Miami beach (please evacuate before sunset)

Day 186 - United States 🇺🇸

August 15, 2021

Welcome to the USA! This will be a short one as the US is a country everyone knows at least a little bit about. America’s movies and TV shows are so pervasive that everyone knows what to expect from the US.

That’s why I was genuinely surprised at the level of culture shock I experienced when I moved to Boston to study for a summer in 2010. Despite sharing a common language, it’s really staggering how different US and British cultures are. For example on my first morning, going out for breakfast with my housemate I was flawed by the question - “how would you like your eggs, sunny side up, over easy or over hard?”. This question completely floored me. I’d like to think my knowledge of American egg frying styles has improved since then.

America’s optimism, can-do attitude and enthusiasm for a good time have changed me forever. I made a really close group of friends during my time in Massachusetts and one friend in particular who I haven’t been able to shake since…

Here’s to America. Land of the free, and also coincidentally the only place I’ve ever been told off by the police for walking along the beach after dark!

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Day 185 - United Kingdom 🇬🇧

August 14, 2021

As a British person living abroad, I’ve gradually reached the conclusion that the UK is a particularly misunderstood country. So today I’m going to use this post to take a few misconceptions about the UK.

What is the UK?

Firstly, what actually is the UK? I run into this one all the time, but a surprisingly large number of people don’t actually know what the UK is, or even worse refer to Welsh or Scottish people as English! Pro tip: don’t make this mistake.

Here’s a quick rundown of the different names and what they refer to:

The United Kingdom is a country and a collection of four nations. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland plus a scattering of British Overseas Territories.

What is England - the nation of England. Don’t call someone from Scotland English. They won’t be so happy.

Great Britain refers to the Island of Great Britain - the largest of the British Isles.

The British Isles are a group of Islands in the North Atlantic including Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man and roughly six thousand other smaller islands

What is Britain? Britain is kind of a messy term. It can be used to refer to the UK or Great Britain.

Who, or what is British? This is much more of an identity question - by the book British people from the United Kingdom, although this doesn’t really answer the question. For example, someone from Northern Island may identify as Irish and be insulted if you call them British, the same to a slightly lesser extent can also apply to Scottish or Welsh people. Just remember the term British is not interchangeable with the term English.

One final tidbit are the Crown Dependencies. The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are not part of the UK but are crown dependencies. This effectively means they’re independent, self-governing nations, but internationally the UK is responsible for them.

The UK is really rainy

If I had a pound for every time a non-Brit knowingly told me how wet the UK is, or made a rain-based joke, I’d probably have some amount of money. This definitely wouldn’t be enough to undo the clear injustice of this easily disprovable falsehood. Britain is just not as rainy as people think.

Let’s use London to illustrate this. London is the UK’s most populous city and experiences less annual rainfall than New York, Tokyo, Rome, Toronto, Mexico City, Zurich, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Paris, Lisbon or even Sydney.

So please stop telling me the UK is really wet. It’s actually the driest place I’ve ever lived. Please direct your jokes about umbrellas to residents of Montenegro’s capital Podgorica, who receive over 1.6 metres of rainfall each year.

One of Scotland’s famous tropical beaches.

The UK is anti-EU

Maybe this is the most controversial of these topics. But as a Brit in continental Europe right I feel like I need to say something. Not only am I the demographic most likely to be utterly opposed to Brexit, but I’ve also somehow become an official Brexit representative.

Contrary to widespread belief, the UK is not overrun by frothing-at-the-mouth Brexiteers (although there are many). The UK is surprisingly pro-European. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but the past five years has ignited a passion for the European project on a scale never seen before. Millions of people took to the streets and marched for the right to a second referendum. What’s more over 6 million people signed a petition to revoke Brexit.

The saddest thing now is that whenever I talk to British people there’s a general sense of quiet resignation to the UK’s state. Everyone knows that the UK has made a mistake and will be worse off, but almost like a British person not wanting to complain about an overcooked steak, there’s a feeling that this is our lot, we just have to deal with it. For me, this is the single most depressing thing about Brexit.

