Ethiopia guidebook update

I've been so excited about the recent release of the new Bradt Travel Guide to Ghana which I updated late last year, I almost forgot to mention that I’ve just signed up to tackle the 6th edition of the Bradt Travel Guide to Ethiopia. For 10 weeks over April, May and June next year I'll be driving, bussing and bush taxiing my way around the entire country covering everything from the busy streets of Addis and the colourful South Omo Valley to Bale Mountains National Park and the thundering Blue Nile Falls – not to mention everything in between.

In all my travels to Africa, I've yet to make it to Ethiopia. Of course as child of the 80s, I grew up with the images of emaciated children and cracked barren earth that were beamed around the world during Bob Geldof's Live Aid concert in 1985. But there is much more to this ancient country than those lasting negative image stereotypes. So I'm really looking forward to debunking the myths and discovering Ethiopia for myself. If anyone wants to join me for my latest wild adventure, drop me a line!

Ghana guidebook giveaway

The new Bradt Travel Guide to Ghana which I updated late last year has finally hit the shelves of bookstores around the world. The most comprehensive English language guide to the country, I'm not totally biased in saying it is a must for first time travellers to this bewildering and bewitching West African destination. To celebrate I thought I'd give away a copy.

To win all you need to do is answer this simple question:

Who was the Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations for ten years?

The first person to provide the correct answer in the comments section of this post wins the guide (just make sure you include your email so I can contact you for an address to send the guide to).

Vote now for the world's most glamorous toilet

Luxurious loos, classy commodes, ritzy restrooms: which posh public potties get your cheek[s] of approval?

I'm currently compiling an article on the world's most glamorous toilets for MSN UK and am seeking recommendations. While the state of many public toilets will have you running for the restroom exit, there are those that make more than your pants drop. Nominations so far include: the luscious lobby loos at the Tremont Plaza Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland (pictured above) which feature imported marble, stately columns, grand chandeliers and hand carved woodwork; the wondrous washroom at the Langham Club in The Langham in Hong Kong where the door is padded in luxurious silver silk; the glitzy golden dunnies at Dolce & Gabbana's aptly named Gold Restaurant in Milan, and the throne-like toilets at Jack's Camp in Botswana.

If know of a fancy facility that'll flush away the competition (yes, more terrible toilet humour), then get your vote in now.

Cambodia Cycle Challenge update

Lance Armstrong I'm not, but as I raced to the finish line of the Cambodia Cycle Challenge – legs pumping, brow dripping – I could have been forgiven for thinking I was competing in the Tour de France. While there were no steep hills climbs, nasty roadside pile-ups nor crowds to cheer us on, as our eight-person all women cycling team rode through the entrance gate of Banteay Srey temple (fittingly known as the "citadel of the women") some 38km outside Siem Reap we felt just as exuberant as if we'd taken out first line honours.

The 10 day, 300km journey from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap to raise money for War Child Australia, certainly lived up to its challenge title. Cycling for hours on end in 40 degree plus heat was tough and there were plenty of times when I thought that I could not possibly go on (especially on the third day after I developed a nasty bout of travel belly that made cycling even more of a challenge). But somehow managing to find the inner strength to overcome such difficulties made the ride so much more special and seeing the smiling faces on the children at the orphanages and knowing that we had made a difference made it all worthwhile.

Together as a team we raised $25,000 for War Child Australia. For my part, thanks to the generous donations of my friends, family and many sponsors, in particular the Chamber of Commerce, the Lions Club, Downlands College, Mantra on Salt Beach and The Byron at Byron(see here for a full list), I personally raised just over $3,500.

So while I may not have won the yellow jersey (I wisely decided to wear my own), I achieved more than I could ever have imagined through this experience. For that I offer you all a very heartfelt thank you.

Picture: Me at the gate of Angkor Thom

New cycle challenge: Ride for the Rainforest

My dear friends, Krista Bernard and Dan Coward, who kindly trained with me in the build-up for my Cambodia War Child cycling adventure, are organising a new cycling challenge and are looking for participants. The 12 day Ride for the Rainforest Cycle Challenge running from 22 February to 5 March 2011 will traverse the beautiful island of Sri Lanka and raise money for Rainforest Rescue.

All you need to take part is a great sense of adventure...and a little cycling training of course. But if you're up for the challenge, you couldn't want for two better guides.

