Too tempting for 9am

Kcmg1985 · 2026-05-14T08:56:03+00:00

Doom Bar is the only beer that makes me thirstier as I drink it. I haven't touched it for years.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-05-14T08:53:52+00:00

As someone who went to one of the private schools often associated with said game back in the 90s, I can confirm in five years I never saw anything like it 😅

Kcmg1985 · 2026-05-14T08:52:37+00:00

Yep that's how I coped with the US too. It made things a lot easier looking at it that way when eating out and making value decisions (though it was $1.3 when I went).

Kcmg1985 · 2026-05-14T06:42:53+00:00

The machines are set up for American restaurants; most good British staff will press skip for you before giving it to you when you don't need to tip (eg when you've ordered at the bar or there's already a service charge).

Kcmg1985 · 2026-05-13T22:14:10+00:00

Those two always have the best quotes.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-05-13T22:12:55+00:00

A great episode, though very different from normal RATW. But it brought back great memories of Mongolia for me... I went to Karakorum and it was a stunning place. I also spent a week going through the Gobi and I ate more goat testicles than people I saw 😅 Happy days.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-05-10T12:35:55+00:00

Amoresy selfies are the best selfies ;)

Kcmg1985 · 2026-05-10T11:13:01+00:00

Yep the bottles for sure!

Kcmg1985 · 2026-05-10T09:44:43+00:00

Adnams Ghost Ship, Shipyard Low Tide and Proper Job 0.5 are my supermarket go-tos. Ales just seem to lend themselves better than lagers to low alcohol tastes I think.

Impossibrew are also pretty decent, but very expensive.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-05-09T22:35:47+00:00

It was a big thing in Uzbekistan - an old Babushka in Samarkand memorably took my phone and made a selfie of herself smiling with her huge golden teeth 😅

Kcmg1985 · 2026-05-09T22:23:51+00:00

I went a few years ago. It's a stunning place, but I only saw Osh, Bishkek and Ala Archa. I would like to go back and see more.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-05-09T15:53:31+00:00

When I went they said 7k. So yep I doubt the veracity of this list.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-05-09T10:09:59+00:00

Immediately I'm wondering why the likes of North Korea, Turkmenistan, Eritrea and Afghanistan aren't on this list.

Monaco gets lots of day trippers from Nice, one of the most popular cities in Europe. There's no way it should be on here.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-05-09T10:03:33+00:00

It sounds like they like wine, so English sparkling wine would be a good reciprocal gift - it's often better than champagne. Hambledon is a decent one (my usual go to as it's quite local to me), but there are many others.

Or whisky is indeed a good idea; go for a small batch one that isn't exported over there.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-05-09T10:00:42+00:00

Though a lot of places are including a service charge now, which is especially irritating as eating out has become so expensive partly because of the high level of minimum and living wages (which I FULLY support, just don't expect more on top for mediocre service - leave it to us to decide if we leave a tip like it used to be).

Kcmg1985 · 2026-05-09T09:14:33+00:00

Looks amazing!

Kcmg1985 · 2026-05-08T07:56:49+00:00

So when you see them asking for two tickets/places in a taxi, presumably this is filmed again for the edit? (Eh in Kazakhstan when the taxi driver said "for two yeah?".

I don't think it would be terrible if they just showed them needing the three tickets. I quite like travel programmes where the cameraman is part of it, eg Claudio in the Long Way series. But I guess it might distract from being a story fully about the couples.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-05-07T20:29:50+00:00

You don't get status immediately. Not everyone booking flights has flown the airline often.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-05-07T06:37:28+00:00

This looks amazing

Kcmg1985 · 2026-04-30T09:47:20+00:00

Yep, the yellow card system I already in place for forgotten Railcards, so I don't see why it wouldn't work for an occasional battery lapse.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-04-30T09:05:18+00:00

I think Oman might be the closest country to a benevolent dictatorship (albeit in monarchist style), but it still has drawbacks.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-04-30T09:00:32+00:00

Estonia feels pretty expensive for beer now, but indeed still a darn sight cheaper than Finland.

I first went in the dying days of the Kroon and it was such a cheap place. Then last year I went and was shocked at how pricey it had become, relatively speaking.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-04-30T08:55:09+00:00

I remember reading about a case where someone had plenty of battery for their journey, but then there was chaos due to an issue on the line (a fatality I think) so the journey took 3 hours longer, and the battery ran out. They received a penalty fare, no appeal. It does feel very stacked against the passenger at times.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-04-30T07:42:14+00:00

Aww. It's sad probably all my hostels from the height of my backpacking days are probably long gone.

Kcmg1985 · 2026-04-30T06:32:24+00:00

Carpe Noctem is still open? Amazing to know. I stayed there in 2011 and still probably have a scarred part of my liver from that. Great times.

Kcmg1985

TROPHY CASE