I had this idea that all backpackers hitchhike in New Zealand. They throw a coin and if it’s heads they go North to South, if it’s tails they go South to North. I did the next best thing: I checked the flights to Auckland and Queenstown and picked the cheaper. In my case Queenstown. Then…
I arrived in Dili, the capital of Timor Leste by bus from Kupang in the afternoon of the 10th of April, 2023. I had come as part of my trip around the world to visit one of the least visited countries on Earth. Little did I know, just 10 days later a rare event would…
Kurdish people are notoriously friendly! So much so, that I got a ton of invitations to visit them from people, who merely saw my public trip on Couchsurfing. While I was in Iraqi Kurdistan, I hitchhiked all around the region and I had many locals offer me help, food, and even lodging. That was the…
This is the story of how I spent 3 days with my Couchsurfing host who turned out to be a Kyrgyz Millionaire. The Meeting Coming from Almaty, I had already secured a Couchsurfing host in Bishkek. We chatted through WhatsApp mostly in Russian (my Russian is limited to what I’d understand if it were Bulgarian,…
There are many checkpoints in Iraq. 90% of times the Peshmerga just glance over your passport. 9% of times you have to briefly exit the car. This is a story about the 1%.
I wake up in Dyarbakir. Monday morning. I have a message request on Facebook from Halit Halit: “Привет” – the Russian/Bulgarian (probably Slavic in general) for “Hello”. Who is this guy and how did he find me? Doesn’t matter right now, “Good Morning” I answer. “How are you?”…
So I am in Urfa and I really want to visit Mount Nemrut – you know, the one with the massive statues at the top. The manager of the unpretentious hotel I stay in claims that he organizes the best and the cheapest tours to the peak and the surrounding ancient sites. Quotes a price of 1000 lira, which as of August 2022 is around 55 euro. I say to myself, “no way, Hose!”…
