Hi, My name is Carl and i'm one of the team here at addictedtotravel.com. I started travelling back in 1986 when a 10 week stay on a kibbutz turned into a 15 month jaunt around the Middle East.A long overland journey from Australia back to the UK followed though had to skip Iran as they wouldn't give me a visa; flew to Istanbul from Karachi and took the train back east to Dogubeyazit and continued back home from there. Several years as a tour leader for one of the UK's largest adventure holiday tour operators followed, then into the office of a brand new adventure holiday operator where I was Product Manager for the Middle East and Asia for several years. I returned to the company where I worked as a leader as Product Manager for the Middle East for a couple of years before joining some old friends here in February.I live on a smallholding in Wales now having had a dream for a while to downshift. My wife and I have a few sheep, pigs and chooks - and Jasper, a Patterdale terrier.Travel remains a passion and i'm doing more now than I have for a while; I love the great outdoors (we live in Pembrokeshire Coast National Park so are spoiled) and we walk whenever time allows.
In my opinion you can't beat Asia - it's got everything the traveller wants from remote, well off the beaten track backroads brimming with tribal interest, great World Heritage sites like the Taj, Petra and Angkor, fabulous wildlife opportunities. Most remarkable trip for me was probably the Mentawi Island of Siberut back in 1988. 12 hrs west of Sumatra it was untouched by the west to any degree at all: think Bruce Parry's 'Tribe'. We trekked for days through calf-deep mud and slept in longhouses - what an experience. I met my wife in Oman and love the Middle East too. The Pyramids (is that Africa?) are just astounding and the Syrian people so warm and friendly.
Australia • Bulgaria • China • Cyprus • Ecuador • Egypt • England • France • Greece • Hong Kong • Iceland • India • Indonesia • Isle of Man • Israel • Italy • Jersey • Jordan • Lebanon • Malta • Mongolia • Nepal • North Cyprus • Oman • Pakistan • Poland • Singapore • Spain • Sri Lanka • Syria • Thailand • Turkey • Vietnam • Wales • Zambia • Zimbabwe • United Arab Emirates • Germany • Netherlands • Palestine • Scotland • Republic of Ireland
Celebrations are taking place throughout Bhutan as the new King, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, is crowned, as reported by the BBC "The new king of Bhutan has been crowned in a lavish coronation ceremony in the isolated Himalayan kingdom. Kin...
The guys at Creative Travel are reporting, "Nepal gets a new 'Kumari' The Living Goddess. Three-year-old Matina Shakya, is the new Kumari or Living Goddess. She was formally installed at a religious function at Kumari House in centre of Kathmandu...
With a whole world to explore we are expanding our range of destinations week by week. Our latest additions include a travel guide to the Philippines and a travel guide to Sri Lanka, whilst the last few weeks have seen us launch Mongolia, Bonaire (wh...
I've just had a very interesting conversation with Wendy Botham of Petra Moon Tours, one of our Travel Specialsts in Jordan... Back in April I reported how things were busy down in Egypt, with hotels in short supply and people being encouraged to ...
Back in 1994 I spent a few weeks on the idyllic Thai island of Ko Tao. Ko Tao translates as Turtle Island and its stunning waters really do lap agaainst some of the most beautiful beaches in Thailand. It was here that I learned to dive and so it is w...
I travelled to the Westmann Island of Heimaey around 4 years ago. Whilst small and ostensibly with little to see even outside the 'puffin season' it was well worth the visit.The story of the erruption of 1963 is fascinating, the people friendly and there's clearly much to see and do in the summe...
Dusty and crowded, polluted and tired, there's no doubting Cairo has its downside, but you have to take things in the round.The Nile is a wonderful river and divides the city in two, with the west bank being predominantly residential. From Tahrir Square you can head to the Egyptian Museum for Tu...
Bangkok has long been tarnished with a reputation for bad traffic and pollution and sure, these are a feature of the city (you should have visited BEFORE the Skytrain!), however to judge it only on these to aspects is to miss the point.Bangkok is a capital city but with a little looking you can ...
greeting from aqaba and thank you for your email Warm regards ahmed
