I Need Stories
Read the tales from my travels around the world including my journey to all fifty states in America, as well as my formidable road trip along the ancient Silk Road. These are my travel journals and, as such, include the good, bad, and ugly aspects of life on the road. Remember, everything you read is my opinion only. You have been warned. Click on a link below…
November 19th, 2024 Jack Noah Rees Crossing the Øresund Bridge from Denmark into Sweden is one of those experiences that manages to be both jaw-droppingly stunning and a direct assault on your wallet. This engineering marvel, a gleaming metallic ribbon stretched improbably across the point where the North and Baltic Seas shake hands, connects Copenhagen to Malmö and, for the privilege… November 17th, 2024 Jack Noah Rees Leaving behind the cobbled chaos of Ribe and the LEGO shrine of Billund, we ventured eastward for the grand finale of our Danish escapade: Kronborg Castle (known to most as Hamlet’s castle). Approaching the castle, perched dramatically on the edge of the Øresund Strait, I couldn’t help but think that poor Hamlet might have been… November 16th, 2024 Jack Noah Rees There comes a time in everyone's life when they feel compelled to go big—an unspoken challenge to outdo their previous adventures, preferably in a way that involves fewer calories than cycling across a continent but more logistical chaos than a weekend in Devon. For us, this was that moment. Having already completed tours of the… May 22nd, 2024 Jack Noah Rees From exploring traditional Cypriot mountain villages and discovering seven-hundred-year-old UNESCO-listed monasteries to Bar Street Paphos; the cultural chasm was wider than the potholes on Mumbles Road. Or was it? We had a week to find out whether the infamous Inbetweener beach resort had anything more to offer than two-for-one cocktails and chlamydia. We were booked… May 15th, 2024 Jack Noah Rees A one-hour hop over the glistening Mediterranean from Cairo landed us in Larnaka. Following a rather intense week in the Nile Delta, we planned for a far more reposeful week in Cyprus, although driving a hire car into a demilitarised zone may not have been the most stress-free start. However, without Vishnu and the freedom… April 30th, 2024 Jack Noah Rees Following a frenzied few days in the smoggy capital, we decided that some sea air would work wonders for our clogged sinuses, taking a two-and-a-half-hour Uber to the coastal city of Alexandria for the utterly ridiculous price of twenty pounds sterling. Travelling in the relative comfort of a taxi for such a great distance wouldn’t… April 26th, 2024 Jack Noah Rees With van living being the primary focus in recent times, it’s been three and a half years since I last boarded an aluminium deathtrap in earnest and in that time my discomfort of flying hasn’t eased. In fact, I have now been joined by a person who finds it even more discomforting than I, which… April 16th, 2024 Jack Noah Rees With Vishnu under several metres of snow somewhere on the outskirts of Prague, we decided to save our great escape for another day and make the most of our time in the glacial Czech capital. After bidding au revoir to the campsite's ostentation of bemused peacocks we caught a convenient tram to the city’s most… April 11th, 2024 Jack Noah Rees The final destination of our Central European voyage would be newly named Czechia. With the recent change frowned upon by almost everyone outside of government, in a similar manner to North Macedonia, we would continue to use its former ‘Republic’ branding when having drinks and conversing with civil servants, politicians, or the local fuzz. Thankfully,… March 16th, 2024 Jack Noah Rees Crystal-clear skies and festive fragrances greeted our first morning in the Slovak capital: Bratislava. Having parked up in neighbouring Austria and caught an unsurprisingly efficient train into the centre we decided to get our blood pumping early doors by marching up a rocky hill towards her primary attraction. Nowhere on earth has a higher concentration… March 12th, 2024 Jack Noah Rees The undulating nation of Slovakia was to be our next stop as we terminated our eastward bearing and began our return journey in earnest. This was my first occasion within its landlocked borders having skirted close by while Interrailing many moons ago. Lowri, however, had visited before and even knew how to order a beer… March 9th, 2024 Jack Noah Rees With Vishnu temporarily repaired and teaching done for the weekend, we could loosen up, relax, and start to find out what it means to be Hungarian and what better way to do that than by taking a nice warm beer bath. Not a regular bath with mugs of beer on the side, as Lowri naively… March 6th, 2024 Jack Noah Rees Following a festive weekend in Vienna we embarked on the short seventy-kilometre hop directly south into the great nation of the Magyars, otherwise known as Hungary. A slight oddity in the heart of Central Europe, the country is quite unlike any of its neighbours, especially in terms of language. With forty-four letters and eighteen case… February 29th, 2024 Jack Noah Rees Following the advice of our new favourite fiftyish Austrian roadside café owners, we were going to Graz. Our original plan was to cross the slightly flatter northern part of the country straight to the capital: Vienna. However, southern Graz was most definitely worth the rather large diversion, according to them at least and I now… February 22nd, 2024 Jack Noah Rees Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, Julie Andrews, the list of prodigious Austrian musical talent goes on and on and nowhere exemplifies her harmonious heritage more than our second destination. Following a few drinks over the ice hockey in the western town of Feldkirch, we spent a couple of weeks bouncing around Bavaria before re-entering Austria in the… February 19th, 2024 Jack Noah Rees From beer diplomas in Bamberg to fairy tale castles in Füssen, our first week in Bavaria was more German than an evening frying Frankfurters with Jürgen Klinsmann. Into week two and we were to base ourselves in the region’s largest city, Munich, while splashing out on a few vanless nights with an attractive wooden guesthouse… February 14th, 2024 Jack Noah Rees Attempting to explore all of Germany in a little over two weeks would be both foolish and quite impossible. We didn’t even bother. The south-eastern state of Bavaria, despite being Germany’s largest, would be just about manageable if we kept our wiener stops and bratwurst breaks to a minimum while being extremely selective in our… February 13th, 2024 Jack Noah Rees You rejoin us following an extremely restless night on the outskirts of Schaan, Liechtenstein’s most populous municipality, trying and failing to collect countless drips from our increasingly leaky ceiling. Thankfully, the rainstorm we had endured since entering the country had temporarily ceased and we were finally