ABOUT
Hello, and thanks for taking a minute to learn about me, James!
This page is here to help you understand the man behind the keyboard and find out what makes him (me) tick!
Discover my personal background and the purpose of The World by James blog, enjoy 5 random facts about me and check out 8 travel FAQs related to my experiences. I’ve also detailed my full travel history dating back to 2015 further down the page, so keep scrolling for that!
About the author
Hey, I’m James and I’m an alcoholic a travelholic!
For the past 7 years I’ve been travelling wherever I can, whenever I can. Discovering new places, experiencing foreign cultures, meeting people from all over the world and trying new things – I believe that’s what life’s all about. I love photography, road trips, mountains, waterfalls, unique destinations, beaches, adrenaline activities, island-hopping, museums, temples… you get the picture, anything related to travel!
Born in ’94, I grew up on the northeast coast of Scotland and was fortunate enough to go abroad a lot as a kid. From skiing in the French Alps to living in Melbourne for a year when I was 3… it’s safe to say the travel bug bit me at a young age!
I didn’t go to University and have never worked a 9-5 job. Instead, I worked in hospitality to save money for travelling because, to me, gaining work and life experience is far more important than a qualification could ever be, but everyone’s different.
The moment when the travel bug bit me hard was when I embarked on my first major trip in 2016 with my partner at the time. We spent a month in Thailand followed by a year in Australia and finally month in Vietnam before heading back to reality. From that moment on travel has been an addiction for me. Between 2016 and 2020 we backpacked to around 20 countries, mostly focusing on Southeast Asia. In total I’ve been to over 40 now, so I’m well on the way to my life goal of visiting every country!
For 4 years (2018-2021) I worked seasonally at a busy restaurant and campsite in Scotland which provided me with food, accommodation and plenty of money. The cherry on top? I got 4 months off every winter to travel! I actually left after the 2019 season because I should’ve been lazing on a beach somewhere in Western Australia in 2020, but because of the old dog Covid I returned to the UK from Singapore in March (just one day before the Aus flight!) to sit in lockdown for 4 months, hoping that maybe I could squeeze a foreign trip in over the winter. A very long story short, that didn’t happen and I returned to work, also staying for the winter season to work on the farm. By the end of 2021 I was completely burnt out after 8 months of relentless 60-80 hour weeks and I hadn’t left the UK in nearly 2 years (the longest time in my life!). Safe to say… I was desperate for travel!
Since the beginning of 2022 I have been flyin’ solo around the world for the first time in my life. I’ve ticked off personal bucket list moments and had some unforgettable experiences as a solo traveller. Keep reading to find out where I’ve visited!
So now you know a bit about my personal life, what about the the blog?
About the blog
The purpose of The World by James is to provide you with all the resources and information you need to plan your next adventure through inspiring photography and stories from my experiences. My goal is for you to get the absolute most out of every destination you visit, all while sticking to a budget.
It’s always been a dream of mine to have a travel blog. Since 2018 I’ve been documenting everything I see, do and spend while I travel by writing journals and taking photos. I do it partly for my own reflection because I want to remember these moments when I’m grey and old, but also so I can share my experiences with the world.
As a budget traveller, the topics I write about reflect my real experiences. You certainly won’t find any 5 star hotel reviews here! Wjat you will find are budget travel guides for both well-known and off the beaten path destinations, including unique itineraries, experiences, tips and details on how to efficiently visit all the attractions a location has to offer.
As much as my website is intended to be a hub for everything that’s awesome about travel, it’s also an aim of mine to provide an honest account of my experiences on the road to help you manage expectations. There’s no sugar-coated BS here! It’s rare, but I would only bad-mouth something/somewhere if it was truly awful. I’d never recommend something I didn’t enjoy. 99% of my experiences are amazing and I want to provide a fair representation of everywhere I go, which you can usually find in the “My experience…” section at the end of each blog post.
This blog is something I’ve dreamed of having ever since I first started travelling, and now that dream is slowly becoming a reality!
