KIRAN GOES PLACES
Blog
Trip recaps and travel guides
Write ups to go alongside the videos, for whenever you'd rather read than watch.
15 July 2026
A Kei Car, a Capsule Hotel and My First F1 Race at Suzuka
I flew to Japan a week early with no ticket and no plan, then drove a tiny kei car across the country to watch my first ever F1 race at the Japanese Grand Prix.
8 July 2026
The 7 Best Places to See Mount Fuji from Lake Kawaguchiko
Not every viewpoint around the lake is worth the walk. Here are the seven that actually deliver, from a convenience store car park to a five hundred year old pagoda.
1 July 2026
Everything Worth Eating in Tokyo as a Vegetarian
Tokyo has a reputation as a hard city for vegetarians. It isn't true anymore. Here's everywhere worth eating, from honey mustard gyoza to the best ramen of my life.
24 June 2026
How to Spend 5 Days in Tokyo (First Time Itinerary)
Hidden bars in Shinjuku, flying sushi in Shibuya, sumo wrestling in Ryogoku and Mario Kart through the neon streets. Exactly how we spent five days in Tokyo, day by day.
17 June 2026
20 Best Things To Do in Tokyo (2026 Travel Guide)
Tokyo isn't one city, it's 23 different ones stitched together. From fighting a sumo wrestler to a whiskey bar the size of your living room, the no fluff list.
5 June 2026
What I Wish I'd Known Before Hiking the Salkantay Trek
Altitude, weather, tickets, tour companies and everything else I wish I'd known before hiking the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu.
26 May 2026
Cable Cars, Witches' Markets and Coca Leaves: Inside La Paz
South America's most underrated city. Cable cars instead of buses, dried llama fetuses at the Witches' Market, and $10 fine dining.
22 May 2026
Five Days on the Salkantay Trek, Told Without Words
No talking, just the trail. Glacial lakes, a 4,630m pass and the walk into Machu Picchu, told entirely through the scenery.
10 May 2026
The Machu Picchu Guide I Wish I'd Had Before Visiting
Tickets, circuits, mountain hikes, real costs and a genuine hack for when Circuit 2 sells out.
30 April 2026
Walking Into Machu Picchu Through the Sun Gate After 85km
Four days of the Salkantay Trek, a final brutal climb to the Sun Gate, and the moment Machu Picchu finally appears through the clouds.
12 April 2026
Three Days in Cusco, Peru's Underrated Inca Capital
Cusco is the gateway to Machu Picchu, but the city deserves far more attention than that. Three days in the city, the Sacred Valley and Rainbow Mountain.
5 April 2026
Four Brutal, Beautiful Days on the Salkantay Trek
Four days across glacial passes, turquoise lakes and dense cloud forest, climbing to 4,630m before descending towards Machu Picchu.
29 March 2026
The Night I Slept in a Hotel Built Entirely From Salt
Walls, floors, tables, beds, all carved from blocks of salt on the edge of the Uyuni Salt Flats. One of the strangest nights of my life.
26 March 2026
15 Things Nobody Tells You About the Uyuni Salt Flats
Season, altitude, tours, photography tricks and why you need Wellington boots. Everything worth knowing before you visit.
22 March 2026
Why I Set My Alarm for 5am to Watch the Uyuni Salt Flats Turn Into a Mirror
A 5am jeep ride onto a flooded salt desert, breakfast at a second salt hotel, and the sunrise that made our guide compare it to Bruce Almighty.
15 March 2026
Flamingos, Geysers and a Train Graveyard: The Three-Day Drive From Atacama to Uyuni
A 4am border crossing, pink lagoons full of flamingos, bubbling geysers at 5,000m, charging llamas and an actual train cemetery.
8 March 2026
We Almost Didn't See Rainbow Mountain Because of the Clouds
A 3am bus from Cusco, altitude sickness at 4,900m, a summit fogged in completely, and the Red Valley bonus most people skip.