able to inspect the damage thanks to our ingenious… January 30th, 2024 Jack Noah Rees While I love a micronation perhaps more than the next man, the prospect of touring the diminutive country of Liechtenstein filled me with even more wonder than usual as she is, without a doubt, the European nation I know the least about and, therefore, the most mysterious. Surely, there would be a plethora of peculiar… January 21st, 2024 Jack Noah Rees Having dipped our frigid toes into the fondue of Swiss life in our first week proceeding across the undulating north, we were now fully equipped to take on the challenges and enormous heights of Switzerland’s Alpine south. Encompassing some of the tallest mountains in Europe, we had our sights set on getting as close to… January 19th, 2024 Jack Noah Rees At the commencement of our jaunt around Central Europe, if you had asked us which country, we were most looking forward to exploring it would have comfortably been Switzerland. With such lofty expectations, we made a swift beeline from our previous nation of Luxembourg, through a great swathe of Western France and the cities of… January 16th, 2024 Jack Noah Rees You rejoin us after an almighty night of birthday boozing in the Luxembourger capital: Luxembourg City. Although, not even the sorest of heads could fail to appreciate the spectacular city scenery that greeted us from our lofty Airbnb balcony the following morning. As touched upon in my previous post, we were rather taken aback by… January 5th, 2024 Jack Noah Rees While bouncing from Belgian bar to Belgian brewery slurping on craft beer was immensely pleasurable, nothing quite hits like visiting a new micronation. Discovering how they’ve managed to maintain their independence throughout the centuries is always a fascinating lesson in the trading of land as well as savvy leadership and Luxembourg is no different. An… December 29th, 2023 Jack Noah Rees We arose on the outskirts of the Belgian capital in fine spirits given the remarkably clear blue sky that greeted us, a novelty for the trip thus far, and in great anticipation for a city neither of us had set foot in before. Home to icons Hercule Poirot and Jean-Claude Van Damme, we were extremely… December 10th, 2023 Jack Noah Rees Following our introduction to Belgium in Baarle-Hertog, the town known for its notoriously complex hotchpotch of borders with The Netherlands, we skipped across Northern Belgium past the port behemoth that is Antwerp and arrived in the more picturesque Bruges. Having not seen the film that has made United Staters flock there in droves (unsure if… November 9th, 2023 Jack Noah Rees After a week spent acclimatising and familiarising ourselves with the Dutch way of life, which involved a lot of vertical smock windmills and vegan soused herring, we decided to dive into the beating heart and capital of the country: Amsterdam. I say dive, we parked about as far away from the centre as was still… October 31st, 2023 Jack Noah Rees September 16th, 2023. So commenced our third Autumnal European escapade in as many years as we began our next adventure sipping thimbles of Tesco value Sauvignon Blanc on the speedy LeShuttle deep underneath the English Channel, as has become a tradition. Our first post-lockdown tour, in 2021, tracked the sun-drenched western coastline of Europe around… October 5th, 2023 Jack Noah Rees The final chapter of our tour of the Western Balkans started in one of the ten Serbian enclaves of Kosovo, never thought I’d be writing that. As touched upon in my previous post, Kosovo and neighbouring Serbia have a complex and fraught relationship that only becomes more complex and fraught inside a majority Serb area,… October 2nd, 2023 Jack Noah Rees Undoubtedly Europe’s most controversial nation, not through any fault of her own, Kosovo has long polarised opinion with absolutely no sign of any contention slowing down. A slim majority of countries around the world (52.3% to be exact) recognize her sovereignty including the UK, USA, and most of the EU although notable exceptions include Spain… September 13th, 2023 Jack Noah Rees From the shores of North Macedonia’s largest lake, we made the bumpy three-hour drive northeast to its largest city, and capital, Skopje. Pronounced Skop-yay, this city of half a million may not appear to be the most geographically significant municipality when looking at its landlocked location on a map however, you’d be partially wrong. Situated… September 11th, 2023 Jack Noah Rees The newest nation on earth, at least by name, lay just across from our next Balkan border interrogation: North Macedonia. Caught up in a decades-long dispute with neighbouring Greece over where the ancient region of Macedonia actually is, and allowing the victor to lay the best claim to the birthplace of Alexander the Great (very… September 7th, 2023 Jack Noah Rees With just days to the start of a new year, we decided that Shkodër might not be the most happening place in the world to ring it in and so we made the short journey southwards along the exceedingly bumpy E762 highway to the capital: Tirana. Brought under communist rule after the Second World War… September 6th, 2023 Jack Noah Rees If there is one nation that is keener than any other to remind people that it is not a former member of the erstwhile country of Yugoslavia or, indeed, that it is not Slavic in any way, shape, or form then it is Albania. Proclaimed independent from the Ottoman Empire way back in 1912, the… July 25th, 2023 Jack Noah Rees Google the least visited capital cities in Europe and this one is going to be right up there. Montenegro’s unheralded capital city Podgorica (pronounced pod-guh-reet-suh) attracts just 30,000 visitors yearly, less than the population of Llanelli (pronounced lla-nell-i), and it seems to have absolutely no interest in increasing that number. With few notable attractions or… July 23rd, 2023 Jack Noah Rees When one mulls over festive getaway locations from which to ring in the big day, one might be forgiven for overlooking the diminutive Balkan nation of Montenegro. However, as the end of December neared, it is exactly where we found ourselves, in the Bay of Kotor to be precise, about ninety kilometres southeast of Dubrovnik.