British food is terrible

This just simply isn’t true. British food is hugely misunderstood. If you think British food is terrible, I bet you don’t have much experience of it.

We’ll start with a classic. Everyone thinks they understand fish and chips. It’s something you see around the world and is quintessentially British (despite having Portuguese origins). The problem is, it’s really difficult to get genuine fish and chips (you can’t get these outside of the UK, sorry, you just can’t). I’m talking about the North Yorkshire variety, fried in beef dripping and chunky, hand-cut chips. Get in line outside the Magpie Cafe in Whitby and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Another food you’ll struggle to find done properly outside of the UK is British-Indian cuisine. Like all the best fusion cuisines it’s rooted in two very different cultures and this makes it all the better. In my opinion, there’s nothing better than a Saturday night visit to a curry house and it’s one of the foods I miss most from the UK.

Other foods I think are massively underrated include the humble pork pie, Britain’s vast variety of delicious cheeses, my grandmother’s welsh cakes, oh and bread and butter pudding with Bird’s custard.

Of all of the insults to British cuisine that cuts the deepest is when people deride British beer. I love almost all beer, but I have a special place in my heart reserved for ale. If you think you don’t like ale, I have a challenge for you. Find a wonderful, inviting pub. You know the kind of pub that has that delightful indescribable essence of pub. Part community centre, part living room, but above all a collection of oddly sized awkwardly laid out rooms and snugs. Anyway, once you’ve found the right pub, order a pint of local cask ale. Then persist. Try a few pints. I can almost guarantee by the end of the evening you will have changed your view on ale. If not I’ll buy you a Carlsberg or Heineken as compensation.

Cheers!

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Day 184 - United Arab Emirates 🇦🇪

August 13, 2021

The United Arab Emirates has perhaps transformed more than any other country in the world during my lifetime. For example, back in the 1960s, the UAE was home to a population of under a hundred thousand. Today the UAE’s population is now approaching ten million.

For example, take Dubai, a city I first saw in Michael Palin’s Around the World in 80 Days was once a small relatively unknown, undeveloped city where he rented an ancient dhow to take him to India.

Since the 1980s, Dubai has been transformed into a glistening metropolis of glass megalith-like skyscrapers, one-too-many lane highways and artificial islands spotted with holiday homes.

The scale of Dubai’s explosive growth is incomprehensible. To me at least. I’m not sure if Dubai is somewhere I want to visit. On the one hand, Dubai is unlike any other place in the world - its ostentatiousness is off the scale, in many ways, it’s similar to a city like Vegas. That is Vegas, but with infinitely stricter sex, drugs and alcohol laws.

Does this give it character, or does this mean the place is devoid of character? Does this even matter? What other place decides to, and then almost pulls off building a chain of islands mirroring the entire world? All I know is that both Michael Palin and John Simpson both listed Dubai as the place they’d least like to visit on the Travel Diaries Podcast.

Anyway, the UAE is a lot more than simply Dubai. The UAE comprises seven emirates, and given almost 90% of the population are immigrants, there must be a reason to visit, right? Maybe I should give The UAE a visit, that is provided they overhaul their draconian LGBT laws.

As the world shifts away from fossil fuels and hub-based air travel, I wonder what the future holds for the UAE? I certainly hope the UAE’s future is brighter than that of its sinking artificial islands.

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Day 183 - Ukraine 🇺🇦

August 12, 2021

We’re back! And headed to Ukraine, an utterly fantastic country.

Quite possibly the best weekend break I’ve ever had. Honestly, it was fantastic. We explored the World’s deepest metro, over 100 metres below the surface and ate our way around Kiev. The food in Ukraine was fantastic and you can really taste how Ukraine got it’s nicknames the Soviet Union’s breadbasket. The produce was fresh, generous and flavourful. I particularly loved the pickled tomatoes served in Pervak, an old-fashioned Ukrainian restaurant right in the centre of Kiev.

