“What are you cooking?” “It’s like a potato soup thing.” “Is that like, a German thing?” “Yeah.” She had a pretty smile. Really straight teeth, too. I always liked girls with straight teeth. I turned back to my chicken, steaming slowly in my pan. Hostel kitchens are always interesting. Everyone’s trying to cook something healthy,

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I still remember my first surf class. I wriggled into a wetsuit, lathered my face up with super thick sunscreen and walked down to the beach feeling like Aquaman in my spongy suit with a rocket ship tied to my leg. They say Kiwis love to surf, but at 28 I’d never touched a surfboard

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I have a question. Have you been to Tanzania? Oh, it’s an incredible place. By the sea, the east African coast. Let me tell you about it, my friend. It’s a place by the equator, where the sun will hit you like an open flame. You will effortlessly tan to a golden bronze, or a

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I wake up to the clanging of dishes in the kitchen. Someone’s up. Not me, though. I lie huddled under blankets on the couch, awake, but still. I’m guessing it’s George – she told me she’d be getting up early. After five minutes of dozing I peel myself off the couch and put on some

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I had zero expectations for Bulgaria. I’d never met a Bulgarian, I’d never met anyone who’d been to Bulgaria and I’d never read or seen anything about the place. Bulgaria travel blogs aren’t exactly flooding the net either. Not that I went looking for any. I was going into Bulgaria completely blank, and that was

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“So, are you starting to feel melancholic about leaving Montpellier?” Moritz asked. I took another bite from my pizza slice and smiled. It’s interesting talking to people who speak English as a second language – they tend to come up with funny ways of saying things. Moritz, my youngest classmate at 19, had become my

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In all my years travelling I’ve never really come across a place I didn’t like. I think that’s changed. Turkey. When I landed in Istanbul, I didn’t really know what to expect. I’d heard in passing conversations that it was an amazing city and there was a lot to see there, but I hadn’t really

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It’s Wednesday in Cannakale. I’ve been in Turkey six days and still have so much to see, but I’m already gunning to leave. It’s just not my kind of place. I decide today’s the day I’m getting my bus to Bulgaria. I jump out of bed and head to the Metro Turizm office around the

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