… June 18th, 2023 Jack Noah Rees Our race to escape Bosnian blizzards brought us back to the safe haven of the Dalmatian Coast and to the Pelješac peninsula in Croatia where a slower pace of life was extremely welcomed. Connected by a small land bridge and sharply jutting into the Adriatic, Pelješac has all the bays, beaches, and nauseatingly expensive bars… May 4th, 2023 Jack Noah Rees The more southerly region of Herzegovina, like so many others in the Balkans, has struggled to define its geographic, cultural, and historic borders over the years. Thankfully, for everyone concerned, this has never posed a problem as their northerly neighbours, Bosnia, don’t have any issues with the ambiguity. Despite the lack of a fixed perimeter,… March 24th, 2023 Jack Noah Rees As a child of the late 90s, the news stories I faintly remember Moira Stuart drily informing me of were the unstoppable rise of a generation-defining girl group, the sudden death of a beloved princess, a greying man in a suit “not having sexual relations with that woman” (with no clue what that meant), and… March 20th, 2023 Jack Noah Rees Belgrade. Over one-and-a-half million people call this sprawling, baroque-brutalist metropolis home which comfortably makes it the largest city in the Western Balkans and one of the largest in South-eastern Europe. While not atop many holiday destination lists, it has gradually nurtured a vibrant and increasingly alternative subculture that has attracted a great number of youths… March 17th, 2023 Jack Noah Rees If there is one country that influences, or at least attempts to influence, the Western Balkans more than any other it is Serbia. The beating heart of former Yugoslavia, it comprises many of the biggest cities of the erstwhile country as well as the largest ethnic population, not that that has caused any problems ever.… March 8th, 2023 Jack Noah Rees As signs of a frigid winter began to cast a dark shadow over the Western Balkans, our itinerary took us away from the comfort and relative warmth of the Adriatic coastline inland towards the centre of the country. I say centre, but when the country you’re describing is shaped as peculiarly as Croatia is, the… March 3rd, 2023 Jack Noah Rees From a country with one of the shortest coastlines in Europe in Slovenia to another with one of the longest; that’s if you’re including its seven hundred and eighteen islands, three hundred and eighty-nine islets (whatever they are), and seventy-eight reefs and why on earth wouldn’t you? A historic maritime nation inseparable from the Adriatic… February 23rd, 2023 Jack Noah Rees Given the time of year we have chosen to travel and the pace with which we move from place to place, we don’t often get the chance to uncover the often unusual or inspiring stories of fellow travellers but in the small Slovene village of Kozina, about eighty kilometres southwest of Ljubljana, we bumped into… February 20th, 2023 Jack Noah Rees Almost the instant we crossed the Italian-Slovenian border at Rateče, in the far north of both nations, the weather, architecture, and horned grazing cattle took a distinctly alpine turn as a scene from The Sound of Music opened dramatically in front of us. We drove the short, mountain-lined distance to the tourist town of Bled,… January 29th, 2023 Jack Noah Rees Following an introductory peep around the striking streets of the Sammarinese capital the previous afternoon, we were up with the first cable car the following morn, sashaying our way to the top of Monte Titano for a full day of hedonistic exploration. We followed the ancient city’s winding lanes up to our first stop, the… November 10th, 2022 Jack Noah Rees Extremely old country, awful football team, perennially last in Eurovision, no not the United Kingdom but our next micronation: San Marino. Nestled in north-eastern Italy, ten kilometres west of the Italian coastal city of Rimini, San Marino can lay claim to having been an independent republic since Saint Marinus formed a monastic community there in… November 7th, 2022 Jack Noah Rees Following our Vatican visit and Rome roam, we re-joined Italy’s arterial motorway, the A1, in a south-easterly direction towards our last major Italian city of the tour: Naples. Informed to expect traffic chaos on levels only matched by Swindon’s Magic Roundabout, we decided to leave Vishnu well outside the city limits and use the decidedly… October 27th, 2022 Jack Noah Rees You re-join us in the smallest, and quite possibly the most peculiar, nation on earth as we began to make the intrepid journey halfway across the entire country from Saint Peter's Square to the renowned Vatican Museums, a journey of a little over fifteen minutes by foot. You must keep your wits about you, however,… October 16th, 2022 Jack Noah Rees When the country you’re visiting has the highest crime rate in the world but not a single prison cell or the shortest rail track but only one station you know you’re somewhere a little bit special. And it is for these sorts of quirks and curiosities, as well as being the smallest nation on earth… October 11th, 2022 Jack Noah Rees Following a relatively relaxing week bathing in lakes and scraping on gates, our next involved far more hustle and bustle as we made our way to Italy’s second city in what were pretty miserable conditions. A bleak and gloomy Milan greeted us as we pulled into the only car park in the city guarded by… October 5th, 2022 Jack Noah Rees With hectic, summer, working schedules drawing to a close and crisp, autumnal mornings making a most welcome return, our annual escape from the British Isles could commence in earnest. On this occasion, six months or more living and working from Vishnu, our converted builder’s van, await. Following last year’s eventful dry run around Western Europe,… June 15th, 2022 Jack Noah Rees The third leg of our Irish adventure brought us back to the Republic as we traced the Irish Sea southwards towards our return ferry home. One hundred and fifty Euros? Two hundred Euros? Those are the astronomical prices you’re looking at if booking anything with four walls, a mattress, and a soiled pillowcase within a… May 28th, 2022 Jack Noah Rees As we continued our tour around the idyllic and viridescent island of Ireland, we weren’t exactly sure what to expect upon reaching the northern border - or even if there was one. Growing up hearing about the crises faced here, now coupled with the gift of Brexit, meant we had little idea what would greet… May 12th, 2022 Jack Noah Rees The Emerald Isle. Home of Guinness, Claddagh Rings, Taytos, and Bono - and it would also be our residence for a three-month stretch as we taught and toured our way around the rolling, verdant island of Ireland. Commencing in Rosslare Harbour on a frosty March morn, our strategy was to swiftly head westwards, pausing in… May 2nd, 2022 Jack Noah Rees The North Coast 500 Scenic Route, or NC500 to its friends, is the United Kingdom’s answer to Route 66 - just without the neon signs, giant plastic blue whales, or copious concealed firearms (one supposes). It leaves irresistible Inverness and proceeds north, looping its way around the ruggedest and remotest of Scottish highlands, completing a… April 18th, 2022 Jack Noah Rees Great Chieftain o’ the Puddin-race! Let’s head north! With Brexit rules forcing us to remain outside of the EU for the next ninety days, an opportunity to explore our oft-overlooked British Isles gloriously presented itself. With my only previous spree north of the wall a four-day Hogmanay booze fest many moons ago, I was extremely… April 8th, 2022 Jack Noah Rees After ten weeks of testing our new home to its limits, we arrive at our last few