Some people say London is an overpriced city. Others say people in London are very rude. I’ve now been to London several times and Here are 7 Reasons Why I Love London!
1: The World Is Here
London is one of the most diverse cities on the planet. More than 35% of the population are born outside the UK and over 300 different languages are spoken.
Attending an Indian Wedding in London. See me?
London has people from around the globe drawn to the city. The diversity has seen London become a place of endless possibilities. See a film at a French cinema? No problem. Brunch at a Nordic bakery? Sure. Grabbing an Indian Lunch? Ok! Dinner at an authentic Mongolian restaurant? Take your pick.
Traditional Fish and Chips has decreased in popularity in London, because of new great options!
It’s not just food where London has benefited from diversity – over the years diversity has helped to drive creativity, making the capital an international leader in a variety of fields.
And for me having traveled to +105 countries I see small parts of so many countries combined in one city, which is really cool to see!
Neal’s Yard, Covent Garden, London
2: Music Is All Around You
London is a city of creativity and London moves to its own, distinct soundtrack. Music is all around you. Ed Sheeran, Adele, Rolling Stones, countless of cool underground rappers and many more!
London has produced artists who have shaped the international music scene for years. The Beatles wrote ‘Yesterday’ in an apartment in the capital and David Bowie was born at Stansfield Road Brixton in London.
Countless musicians are connected to London
You can see an artist every night of the week, whatever preference in music you have! Furthermore the city boasts a number of summer music festivals with the British Summer Time festival at Hyde Park and Wireless at Finsbury Park being two of the biggest..
3: The City Of Mystery
London has been a magnet for creative spirits for centuries. From William Shakespeare to Jimi Hendrix and J.K. Rowling – the great and the good of art have been inspired by London. Endless works of fiction have been set in the streets of London with the likes of Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter, and Mary Poppins all calling the city home.
Wall picture at Tower Hamlets, Stepney, London
4: Sports
I love football and the passion the Brits have for football is wild. Everyone has a favourite team they support!
A visit to West Ham’s Stadium, 2010. In total I’ve watched 3 football matches in London, all with great atmosphere!
London is home to some of the biggest clubs in the world and Wembley Stadium hosts national football matches as well as NFL games that sell out the 90,000 seater stadium. BRITS ARE TOTALLY SPORTS MAD!
It’s not just football London excels at.. English events like spending a day watching tennis at Wimbledon or trying to understand the rules of cricket at Lord’s are also possible with big crowds.
5: There is Abundant Public Transport
London is a huge city, but the public transport is on point. The trains and busses work perfectly fine. I can hop on a tube and scuttle around the underground, and the bus stops with easy to read timetables in English and with apps that tell you when the bus will arrive, almost to the second. This is such a luxury!
London Underground. Just get an Oyster Card and you’re ready to go!
6: London Has Everything to Do
London has a million museums (lots of them are free), attractions, parks and historical sites.
To be honest you can’t fail to be excited by London’s amazing attractions. See London from above on the London Eye or go to beautiful parks, like Hyde Park and Richmond Park to chill out! And one thing I LIKE is that you don’t need to travel far to find green space in London, which is missing in many other big cities.
Making London Eye to a spinning wheel, 2019, London
Some of my personal favourite tourist places to visit are Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, London Eye and Tower of London, but you’ll have plenty of options. London has pretty much everything to do!
7: London Is Very Safe
London is now an incredibly safe city, ranking 20th in the world of The Economist’s 2017 Safe Cities Index.
London has the 2. largest Surveillance Camera Network in the World, right after Beijing. The estimation of surveilliance cameras are around 420,000 in the city of London, so nearly every place has a surveillance camera watching over you, which is both scary but also give a feeling of safety and security.
Ok, London is not Tokyo (where you can leave your iPhone on the bar, go to a toilet visit and still find it laying there when you get back.) Remember London is a huge international metropolis and as such, not crime free, but for its size, the levels of street crime are very low and it’s a safe and great place to visit and enjoy – and with some friendly police officers to boot!
8: Unfriendly people? Really!?
“Londoners, stop being so rude and unfriendly.”
I’ve only had friendly encounters with people in London. I’m constantly amazed by how friendly people are here. Whether I have asked someone for directions or talked to staff in local shops, bars or restaurants, as well as outside or in central London, whoever. People are usually very polite!
Maybe it’s just me? Or do you also come across friendly, helpful, nice people in London?