1 March 2026
4 Days, 4 Seasons: Hiking the Full W Trek Circuit in Patagonia
Granite towers at sunrise, the Cuernos up close, the French Valley, and a walk on the Grey Glacier itself. The full 4-day W Trek, start to finish.
17 February 2026
10 Things I Wish I'd Known Before Booking the W Trek
Flights, buses, catamarans, and a campsite booking system split across two rival companies. Everything I had to figure out the hard way.
13 February 2026
The W Trek in Patagonia, Without a Single Word
Granite towers at golden hour, a turquoise glacial lake, lenga forest, and a walk out onto the Grey Glacier, told entirely through the scenery.
7 February 2026
The Day We Walked On Top Of and Inside a Glacier
A storm blew away tents overnight, then an ice hike onto the Grey Glacier itself, crevasses, an ice cave and all. The final day of the W Trek.
3 February 2026
Four Seasons in One Day: Crossing the French Valley
A hanging glacier, a golden autumn forest, two lookouts, and wind strong enough to whip a lake into tornadoes. Day 3 of the W Trek.
1 February 2026
The Sunrise Most Hikers Skip, and the Longest Day of the W Trek
A 3am hike back up to Las Torres for sunrise, then 23km along a turquoise lake past Los Cuernos. Day 2 of the W Trek.
30 January 2026
Forgetting Our Lunch and Still Making It to the Base of the Towers
A footbridge over glacial rapids, a fridge full of forgotten sandwiches, and a cloudy first look at Las Torres. Day 1 of the W Trek.
27 January 2026
The Colombia Itinerary I'd Actually Follow, Whether You've Got 2, 3 or 4 Weeks
Medellín's Comuna 13, the rock at Guatapé, birdwatching in Minca, a hammock over the sea in Tayrona, dancing in Cartagena, and coffee in Salento. How I'd actually route it.
20 January 2026
A Day in Bogotá: Gold Masks, Bronze Nudes and a Guy Walking His Pet Llama
Most travellers skip Bogotá entirely. One day in La Candelaria, the Botero Museum and the Gold Museum changed my mind about it completely.
13 January 2026
Eating Our Way Through Cartagena: Coffee, Tacos and the Best Sushi I've Ever Had
Nia Bakery's V60 coffee, tacos in Getsemaní, a coconut lemonade in San Diego, and what might be the best sushi I've had anywhere.
5 January 2026
Horses, Coffee and an Exploding Sport: The Best of Salento, Colombia
Galloping through a river on horseback, picking coffee cherries by hand, and a national sport played with gunpowder and beer.
29 December 2025
Street Art, Statues and an Iguana in the Park: The Other Side of Cartagena
Beyond the coffee and cocktails, Cartagena's history, its street art, and an actual iguana crawling through a city centre park.
23 December 2025
Rain, Gunpowder and a Cloud That Finally Parted: Two Days in Salento
A misty Cocora Valley hike that nearly gave us nothing, a night of tejo with the locals, and a horse ride upstream through a river to a coffee farm.
16 December 2025
Salsa Lessons, Bad Wine and a Very Iguana-Shaped Door Knocker: Three Days in Cartagena
A salsa class we booked to look less ridiculous on the dance floor, a painting-and-wine night by the pool, and what the door knockers of the old town actually mean.
9 December 2025
Everything I Wish I'd Known Before Sleeping in a Hammock Over the Sea in Tayrona
Two entrances that matter, a passport you actually need to carry, and a warning sign about currents that's worth taking seriously.
2 December 2025
The Hostel That Feels Like Fiji, and a Night in a Hammock Above the Sea: Tayrona
A DJ party we stumbled into by accident, a jungle offering to a big rock, and the strangest place we've ever slept.
25 November 2025
Hummingbird Murals, Bulletproof Walls and 700 Steps Up a Rock: The Best of Medellín
Comuna 13's murals and outdoor escalators, a michelada from a street stand, salsa lessons, and the darker side of the city's history.
