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An introduction to tejo, Colombia’s best sport you’ve never heard of. Of all the drinking games you’ve played in your life, how many have involved gunpowder? Over the years, Colombians have readily adopted a game called tejo as their national sport

I was only supposed to spend a few weeks backpacking Colombia. Instead, this magical country completely pulled me in – I ended up spending three months backpacking Colombia, and a further two months putting down roots to live in Medellin

The reason I’d decided to go flying on a hangover was in order to see the infamous Nazca Lines of Peru, which lie in a huge stretch of desert 200km away from the capital city of Lima. As I followed the tiny shadow of our plane edging closer to the huge outline of a condor, I felt like the strangest sort of tourist: looking down on modern technology and ancient ritual, separated by centuries yet sitting literally side by side. It’s sobering to realise that these ancient markings have lasted for hundreds of years but modern-day activity is repeatedly jeopardising them. From my Cessna window seat, I could almost pretend I was seeing the hundreds of Nazca people creating these designs for the first time.

There’s nothing quite like India’s Holi Festival. The idea of celebrating Holi in rural India was a fascinating one, and my friends and I jumped straight into action: heading for the local markets to buy clothes specifically for the occasion, and grabbing little bags of powder from stalls set up outside the Orchha fortress. Little children’s footprints left red and orange smudges where they stepped, and a rickshaw driver’s dusty purple hair contrasted with the pink streaks on his shirt. The freedom you feel when celebrating Holi Festival Getting covered with coloured powder may not sound like much, but there’s an unexpected joy to be had during Holi festivities.