That’s all from me. Have fun in this great, yet expensive city!
I just came back from Iraqi Kurdistan, staying most of my time in Erbil, a city very close to Mosul, which was Isis Headquarter until few years ago…
On top of Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan at the Citadel
Is it safe to travel to Iraq?
This is the $1,000,000 question that any adventurous traveler wonders at least once in his or her’s life. The answer is: ”it depends”.
For a long time Iraq has had an negative reputation in the media and around the World for its safety issues.
Thethread of ISIS
Starting with the Iraq-Iran war in 1980, to the Saddam Hussein Gulf conflict (where Saddam Hussein gassed 5,000 Kurds in Halabja etc.) and then the current civil war now after the USA invasion, where the bloodthirsty Islamic State appeared in the country..
I admit it, it doesn’t sound as the best travel destination! But the reality is different.
I stayed most of my time in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan. Erbil is the most modern place in the region, guarded by the legendary Peshmerga. Therefore from a safety point of view, the entire region can be classified as relatively safe.
If you take a look at the maps below, you will see the evolution of the ISIS territory.
As you can see, from 2014 to 2017, ISIS was, basically, bordering Iraqi Kurdistan.
In July 2017, the Iraqi forces took Mosul back, so the region got safer than ever.
Isis Map period 2014-2017Isis Map 2018 – Is Erbil Safe?
Loads of checkpoints
There are loads of checkpoints across all cities and roads, where they will ask for your passport and, occasionally, they will even check the car.
As a Western foreigner, I didn’t have any troubles, but once I was traveling by taxi with an Arab man, and the Peshmergas (Kurdish soldiers) took my driver out for 10 minutes at least. They found him suspicious in their eyes. They basically question everything here, which is a good thing to prevent terrorist attacks.
Doing a travel speech in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, Iraq
Is Kurdistan safe? What is it like to travel there?
When I went walking to Erbil’s citadel, I couldn’t believe what my eyes saw: Kids playing football in the streets, nice cafés and terraces and everybody seemed to have a happy, normal life.
Didn’t see any tourists though on my 10 km solo walk around the city, but I was quite shocked when I saw a local Kurdish guy with a beer in his hand. I would personally never drink in the streets in a muslim country, as I respect the country’s rules as a guest, but this little episode showed me that Kurdistan is one of the most liberal and open-minded parts of the Middle East, that follows a similar lifestyle to Lebanon.
The mountains here reminded me a bit of my second home, The Faroe Islands. Stunning nature!
The airport security is extreme
I had never before seen such a degree of airport security. Only Israel comes close!
From the moment I left the city until the moment I boarded the plane, I passed through over 10 different checkpoints. I had to get out at three checkpoints and they checked everything inside the car with police dogs and with all the guys armed.
Cars and buses couldn’t go to the departure or arrival terminal, so I had to walk the last part myself.
With a Kurdish man who fought ISIS close to Mosul two years ago
Should you visit Iraqi Kurdistan?
Even if you go with a friend or you go solo like me, you should! Yes, there’s a risk involved when you’re going to a country like Iraq, but there’s a risk anywhere in the World! And the risk here in Kurdistan is very low.
With a huge touristic potential, impressive landscapes, a deep history, and some of the most hospitable people you’ll ever find, Kurdistan is a must-visit destination. Just go!
Here are some random pictures from all over the world. One from each country/territory. I will add more here and there from new travels and adventures, so check back every now and then. Enjoy!
