of our favourite Dark Tourism Sites in London.

These articles are not listicles - unless a listicle was the best way to get our experiences across. Case in point, I have also included my article about short girl struggles on the road because it highlights my lived experience as a short person and a traveller.

SO WHY TIPS?

Well, we think there's a bit of advice or a lesson to learn in every travel tale. After travelling to Tallinn twice in the winter, I thought it was the perfect destination: no people, fairytale-esque old town, great museum, rich history... But hearing horror stories from other travellers, I've come to learn that Tallinn is best experienced in the winter. Buuuut, sometimes I also just want to gush about a place, like our entire article on why I fell in love with Tallinn.

So we've also included articles about travel lessons on the road, or things we've learned about full time travel. The reason being that these articles are also predominantly story and lesson driven, rather than focusing on things to see and do in a city.

The tips you'll find here are not must-visit attractions or where to eat and sleep. Instead, these are nuggets of advice we've learned that will help you travel smarter and overcome struggles along the way - you just might have to read between the lines.

We also want other travellers to know that even seasoned travellers make mistakes, and that's totally normal. I've been travelling nearly my entire life, and I still do some stupid shit when I travel. For one, I cannot stop overpacking! But I also got fleeced by two taxi drivers in Morocco because I was too burnt out to think straight and then had a bit of a breakdown... over cab fare.

WHY TRAVEL TALES ARE IMPORTANT

What's more likely to make you go somewhere? A friend telling you a story about how they fell in love with Italy because of gelato and a cute, but mysterious man/woman... or an article about the must see places in Rome?

I dunno, maybe I'm just weird, but for me it's the first one. When I was a kid, I had this giant book put out by UNICEF, and it had stories from other kids around the world. Every country was represented, accompanied by a photo, a bio, their favourite thing to do in their country, favourite local food, and a few other facts. Books like that made me want to travel, to meet new people and learn their stories, to experience new cultures and try new food.

While I understand their function, I am rarely moved by a top 10+ list.

When we can't travel, we can do so vicariously through the travel stories of others. And that is why these kinds of stories are important. 

our most memorable travel tales

These are some of our most memorable travel tales, collected over years of travel. And maybe one day, we'll even write about them all...

Dagney

– Moving to India and experiencing culture shock for the first time

– Accidentally eating maggots in India

– Sewing my friend's hand shut in a Turkish forest

– Learning to drive in Doha, Qatar

– Making friends with a Nigerian drug lord in Ghana

JEREMY

- Nearly fainting at the Old Operating Theatre in London

– Getting into a drinking contest with a Triad gang leader in Hong Kong

– Taking the Trans-Mongolian express from Beijing to Moscow

– Almost getting stranded at the Mongolia-Russia border

BOTH

– A disastrous crossing at the India-Bhutan border (plus an overnight train fiasco to even get to the border)

– Getting stranded in the Golden Circle, Iceland and then accidentally causing another couple to get stranded

– Taking time to recharge over pinball in Warsaw, Poland

SOME OF OUR FAVOURITE TRAVEL MEMOIRS

I'll be honest, I am a picky reader when it comes to travel memoirs. Very few do much of anything for me. I rarely enjoy the ones everyone else raves about. Instead, I tend to go in for fiction set in foreign places. BUT, since this page is all about authentic travel stories, here are three I just couldn't put down.

How NOT to Travel the World by Lauren Juliff

The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J Maarten Troost

Dispatches from the Edge by Anderson Cooper

Also be sure to check out our book lists for more exciting travel related book recs!