The dos and don’ts of trekking the Malaysian jungle

As regular readers will know, Matt and I are pretty intrepid/foolhardy, but even we did not brave Taman Negara on our own.

Malaysia’s largest national park is 4,343 sq km and boasts some of the world’s most…

The mysterious case of the Morrisons bags

Matt spotted one first. On day two, in the little town of Bokonbayevo: a boy with three loaves of bread in a Morrisons carrier bag.

I ignored him. We were supposed to be marvelling at the fact that nearby Issyk-Kol is the world’s…

More reasons to shop Morrisons? Bags more mystery in Tajikistan…

*The thrilling sequel to The Mysterious Case of the Morrisons bags

On our final day in Kyrgyzstan, we shopped for snacks for a road trip on Tajikistan’s Pamir Highway.

Sacred highs and filthy lows: Climbing Indonesia’s second-tallest volcano

Gunung Rinjani looms over the island of Lombok. Indonesia’s second-tallest volcano is 3726m, with a 6km-wide lake inside its crater, and a smoking second cone that erupts every few years. Its lush…

A night in a shepherd’s yurt and our first near-death experience

Most people trek to Kol Ukok on horseback, but Matt still hasn’t recovered from pony trekking in the Dominican Republic eight years ago, so we went on foot without a guide.

The Pamir Highway: Driving into Tajikistan’s Wild East

It cost us three bottles of vodka, a sack of milk powder and 100 somoni (£9) to get into Tajikistan.

Our driver, Oman, handled the negotiations. Two guards were prising open the wheel of the car in front, but…

Hitchhiking and hitches on the road in Kyrgyzstan

Today is one of those days when you wonder: why don’t we go on normal holidays and do fun stuff, instead of hanging around bus stations in the back of beyond?

Why Peckham needs a Kyrgz restaurant

Yesterday Matt and I had a pasty and a cup of tea for lunch. Mmm, I thought, as I burnt my tongue on the filling: how nice to be so far from home.

In London I eat pretty healthily and mostly veggie. I haven’t let a Cornish pasty past my…

Trying to get high in the Pamirs

The local nickname for the Pamirs is Bam-i-Dunya – the Roof of the World. With 5000m-plus peaks, unpeopled valleys and astounding scenery at every turn, it’s a trekker’s paradise – as long as you can cope without signposted trails and tea shops.