My travel style
Well, I suppose I’m somewhere in between a backpacker and a straight-up tourist. I’m a backpacker in the sense that I’m adventurous and like to travel on a budget, but I’m a tourist in the sense that I like to see the main attractions of every destination and I’ll always be holding my camera! I like to see the highlights mixed with lots of off-the-beaten path locations so that no stone is left unturned. I mean, who’s going to go to Egypt and not see the Pyramids, you know?!
Length of time spent somewhere is of high value to me to make sure I fully immerse myself somewhere. I usually try to spend an absolute minimum of 10 days in a new country, or 3-4 nights if I’m just visiting a city. I think that’s a solid amount of time to feel the vibe of a place and see most of what it has to offer.
Accommodation-wise I’ve always used budget private rooms or hostel dorms. Although I’ve never really loved dorm-life, they’re a great way to meet people and save money so I stay in them frequently. I probably split my time 50/50 between dorms and private rooms. It takes me about 2 hours to fall asleep as it is so I definitely don’t enjoy having someone snoring or rustling (or worse!) above me to add to it. I would say my style of accommodation is probably towards the higher end of a typical backpacker’s, but only just.
Regarding transport, I love the experience you get on local transport or the freedom of driving yourself. Road trips make me happy, but I don’t think I’d ever be satisfied on one of those multi-day bus tours you always see going around. It’s got to feel authentic and special and you have to immerse yourself in local culture. I love renting motorbikes in Asia and exploring at my own speed, but occasionally I like to book a small group day tours too. It largely depends on the location and itinerary. I also love ride-share Apps like Uber, Grab and Dart for getting around large cities on a budget. Normally I’ll be found on a scooter in the middle of nowhere though!
In regards of food, I’ll eat anything as long as the price is right! The only thing I can’t handle is spicy stuff – India was a problem! Pad Thai from a street vendor in Thailand is my kinda thing, or a chicken shawarma in Jordan is hard to beat. Simple food for a simple man!
I’ve always travelled on a budget and have always hated spending unnecessary money… that’s the stingy Scottish in me I guess. That said, I do spend a lot of money travelling, but I’d much rather spend it on experiences over material things. I’ve always been like that.
To sum up my travel style I guess I would say this:
“Seeing and doing as much as I can without sacrificing time, while getting as much bang for my buck as possible”
8 travel FAQs
41 and counting!
I've also visited 5/7 continents and 62 UNESCO sites.
Japan, Hawaii, the Faroe Islands, South Korea & New Zealand. I've also never been to South or Central America which is wild and very high on the list.
Jordan, Thailand, Iceland or Australia. They are all amazing in their own ways and I couldn't possibly choose one.
I've never had a scary experience with a human anywhere in the world. However, I have had one or two other types of scare.
My scariest experience was in 2019 on a plane from Bangkok to Laos.
In short, 5 minutes after takeoff from Bangkok the engine outside my window exploded and was on fire. We had to do circles over Bangkok for about 20 minutes until there was space to land. When the plane landed it parked in the broken plane area where there were about 5 of the same type of plane already sitting there!
Note to self: don't use Thai smile!!
I want to visit every country!
Sony A7ii, DJI Mini 3, iPhone 11 Pro Max and GoPro Hero 7 Silver.
I recently laid my trusty Mavic Pro to rest after a hard 4 years of travel, but it’s still my favourite child. Previously I’ve had the Mavic Mini (I bought this in the Philippines to use there then sold it) and Phantom 3 Pro.
I use a 28-70mm lens for my Sony and really want to get a wide angle at some point.
Disclaimer: This is a bit of a ranty one!
I've loved almost everywhere I've been, but unfortunately this one is easy for me. I have two least favourites and they are:
- India
- Sihanoukville (Cambodia)
First up, India
Another disclaimer: I only visited massive cities (Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Kochi), so I’m sure it’s very different in rural areas. It’s kind of like saying you don’t like Scotland because you didn’t like London, but nevertheless, I didn’t enjoy it.
Reason 1: Rude tuktuk scammers.