Albania
Tirana Square, Tirana, Albania 2016
Algeria
Salaam alaikum! A gift from my Algerian host, Algiers, Algeria. 2018
Andorra
In the tiny capital Andorra La Vella, Andorra 2016
Argentina
With Argentinian legend Diego Maradona in Boca, Buenos Aires, Argentina 2015
Armenia
In front of the big blue kiwi in Yerevan, Armenia. 2017
Australia
Inside “The G” or Melbourne Cricket Ground Stadium, which hosts +100,000 people, Melbourne, Australia. 2015
Austria
Schönbrunn Castle, Vienna, Austria 2017
Azerbaidjan
Hand gestures in “the architectural love child of Paris and Dubai city,” Baku, Azerbaidjan. 2017
Bahrain
The Tea Club with family of the Bahrainian King, Manama, Bahrain. 2017
Belarus
At the Brest Hero Fortress, a WWII memorial, in the south of Belarus. 2017
Belgium
The beautiful La Grand Place City Square in Brussels, Belgium, 2017
Belize
Denmark heavily represented in Caye Caulker island, Belize. 2019
Brazil
Sitting at the world-famous steps ‘Selaron Steps’ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 2016
Bulgaria
Climbing ‘The 7 Rila Lakes’ in the Rila Mountains, Bulgaria. 2018
Burkina Faso
In a village where people and crocodiles have lived together for 300 years in Burkina Faso. Surreal! 2019
Burma / Myanmar
Chilling with the buddies in Yangon, Burma. 2018
China
Beautiful sunny day at the Mutianyu section, Great Wall of China, Beijing, China 2019
Croatia
INSTA-SHOT 😝 Much fun walking the walls in Dubrovnik, Croatia. 2017
Cyprus
Week in Cyprus and here in party area Ayia Napa. 2016
Czech Republic
Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic. 2018
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Hiking around small mountain villages on the border of Congo/Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC.) 2014
Egypt
Visiting the Giza Piramids, Egypt. 2013
Eswatini
Ezulwini Valley, in the northwest of the former Swaziland, Eswatini. 2018
In the country I went to 13 times, and also where my roots are from, the Faroe Islands. Visiting the island where my grandfather was born, Sandoy, Faroe Islands. 2015
Finland
Uspenski Cathedral on a cold Winter day in Helsinki, Finland. 2016
Gambia
In Bijiro Nationalpark, The Gambia
Georgia
With a police officer at a street event in Tbilisi, Georgia. 2017
Ghana
In the streets of Accra, Ghana. 2019
Gibraltar
Two homies flexing on the way to the top of Rock of Gibraltar, Gibraltar. 2018
Greece
Nothing beats a greek street, Naxos, Greece. 2018
Guernsey
Hitchhiking my way around the small island and British Crown Dependency, Guernsey. 2019
4: I can name every country in the world from looking at an empty map, and I know almost every capital/country flag
5: I climbed Africa’s highest mountain Mount Kilimanjaro by the age of 22. (Wanna join my trip this year?)
6: I’m an introvert
7: I like solo traveling and some of my best adventures have been from doing that
8: I’ve been to every single country in Europe (Most of them +2 times)
9: I have a Type A personality
10: I check football news daily
11: I have an explorer mindset and want to see, try and understand as much as possible
12: I’m a minimalist
13: I’ve taken more than 400 flights
14: I have perfume, grass and dust allergy and often have irritated eyes
15: I debuted in the 2nd best Danish football league when I just turned 17
16: I’ve worn different bracelets on my right wrist for 10 years straight with no days off
17: I write with my left hand and throw with my right hand
18: I have a 4 year bachelor-degree as a Sport and English Teacher from the University College Capital, Copenhagen, Denmark
19: I love freedom and I think the things you own end up owning you
20: I’ve done entrepreneurship for 4 years now (as a publisher, e-commerce, investment, social media marketing) and now travel blogging!
21: I didn’t had any sponsorships for visiting my first 100 countries. All through hard work
22: I’ve spend more than 7 months in total in Tanzania 🐘
23: I prefer tea over coffee
24: I worked my butt off with troubled kids in Denmark in the beginning to afford to travel. 60-80 hours work weeks. (Still take a few shifts when I’m home, because I really enjoy working with kids)
25: I like trying bizarre food
26: I’ve bungee jumped, sky dived and done bridge jumping (26 meters jump in Mostar, Bosnia where you hit the water)
27: I almost never watch TV unless it’s sports
28: I’ve been a Real Madrid fan since 5 years old and try to watch all their matches wherever I am
29: I love music. Afro Pop is my favourite, but I like Hip-Hop, Bongo Flavour, R&B, Pop, Electronic too
30: I’ve slept overnight in 5 airports
31: My favourite animal is a cat
32: I don’t like negative or complaining people
Want to know more about me? Read here. Or contact me!
I believe that everyone should try solo travel at least once. It builds your confidence, shows you what you’re capable of, improves your social skills, gives you time and space to think, and helps you learn more about what you like and need in life.
2. Eat the local food
Food is one of my absolute favorite ways to get to know a place better. I love trying new things, and I’ve found a thousand amazing dishes that I never would have discovered if I’d stick to the normal stuff from the supermarket. Trying new food isn’t scary, and you’ll build your confidence up as you fall in love with more and more things. Try everything, even if you have no idea what it is. I promise you won’t regret it.
