What's Dave Doing?

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What's Dave Doing? Wanderer for 20+ years, corporate escapee turned travel and tech writer. I’m Dave Dean. One or other of those things was going to have to give. This is my story.

For the last 10+ years I’ve been living and working from the road — but the travel addiction started long before that. Being born and raised in small town New Zealand provided me with the perfect beginnings for a life of travel. If there’s one thing guaranteed to make you want to get out and see the world, growing up in a little town in a little country at the bottom of the world is it. After finishing university and somehow falling into a technology career, I started my wanderings in the same way that many Antipodeans do — packing a few things into a backpack and heading for London. Starting was easy, but stopping has been much harder — although lord knows I’ve given it a go. Several times I’ve tried to settle down, buying houses, cars, pets and all of the trappings of a more traditional life. Try as I might, though, that never quite worked for me, and after a year or two I’d find myself back travelling once again. After thirteen years of juggling a corporate career and a backpack, I eventually figured out what I probably should have known all along — this wasn’t something I could keep doing forever. I am inspired by life on the road like nothing else I’ve ever experienced. After over a decade of trying to deny it, I finally realised that it was just where I had to be.

Portuguese missionaries. Dutch traders. Christians who hid their faith for 250 years, and a Scottish merchant who helped...
04/10/2026

Portuguese missionaries. Dutch traders. Christians who hid their faith for 250 years, and a Scottish merchant who helped topple the shogunate. None of this is what comes to mind when most of us hear the name Nagasaki, and until recently, it wasn’t what came to mind for me either.

Instead, I knew it only as the second Japanese city hit by an atomic bomb in 1945. There’s no getting away from that history here, but as I quickly found out, it’s far from the whole story.

It turned out to be far more interesting (and far more attractive) than I'd expected before we got there, so I put this guide together to help anyone else who's thinking about visiting. If you're planning a trip to Kyushu (and you should be, because it's great), definitely include Nagasaki on your itinerary!

I had a long list of places I wanted to visit in and around Beijing while I was there, and it's probably no surprise tha...
22/09/2026

I had a long list of places I wanted to visit in and around Beijing while I was there, and it's probably no surprise that right at the top of the list was the Great Wall of China.

I had a vision in my head of an endless, empty stone wall stretching to the horizon, winding up hills and down valleys as far as my eyes could see, with just the whistling of the wind for company.

Every photo I'd seen of huge crowds at Badaling and Mutianyu, the two most popular sections of the wall, suggested that vision probably wouldn't be very close to reality. Surely there had to be a better option?

As it turned out, there was. Because it's further away and harder to get to, Jinshanling sees just a tiny fraction of Great Wall visitors. As far as I'm concerned, everyone else is missing out: this was *easily* the standout highlight of my time in Beijing.

If you'd also like to visit the Great Wall with hardly anyone around, or just want to see some pretty photos of one of the great wonders of the world, I've got just the guide for you. 😃

Heading to Beijing for the first time and slightly concerned (as I was) about making it to your hotel without a minor me...
17/09/2026

Heading to Beijing for the first time and slightly concerned (as I was) about making it to your hotel without a minor meltdown? I've written up this guide for getting from Capital Airport to downtown Beijing in an attempt keep the stress levels nice and low! 😄

Everything you need to know about getting from Beijing Capital Airport to downtown: modes of transport, prices, routes, navigation, and more.

I honestly wasn't expecting all that much from my time in Singapore, coming as it did right at the end of a long trip th...
15/09/2026

I honestly wasn't expecting all that much from my time in Singapore, coming as it did right at the end of a long trip that had been full of many other highlights.

How wrong I was! I barely stopped moving the entire time I was there, packing in attraction after attraction and eating incredibly well, and I collapsed into my seat exhausted but exhilarated as I boarded my flight home.

With that in mind, I've put together this detailed itinerary so that you, too, can make the absolute most of a few days in this remarkable city-state. Hope it's useful!

Visiting Singapore and want to make the absolute most of it? Here's everything you need to know to craft the perfect three-day itinerary!

When I was back in the UK a couple of months ago, I had a week spare to tackle another multi-day walk. This time around ...
13/08/2026

When I was back in the UK a couple of months ago, I had a week spare to tackle another multi-day walk. This time around it was the Dales Way, which spends most of its time in either the Yorkshire Dales or the Lake District, two particularly lovely parts of northern England.

Mostly flat, easy walking beside various rivers, through stunning empty countryside, and past old country pubs just begging you to walk through their doors, I can *highly* recommend this six-day stroll to anyone looking for the perfect introduction to long-distance walking!

All you need to know about the Dales Way, a wonderful 80-mile walk in the Yorkshire Dales and the perfect intro to long-distance walking.

Singapore's Changi airport is the best in the world, and it's not even close. I spent 8+ hours there before my late-nigh...
04/08/2026

Singapore's Changi airport is the best in the world, and it's not even close. I spent 8+ hours there before my late-night flight a few weeks ago, and still only just managed to squeeze in everything I wanted to see and do!

Singapore's Changi Airport is the best in the world, and it's not even close. Here's how to rock your layover there no matter how long it is!

All going well, I'd never have been able to write this review. I didn't start the South West Coast Path carrying a one-p...
16/07/2026

All going well, I'd never have been able to write this review. I didn't start the South West Coast Path carrying a one-person tent, but sadly I finished with one. On the upside, I discovered that a hundred bucks gets you a hell of a lot of tent if you buy the right one!

After 22 nights under canvas in Naturehike's Cloud Up 1, I'm very impressed by just how much tent you get for so little money.

To finish up my articles about the South West Coast Path, I've just hit publish on this comprehensive guide to what was,...
07/04/2026

To finish up my articles about the South West Coast Path, I've just hit publish on this comprehensive guide to what was, as I'm sure you've gathered by now, an incredible walk.

It's a more high-level view than the daily guides I've been writing, with details on things like costs, accommodation, food and drink, and a whole lot more. If you've been at all tempted to walk the path yourself after all the updates and guides I've been sharing for the last few months, you'll want to bookmark this one!

That'll be it for SWCP articles for now: 160,000 words is a lot of writing on one subject! 😄

Everything you need to know about walking the South West Coast Path, a 630+ mile National Trail around the southwest coast of the UK.

And done!!It took me seven weeks to walk the South West Coast Path, and five months to write 150,000 words about it! 🙃 M...
01/04/2026

And done!!

It took me seven weeks to walk the South West Coast Path, and five months to write 150,000 words about it! 🙃 Madness, but hopefully worth it for anyone else who wants to tackle this incredible walk.

Make a cup of your favourite beverage, start at day 1, and settle in. The first half of each post is the story of that day's walking, the second half is planning and logistical information for anyone thinking about doing it themselves.

Enjoy!

My detailed guides to walking each day of the South West Coast Path, over 630 miles from Minehead to South Haven Point.

Week five of the South West Coast Path in the bag! Writing about it, that is.This week was bookended by some absolutely ...
20/02/2026

Week five of the South West Coast Path in the bag! Writing about it, that is.

This week was bookended by some absolutely terrible weather, even if it had plenty of glorious sunshine in the middle. It started just outside Falmouth, where I got the most drenched I've been on any day of this walk, and finished in Plymouth,on a day when 100kmh winds and rain meant ferries weren't running and forced a sudden change of plans!

What's that, you say? Summer is over?

My detailed guides to walking each day of the South West Coast Path, over 630 miles from Minehead to South Haven Point.

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