Visiting the Smallest Town in the World (Hum, Croatia)

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With a population variously quoted at 17, 18 and 23, the tiny medieval travel wonder of Hum on the Istrian peninsula in western Croatia is officially listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the smallest town in the world. Such a moniker swells this village of little more than a dozen grey stone houses with hundreds of visitors in the summer months. The overcast spring day that I visited, there seemed to be no more than twenty people in the town (and let’s face it, you could see both streets standing in one place in the mini main square).

The size of the town belies its rich history of around a thousand years. Its town walls and fortifications remind people of the regular battles fought over the centuries.

The Church of St Jerolim is richly adorned with fragments of brightly coloured 800 year old religious frescoes and is overseen by an impressive bell tower.

Hum’s main claim is as the final point on the Glagolitic Trail, a walking path through a number of small villages over seven kilometres with eleven significant points of interest which commemorates this ancient Croatian script. The Glagolitic alphabet was introduced in the ninth century by Saint Cyril to translate the bible into the local Slavic language. While this script has faded into obscurity, this same saint was associated with and has named after him the Cyrillic alphabet (used by a number of languages including Russian, Serbian and Bulgarian).


In Hum, a large copper door guards the entrance to the main stone passage into the town. The door includes words of welcome on the large door knockers and twelve shields symbolising the calendar months. Through the passageway are a number of stone tablets with ancient Glagolitic engravings.


The small village pub offers a homebrewed aromatic brandy called humska biska made from an ancient secret recipe which incorporates a cocktail of herbs including white mistletoe. The locals claim is has strong medicinal qualities with curative powers for a whole host of internal issues including high blood pressure. It certainly provides a relaxing afternoon tipple overlooking the olive fields and vineyards dreaming of what life must have been in this little Croatian hamlet, now a modern travel wonder with the impressive billing of smallest town in the world.

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Photo of the Week - Hey, Good Looking!

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This most majestic brown bear is caught in a reflective moment in the spectacular Misty Fjords National Monument of South-East Alaska.

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Belgian Pride?

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Many years ago, travelling in Belgium, I heard a story in a pub about Camel cigarettes. This happy-go-lucky life-of-the-party soul pulled a packet from his pocket and proudly said that the designer of this packet was a Belgian and that he had left proof. I’m not a smoker but had a careful look at the packet and couldn’t see anything.


He asked me if I’d seen Manneken Pis near the main square in Brussels. Like all tourists, I had wandered pass and taken the obligatory snapshot. I didn’t have the heart to mention that I was a little underwhelmed as it was smaller than I thought it would be and looked a little worse for wear. Mind you, visitors thronged around it and flashlights shot like a movie star was walking down the red carpet.

There appear to be a number of stories surrounding the origin of the statue. The most popular holds that this small boy extinguished the fuses of explosives setup by an attacking army using the most natural of means, thereby saving Brussels.

Anyway, there is a claim that the creative artist behind the imagery on the packet of Camel cigarettes was a Belgian. He strongly disliked the head of marketing and to spite him, he hid an image of the famous Belgian symbol in the upper front leg of the camel to forever highlight Belgium in this cigarette's most enduring symbol. The folks at Camel have never confirmed this and consider it as nothing more than people’s imagination.

I couldn’t see the image until it was pointed out to me. Having stated that, there does appear to be a strong likeness - the right arm on the boys' hip and the left arm directing the flow.

What do you think? Can you see a likeness? Is it beyond a coincidence?

Climbing the Coathanger (Sydney, Australia)

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Harry Potter and James Bond have done it. So have Prince Harry and tennis great, Martina Navratilova. Even Cameron Diaz managed it with her typical glamour and style. Not sure what you are thinking, but I am talking about climbing to the top of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Groups of around a dozen embark on this journey every ten minutes. From afar, they look like trails of ants eagerly beavering towards the sugary-sweet highlight of standing atop this metal meccano giant (at 134 metres above the water) and savouring the luscious view along Sydney’s majestic natural harbour. On clear days, the vista extends well past the heads of the harbour and inland to the hazy Blue Mountains. On top of the world, you can gaze over the ferries of Circular Quay, the patrons of the glistening Sydney Opera House and the stunning Sydney skyline. Below cars hasten across this thoroughfare while trains rattle across every few minutes, bringing a gentle shudder across the entire bridge.

Priced at an eye-watering A$180 (it only costs a car $3 to drive across and it is free to walk across at road level), it is an exhilarating experience to walk up ladders and around the girders and supports of this critical transport link, previously only accessible to the bridge painters and workmen. The price includes a group photo and a certificate to remind you of the adventure.

Initially security seems harsher than at airports, though it is performed with far greater humour and good will. No jewellery, loose clothing, cameras, coins or wallets are allowed and pockets must be empty. You clamber into a pair of less than flattering but comfortable grey and blue overalls and sign a disclosure saying if you fall off, then it is your own fault. Mind you, you quickly find out that it would be difficult to manage as you are permanently clipped onto the bridge. Caps, headphones (to hear the guide’s description and instructions) and sunglasses (and wet weather gear if needed) are fixed onto your overalls. The guides jauntily describe data about the bridge such as the bridge contains over six million rivets.

Stepping through a metal detector to ensure that you really don’t have any secreted metal objects and a breathalyser test is conducted to ensure that you are sufficiently sober to climb (you must meet the same standard as a driver of a car), a final briefing is offered before you embark on the climb.

The entire tour runs for around three hours and is a treasured way to experience this most elegant travel wonder and view the glistening blue waters of Sydney Harbour. After all Harry Potter and James Bond would only see Sydney in the best possible manner!

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Photo of the Week - Pothole (Africa)

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Hitching a ride on a truck through central Africa, you witness some superb natural scenery but possibly have to experience what must be the worst roads in the world. With potholes large enough to swallow a bull elephant, the trucks support each other with tows to ensure passage through these treacherous roads.

Sadly, this photo is taken not a long way from Goma, in east Congo, which has made the news for all the wrong reasons. Civil war again is killing and starving people in this most majestic mountainous area.

Your body gets battered and bruised but the chance to experience Africa's greatest travel wonders makes it all worth while, even if it takes a fair few days to cover only a short distance.

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