The most complicated departures board in the world

Other highlights of Kiev included exploring the gargantuan Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi railway station with the most complex arrivals and departures board I’ve ever seen. We also visited the Oleg Antonov State Aviation Museum and I’d argue this is a must-do for anyone at all interested in air travel. It’s a cornucopia of Soviet era aircraft in varying states of decay. You can get up close to all of the aircraft, and many you’re even allowed to board. This is an aircraft museum unlike any other.

We rounded our days off by bar-hopping around Kiev’s inexpensive bars. In one memorable bar, we even got roped into in a challenge where we volunteered to wear helmets and have them set alight by a flame blowing barman while downing shots. Who needs eyebrows, you only live once, right?

We had a genuinely amazing time in Kiev - it’s refreshingly different from a typical European weekend break. There are only so many national galleries, cafes and churches I can appreciate. Kiev offers something refreshingly different, oh and it still manages to have beautiful orthodox churches and monasteries.

It almost doesn’t feel real that we were able to have such a fun time in Kiev while while Ukraine was still in the throws of the brutal Russo-Ukrainian War that continues to this day. Luckily Kiev is peaceful and seemed relatively normal while we were there. We noticed that people generally preferred to avoid speaking Russian, and the people we spoke with anger at the actions of Russia. I genuinely hope that there is a peaceful resolution before two long.

I cannot wait to go back to Ukraine some day.

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Where in the UK was this taken? Answers on a postcard.

A brief intermission 🇬🇧

August 5, 2021

I’m heading back to the UK today for the first time in twenty months.

This is definitely the longest period of time I’ve ever been away from the UK. Spending a little time back in the UK will be the perfect time to write about country 185, or more commonly known as the UK. I’m going to take a break from writing on a daily basis so I can focus on spending quality time with friends and family.

See you soon!

Day 182 - Uganda 🇺🇬

August 3, 2021

Boy, this is going to be an interesting one.

The only thing I know about Uganda, other than it’s a big coffee grower, is that in my living memory it tried to pass a law sentencing anyone convicted of same-sex sexual activity with the death penalty. This was later, reduced to life imprisonment, but understandably Uganda is not high on my list of countries that I want to visit.

The law was eventually annulled after pressure and sanctions from the US. However, in 2021 Uganda is once again legislating to send gay people to prison. Luckily this legislation has not passed, and there is little chance of it passing.

Could this mean that things are about to finally get a little better for Uganda’s LGBT community? Am I being a little unfair in calling Uganda out on its treatment of gay people? After all, many countries such as Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and the UAE prescribe the death penalty for homosexuality. Either way, it’s something that stuck in my mind and I think it’s an issue worth raising.

It’s also worth pointing out that there’s a big difference between a country’s current government and the country itself. For example, you’d probably not expect the UK to have an incredibly large proportion of passionately pro-EU citizens, but it does!

Anyway, back to Uganda:

Uganda is home to half the World’s surviving 1004 or so mountain gorillas
Ugandan’s refer to potatoes as ”Irish”
Uganda is also home to some incredible nature such as the stunning snow-capped Rwenzori Mountains, the Murchison Falls and the fantastically named Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Tragically Uganda had one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDs of any country in the world - at one point 20% of the population was afflicted. Fortunately, Uganda has since experienced the sharpest decrease in HIV/AIDS-related deaths with an 88% decrease in 27 years

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Day 181 - Tuvalu 🇹🇻

August 2, 2021

Tuvalu is a cluster of nine coral islands and atolls in the South Pacific.

Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world and is tiny, but it is at least marginally larger than sort of neighbouring Nauru. For reference Nauru is almost 1400 km from Tuvalu.

Tuvalu is from what I can tell the second lowest country on the planet. The highest point on Tuvalu is 4.6 meters above sea level meaning that Tuvalu is critically endangered by rising sea levels and cyclones.

Tuvalu’s economy is unsurprisingly small, given the country’s remoteness and small population. It does benefit though from fishing rights, and coconut farming. One unexpected are of revenue is from selling rights to its internet domain, “.tv”. One area Tuvalu doesn’t rake in the cash is tourism. Apparently the country receives hardly any tourism, although this has been gradually changing with a record 2,700 visitors in 2018.

