Kia, Author at Atlas & Boots

Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu: highlights and lowlights

11th March 202320th May 2015 by Kia

I look back on the highlights and lowlights of our Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu in Peru, to help future trekkers prepare for the challenge ahead

There are three things I feared when embarking on our year-long trip around the world. First: the bugs (let’s face it, that was warranted).

Second: our multi-day Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu in Peru (was I fit enough? Could I cope with the altitude? What about the lack of commode? Would I break down after a long bout of camping?). Third: Dealing with the Patagonian winter (I’ll face that battle when I come to it).

Visiting Salar de Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia

21st August 202413th May 2015 by Kia

Amid freezing cold showers, a string of depressing breakfasts, dizzying altitude and interminable bus journeys, visiting Salar de Uyuni saves the day

After four months in South America came Bolivia, the biggest test but brightest triumph of the continent so far. After 10 countries and thousands of miles, it was the first place that made me utter those words that cannot be unsaid: I want to go home.

La Paz walking tour: 10 things we learned

2nd January 20206th May 2015 by Kia

From a lawless harem in the middle of the city to affectionate zebras roaming around town, this La Paz walking tour is not your average day out

Few cities have a setting as dramatic as La Paz. At 3,650m above sea level, it is often called the the world’s highest capital even though this isn’t strictly true. The country’s official capital is Sucre which lies 690km to the southeast.

How to visit the Galápagos on a budget

2nd January 20202nd May 2015 by Kia

We thought twice about writing this post. The Galápagos were once an exclusive destination, but are now teetering on the precipice of mass tourism. We wondered if posts like this were contributing to the devolution of this once-secluded paradise. But, as we said in Eco-friendly tourism in The Galápagos, independent travel to the area is arguably more eco-friendly than visiting on a 100-strong cruise ship. If you’ve always wanted to visit, consider doing it yourself. Not only will you have more flexibility, you won’t have to spend several thousand pounds on your visit. Here’s how we saw The Galápagos on a budget and how you can too.

Eco-friendly tourism in The Galápagos

20th December 202027th April 2015 by Kia

It’s a dream destination for many: the pristine islands of The Galápagos, haven to some of the world’s most unique and rare species of animal – or so we thought. There were certainly pristine sections of the islands but there were also roadworks in Puerto Ayora, broken beer bottles at Cerro Tijeretas, plastic bottles on Tortuga Bay and, saddest of all, a baby seal playing with a plastic spoon.

Swimming with Galápagos penguins

2nd January 202022nd April 2015 by Kia

I once asked Peter how often people have to take in their cats to be trimmed.
He looked at me, confused. “What do you mean?”
“To trim their fur. How often do you have to do it?”
“Erm, normal people don’t trim their cats.” He started to laugh, amused as ever by my lack of knowledge when it comes to nature – especially when as pedestrian as looking after a cat.

Testing my limits on Cotopaxi Volcano

17th November 202415th April 2015 by Kia

I knew it was going to be cold. I knew it was going to be hard. What I didn’t know is that I’d want to give up after a mere 10 minutes on Cotopaxi Volcano. Our altitude of 4,500m mixed with unusually harsh weather made every breath difficult, every step a labour. As the wind slapped my face, I closed my eyes and wondered not for the first time why I had let Peter talk me into this. Glaciers were his thing. Trekking in freezing cold weather was his hobby. I like adventure, sure, but not when it hurt this much. I prefer my adrenaline 10 degrees above freezing, thank you.

10 unknown architectural wonders

30th September 202311th April 2015 by Kia

We all know of the world’s great architectural wonders: Petra, Giza, Angkor – but what of the hidden gems rarely appearing on those ubiquitous bucket lists? Here are 10 unknown architectural wonders to add to yours.

Horse riding in Cotopaxi, Ecuador

20th December 20208th April 2015 by Kia

Our Ecuadorian guide smiles at the motley crew of would-be horse riders assembled in front of him. In Spanish, he asks if anyone has any experience. A few people shuffle their feet nervously. When no-one else speaks up, I put up my hand reluctantly.

“Yo tomó doce clases hace dos años,” I tell him in my faltering Spanish, explaining that I took 12 lessons two years ago.

The best water purifier for travel: a review

27th December 201923rd March 2015 by Kia

If you’re frequent traveller, buying bottled water can become an expensive endeavour. We take a look at SteriPEN, the best water purifier for travel we’ve used

We’ve stayed in some pretty basic places during the course of our trip so far. There was the Fijian camping site in Taveuni with rather sketchy commode, the Samoan beach fale in Savaii which didn’t have walls, and the Colombian campsite in San Agustin with drinking water that ran a brownish yellow.