Some of the most interesting foods I tried were balut (a developing duck embryo) in the Philippines, living mopane worms in Zimbabwe, snake blood in Vietnam or tuna eyeballs in Japan (that one was a bit creepy!)
3. Plan as little as possible
One of the first lessons I learned on the road was that your plans will nearly always change. I still make the mistake sometimes by booking multiple flight tickets and trying to plan my trip from home, but it’s honestly better to just go with the flow.
Sure, you should have a rough plan for your trip, but don’t book everything in advance or you’ll likely feel too restricted and end up regretting it. Book a one-way ticket and your first few nights of accommodation — you’ll figure the rest out along the way. It’s not as intimidating as it sounds. If you’re in a tourist destination there’ll always be someone who’s willing to take your money by giving you a place to stay.
An improvised day in the surburbs of Djibouti, Djibouti
4. Travel insurance is everything
Seriously. If you do only one thing before you leave, make it getting travel insurance. I’ve heard far too many horror stories of travellers injuring themselves in remote places and ending up in hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of debt. Don’t think that it won’t happen to you, because you know those travellers they thought that, too.
5. Keep everything important in your daypack
I have had lost luggage before and had my big backpack ripped open in Barcelona one time on a bus trip. I’ve also been on dodgy buses in Africa where we’ve arrived at our destination and people have had valuables stolen from their backpack by someone hiding out in the luggage hold while we were transit.
If there’s anything I’d be upset to lose, I keep it in my daypack, which is always by my side on travel days. For me, that’s my passport, laptop, camera, external hard drive, a debit card, and some spare cash. As long as I have all of those, I can survive indefinitely. I use the Anti-Theft Secured Affinity USB Daypack.
The good thing about the Affinity USB Daypack is I can put it inside of my Osprey Fairpoint 40 Liter Backpack, which is the the best travel backpack in the World, according to travelandleisure.com.
In Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe
7. Take more photos of yourself
I talked to one guy in Tbilisi, Georgia 2 years go from Uzbekistan and he told me: “Don’t be so shy. Go and ask for a picture” with some Georgian people in traditional clothing. There have been so many times when I’ve been too shy to ask someone to take my photo in a place and I’ve almost always regretted it. Photos of the beautiful places you visit are great and all, but when you get home, they’re not all that different to the ones everyone else has taken there, too. Photos with you in them are special and they’ll come to mean a lot more. I recommend the Sony A6000 with 24.3 Megapixels. To compare my IPhone X has a 12-megapixel camera. The Sony A6000 is a compact camera and doesn’t take too much space. It takes BANGER photos!
Or maybe I’m just a narcissistic millennial. Who knows?!
8. Learn a few words of the language in every country you visit
You’ll gain more respect from the locals if you can at least say hello, please, sorry, and thank you. It can be a cool ice breaker, which can lead to new adventures. On the note, remember: if you don’t speak the language, it’s your problem, not theirs. And please don’t start speaking louder to make yourself understood. Try miming instead, or using a translation app on your phone. Google Translate is a life saver!
Salaam! Views of the marina in Dubai, Abu Dhabi
9. Bring several debit and credit cards with you
I always bring at least 3. Sometimes your bank will block your card, sometimes your card won’t work in an ATM, and sometimes you could even lose it or have it stolen. Bring at least three debit/credit cards with you that are all linked to different accounts (with money in them!) Keep one in your backpack, one in your daypack, and one on your person. I need to practise this even more myself, because it’s so stupid and risky to keep them all in the same place, especially if you’re traveling in Africa or South America. Don’t do that!
10. And a stash of emergency cash
I carry a spare 300 USD that’s split up in various places in my backpack, daypack, and occasionally, my shoe when there’s a chance I might get robbed. Like when I went walking around to the slums in Cape Town, South Africa myself. It means that in a worst case scenario, I can pay for some food, a dorm bed, and a call to my family to get an emergency wire transfer until I can get back on my feet again. I go with U.S. dollars because it’s the most widely accepted currency around the world and easy to change.