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Door to Hell, or the Darvaza gas crater, Turkmenistan

Day 180 - Turkmenistan 🇹🇲

August 1, 2021

Today’s country is one of the weirdest destinations we’ve visited in a while. Turkmenistan is a similar size to Spain, but that’s pretty much where any similarity ends.

Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 Turkmenistan has been ruled by a succession of larger-than-life dictators. The first Saparmurat Niyazov was known for littering the entire country with golden statues and for his little pink and green book. His book entitled Ruhnama was a state propaganda tool and every Turkmen resident was forced to study it, even for driving tests.

The current dictator of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, also has a penchant for large golden statues. However, what he’s most known for is performing donuts around a burning crater named “Gateway to Hell” in order to quell rumours of his demise. No, I’m not making this up.

The Gateway to Hell, or the Darvaza gas crater is a huge crater in the Karakum Desert permanently burning natural gas. It’s the consequence of failed Soviet oil drilling attempts in the 1970s. To this day it burns and has become a weird tourist attraction.

Anyway, I really don’t have enough time to do Turkmenistan justice this evening, I recommend watching VisualPolitik’s take on Turkmenistan:

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Day 179 - Turkey 🇹🇷

July 31, 2021

Welcome to Turkey, Europe’s bridge to Asia.

Turkey is the world’s largest per-capita consumer of tea, beating both the UK and Ireland. I really wasn’t expecting to learn that today.

Turkey is one of those countries I’ve visited, but feel like I don’t know it. Well, other than the evil eye amulet is almost everywhere in Turkey, especially in tourist bazaars. Oh, and I also remember there’s a photo of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in almost every building.

I went to Turkey in 2008 on a bargain-basement package holiday with my friend Sean right before graduating. It was the perfect break after exams and before going on a longer interrailing trip later that summer. We stayed Gümbet, just outside Bodrum. Looking at it on a Map, twelve years later, it’s incredible how much has changed. The area is now vastly more developed, and the sprawl of Bodrum now extends far further along the coast. Anyway, the trip was fun, we mostly lay on the beach, drank cocktails and ate. We did manage a day trip to the Greek island of Kos though, and I have lasting memories of the enormous lavash served with almost every meal.

I’d love to visit Turkey properly one day and make the effort to appreciate the delicious cuisine, nature and culture. We had a trip booked to Istanbul for Easter 2020. Once it’s safer to travel again I’d love to re-book. Istanbul looks like one of Europe’s most fascinating cities, packed will delicious food, Turkish baths and iconic sights such as the Grand Bazaar or Hagia Sophia. Istanbul would also be the first transcontinental city I’ve ever visited. That is to say, a city that exists on multiple continents.

Anyway, Turkey, see you after the pandemic!

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Day 178 - Tunisia 🇹🇳

July 30, 2021

Today we make a quick stop in Tunisia, the Northernmost country in Africa as well as the smallest country in Northern Africa.

Tunisia was the country that kicked off the Arab Spring in 2010 with a frustrated street vendor setting himself on fire in protest against the government. The uprising quickly gathered pace and brought down the Tunisian government as well as the Lybian and Egyptian governments. Since then Tunisia is gradually moved towards having a more democratic government.

Tunisia is a rather unexpected location for filming Hollywood movies such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones and The English Patient. Tunisia was used for filming multiple Star Wars movies and was the setting for Tatooine. You can actually go on a road-trip around Tunisia taking in all of these movie locations.

This road trip may get even easier in the future with very tentative plans emerging for a tunnel linking Tunisia with nearby Sicily. The tunnel would be a massive 155 km long but would be a massive boost for Tunisia as the majority of its trade is with the EU.

Okay, you know the deal. It’s Friday and it’s sunny (well by Northern European standards at least). Therefore I need a drink. Tonight’s treat is a cold Celtia. Cheers.

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