A September 2018 review of Naughty Squirrel hostel Riga from an impartial traveller. Hold onto your hats, this place is one heck of a special sleep – Naughty Squirrel hostel Riga is the full package. Location Naughty Squirrel hostel in Riga is perhaps the best-located hostel in the city, sitting just within the tourist-magnet old …
B&B&B&B&B hostel in Vilnius, Lithuania, offers decent, well-located budget accommodation for backpackers and budget travellers, but a bit of extra care could make it exceptional. B&B&B&B&B Hostel Location As far as location gets, B&B&B&B&B hostel in Vilnius couldn’t be better for transport links, sitting less than ten minutes’ walk from Vilnius train and bus stations, which are opposite one …
As a Northerner in my early 30s, the word ‘Blackpool’ conjures flashbacks to childhood day trips along with a torrent of other images. Trams, large candy dummies, fish and chips, tooth-assaulting rock, Mick Hucknall on a rollercoaster and the illuminated faces of Coronation Street characters floating past painfully slowly through the sunroof of a 1980s Astra Estate. It’s safe to say …
Although Manchester’s arts scene thrives all year-round, there comes a transition between spring and summer when the laziness of the darker months dissipates. It’s at this point that Manchester art events, previews and socials start to sprout like mushrooms. Thursday 27th April was an evening working in overdrive. I didn’t have just one or two, …
If Japan’s neon lights, bustling noodle bars and late-night karaoke haunts have left you craving tranquility, head to the East of Kyushu to unravel the mystery of the Usuki buddhas. The Mystery of the Usuki Buddhas For a corner of Japan less worn on the map than the manicured gardens of Nara or the bustling temples of …
Looking for Kyoto’s best-kept secret? Forget geisha-hunting in Gion. Instead, head for Kanga-an, a temple with the most unlikely of features. My first time in Kyoto was not wholly successful. I’d heard too much about how it was impossible not to love this history-drenched, wooden-housed cultural capital of Japan – the hub of all tradition and a …
Sometimes the lives of a city and a character are inextricably intertwined. As travellers on a mission to get under the skin of our destinations, a little knowledge of a person’s life, their impact and legacy can be instrumental in understanding the places we explore. During a trip to Buenos Aires in December 2014, I was struck by …
The Curse of Lokrum Island In the shadows of Lokrum Island’s trees at nightfall, a monk stood waiting. In his ears rang the last mass he would ever attend on his beloved home, just off the coast of Ragusan, or Dubrovnik as it is known today. Filled with anger and sorrow, he pulled his hood over his head and …
Fonts Around Ludlow It is a truth universally acknowledged that New Years’ Eve in Manchester involves three things – partying, drinking and socialising. In a bid to try something different, I accepted a kind offer from a good friend to stay with her and some other folks at a picture-postcard cottage in Ludlow, Shropshire. New Years’ Eve …