Stories

We all make stupid mistakes sometimes. That’s what I kept telling myself after being denied entry into Ukraine because I didn’t have a visa: it was a perfectly normal, perfectly human erro…

The first time I remember hearing about Moldova was the day after my wedding. I was in a second-hand store, buying books to take with me on honeymoon, and I picked up Tony Hawks’s Playing Tennis…

We love Berlin, and it’s always great to be back. On our most recent visit, we spent most of our time housesitting in the outskirts and drinking beer in beer gardens with friends. However, we st…

Charming cobbled streets and colourful buildings, Christmas markets, an excellent food scene: what isn’t there to love about Prague? The capital of the Czech Republic is one of Europe‘s mo…

Moldova has been on our dream destination list since before we even left New Zealand in 2006. In fact, we read “Playing the Moldovans at Tennis” while on honeymoon in 2002, and since then …

Japan is a country of contrasts: somehow it manages to be (among other things) modern, traditional, rural, urban, technologically advanced and behind the times when it comes to wifi. It’s a plac…

I learned, yesterday, that New Zealanders require a visa to enter Ukraine. I learned it from a heavily armed guard on the wrong side of the border. Since I didn’t have a visa, I was denied entry…

We’ve been renting apartments and housesitting a lot recently, but during our trip through the Balkans two years ago we returned to our old standby, hostels. We love hostels for their social ele…

Although it’s unfair to judge something before you try it, sherry’s reputation as a drink for old ladies meant that it has never been my first choice for a tipple. However, it turns out th…

Ten years of full-time travel have taught us all sorts of lessons, but one of the first ones we learned remains the most important: pack light. It can be a challenge to reduce your luggage to carry-on…