days exploring the opulent and prosperous principality of Monaco. Having feasted and gambled the previous night away, the dazzlingly bright morning light afforded us an excellent opportunity to discover what the microstate was all about before the glitzy… February 10th, 2022 Jack Noah Rees Just a four hundred and eighteen-mile saunter from our last European microstate and we were in another: Monaco. Although calling her a microstate is being extremely generous given that she’s more than two hundred times smaller than Andorra and only four times larger than the world’s smallest nation: Vatican City. Despite her diminutive stature, Monaco… February 2nd, 2022 Jack Noah Rees Following a few days wandering the salubrious streets of several Andorran towns and villages, we dusted off our salopettes and went in search of some snow-capped peaks. Fortunately, in this diminutive nation, one doesn’t need to look too far to find a whole range of them. As well as being renowned for duty-free shopping and… January 21st, 2022 Jack Noah Rees When our van heating system decided to give up the ghost a week into our trip, we foresaw that certain future destinations would provide us with a special challenge in keeping warm - and this was one: Andorra. Sandwiched deep in the Pyrenees mountain range between Spain and France, this oft-overlooked sovereign state affords a… January 18th, 2022 Jack Noah Rees The road fleeing Benidorm was anything but straightforward. From spending several hours trying, and failing, to find a parking spot in Valencia and being forced to move on to driving through one of the worst storms I have ever witnessed, Spain would not let us circumnavigate her coastline easily. Barring a couple of days steering… January 6th, 2022 Jack Noah Rees Following our travails around the Portuguese coast, we returned to Spain and headed inland, this time tanned and with fully charged leisure batteries after a pristine week of southern sun. Seville was to be our first stop: a city famed for Flamenco, fine food, and forlorn foals - upon which eager tourists are carted around… November 18th, 2021 Jack Noah Rees Our first night in the Portuguese capital was anything but a peaceful one. As we gently lay our weary heads on our ultra-soft, side-sleeper Slumberdown pillows for what we believed would be a full night’s kip, the unmistakable tones of Mike Posner began emanating from a run-down building just a few metres from the van.… November 13th, 2021 Jack Noah Rees Our fourth week on the road began with a bang as my intrepid partner became slightly older, if not at all wiser. Having been spoiled on my own name day not three weeks prior, I needed to pull out all of the stops and provide Lowri with a truly thrilling gift, a gift that money… November 8th, 2021 Jack Noah Rees Our third week on the road began with a surprisingly low-key border crossing into Spain - no sign of police, PCR tests, or any sign of a global pandemic at all - and a short dash across the rugged and charming Basque country towards its largest city: Bilbao. As is customary for this trip, we… October 29th, 2021 Jack Noah Rees Following last week’s visits to Paris’ teeming tourist attractions, Lowri and I decided we’d had our fill of bustling conurbations and so instigated a five-hundred-kilometre drive westwards across the French farmlands to the Atlantic coast. It was our longest - and most monotonous - leg thus far but, thankfully, made all the more enjoyable by… October 24th, 2021 Jack Noah Rees October 9th, 2021. The day I moved from four walls to four wheels and embarked on an expedition that, for the first time, has no scheduled end. My new fixed address being a white converted panel van called Vishnu, a vehicle that will, hopefully, transport us to many places far-flung for the foreseeable future. Us… November 12th, 2020 Jack Noah Rees Thessaloniki, as well as scoring very highly in Scrabble, also scores very highly in my ranking of Greek cities – coming top (out of two). Whilst Athens is geared entirely towards wealth, tourism, and sophistication, Thessaloniki is more focussed on graffiti, pollution, and drifters selling meat from unmarked carrier bags. It has an edginess that… November 6th, 2020 Jack Noah Rees Cloud-piercing mountains, bottomless gorges, and ancient monasteries are not usually three things that spring to mind when thinking of Greek sightseeing. However, I was reliably informed that the northern reaches of this once great land are awash with exactly these kinds of sights; sights that the average inebriated Mediterranean island-hopper would struggle to believe belonged… October 29th, 2020 Jack Noah Rees You re-join me in an overcast Athens and having been far too petrified to drive my enormous hire-car through the frenzied Greek capital, I was extremely grateful that I could finally abandon its narrow streets for the safety of wide, majestic highways for the first time. What was less majestic, however, was the volume of… October 26th, 2020 Jack Noah Rees Where is every seventeen-year-old Brits favourite destination for snorting copious amounts of cocaine from sun loungers? For balcony hopping in half-built concrete hotels until dawn? For losing their virginity after a foam party against a palm tree to a pink-eyed shot seller from Chelmsford? The answer: Greece. Having scrapped more plans this year than the… December 26th, 2019 Jack Noah Rees Earlier this week, I was delayed in Dakar, after my plane from the mainland decided to take the week off. Now, in the final four days of my voyage, I must endure the most stomach-churning of ferry crossings one could possibly imagine; to some of West Africa’s remotest, and yet most active, isles. Day 75… December 20th, 2019 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I clandestinely crept aboard an iron ore train with its destination deep inside the vacuous heart of the great desert. This week, which I have controversially split into two posts, will be my last - as I come full circle with a return to my very first West African metropolis: Dakar. Day 71… December 12th, 2019 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I was forced to avoid the volatile hinterlands of the Sahel, soaring from dusty capital to dusty capital in search of refuge. This week, I took a ride on the most uncomfortable, unpunctual and unreachable train in the world (excluding the Arriva Trains Wales service to Pembroke Dock). Day 64 – Bamako, Mali… December 7th, 2019 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I encountered frolicking hippos and gambolling footballers as I left the Atlantic Coast for the first time - entering the much-maligned desert region of the Sahel. This week, I am forced to fly, as I hop from no-go zones to no-no-go zones, with the no-est of them all on the horizon. Day 57… November 29th, 2019 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I visited floating villages and Lagosian art galleries, as well as having my nuts