In short, city drivers just straight up lie to you and say anything to get you in their tuktuk and then get extremely angry when you say no thanks. They won’t leave you alone and it really tests your patience, that’s for sure.
Reason 2: The selfies.
Because my partner was a blonde girl with pale skin, she was like a full-on celebrity there. Everywhere we went we got stopped to take selfies, sometimes with whole families literally queuing up to get a photo. The people were very polite on the whole and for a couple days we thought it was really cool, but it gets real tiring, real quick.
Reason 3: Different entrance fees for foreigners.
At every attraction in India foreigners have to pay substantially more than Indian people. For example the Taj Mahal for an Indian is just 50 rupees (55p) but is 1100 rupees (£12) for foreigners. I know it’s still not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things (the fact that I'm even saying that is probably exactly why they do it), but that is a big difference! It didn’t sit right with me and India was the first country where I experienced such a huge difference for foreigners.
Sihanoukville (Cambodia)
This place really disappointed and saddened me. It is a complete waste of what could be (and probably used to be!) a nice place. It's known as the Las Vegas of Cambodia because in recent years Chinese criminals have taken over the city and now all you’ll find there are enormous Vegas-style casinos ran by corrupt Chinese businessmen. The local people have effectively been driven out of their own town and aren't even allowed inside the casinos, even if they wanted to. That's one thing, but the pollution here was next level too. It's a shame to have to go there to get to the islands!
Simple: Myanmar & Laos.
It’s unbelievable the amount of people I meet that skip these countries when in Southeast Asia and just go to Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. They're both extremely underrated and beautiful.
5 random facts about me
- I have 26 small tattoos but haven’t had a new one since Feb 2019
- My full name is the same length as the English alphabet
- I’m a full-on candy crush (and soft drink) addict
- I’ve broken 6 bones in my right arm (all at separate times)
- As a child my dream was to be an author
My detailed travel history
In this area you can select a year and see where I travelled to and how long for.
Before first traveling independently in 2015 I was fortunate enough to have already explored some truly breathtaking countries with my family. We lived in Australia for a year when I was young, as well as taking many summer holidays to European countries like Croatia, Spain, Czech Republic and Italy.
One trip I would love to repeat someday was Oman, where we went for 4 weeks and road-tripped some of the country's most beautiful places in a 4x4, living in a roof tent.
From a young age I was introduced to travel, and since then I've always longed for it.
In 2015, me and a friend went on a month-long road trip of Europe in my pride and joy at the time: a suped-up white Ford Fiesta.
Taking the ferry from the UK to Amsterdam, we set off on a mostly unplanned journey that would involve crossing 10 different borders and visiting awesome places like the Croatian islands, the canals of Venice and the Swiss lakes.
We visited: Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland (by accident), Switzerland, Austria, Croatia, France, Italy
In late 2016 my partner and I took the leap to get working holiday visas and move to Australia for a year. Before that, we travelled around Thailand for 1 month.
- USA West coast road trip (3 weeks: LA, Vegas, Grand Canyon, Zion, Yosemite, Death Valley, San Fran)
- Amsterdam
- Thailand (1 month: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao)
- Australia (1 year: more info in 2017 section)
Spending a year in Australia in 2017 was one of the best experiences of my life and I made memories I will never forget.
Some highlights were: working in an Outback hotel for 4 months in a tiny town where only 60 other people lived and it took 8 hours to get to the nearest city; picking oranges at 6am in 30 degree Celcius heat while the sun came up; and buying a campervan called Po and road-tripping the entire east coast from Cairns to Melbourne for 2 months.
After Aus we spent a month in Vietnam and a few days in Istanbul on our way home.
- Australia until November
- Vietnam (1 month: Saigon, Hoi An, Hai Van Pass, Hue, Phong Nha, Ninh Binh, Hanoi, Halong Bay, Sapa)
- Istanbul (4 days)
Back to Scotland to begin working seasonally and travel in the winters for, what would turn out to be, the next 4 years.
