A Sunny trip to see North Korea...

A Sunny trip to see North Korea...

In the balmy summer of 1989, there were two major global events taking place which would change the course of modern history as we know it.  The first was a chain reaction of radical political changes,  including the liberalisation of the Eastern Bloc’s authoritarian systems and the erosion of political power in the pro-Soviet governments, leading to the destruction of the Berlin wall; and the second, occurring a little further west, was my 4th birthday party where I was enjoying not only an excellent bouncy castle, but also that most coveted of childhood birthday accoutrements – a caterpillar cake. 

Breaking Batad

Breaking Batad

Stepping out of the bus I literally and metaphorically breathed a sigh of relief.  Having spent the previous week in the stagnant smog of one of the most polluted mega cities on the planet, the opportunity to fill my lungs with the cold sweet air of the mountains of Northern Luzon was pure ecstasy.

That's What You Get For Waking Up In Gangnam

That's What You Get For Waking Up In Gangnam

It was only when I had to sidestep round a rowdy drunk, and avoid a well chewed wad of tobacco from hitting my face, that I realised we weren’t in the normally clean and well maintained streets of the city anymore, instead, I found myself on a street that at best could be described as ‘sketchy’ and at worst ‘down-right scary’.  “Not to worry,  just keep walking forwards, and avoid eye contact, and I’m sure it will sort itself out” I said to myself as the cute Korean disappeared into a block of flats, and I rounded the corner only to discover a dirty dead end full or rubbish and a large amount of shifty looking characters...

Tofa to Tuvalu

Tofa to Tuvalu

They say 1300 planes take off and land every day at Heathrow airport.  Things in Tuvalu are slightly different.  In theory there are supposed to be two planes a week which means at the gloriously named Funafuti international airport there are about 0.28 planes taking off and landing every day – not exactly a transport hub.  That being said plane days in Funafuti cause a level of excitement which you would be hard to find at Heathrow or any of the World’s other major airports.