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A British Newspaper Wants to Legalise Cannabis
British newspapers are overpriced and lacking in serious content. Why spend almost two pounds on the so-called “quality” press when you can buy a slimmed down version of the Independent – the “I” newspaper – for just 40p? Another problem with the British papers are...
I was Wrong About the Romani Gypsies
For many years I thought I knew the answer to the problems faced by the Romani Gypsies: education. If we could just make school more appealing to this population their situation of marginalisation would gradually end, and they would learn the skills needed to...
Dealing With Nationalists
Some of the most interesting places in the world are beset by nationalists and extremists: minority groups wanting to break away and form an independent state; high levels of anger between ethnic groups and almost everywhere you go the people hate, and blame, the...
Can George Get a Job in Mongolia?
My friend George asked me if I thought he could get a job in Mongolia and, even though I don’t know anything about the jobs market in Mongolia I instantly replied: “of course you can.” Before explaining why I am so confident in my answer I would like to introduce...
Is Macedonia a “Fully Fledged Mafia State”?
A friend recently emailed me from Macedonia and said “we are witnessing a fully-fledged mafia state being endorsed for EU membership by some of the leading democracies on the planet.” I groaned. I couldn’t be bothered. I was on the road, visiting Istanbul at the time...
Did Cannabis Help me Write and Travel?
The quick answer is NO – cannabis did not help me write and travel – in fact, it did the exact opposite: it made me unable to write and paranoid when travelling. If I hadn’t given up the evil weed I don’t think I would have made it to Tibet or written a book about my...
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How to Get a Grant
Here is a story about how to get a grant. When I was in Montenegro recently I checked into a small guest house and asked if they had internet. “Of course we do” boomed the big cheery lady who runs the place, but when I tried to get online it didn’t work. I asked for...
10 Skills for Independent Travel
There was no way I could have travelled to Tibet and spent two years abroad without building up what I call independent travel skills. These are the practices that enabled me to thrive in foreign cultures. In this article I will explain these skills in the hope that...
- The Psychology of Travel - March 14, 2018