Freelance Writer
Travel stories and articles
The view of Ba Bể Lake, from my homestay in Pac Ngoi village. This is part 1 of a series of articles about a solo motorbike trip I took around north-east Vietnam in December 2018. Each story can be enjoyed alone, and together they form one big over-arching story. It’s about road trips, motorbikes, solo…
The country’s going into lockdown again, a glitch in the normal progression of time. I went for a morning walk around the lake and it seemed like everyone is out preparing for it. It might be just in my head – polluted by the news – but everyone’s stride seems to take on an extra…
Your first few attempts at something new are not always enjoyable, even if it’s something you really want to do. It might take a bit of practice before you even get to a point where you can call yourself a ‘Beginner’. But the feeling is worth it when you get there.
Achill Island, Co. Mayo, Ireland. Photo by Jonas Stolle on Unsplash The drive down to Achill is one I haven’t done in a while. As I make my way west through the awkwardly-placed brown hills of Mayo, memories are triggered by the roadside landmarks, and I scroll through images in my head in an attempt…
I started writing while living in Hanoi, most often when whiling away hours in one of its endless offering of cafes Eventually I decided it’d be rude not to write down some of the things that I saw.
The marking of the Wild Atlantic Way through Mayo and an overdue rise in interest in the great outdoors in Ireland has seen a welcome influx of visitors to a part of the country overlooked compared to Cork, Kerry and Galway. But you still don’t have to go too far to find the Loneliest Place in Ireland – and one of the best spots in the country to get lost.
Maybe it’s a reaction to the slow continuing churn of lockdowns, travel restrictions and the imminent end of summer, but I’ve been on a Parts Unknown binge this week, the travel show hosted by the charismatic and tragically late Anthony Bourdain. Naturally I began my journey in my home away from home, and the iconic…
Unable to yet switch off, I busy myself making notes on my phone on the ferry over from Roonagh, giving myself minor whiplash as I glance up and down from device to sea to mainland to the Island, jabbing away at the screen to make written records of shapes and colours and every adjective I…
Photo by Ruby Doan on Unsplash Now it’s feeling like spring, despite the worst weather all winter. Years in Ireland last around 15 months, from January of one year to March of the next, such is the length of the winter. Spring is rarely counted, unless you’re into the league or the lambing, and it’s probably still the…
Who wouldn’t want to live here for a while (and ski down those mountains every day)? Why you should do a ski season in Japan I’ve written before about why I’d wanted to do a ski season in Japan for years before finally going for it last winter. There were two main reasons: snowboarding itself…