A little bit of travel throughout the year:
- Galtur, Austria (1 week of skiing)
- Iceland (10 day road trip)
- Gdansk, Poland (5 days)
- Paris (my fourth time)
- Laos (10 days: Vientiene, Vang Veing, Luang Prabang, Pakse)
Cambodia (2 weeks: Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Battambang, Koh Rong Samloem, Kep, Kampot)
India (10 days: Kochi, Delhi, Jaipur, Agra)-
Bali, Indonesia (10 days: Ubud, Baturiti, Canggu, Nusa Penida)-
Algarve, Portugal (1 week road tripping from Lagos)
At the end of the 2019 season I quit my job and, with my partner, set my sights on spending a 2nd year in Australia in 2020...
It was all going so well... until March!
Pre-covid I managed to do lots of travelling between January and March, with the intention of arriving in Australia in March for my 2nd year working holiday visa.
That didn't happen... but luckily everything else went to plan!
- Budapest, Hungary (3 days)
- Jordan (12 days: Amman, Madaba, Petra, Wadi Rum, Aqaba)
- Sri Lanka (2 weeks: Colombo, Sigiriya, Kandy, Ella, Yala, Mirissa, )
- Myanmar (16 days: Mandalay, Yangon, Bagan, Hpa-An, Inle Lake, Pyin Ooo Lwin)
- KL, Malaysia (3 nights)
- Philippines (3 weeks: Cebu, Bohol, Palawan, Coron)
- Brunei (3 days)
- Singapore (5 days)
At this point Covid decided to shut down the world and so, after working and planning for almost 2 years, it was all down the toilet. Tough times. Back to Scotland I went!
Covid meant I didn't leave the UK once in 2021.
In fact, from March 2020 until April 2022 was the longest time in my entire life that I hadn't left the country. So, instead, this year consisted of lots of 70 hour work weeks in Scotland and increasing travel withdrawal symptoms.
Since the beginning on 2022 I have been flyin' solo.
After a couple of years spent being cooped up and working too hard, I needed to travel. So, at the end of 2021 I quit my job (again) and in early 2022 I started making plans to travel... again.
Amsterdam was the first time I had actually been on a flight alone which was a super strange feeling after seeing so much of the world, but you've got to take the leap or you'll never know!
- Amsterdam (2 days)
- Egypt (16 days: Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan, Abu Simbel, Luxor)
- Morocco (12 days: Casablanca, Chefchaouen, Fes, Meknes, Rabat, Tangiers, Marrakech)
- Belgium (5 days: Bruges, Ghent, Brussles)
- Norway (3 weeks and two epic road trips: Bergen, Flåm, Alesund, Geiranger, Trolltunga, Odda, Olden and many more)
- Bulgaria (4 days: Sofia)
- Dubai (1 day)
- Laos (3 weeks: Huayxai, Luang Prabang, Nong Khiaw)
- Thailand (4 months: I returned Thailand, a country I love, to gain a TEFL qualification to teach English and ideally stay in Chiang Mai for a few years. That didn't work out, but I ended up staying for 4 months because...well, its Thailand and I love it! I spent most of my time in Chiang Mai but also visited Phuket, Chiang Rai, Pai, Chiang Khong, Lampang, Bangkok & Ayutthaya)
- Georgia (10 days: Tbilisi, Gori, Mtskheta, Kazbegi)
- Nepal - After a month in Scotland for the festive season, I embarked on the trip of a lifetime. I spent new year in Nepal with 2 weeks of exploring the country after that. I visited Kathmandu, Pokhara, Panuati, Bandipur & Ramkot.
My year began in Kathmandu, Nepal before exploring more of the country. After Nepal I made my way to Australia for my second year working holiday visa with a quick stop back in Thailand before arriving in Perth.
- Nepal: 2 weeks (Kathmandu, Pokhara, Panuati, Bandipur & Ramkot)
- Thailand: 1 week in Hua Hin
- Australia: I have been living and working in Broome, Western Australia, since February!
- Thailand: 1 week in Krabi during my October holiday from work down under
Thanks for taking the time to learn a little bit about me!
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