About Andy

I like to travel and I like to write. Putting the two together seems like the best way to earn a living doing what I enjoy.

20 years of work in one  sentence

My working life has included 10 years working as an optometrist, a couple of years as a technical manager for a group of laser eye clinics, a year in a New York medical office, two years out to complete a full-time MBA and three years in a crisis management role within the travel industry.

A life of travel

I have visited somewhere between 75 and 95 countries, depending on what you define as a country and how you define a visit. Do I care about pathetic superficial nonsense such as getting to 100 countries by the age of 50? Maybe a little bit.

501 Places

I’d like to tell you the special story about why this site is called 501 Places. Sadly, there isn’t one. I chose the name without any great thought (I didn’t even check if the web address was available) and by the time I wondered whether I should stick with it, it was too painful to change.

I have deliberately made this a non-commercial site. That means as a reader you won’t be faced with links to cheap car parking, bargain hotels or fish spas. Similarly if you want me to advertise any of the above or link to your site then you will be wasting your time in writing to me. I don’t reply to unsolicited enquiries (except maybe if you have a fish spa).

How do I make any money?

I write for travel companies and tourism organisations producing content for their websites, blogs and magazines. You can find links to some of my existing client work by clicking the Client Blogs tab on the menu above and samples of past work on the Portfolio page.