Krista has an indomitable cycling history. In Australia, she traversed the Nullarbor and Central Deserts on dirt tracks, has ridden down the east coast, and cycled around Tasmania. Pedalling 15,000km across 19 countries – from Indonesia to Egypt – won her the prestigious Young Adventurer of the Year Award in 2000 by the Australian Geographic Society.

Krista recently returned from an 8,811 kilometre expedition from London to the Himalayas with her partner Dan. It was inspired not only by Krista's first world cycle but by their mutual love for sustainable travel. At the same time, Krista and Dan raised much needed funds for Rainforest Rescue.

On Thursday 1 July, Krista and Dan will be giving a slide presentation of their cycle adventure from London to the Himalayas at the Mullumbimby Civic Hall at 6.30pm. See the photos and hear the stories – which may inspire you to take up the challenge to join them to Ride for the Rainforest in Sri Lanka next year. All proceeds from the evening go to Rainforest Rescue.

Can you ever be too old for backpacking?

Backpacking around the globe is a great adventure, especially when you are young and don't have any strings to tie you down. But with so many people putting off having families and travelling later in life, should there be an age limit on backpacking?

I was 27 years old when I set out on my first adventure-come-backpacking holiday – a month-long overland trip taking in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia. But it wasn't until a few years later, after I'd turned 30 and had landed a job with Lonely Planet, when I finally felt secure enough in myself to take off on my first real extended solo backpacking adventure - this time bussing and training my way around the lesser known parts of Eastern Europe. So as a bit of a late backpacking bloomer, I've usually always been the oldest person in the dorm.

Yet some 10 years on as I unpack my bags from my latest adventure in Cambodia I'm wondering if, at the ripe old age of 41 years, I'm starting to get a little too old for this? I've already traded in my traditional rucksack for a far more practical and convenient – and might I add less backbreaking – trolley backpack, so perhaps it's time I hang up my hiking boots and sign-up for a seniors' only bus tour of Europe?

For me, age always has been, and hopefully will always be, a number. But at the same time, as the years have marched on I've noticed the gap between myself and younger travellers at hostels is indeed widening – while they revel in all-night drinking parties and only crawl into their bunks just before dawn, I'd much rather find a hole-in-the-wall restaurant where I can enjoy a local meal along with a glass of wine (or two) and be in bed well before midnight. I also appreciate a few more luxuries, such as hygienic bathrooms and clean bed sheets, than I did when I was younger. But does this mean I should give hostels a wide berth?

Hostels of course offer a great budget alternative form of accommodation and they are excellent places to meet like-minded travellers. Yet while they were once the domain of drifters and students, today's hostels cater to the young and the young at heart with many dropping the "youth" tag and opening their doors to families and mature-age travellers. Granted I'd find screaming children as annoying as drunken teenagers and late night snorers, but no matter whether my dorm mates belong to Gen Y, Gen X or the Baby Boomers as long as they share my independent travelling spirit then, as far as I'm concerned, they can only make my hostelling experience richer.

Perhaps as Alison Brick once noted for Vagabonding in the end it's all just a matter of definition. That is, if to you the word backpacker means the party-all-night, sleep-all-day gap year student whose round-world trip drifts by in a drunken blur, then by all accounts my backpacking years are well behind me. But if you believe backpackers are in fact independent travellers who don't go in much for set itineraries, who avoid package tours and who relish the opportunity to get off the well-beaten tourist trail, then apparently I'll never be too old to be a backpacker.

Naturally I subscribe to the latter definition. So while I may well be the oldest person at the hostel, as long as I continue to enjoy the challenges and complexities of independent travel, I can’t see myself giving up backpacking anytime soon.

What do you think? Can you ever be too old for backpacking? I'l love to hear your thoughts.

Cambodia Challenge: Off and racing

Well, we are now halfway through the Cambodia Cycle Challenge for War Child Australia. If there is any one word that truly sums up the experience so far it is: 'uplifting'. Cycling in 40 plus degree heat has been tough and there have been times when I thought that I could not go on (especially on the third day when I developed a nasty bout of travel belly that made cycling even more of a challenge), but being able to overcome such difficulties has made the ride so much more special and seeing the smiling faces on the children at the orphanages and knowing that we are making a difference has made it all worthwhile.

Here are just a few photographs so far from the trip – one of our all-girl cycling team (above), a few of the children from the orphanage (below) and a photograph of our team with the students we taught English to at the middle school (bottom). More photos to follow soon. Thank you all so much for your support!