One who loves to travel.
HODOPHILE (pl. hodophiles).
TRAVEL WRITING
From Ancient Greek ὁδός (hodós, “journey”)
Petra and the weight of expectation
The majesty of Petra, one of the seven new wonders of the world, creates a weight of expectation that can burden one's visit. It is a burden that can be lifted by savouring the memories and...
Hiking Cocora Valley
The Cocora Valley, just outside the pretty small town of Salento, is home to wax palms - Colombia's national tree and the world's tallest palms. Best explored on foot, this pilgrimage will take...
Weird & Offbeat - Tribute to Michael Jackson
In late June 2009 residents of Munich commandeered the base of a renaissance composer's statue and turned it into a memorial to the late great King of pop, Michael Jackson.
DIY: Norway in a nutshell
This legendary tour takes you through some of Norway's most breathtaking UNESCO-protected fjords and mountain scenery.
Dragon's teeth - tales from north Kosovo
This presentation of Ian Bancroft's book, 'Dragon's teeth - tales from north Kosovo',...
On Serbia’s Bunjevac
The Bunjevac community's identity has been pilloried from generation to generation, including a 1945 instruction to treat them as Croatians. The so-called ‘Bunjevac question’ remains a source of...
Gazivode Lake
This extract from Ian Bancroft's new book, 'Dragon's Teeth - Tales from North Kosovo', explores Gazivode Lake in north Kosovo, which is described as a 'site of repressed memories'; concealing the...
On sunloungers
The humble sunlounger has become synonymous with the creeping development of the Croatian coastline, gradually occupying sites one enjoyed by local residents. In response, new civic initiatives...
Çabër/Čabra in north Kosovo
The village of Çabër/Čabra is nestled on the north bank of the Ibar, down a rather steep embankment from the main road between Mitrovica and Zubin Potok. Ninety five per cent of its pre-war...
Sokolica Monastery‘s ‘miracle-making’ prowess
This extract from Ian Bancroft‘s new book, ‘Dragon‘s Teeth - Tales from North Kosovo‘, tells the story of Sokolica Monastery and the ‘miracle-making’ prowess of its sculpture of the Virgin Mary...
The Alhambra of Granada
The Alhambra is a place of consequences, many of which still reverberate to this very day, both here and beyond; a place that one will constantly refer back to, or be referred back to, in the...
Algiers’ struggle
De Gaulle may be long gone but the legacy of France's presence in Algeria doesn't just influence social and political life in Algeria - it dominates it. In Algiers alone, just miles separate...
The decline of Tskaltubo
Rather than being abandoned hastily, Tskaltubo's decline has been like a slow-moving cancer; demeaning, debilitating and endlessly painful. Its economic collapse has been compounded by the living...
Tejo! Colombia's favourite explosive sport
If you are a fan of alcohol, explosives and throwing things, Colombia's national sport of tejo is definitely one of the experiences you can't miss while in Colombia. "Tejo los amigos, We welcome...
The Nine Arches Bridge
Tucked away in the surrounding hill country of Ella, Sri Lanka, stands the iconic man-made masterpiece Nine Arches Bridge, affectionately known as the "Bridge in the Sky". With its picturesque...
Preserving Niš’s past
The immaculately preserved Crveni Krst (Red Cross) concentration camp in the Serbian town of Niš preserves the memory of loss and suffering endured by thousands of inmates during the Second World...
Beyond Cuba’s cliches
The commodification of various elements of Cuba’s revolution and culture has created a cliched idea of what the country is and was; an idea readily propagated by those keen to ‘sell’ Cuba to the...
From Hotel Ukraine
Hotel Ukraine's unique vantage point over Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti), where much of Ukraine’s political and social discontent has been expressed, makes it the ideal place to...
The Terrace of the Elephants
The Terrace of the Elephants is part of the walled city of Angkor Thom, a ruined temple complex in Cambodia. The Terrace of the Elephants is situated by the side of the Bayon temples, within the...
Angkor what?
A visit to Cambodia’s World heritage Angkor Wat is a bucket list regular, high on the list for many travellers, and one of life’s truly breathtaking experiences. To see it is to believe it, but...
Sunrise at Angkor Wat
Getting up at sunrise is a requisite to visiting Angkor Wat - joined alongside hundreds of sleepy eyed tourists, all in anticipation for the same show.
Faces in stone
Dating from the late 12th century, Bayon Temple is the dramatic central temple of the ancient city of Angkor Thom, located just 3km north of Angkor Wat.
Chernobyl’s white wonder wasteland
As the world flirts with the prospect of another nuclear fallout - whether from rogue leaders or accidents like Fukushima - moving beyond purely academic understandings of the impacts of nuclear...
Auld Reekie
In Edinburgh the humble pub is more than just a place to drink, these establishments are to many the focal point of the community, central to the sense of place and identity; rooted deeply in the...
Christmas in Arras
The Great War, the centenary of whose conclusion will be widely observed this year, devastated most of Arras, which locals claim was the only town in France to be on the front-line for the wars...
Radio Rebelde
Throughout the course of history, those resisting colonialism, authoritarianism and/or slavery have retreated into the foothills and foliage of the Sierra Maestra mountains in southeastern Cuba....
The disunited colours of Mostar
In ‘Čudna jadna – od mostara grada’, one of the most famous songs about the city, Biba endures a “strange pain from the city of Mostar”, having been “hurt by love”. And so it is that many leave...
Tito's secret nuclear bunker
A once secret nuclear bunker in Konjic, Bosnia-Herzegovina - built to safeguard former Yugoslav president, Josip Broz Tito, and other members of the elite - is now home to an internationally...
On Skopje's statues
Skopje is dominated by newly-erected statues representing different epochs and episodes of its historical, social, political and cultural life. Women, however, are rarely to be seen, save as...
A timeless corner of Turkish culinary delight
It is the season for fish in Turkey apparently, and Istanbul's Kadiköy market is alive with the scents and shrieks of this timeless corner of Turkish culinary delight.
The ants of Adam's Peak
Without the ants of Adam's Peak in Sri Lanka and the provisions they lug up the mountain side every day, the summit would be beyond the reach of many a tourist, and even the most avid of...
The fleece of Viñales
Amidst the limestone mounds and caves of the Viñales Valley, we experience firsthand the life of cigar makers and the friendly scams they engage in to exploit our love for their world famous...
Ba Dinh Square and Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum
Ba Dinh Square is the political and historical heart of Vietnam as it exists today. A huge open space, where President Ho Chi Minh read out the Declaration of Vietnams Independence in September...
The Inca trail trek to Machu Picchu
Celebrated as Peru’s most famous hike, and one of the world’s most iconic trekking experiences, the Inca trail trek to Machu Picchu provides an awesome combination of sub-tropical Andean mountain...
Oradour-sur-Glane massacre
On 10th June 1944, Nazi forces surrounded and then besieged the village of Oradour-sur-Glane, rounding-up and murdering 642 men, women and children; one of the largest mass murders by the...
We The Youth: Keith Haring Mural
Located at the corner of 22nd & Ellsworth Streets, covering the west face of a private row-house, Keith Haring's We the Youth Mural is a community and Philadelphia treasure.
Philadelphia's Magic Gardens
Located on South Street, Philadelphia’s Magic Garden is a magical place – a mosaic wonderland filled with hidden features and artistic truisms.
Eating New York in One Sandwich
Walking the streets of New York, you’d find yourself hard pushed not to step into a piece of cinematic history.
A constant reminder
A series of photographs exploring the constant reminders of Mostar’s tragic history, its present difficulties and the challenges that lie ahead in the still divided town.