When you think of Uzbekistan, you probably think of turquoise domed mosques and madrasas, intricate mosaics, or even their famous non bread. Wine isn't usually the first thing that comes to mind, but Uzbekistan actually has a thriving viticulture industry. This is especially evident in the Bagizagan Winery, just outside...

We all know that feeling: You're planning a trip to a new country, you've got 50 browser tabs open, you're refining your itinerary, and then you realise there's no way you can do everything in the time you've booked off work. For visitors to Japan, that game of calendar Tetris...

For many visitors to Uzbekistan, the capital city of Tashkent is the first stop. It's often the transit hub: somewhere to land and spend a day or two before the real adventure begins. And sure, it might not be as striking as Registan in Samarkand, or as beautiful as the...

Let me start off by saying: I was an idiot when I visited Uzbekistan. I did minimal planning and took the very Irish approach of "it'll be grand" to exploring Uzbekistan as a vegan. It was not grand. It was how I ended up in my hotel room in Samarkand,...

If you've already read my guide to finding a vegan friendly ryokan in Hakone, you'll know I take absolute joy in finding places that cater to vegan travellers. Ever since that post went live, it's my #1 most visited page on this site, so clearly I'm not alone in trying...

Here's a fun fact for you: In Russian, a large train station is called a "vokzal" (вокзал), and it gets its name from London's Vauxhall. Vauxhall was my first local tube station when I moved to London in 2010, and a vokzal was where I found myself on a sunny...

If you're planning your trip to the heartland of Amarone, you might be wondering how much it's going to cost you. To answer that, I'll use the most commonly used phrase in my software engineering day job: "it depends". Your Valpolicella budget is naturally going to vary, depending on how...

Some people will tell you that the only way to get out into the Veneto countryside and visit a Valpolicella winery is with a rental car. Well, I've been to lazy to get a driver's license since moving to London 15 years ago, and I've still been found roaming the...

Note: This post was originally written for a trip I took in 2024. In 2026, I'm planning another trip to Thailand, and have updated this post with the process as it is today. The overnight sleeper train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai is pretty much a rite of passage for...

If you've already read my guide to Vegan-Friendly Ryokans in Hakone, you'll already know that you can get a great, multi-course plant based feast in your guesthouse. But if you're only in Hakone for the day, or you're skipping the ryokan and experiencing the onsen town on a budget, you'll...