gnawed by some hungry simians. This week, I leave the Atlantic Coast for the first time as I venture north towards a vastly different climate, culture and cattle. Welcome to the Sahel. Day 50 – Lagos, Nigeria Right, as… November 26th, 2019 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I convalesced with a giant tortoise named Togo before conversing with an enormous baboon named Benin (one of those is untrue). This week, I reached the easternmost point of my voyage, as I arrived in ‘Africa’s capital’ and largest metropolis: Lagos. Day 43 – Cotonou, Benin As you may or may not have… November 14th, 2019 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I spluttered and stuttered along the streets of Accra before hearing of the horrors of life inside the slave forts on Ghana’s Gold Coast. This week, I amble further along the shores of the Atlantic, catching crabs on some of West Africa’s finest beaches. Day 36 – Cape Coast, Ghana to Lomé, Togo… November 11th, 2019 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I completed the first leg of my trip around West Africa by arriving in Accra in some style - on a lime green double-decker with fully functioning fans and footrests (and with a distinct lack of raucous poultry on board). This week, my race was well and truly run… Day 29 – Accra,… November 2nd, 2019 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I listened to harrowing tales of bygone diamond conflicts and civil wars as I resumed my muddy trudge along the Atlantic Coast. This week, I continue my education as I sit in despots’ cars and tyrants swimming pools before rounding the bulge of West Africa and venture eastwards. Day 22 – Monrovia, Liberia… October 22nd, 2019 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I continued my journey south through three extraordinary West African nations until my beleaguered arrival in the Guinean conurbation of Conakry. This week, I follow the coast from capital to capital, visiting countries with recent histories they would rather forget. Day 15 – Conakry, Guinea Conakry. Not a city with the best of… October 17th, 2019 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I began my African adventure in earnest, as I went island and visa hopping around the Senegalese capital. This week, I attempt to intersect three extraordinary countries, as the road (and my T-shirt tan) worsens by the day. Day 8 – Serrekunda, The Gambia Welcome to The Gambia! Were the words of the… October 15th, 2019 Jack Noah Rees Well, here we go. Welcome curious souls to my latest ridiculous escapade through foreign lands. Over the next three months (or eighty-two days to be exact), I plan on keeping you mildly amused with tales backpacking through Sub-Saharan Africa. From the emerging coastal capitals on the Atlantic to the vast deserted in-land nations of the… January 31st, 2019 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I escaped the tourist throngs of Tulum by haggling for space cakes with a vagrant on a Mexican beach. This week would be my last, as I savoured the final few days of my voyage in the capital, before boarding a Boeing back to Britain. Day 78 – Mexico City, Mexico The start… January 28th, 2019 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I explored the enigmatic nation of Belize – surviving encounters with stingrays, sharks and, even more terrifyingly, Queen Elizabeth II. This week, I ate El Chapo's weight in tacos and tortillas as I went cenote-hopping and ruin-trekking along Mexico’s trendy tail. Day 71 – Bacalar, Mexico to Tulum, Mexico So, I ended last… January 23rd, 2019 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I got moist in a large river and moister in a larger lake before travelling the height of Guatemala in search of some forested relics. This week belongs to Belize, as I spent the week travelling through a miniature corner of the Caribbean – patting sharks and consuming crustaceans along the way. Day… January 12th, 2019 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I spluttered and scrambled my way to the highpoint, and highlight, of my Central American voyage (and possibly of all my travels) thus far: the summit of Volcan de Acatenango. This week would be my last in Guatemala (and last with dipsomaniac companions Tuur and Bri), as we let our barnets down by a… December 7th, 2018 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I spotted some elaborate plumage amongst ancient ruins (no not Elton John and David Furnish), before enduring an inordinate number of hours of local transport to reach a surfing utopia. This week is all about volcanoes, as I set myself the biggest challenge I will face on my entire journey: to get within… November 26th, 2018 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I reluctantly slid down the youngest volcano in Central America before attempting to sightsee in some of the most murderous cities on planet earth (not including Tunbridge Wells). This week, I search for a pair of waterfalls in two different nations as I hit the windswept Pacific Coast for the final time. Day… November 15th, 2018 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I crawled my way up two giants on the mystical island of Ometepe before attempting to dodge bullets in the capital. This week, I left a nation that has been highly unstable since April, for one that has been highly unstable for the last fifty years. Better keep my bullet-proof long johns on.… November 11th, 2018 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I couchsurfed across the Costa Rican capital, before stalking simians and reptiles along its western shores. This week, I began my journey through a new nation, as I reached unprecedented heights on the island of voodoo and velociraptors. Day 29 – San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua Nicaragua. A country that, until April of… November 7th, 2018 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I entered Costa Rica, in the hope that the rainy season would abate for just long enough to spot a sloth anywhere other than the confines of a downtown nightclub. This week, I crawled my way around the country – from couch to couch – as I experienced the munificence and uniqueness of… October 26th, 2018 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I navigated native tribes and dicey rides on my way to a sopping good time in the Chiriquí mountains. Kiki Waterfall left her aqueous mark before I reached the island of poison dart frogs to the north. This week, I entered my second nation, as I went sloth-searching through the Costa Rican jungle… October 20th, 2018 Jack Noah Rees Last week, I began my Central American journey in the surprising metropolis of Panama City. An amalgamation of colonial buildings, towering skyscrapers, urban parks and (of course) that damn canal. This week, I make my way west towards the mountain region of Chiriquí – in an attempt to summit its largest treasure (no, not