19 November 2025
A Guide Named Richard Who Talks to Birds: 48 Hours in Minca, Colombia
A 5:45am wake up call for birdwatching, a waterfall hidden in the forest, and a sunset viewpoint with a live band and torches.
11 November 2025
A 2-Hour Life Expectancy Joke and a Bachata Class: Three Days in Medellín
A Comuna 13 guide's dark sense of humour, and a spontaneous day trip to Guatapé with someone we'd met a couple of hours earlier.
8 November 2025
7, 10 or 14 Days: How I'd Actually Plan a Guatemala Itinerary
An overnight on an erupting volcano, a lake with a 5pm boat curfew, and how to split your time depending on how long you've got.
4 November 2025
Erupting Volcanoes and a Bee That Bites Instead of Stings: The Best of Guatemala
Looking back at the whole trip, volcanoes, chocolate, turquoise pools and a lake with five different personalities.
1 November 2025
My Weak Ankles vs an Active Volcano: What I Wish I'd Known Before Hiking Acatenango
Altitude sickness at 3,976 metres, a headlamp you can't hike without, and the shocker that some companies carry your bag for you.
28 October 2025
A 9.5 Out of 10 Sunset and a Volcano That Wouldn't Erupt On Cue: Climbing Acatenango
Four and a half hours of volcanic sand, a fire facing an active volcano, and a 5am sunrise hike to the rim.
21 October 2025
Butts Up, a Coconut Halfway Up a Mountain, and the Prettiest Water in Guatemala: Semuc Champey
Standing on the back of a moving jeep, a slippery hike to the postcard viewpoint, and tubing down the Cahabón River.
14 October 2025
The Sound They Used for Jurassic Park's Dinosaurs Was Real: 24 Hours in Tikal
A flooded island, a restaurant with a fireman's pole, and a 2,000 year old Mayan city where 85% is still buried underground.
7 October 2025
One Lake, Five Completely Different Towns: Why Atitlán Isn't Just One Place
Sunrise hikes, hippy streets, a horse ride, cliff jumps and a hostel that feels like family, tying together the whole lake.
30 September 2025
Free Beer, a Tent With Four Beds and a Scorpion Next Door: The Best Hostel We've Stayed At
Family dinners with strangers who become friends, a 12 metre cliff jump in San Marcos, and a tiny scorpion in the tent next door.
23 September 2025
Are You Really On a Lake If You Haven't Been Out On It: San Pedro & San Juan Shortlist
The quick version of San Pedro and San Juan, plus the one thing that's easy to forget, actually getting out on the water.
16 September 2025
A Solo Horse Ride, a 4am Sunrise Hike and Free Honey Until It Hurt: 48 Hours in San Pedro
A horseman who trusted me with his horse alone in the forest, a pitch black hike to Indian's Nose for sunrise, and a Mayan bee sanctuary.
9 September 2025
Rumbles You Can Feel in Your Chest: The Real Shortlist for Antigua Guatemala
Green jade masks once buried with the dead, and a volcano hike where you camp opposite an erupting neighbour.
2 September 2025
A Chocolate Anthem, a Coffee Farm Straight Out of Narcos and a Volcano at the End of Every Street: 48 Hours in Antigua
A chocolate workshop that ended in a sing-along, a coffee farm that felt like a scene from Narcos, and the arch on every Guatemala postcard.
26 August 2025
The OG Lie Detector Test and Nepal's Best Kept Rooftop Secret: A Kathmandu Quick Guide
A fierce black statue once used as a lie detector, and the short list of what to actually do before heading to the mountains.
19 August 2025
A Very Nervous Haircut, a Monkey Stealing Coke and 24 Hours in Kathmandu
A street barber who wouldn't leave my fringe alone, a monkey that stole a watermelon and then a Coke, and a city equal parts chaos and spirituality.