Travel Tramp’s May Travel Round Up!

I am no where near Lhasa.

I set off in October of 2015, leaving cold, cold England behind on a monumental journey that I envisaged would, 8 months down the line, have landed me in Tibet by now. That was the goal. I’m a long, long way off. I’m taking slow travel to the extreme. But I will get there in the end. Just a few months- maybe even years- later than planned. So keep following the blog to check my progress!

Along the way things have been interesting. It’s not exactly been most people’s idea of a holiday, but I love it.

The month of May saw me back in Georgia, as I left Armenia after a rather sombre experience at Armenian Genocide Memorial Day, and set up base camp in Tbilisi.

I love this country, and the capital, so much in fact that I decided to settle down in Georgia for the month. I’ve been enjoying the culinary delights, the cheap beer and the even cheaper and more delicious wine for the last few weeks.

I’ll probably end up with a serious heart condition though, just have a look at the signature Georgian dish, The Kachapuri!

Insane. Bread. Egg. Cheese. And then a stick of butter to top it off. What mad person designed it, I do not know.

I’ve been lavishing in the delights of Tbilisi, which has given me the opportunity to get some serious blogging done, so I may have been travelling less, but that means more and more exciting content for you guys on the way over the next few months!

The website had a revamp, I’ve narrowed down the niche and the overall purpose, so you have a clearer idea of what to expect and what my travels are all about. It’s taken a bit of a darker tone, but there’s plenty of history, outrageous exploits and abandoned, derelict buildings to read all about. Hopefully things are a bit clearer now.

I’ve spent the last weekend revelling in the joys of home comfort, as one of my best mates made the long journey all the way from England to Tbilisi, just for the weekend! Mad man! So this is a shout out to Mr Jack Robbins, who is proof that you don’t have to quit your job to still travel the world.

T Shirts!

Mr Robbins brought me a bit of exciting promo wear over from the UK too. I now have Travel Tramp t-shirts! And they are damn awesome. Check out the shameless promotion shots below. And expect many more to come too. There’s already been a few Travel Tramp fans asking where they can get hold of one of these prized pieces of clothing, and they are so unique that they aren’t on general sale to the public yet. If you really want one though send me an email to traveltramptravel@gmail.com and I might be able to get one shipped out to you!

Dark Stuff On The Blog That’s Been Flaming Hot!

I’ve been producing a lot more content. It’s not been chronological- just to keep things a bit more varied for you travel lovers out there- but here are the pick of the articles from last month!

I explored the abandoned village of Kayakoy on the Turkish coastline. Most people head here to lounge in the sun and chill on the beaches. But that’s not me! Click HERE to read.

Marisa, a travel blogger at The Traveling Story Girl, wrote an incredible guest post from her exploration of an old Nazi rally theatre in the beautiful German city of Heidelberg. You can find it right HERE!

I went job hunting with the Moldovans. In Chisinau I found out first hand that in Europe’s poorest country, job opportunities are limited to stray dog shelters, drug mule or organ donation. Click HERE for more.

If you need some pure inspiration, then check out the best of the photos from my North Cyprus road trip. It should be the next, great road trip destination in my humble opinion! Be inspired HERE!

What’s On The Way?!

I’m still playing catch up, I have too much to write about. For the next two months, you will get 3 articles a week. coming up are more stories from the wonderful wilderness of Northern Cyprus, ancient, abandoned cities in the far eastern reaches of Turkish Kurdistan, pictures from the old Soviet Riviera and the disputed territory of Abkhazia, and of course, monumental photography and pure travel porn from Georgia and Armenia. If you want to follow my real time travels, then check out my FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM pages, where I post updates from my actual destination, in a more timely manner than the content here on the blog.

Where to next?!

In a few days, I’ll be heading to Azerbaijan. I hope. I’m still waiting on the visa, and hoping that my trip to Armenia won’t put me in a bad light for that! After that, I’m heading across to begin travelling the Stans. I just have to cross the Caspian Sea first! Remember to sign up to the mailing list to follow the journey!

Richard Collett, May 2016