I’m the living proof of that! I expect the worst, but hope for the best. Expecting everything to go perfectly on your trip is only setting yourself up to fail. Nobody goes traveling and comes back without any stories of mishaps! No matter how prepared you are, at some point you’re going to get lost, get scammed, miss your bus, get food poisoning, injure yourself… the list is endless! I was really mad, when a guide stole my Rayban Sunglasses in Zanzibar, Tanzania, because I kind of expected to have the best time there, relaxing on the beach. Expect bad stuff to happen, and don’t beat yourself up when it does. In a month’s time, you’ll find it funny rather than frustrating.
12. And don’t lose your temper when it does
It achieves absolutely nothing and makes you look like an assh*le. I was taught that the hard way, when I got pissed off at the border from Uganda to Rwanda (I was exhausted and treated unfairly – but that’s another story), in fact they rejected me to enter Rwanda and I had to take a horrible bus 15 hours back to Uganda’s capital Kampala to grab another flight back to Tanzania, where I was at that time.
Instead, calm down, put a smile on your face, think of how this will make a great story one day, and rationally figure out an alternative plan. This too shall pass. Caaalm down, Gustav!
Chilling out in Naxos, Greece
13. Visit the touristy stuff in a city
The main tourist attractions are popular for a reason. While getting off the beaten track can be fun, the things you’ll see are rarely as impressive as the popular sights. Don’t be a travel snob — hit up the famous stops as well as the lesser-visited stuff. Going to random places normally just shows you that they aren’t well known for a reason. That being said freestyling is fun, and I enjoy doing that too exploring other cultures, but sometimes there are reasons why tourists haven’t ventured to some tiny village before: Maybe there was nothing to do. I personally wouldn’t go to Paris for the first time without seeing The Eiffel Tower. Maybe that’s just me? I bet not.
Advise from the person who lost a looot of stuff while traveling.
Checking out is when you’re most likely to lose something. CONFIRMED! Whenever I check out of a place, I now check the bathroom, I check under the beds, I check the desks, and then I make sure I have my passport, laptop, camera, money, phone, and external hard drive + Powerbank. (Forgot 5 of these at least!)
My favourite Power bank is by far ‘The Anker PowerCore’ with 20100mAh and I always go with this one. I’ll be fine if I leave anything else behind. Having a routine that you go through every single time will help you keep track of everything. I learned my lesson when I lost my newly (expensive) bought microphone for my IPhone in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore back in 2016, or when I forgot my passport in Surfers Paradise in Australia and some random Australian dude came running with it 5 minutes before I was moving on with the bus, asking “ay mate, is that yours?”. Talk about being lucky!
At that time I had only 1 passport, now I fortunately have 2!
6 years ago in Egypt wearing my fake Real Madrid shirt. (6$ bargain in Sharm el Sheikh!)
15. If you’re not sure if you should bring it, don’t
The lighter your backpack, the better. If in doubt, leave it behind. Trust me, you can buy pretty much anything you could possibly need in most places around the world. You’ll soon learn that all you need when you travel is a change of clothes, some money, and a passport. Everything else is adding to your comfort. Furthermore you’re able to fly very cheap to many destinations with small luggage!
16. Travel in shoulder season to save money and avoid the crowds
Shoulder season is my favourite time to travel. The weather is usually mildest, everything is more affordable than in high season, and there are fewer people visiting, too.
Even in low season in Eastern Asia you will meet plenty other tourists, like here in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
17. Use a VPN
You’ll be connecting to a whole range of unsecured Wi-Fi networks on your trip, so you need to a use a VPN to protect yourself from hackers, malware, and all that good stuff. It’ll also allow you to change your location so you can watch your favourite TV shows online! I use ExpressVPN, which is 99 bucks a year. When my social media platforms literally shut down in Malawi, I realized it was a good idea to set up a VPN.
18. Leaving your comfort zone is the best thing you can do for yourself
I cite leaving my comfort zone as the number one way in which travel has helped me. It was leaving my comfort zone that gave me confidence in my abilities as a traveller. It helped me to overcome anxious situations and it introduced me to new experiences — most of which I unexpectedly loved!
During the World Cup 2018 in Seoul, South Korea. Flag is the opposite way, but whatever! Fun times!
19. Don’t change your currency at the airport
That’s where you’ll get the worst exchange rates.
20. If there’s no internet, embrace it
Play a card game with someone in the hostel common room, read a book, lay on the beach, go for a walk or go swimming, talk to a stranger, think about life. Some of my favourite travel memories are from times when I didn’t have an internet connection to suck me out of the moment.
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