Neil Bennion's Blog, page 4

The Agony of Large Denomination Banknotes

I want to talk to you about a problem that afflicts pretty much everyone in the world with a bank account, and even plenty without. It’s an extremely grave problem, and definitely not just a minor annoyance that I’m blowing out of all proportion.

I want to talk to you about ATMs, and the notes they give you.

The Problem

It’s a common thing the world over, and especially problematic for travellers. You go to a cash machine hoping for a small wad of spendable notes, and instead it gives you one...

San Marino – The Mini Guide to a Microstate

I went to the tiny countryof San Marino recently, on a bit of a jolly. Here’s a list of things that relate to it. Read this and you won’t even have to go there. Though you still should.

It’s a country

If you’re on some egotistical mission to visit all the countries in the world, then you’ll have to pass through here at some point. It’s a bona fide country in its own right and one of the 193 UN member states.

Here’s a gratuitous photograph of the national flag.

It’s very small

It has a popula...

Getting a San Marino Tourist Visa

At the tourist office in San Marino – the tiny enclave within Italy – you can get a tourist visa for 5. But is it really worth it?

Certainly, most visitors don’t need it – San Marino has an open border with Italy, so if you got as far as the tourist office atop Monte Titano then you’re probably allowed to be there anyway.But that doesn’t stop people queuing up to get them.

More on how you do that further down.

Should you pay for a visa you don’t need?

I really wasn’t sure if I should get one...

24 Hours in Olomouc – One of Those Proper Travel Articles

I probably goof about too much, so I’ve decided for a change to write a proper travel article, like the ones you see in magazines and newspapers.

I’ve just come back from the beautiful town of Olomouc in the Moravia region of the Czech Republic, so let’s run with that.

Breakfast

Go to Cafe Sant’ Angelo on Denisova street for their one of their renowned breakfasts. On arriving, discover that the kitchen is closed, so it’s cake or nothing. Bump into a couple of English teachers on the street ou...

Anatomy of an Indie Book Launch Event

Book launch events for traditionally published authors are quite common, but not so much for indie authors.

And one thing about being indie-published is that it’s all down to the author. If you (the author) don’t organise a launch event, then who will?

As Dancing Feat was my first published book, I decided I wanted to have a proper launch – after all, it might be the only time I ever do it. And if that’s the case, it’s better to do it for the first book than, say, the ninth.

I decided to organis...

New Book: 47 Amazing Things to See and Do in Colombia

Okay, so I’ve released a new (and completely free) ebook –47 Amazing Things to See and Do in Colombia.

As the (admittedlysomewhat hyperbolic) name suggests, it’s a list of cool things to do in Colombia. It’s based largely on the knowledge I gained when I was out there writing Dancing Feat, and it’s a quick read, being only about 16,000 words (Dancing Feat is 136,000).

You can download it for free at the following places:

– Amazon – Kindle(.mobi)

– Kobo(.epub)

– Barnes and Noble – Nook(.epub)

– Smas...

Why You Will Fail at Your New Year’s Resolutions

The start of a new year can be great. People (well, some of us) feel all optimistic and can’t wait to bound off into the land of new opportunity like a fresh-eyed puppy. This is it! This is the year!

I’m like this right now. I feel super-motivated and ready to take one the world. I honestly love it – I find it a really positive time. I get to combine doing zero work with staring dreamily into the future.

It’s also a time of year we (be it naturally due to said state, or because of tradition) re...

Why You Should Go Somewhere Cold This Winter

A couple of years ago I made a mistake. I decided to go to Poland for the winter. But that wasn’t the mistake – the mistake was losing my nerve and leaving.

Let me explain.

I’d decided to go to check out Poland as a place to live for a while, following a tip-off from my brother-in-law. Winter was coming (and in my head, ‘Poland’ equated to ‘cold’) but I felt in a rut and needed out of the UK. I ended up in the city of Wroclaw, hanging out in a hostel whilst I sorted myself out.

What happened nex...

When First-Class Travel Is Worth It [VIDEO]

I’ve spent a surprising amount of time in my life trying to get work done on public transport. And on a recent faff-tour of Poland I came to the conclusion that there’s a secret weapon which, if you’re willing to pay for it, makes a big difference.

Travelling first class.

I know how ridiculously that sounds. It’s a bit like saying “I recently test drove lots of cars, and found that expensive ones are the best.”But stick with it, because my experience is that, if you’re trying to get work done,...

18 Things I Learnt from a 48-Hour eBook Challenge

Last weekend, Karol Gajdaand I took on the challenge of writing – and publishing – a short (5-10k words) ebook in 48 hours.

There are books out there called things like “Java in 24 Hours”. But that isn’t a real 24 hours – it’s 24 individual lessons of an hour or less. You couldn’t actually learn the programming language Java in a day, not even a long day with infinite coffee, free shoulders rubs and somebody stood over you yelling “WRITE THE DAMN BOOK!”

Karol’s idea (itself based on something J...