Miss… October 9th, 2018 Jack Noah Rees Welcome curious souls to yet another one of my rambling journals. Over the next ten weeks, I hope to keep you satisfactorily entertained with tales from splendid Central America – all the way from Panama City to Mexico. A journey of over eight thousand kilometres and comprising hundreds of active volcanoes, dense jungles, countless Mayan… November 11th, 2017 Jack Noah Rees Last week, Yugyeong and I escaped the KGB in Transnistria, crawled through catacombs in Ukraine, before being denied entry to Belarus. This week, is our last - and we still must get from just-outside Kiev, to just-outside Kidwelly, my family’s house to be exact, in less than eight days. The race is on. Day 99… October 22nd, 2017 Jack Noah Rees Last week, Yugyeong and I met with god and the devil in the Bulgarian countryside, crossed the Danube into Romania, before surviving a freezing Transfagaraʂan Highway to reach Bran. This week, we begin the journey north, through some of Europe’s darkest, and most surprising corners. Day 92 - Bran, Romania to Chiʂinau, Moldova Our penultimate… October 16th, 2017 Jack Noah Rees Last week, Yugyeong and I drove the length of Turkey, stopping by the mosques of Istanbul, before finally arriving at the E.U frontier. This week, we delve deep into the Bulgarian countryside, celebrate my birthday in the ‘oldest city in Europe’, and cross the Danube into Transylvania. Day 85 - Kozlets, Bulgaria to Devils Throat… October 10th, 2017 Jack Noah Rees Last week, Yugyeong and I visited the birthplaces of the Kardashians, and Stalin (still coming to terms with that myself), before bellowing “Das Vidania” to the Caucuses. This week, we shadow the Black Sea across the length of Turkey, transit Istanbul, before coming face-to-face with a familiar flag. Day 78 - Gori, Georgia to Iʂikli,… October 5th, 2017 Jack Noah Rees Last week, Yugyeong and I were allowed into Iran; driving up to their highest peak, and down to cave-like abodes carved in rock, before waving our invisible guide goodbye. This week, we drive through Armenia and into Georgia, keeping our wits about us around land-mined borders and hair-pinned highways. Day 71 - Meghri, Armenia to… September 30th, 2017 Jack Noah Rees Last week, Yugyeong and I crossed the Caspian Sea, and spent a few days putting our feet up in the Azeri capital, Baku. This week, we head South, to a country famed for its tea, hospitality, and the difficulty of obtaining its visa: Iran. Day 64 - Baku, Azerbaijan to Alat, Azerbaijan After four days… September 25th, 2017 Jack Noah Rees Last week, Yugyeong and I crossed the width of Uzbekistan: from cities being transformed in the East, to towns proudly displaying their past in the West. This week, we await our ride across the largest ‘lake’ in the world, towards a new adventure in an oil-rich state undergoing a radical transformation of its own. Day… September 16th, 2017 Jack Noah Rees Last week, Yugyeong and I observed Afghanistan (from a distance), left the arduous Pamir Mountains far behind, and entered the dry expanse of the Uzbek desert. This week, we take a tour around our new country: visiting a vibrant capital in the East, and the stunning historic towns and mosques of the West. Day 50… September 13th, 2017 Jack Noah Rees Last week, Yugyeong and I crossed Kyrgyzstan, getting pulled over by the police countless times in the process. This week, we find ourselves following the border of one of the most ‘dangerous’ countries on earth, before making a visit to a Tajik hospital in the capital… Day 43 - Rohinav, Tajikistan to Khekhik, Tajikistan After… September 1st, 2017 Jack Noah Rees Last week, Yugyeong and I visited two polarising cities at each end of the Kazakh steppe. This week, we enter our second ‘Stan’, and begin the journey South towards the highest, and toughest, part of the expedition: crossing the Pamir Mountains. Day 36 - Almaty, Kazakhstan to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Our time in Kazakhstan was almost… August 19th, 2017 Jack Noah Rees Last week, Toby, Yugyeong and I were thoroughly probed, prodded and scrutinised at two national borders, before entering our first ‘Stan’. This week, we savour our time in a dynamic, urban metropolis, before driving the height of Kazakhstan, towards our next probing. Day 29 - Shiderti, Kazakhstan to Astana, Kazakhstan Our first morning in Kazakhstan,… August 14th, 2017 Jack Noah Rees Last week, Yugyeong and I left Ulaanbaator, and struggled to make progress along the dirt tracks of the Mongolian steppe. This week, we cross two national borders, and begin the next chapter of our journey: crossing the ‘Stans’. Day 22 - Lake Khur-Us Nuur, Mongolia to eighty kilometres North-West of Khovd, Mongolia After fighting off… August 10th, 2017 Jack Noah Rees Last week, Yugyeong and I arrived at the deepest lake in the world before crossing our first land border, into Mongolia. This week, we gather our supplies in the capital before heading off into the wild expanse of the Mongolian steppe, hoping to make it out the other side with Toby in one piece… Day… July 30th, 2017 Jack Noah Rees Last week, Yugyeong and I arrived on the shores of Russia ready to begin our mammoth road trip. Seven days later and the monotony of the forests of Eastern Siberia have started to take their toll. This week, we leave the damp, dark forests far behind as we reach the Russian steppe on route to… July 25th, 2017 Jack Noah Rees Welcome once more to the writings of a compulsive road-trip enthusiast, from my second expedition in as many years. The first was a jaunt across the North American continent, through forty-eight U.S states and four Canadian provinces. It was an unforgettable 115-day voyage that inspired my girlfriend and I to attempt not to strangle each… May 15th, 2017 Jack Noah Rees If you were to come up to me in a ramshackle bar and ask me, "Jack, what was your favourite experience from your time in South Korea?" Without a doubt, I would tell you to bugger off and leave me alone. However, if you were to ask me when I was not busy in the… January 31st, 2017 Jack Noah Rees This is a continuation of my jaunt to Beijing for Chinese New Year, which I left you last at the exit of the fabled Forbidden City. Yugyeong and I were in search of sustenance, and it didn't take us long to unearth the local grub, quite literally. As we entered a traditional market in the… January 30th, 2017 Jack Noah Rees With Chinese New Year just around the corner, where on earth does one start looking to experience its magnificence to the maximum? I concluded China would be a pretty good start, specifically Beijing, which was only a three-hour hop over North Korea from my home city of Daegu. This being a very last minute affair,… January 1st, 2017 Jack Noah Rees The third and final leg of my Bornean adventure began with the most uncomfortable flight I have ever had the displeasure of taking. Following a fifteen-hour un-air-conditioned bus