In a packed cinema in Tel Aviv, the screen is filled with the image of Adriaan Vlok, South Africa’s former Minister for Law and Order, washing the feet of a grief stricken mother whose son’s death he ordered (one of the “Mamelodi 10“), during the Apartheid years, while saying “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for… [Read more…]
May 5, 2012
So I’m on this flight from London to Tel Aviv. It’s a budget affair and frankly I don’t think I’m the only one whose adrenaline levels have gone through the roof in the fight to get on the plane, squeeze my somewhat oversized ‘hand luggage’ into the overhead locker and bag a coveted window seat. As soon… [Read more…]
April 24, 2012
Last week the Kit from the lovely Seek New Travel blog tagged me to participate in HostelBookers 7 Super Shots. So here are mine. I’ve chosen a bit of a street-art/graffiti theme and stuck to the suggested titles in only the very loosest of ways. 1. A photo that…takes my breath away This shot was… [Read more…]
April 18, 2012
At first glance, Athens’ off-centre neighbourhoods do not look particularly enticing. Beyond the hubs around Monastiraki and Syntagma squares, neo-classical architecture quickly gives way to a mishmash of concrete buildings, narrow laneways and uneven pavements. Add in persistent strikes, protests and the occasional burning building and it’s perhaps understandable that tourists tend to hole themselves… [Read more…]
April 5, 2012
I love cafes. Who doesn’t. After all, when you’re exploring a new city finding a good cafe can be like finding a home from home; a place to relax and recharge while soaking in significantly more of the local culture than is possible from the edge of your ubiquitous hotel bed watching the BBC World… [Read more…]
February 17, 2012
Hi everyone, here’s a quick video blog on how things are in Athens right now from a tourist’s perspective. I should say that minutes after finishing this I walked through Syntagma Square and saw the riot police/army gearing up again, so perhaps things are not as quiet as they have first seemed. Also, sorry for… [Read more…]
February 14, 2012
We are 3 talks into TEDxManchester and Tara Shears is giving us a crash course in advanced particle physics. On the screen is a giant animation of particles smashing together in the Hadron Collider at CERN, and she is talking and gesturing enthusiastically about how this is part of the scientific community’s ongoing quest to find that God(damn)… [Read more…]
December 16, 2011
Every day, Fred Schlomka’s Green Olive tour company picks up a car full of Jerusalem tourists and guides them through the Separation Wall into the Palestinian West Bank, visiting refugee camps, social enterprises and – in what’s been seen by some as a controversial move – settler communities. Having joined one of these tours earlier… [Read more…]
November 25, 2011
Here is a classic traveller’s dilemma; you want to travel to and experience one of the world’s greatest cities, but you want to see the ‘real’ London/Paris/Istanbul – not the one served up to you by the guide books and the tourist maps. But when you have limited time, this can be tricky. If you’re… [Read more…]
November 15, 2011
Morocco is really a pretty safe place for a woman on her own, as well as being a fairly easy place to get around. The buses between cities (supratours and ctm) are a darn-sight better than anything you’d find in the UK, the people in hotels and riads are really helpful and full of advice on… [Read more…]
I'm Kim and I love learning about the world. I write Border Skipping to help you (and me) explore the places where the action is happening.
May 13, 2012
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