Some travellers head to North Korea to take in the Kim Il-Sung tour, but you can also get a taste of the Hermit Kingdom from the north of the border, in Russia's Far East.
Omanis aren’t ones for pretending: they like drinking, whoring and shooting pool, and they don’t care who knows it. Here's how I ended up getting creamed at pool in one of their clubs...
"It was dark as we passed through the cyclo-filled streets of Danang... A neon lit City with palm trees near the sea marked by a sense of decrepitude..."
So the introductions were as expected. Lots of weirdos. But I liked them. The centre itself was superb. Situated on a main road with the back streets behind it. Real and gritty, yet with students paying a ridiculous sum to be 'taught' our mother tongue.
While our media focuses on the Middle East, from the depths of South Asia to the scorching coasts of East-Africa, the world is at war. Here are five ongoing conflicts that you won't see on the news this evening.
Without any canoeing experience, but with a desire to see a part of the world I'd always dreamed of, I set about taking on the Mekong River in Laos - I kept a video diary of my trials.