from the Bruneian capital to Kota Kinabalu the day before, I foolishly believed the worst of my transport woes were behind me. No, I was wrong. The… December 28th, 2016 Jack Noah Rees Yesterday, I was atop Malaysia's tallest mountain. Today, I was aboard a flight from Kota Kinabalu to Brunei (officially named the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace). A nation overlooked by many Bornean backpackers (I may have too had it not been for Bucket List 196), although I was determined to discover as much… December 27th, 2016 Jack Noah Rees Twas the night before Christmas, when near to the hostel, everything was stirring, especially the brothel. Welcome to Malaysia. More specifically, the stretched coastal city of Kota Kinabalu on the mythical island of Borneo. I am here on my Christmas vacation, from teaching in South Korea, and boy do I require a break (attempting to… October 16th, 2016 Jack Noah Rees Throughout the autumn and darkening winter of my year teaching in South Korea, I went on as many short trips/weekends away as I possibly could. This was partly to see the new country I called home and partly to take my mind off the job that wholly occupied my thoughts and stresses from Monday to… October 15th, 2016 Jack Noah Rees I left you last at the infamous blue meeting rooms of the Joint Security Area (or JSA), having spent the morning hopping between North and South Koreas and taking photos with stern-looking border guards. Our group was then shown towards the North Korean gift shop, where all manner of legally-acquired northern merchandise was up for… October 14th, 2016 Jack Noah Rees North Korea. One of the most reclusive, unstable and unwelcoming destinations on earth - or is it? Yes, it absolutely is. Having said that, I would be lying if I said that I didn't have a slightly morbid fascination with the place - what is life really like in the self-contained and mysterious north? Well,… August 14th, 2016 Jack Noah Rees Many a night was whiled away attempting to conceive a master plan of how I could travel the world and earn dollar at the same time. For some reason, I decided that teaching English to kindergartners was the answer, and shortly after signing up to a recruitment company I was on a one-way flight to South… August 3rd, 2016 Jack Noah Rees The only way to get from Osaka to Tokyo is by bullet train. That isn't strictly true. I mean you could fly, drive, walk or ride on the back of a gibbon if you so wanted - but none are as comfortable as the Shinkansen. The five hundred kilometre journey takes just three and a half hours,… August 1st, 2016 Jack Noah Rees A short train ride south from Kyoto and you arrive in Osaka - and the contrast is remarkable. If Kyoto was one of the most peaceful and calming places I have ever visited, then Osaka very well may be the least. As soon as we abandoned the train, we were sardined into the city centre… July 30th, 2016 Jack Noah Rees After just three weeks of teaching in South Korea, the summer holidays were upon me, and the break couldn't have come any sooner. Attempting to teach hyperactive infants from morn till dusk doesn't half make you want to board a plane and leave the country. Being so close to SK, Japan was always top of… June 4th, 2016 Jack Noah Rees North Wales - an entirely different animal to its southern counterpart. Taller mountains, longer place names, and a completely unintelligible accent make the north a quite curious place to visit. On the road from the south (there's only really one), it is every tourist's duty to stop at Portmeirion. A village built purely on one man's… May 26th, 2016 Jack Noah Rees Welcome to my home: Wales. I come from a small corner of the South-Welsh countryside where the land is beautiful and the sheep even more so. I’m only joking, not all Welsh people are infatuated by sheep, some prefer goats or bullocks. But I do come from the sort of town whereby if a person… December 11th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees My final day in Iceland began with a forty-minute hop to the south-western corner of the island, in order to view another tourist attraction that has recently become synonymous with the country: the Blue Lagoon. Over the last few years, it has become one of the most photographed places in Iceland, with an incredible 32%… December 10th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees After my first failed Aurora hunt late last night, it was rather difficult to prize oneself out from under the warm duvet early this morn. However, with only a few hours of daylight available, there was little other option. I quickly donned as many layers as I had in my suitcase, battled through the ceaseless… December 8th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees A layover in Iceland is always a good thing because, with my long-haul from Canada refuelling in Reykjavik, I could ask for my bags, leave the airport, and book a different flight back to the UK in a week or so - which I did. Having just completed a four month road trip with Yugyeong,… December 5th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees Last week, the Voyager made its final journey South to a thunderous wall of water before being put up for sale in Toronto. In a short week seventeen, the very last, a bidder must be found before the journey comes to an abrupt end at an airport terminal in Mississauga. Day 113 – Toronto So… December 2nd, 2015 Jack Noah Rees Last week, the Voyager achieved its own American dream by reaching Maine, the fiftieth and final state of its journey across the continent. In week sixteen, the endless frozen tundra of Quebec province is left as far behind as is possible as the final destination appears on the frostbitten horizon. Day 106 – Montreal to… November 30th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees Last week, the Voyager circumnavigated skyscrapers in NYC and soared with the Eagles in Philly before reaching a frostbitten New England. In week fifteen, the journey nears its conclusion as a momentous milestone draws closer. Day 99 – Brattleboro, VT to Gorham, NH Our final few days in America begun with a leaky water carrier… November 23rd, 2015 Jack Noah Rees Last week, the Voyager passed through ten states, and Washington D.C. for good measure, from Florida in the scorching South to New York in the bustling North-East. In week fourteen, the journey breaks South to fly with the Eagles before soaring high into a freezing New England. Day 92 – New York, NY Our week… November 18th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees Last week, the Voyager travelled as far South as South goes, encountering All Hallows’ Eve in Key West before visiting Baloo in Orlando. In week thirteen, the journey heads North on a state-a-day quest through Appalachia towards the nation’s capital and beyond. Day 85 – Orlando, FL to Charleston, SC So today would be our… November 7th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees