Borders.
Geography, history and geopolitics.
Award Winning Travel Writing
Borders is where ‘Prisoners of Geography’ meets travel blogging. This is Travel Tramp’s geopolitical column.
Learn how geography, politics and history shape the world around, as we answer deep travel questions from the road.
What makes a country a country? What’s the difference between a micronation and a microstate? Why did Transnistria declare independence from Moldova?
You can find answers to all these questions and more through Travel Tramp’s explanatory journalism.
Latest Border Stories
The Zapatistas of Chiapas, Mexico: How to Visit the Zapatista Movement
In the mountains of Chiapas, Mexico, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation has waged a guerilla war against the Mexican state since 1994. I journeyed to San Cristobal de las Casas in search of the elusive Zapatista movement. Here’s how I visited the Zapatista...
Visiting a Micronation: The Principality of the Hutt River
Editors Note: Unfortunately, the Principality of the Hutt River closed its doors for good in January 2020 following the death of Prince Leonard and pressure from the Australian government seeking to reclaim unpaid taxes. Richard Collett 2022. I had driven hundreds of...
Exploring Europe’s Smallest Countries – Which Microstates Should I visit?
The days of travel as we remember might be over (at least for the time being) and while it’s been a while since I posted on the blog here at Travel Tramp, travel is certainly not something I’ve forgotten about! The blog posts have undeniably slowed down, while I’ve...
Don’t Skip El Salvador!
I’ve just spent the last two weeks exploring El Salvador, and I’m annoyed because I didn’t have enough time to even see a fraction of the country. In fact, I overstayed by an entire week too, and my Central America trip planning went right out of the chicken bus...
Is Mindanao Safe To Travel To?
Is Mindanao Safe To Travel To? Earlier this year I made the decision to book a plane ticket to Cagayan de Oro, the largest city in Northern Mindanao. I wanted to see the Philippines' second largest and second most populous island, yet I knew almost no travellers or...
The Tagbanua: The Real Locals Of Coron
The Tagbanua: The Real Locals Of Coron The Tagbanua are the modern day descendants of some of the first humans to ever set foot in the Philippines. This ethnic group have traditionally lived across most of Palawan and the Calamianes Islands, they are the real locals...
East Timor: My First Impressions Of Dili
My First Impressions Of Dili, East Timor I spent four days travelling across West Timor to reach East Timor. The island has long been divided into two, a legacy of division that goes back to the early colonial days of the 16th Century and that produced a history that...
Nagorno Karabakh: The Forgotten Land
“This is not the best time to be here”, said the official at the Ministry of Foreign affairs, “but thank you for visiting my country”. I had travelled to Nagorno-Karabakh, a country which doesn't technically exist. It's a small, breakaway territory between Azerbaijan...
How To Travel To The Breakaway Republic Of Abkhazia!
So, you want to travel to a country which doesn't exist? A barely recognised, war torn state somewhere on the black sea? Well then you are reading the right article! Here's how to travel to the Breakaway Republic of Abkhazia! The breakaway Republic of Abkhazia is a...
A Secret Look Inside The Breakaway Republic Of Abkhazia
I visited the breakaway Republic of Abkhazia. Here's a secret look inside this self declared nation state. Abkhazia is war torn. It's been in conflict with Georgia since the Soviet Union collapsed and the people decided they were better off on on their own,...