In all these places, we’ve been able to drink the tap water (hose water in one case) because we’ve been able to purify water on the go.

16 things about the British that baffle the rest of the world

2nd January 20207th March 2015 by Kia

The British are an eccentric lot, occasionally bordering on downright barmy. From chasing cheese down country hills to snorkelling bogs to catch some thrills, the British are as baffling as they are charming. Here are some of our most confounding traits, according to Reddit and the A&B audience on social media.

Visiting Alcatraz prison in San Francisco

27th December 201911th February 2015 by Kia

Visiting Alcatraz prison in San Francisco should be up there with the Golden Gate Bridge

I often joke that if you label any old building a tourist attraction and put it in a guidebook, people will come. It might be a prosaic power station, a random rock formation, or even a tour of a sewage factory – with enough PR, people will come.

In theory, visiting Alcatraz prison could fit into this category of non-attractions. It’s a prison. It has cell blocks, cells, walls and bars. Each cell is indiscernible from the next and the entire building, at least from the inside, should be largely unremarkable.

Caught in the LA headlights

18th March 202131st January 2015 by Kia

A bony limb elbows me in the back. It’s followed by a perfunctory apology, shouted loud just like everything else in the throbbing bar. The muted colours of black and purple are uncharacteristically harsh and the lights just a little too bright.

I look at Peter. He is wide eyed, just like me. We have the same question: what now? Our friends in LA who are showing us the city have stepped out for a cigarette, leaving us momentarily alone in the trendy bar.

What is the best language to learn?

11th February 20255th January 2015 by Kia

We ask what is the best language to learn based on fact-driven criteria to help you choose the right one for you

Over the last two years, I’ve spent some time learning Spanish. Progress has been slow but steady.

I’ve taken a 10-week evening class at UCL’s Centre for Languages, completed levels 1-3 of Rosetta Stone and finished the Duolingo tree, meaning I can sort of carry a conversation, but always peppered with mistakes and pauses.

Spending Christmas in Tahiti

27th December 201924th December 2014 by Kia

Peter turns to me and smiles, feet dangling in the water. “We’re in Tahiti,” he says.

After 40 days in French Polynesia, this little fact still makes us smile, still makes us pause. In theory, Tahiti’s not for the likes of us. Peter is the son of two teachers. I am one of eight siblings raised in London’s worst area for child poverty, the point being: neither of us come from money – not the kind that lets you take a year off and spend Christmas in Tahiti.

And yet here we are.

What travelling with a man taught me about street harassment

27th December 201917th December 2014 by Kia

I sat on the stairs of our Airbnb studio and laced up my trainers for my first run since leaving London four months ago. As I tied the bow I absentmindedly thought “I hope I don’t get harassed.”

And then it occurred to me: I hadn’t been harassed for four months and the only reason the thought had crossed my mind was because I automatically associated running with street harassment.

The Society Islands of French Polynesia - 23

Bora Bora on a budget: 7 ways to save money

6th May 20203rd December 2014 by Kia

Backpacking in Bora Bora may not be the quintessential experience but for those unable to do it any other way, here’s how we did Bora Bora on a budget

This article featured on Lonely Planet as one of their top posts from December 2014

It’s Friday night and we’re seated in Bora Bora’s yacht club a few metres away from the capital of Vaitape. Next to me sits Tim, a yacht broker who’s in town to examine Noble House, a gorgeous two-storey yacht that’s been put up for sale by its Texan owner.

Rarotonga tips: 5 things to know before you go

8th February 202126th November 2014 by Kia

We wish someone had told us these Rarotonga tips before we went to the Cook Islands!

One of the disadvantages of travelling in the South Pacific (if there can be such a thing) is the lack of infrastructure for backpackers. It can be done on a shoestring but it’s certainly more difficult than say Southeast Asia or Europe.

Tackling the ‘where are you from originally?’ question

2nd January 202022nd November 2014 by Kia

Robert Louis Stevenson museum: an unexpected highlight of Samoa

2nd January 20209th November 2014 by Kia

The Robert Louis Stevenson museum in Samoa was an unexpected highlight of our trip to Samoa. A cursory cultural stop became a genuinely fascinating morning

“The Booker Prize money wouldn’t even keep me in cigarettes,” once quipped best-selling crime writer Martina Cole. Faced with snobbery over the type of commercial fiction she writes, the irreverent author’s swipe highlighted the fact that commercial fiction subsidises literary fiction, allowing publishers to publish the highbrow literature that hardly anyone buys.