Last week, the Voyager met with Patricia in Texas and followed her destructive path around the Gulf of Mexico before breaking free in the Sunshine State. In week twelve, the journey reaches the absolute end of the road before the final Northern leg begins in earnest. Day 78 – Venice, FL to Miami, FL Summer… October 29th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees Last week, the Voyager entered the Deep South for the first time, following the old Bourbon Trail through Kentucky and Tennessee, before re-joining Route 66 in Missouri. In week eleven the journey stalls in the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Patricia has her spectacular say. Day 71 – Chandler, OK to Denton, TX Just a… October 22nd, 2015 Jack Noah Rees Last week, the Voyager witnessed birthday celebrations in Chicago, came up against The Fighting Irish and braved Motown. In week ten the journey follows the old Bourbon Trail from Jim Beam country to Jack Daniel’s before crossing the Great Plains for the final time. Day 64 – Cincinnati, OH to Glasgow, KY We began week… October 18th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees Last week, the Voyager exited the Great plains, visited several breweries and caught its first glimpse of the Windy City. In week nine the journey pauses in Chicago for a name-day celebration and some pizza pie before heading North to see whatever is left of illustrious Motown. Day 57 – Chicago, IL Chicago town. America’s… October 14th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees Last week, the Voyager returned to the wilderness of the North, visiting the Rockies for the final time whilst commencing its crossing of the Great Plains. In week eight the journey heads South-East, through the flat, vast land of ten thousand lakes, towards America's second city. Day 50 – Bismarck, ND to Fargo, ND As… October 2nd, 2015 Jack Noah Rees Last week, the Voyager finally made it out of Sin City, circled the Grand Canyon and visited the home of Heisenberg. In week seven the journey heads North, through colder climates and the Rockies for the last time as the group splits once more. Day 43 – Santa Fe, NM Our bedraggled arrival in Santa… September 27th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees Last week, the Voyager survived the Mexican border, Death Valley and even Hollywood as the minivans ended the week rolling down The Strip. In week six the journey temporarily halts in Vegas before continuing East through the home of Heisenberg, Pinkman & Fring towards Santa Fe. Day 36 – Las Vegas, NV It was the… September 24th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees Last week, the Voyager headed inland to view some large slabs of granite and a water-less waterfall before moving South through a drought-plagued state towards Los Angeles. In week five the journey visits Hollywood, gets as close to the Mexican border as one would dare and visits the hottest place on earth. Day 29 –… September 12th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees Last week, the Voyager travelled through the tallest forest in the world, crossed the most famous bridge in America and felt the spray of the Pacific Ocean on its windscreen once again. In week four the journey heads inland to the very heart of California before doing a quick U-turn to continue down the Pacific… September 3rd, 2015 Jack Noah Rees Last week, the Voyager made safe passage across a tricky national border, survived a forest fire and lost a race to a Montanan bar. In week three the journey continues South along the Pacific coast through the tallest forest in the world and on towards an iconic American city. Day 15 – Portland, OR The… August 29th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees In its first seven days the Voyager has ascended high mountain roads, camped next to glaciers, visited two national parks and crossed a provincial border. In week two the backdrop of The Rockies remain as the journey heads South, across the American border, into Montana for a meeting in Missoula. Day 8 – Banff Week… August 20th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees Welcome to my journal. What you are about to read is the factual goings-on of four people, three from Wales and one from South Korea, driving two elderly minivans with an entire continent to break-down around. It is a tale of the best feeling in the world, a travellers freedom. Day 1 – Vancouver to… August 12th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees Fresh off of the plane from arctic Anchorage and Summer was well and truly under way in VanCity. The Women's World Cup had rolled into town and had completely taken over the city, and indeed the whole country. The hosts played a number of games in Vancouver including a quarter final in which, despite my… May 13th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees A long winding climb in the cold Alaskan dusk led us up to Hatcher Pass. Hidden amongst the snow-covered peaks of the Talkeetna mountains was a road unlike any I had seen before. Not a soul in sight and bitterly cold, we ascended until the tarmac turned to snow and we could not go any… May 7th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees Time to head beyond the wall to the most Northerly part of my North American journey, and quite possibly the furthest North I will ever go. Less than a day's drive from the arctic circle, the next stop on my trip was Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska. More than half of Alaskan's live in… April 27th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees From the island of O'ahu, in the middle of the Pacific, to Bowen island just off the coast of West Vancouver. A fifteen minute ferry ride from the mainland and you get transported to a quaint, quiet world free from the madness of Downtown Vancouver. It makes for an extremely popular home for rich, working… February 11th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees It was the morning after the night before, although that is always the case, and I had to catch a bus to Wai'anae Boat Harbor on the West Coast of O'ahu. Having got off the bus five stops too early, a sweaty jog in the mid-morning Hawaiian sunshine was required in order to catch the… February 4th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees Aloha! Welcome to O'ahu. What better way to start my journey across America than in the 'Paradise of the Pacific' - Hawaii. Having been living in a Canadian winter for the last four months, the weather here certainly gave a shock to the system. Once I was outside Honolulu airport the humidity made it tricky… January 28th, 2015 Jack Noah Rees The headquarters for the North American leg of my trip is Vancouver, from here I'll be able to plan my visits to states number one and two, Hawaii and Alaska, as well as my forty-eight state road trip around the US. This road trip will take over five months to complete and give me the…
