Philadelphia, Pensylvania

I’m going to be perfectly honest and say that Philadelphia wasn’t high on my list of desired destinations when I was planning my trip around the USA.

The city of brotherly love as it’s known, snuck into my itinerary under the radar as a means of breaking up the journey between Washington and my final destination of New York city and despite only spending two nights here, I’ve developed an affinity for the place.

Philadelphia is a relatively big city with a population of over a million, but it really doesn’t feel this way as all the sites are within walking distance of each other.

Having spent near enough the entirety of my trip in hostels and with the only hostel in the city being booked up, I decided to try Couchsurfing and it’s been a pretty cool experience.

For those who don’t know what Couchsurfing is, it’s where travellers ‘host’ other travellers and let them sleep on sofas, spare beds or other available space.

My first Couchsurfing experience was my final night in Washington where I stayed with Danielle and we had a lovely evening. Upon arrival in Philly I headed to Rob’s apartment and he immediately made me welcome by taking me along to a gathering with several of his friends. Rob rents a cosy apartment right downtown and even a brutal allergic reaction to his cat didn’t prevent us from striking up a friendship.

Right now I write from Suzanna’s spacious apartment she shares with her highly amusing son. Here I have a basement room to myself which is pretty much a luxury compared to the packed dorms I’ve stayed in over the last month and a half.

Tomorrow I head to New York to meet Mum and Dad on what is the final leg of an incredible journey.

Free Press

It's pretty much a commonly known fact that North Korea is a highly secretive state where the government uses fear of extreme violence to force its people to conform.

The state also uses its control over the media as a way of brainwashing the younger generations. If a child grows up watching the tv of the state, surfing the internet controlled by the state, and listens to the radio of the state, then they'll have little other information with which to form an opinion on the world.

I think this goes a long way to explaining the mass hysteria the people have for their leader. Despite the fact that much of the population is well below the poverty line, Kim Jong-un is portrayed in a god like way by the guys who control what is effectively propaganda.

Just minutes ago I learnt that 80 people were executed by the North Korean firing squad for allegedly watching foreign films, something unthinkable in the West.

This leads me on to an interesting fact that I discovered at one of the Newseum's fascinating exhibits. Only one in six people live in a country where the press is free to report whatever they wish. 

I imagined that the majority of the developed world would benefit from free press. Not so, pretty much only northern Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and the odd other country do so. Most of Eastern Europe, Africa, South America and other areas have some form of restrictions in place to control the people.

At home, criticizing politicians is common place and I can't imagine living in a country where by doing such you would risk imprisonment or possibly an even worst fate.

I also discovered that there is a country that operates in a similar way to North Korea, but has slipped under the radar of the world's media.

Turkmenistan has a population that is starving and all this despite the fact that the country sits on huge gas and oil reserves. Soldiers also patrol the internet cafes in the cities, peering over the shoulders of customers checking for any hint of Western internet. 

Food for thought in a world which most people to consider to be largely free.

Washington DC

Prior to arrival I knew little about Washington DC, other than that it was the centre of the complex political cobweb that is the United States of America.

Despite being home to the White House and various other buildings of national importance, what lies beneath this is similar to several other American cities.

Washington, like many cities, has a large Latino population and my trip to the launderette turned into a crash course on Spanish washing machines and many of the smaller businesses are also ran by immigrants chasing the American dream.

After falling into the 'drinking crowd' at my hostel in Boston, it was to the relief of my liver and bank balance that the hostel that I'm staying in here is somewhat of a quiet one. Alcohol consumption has been kept to a minimum although much to the amusement of the hostel staff, I misread directions to a Salvadorian restaurant and managed to end up at a Mexican restaurant more renowned for drugs and prostitution rather than food, but although my welcome was less than friendly, the food wasn't actually that bad.

The main reasons to come to Washington are undoubtedly the monuments and museums that line the National Mall. The State Building, White House and Lincoln Memorial are all spectacular and come to life when illuminated during darkness hours.

I have also thoroughly enjoyed three of the many museum within the city, many of which are free. In my first afternoon I took in the National History Museum and the Holocaust Museum, both of which were interesting for completely different reasons, however I definitely saved the best until last.

I was strongly advised to visit the Newseum and initially the $25 admission sent it tumbling straight to the bottom of my to-do list. However, I was finally persuaded and it was without a doubt the best $25 I've spent in a while.

The museum is spread over six floors and I took in exhibits on a number of subjects that are of great interest to me. These subjects included the Berlin Wall, a history of sports coverage, the Pulitzer photography prize, the free press and photojournalism (more of which to follow) and of course, Anchorman and Ron Burgundy.

The fact they have an exhibit on one of my favourite films made me a very happy man. In one afternoon I only managed to cover 3/6 floors, so tomorrow I'll be heading back to finish the jo as the ticket is valid over two days.

Boston, Massachusetts

After two flights and a complete backpack reshuffle, which meant digging out my coat and hat in place of shorts and flip-flops, I arrived in Boston Massachusetts.

Naturally, after just over a month in California, Texas and Louisiana, the biting cold of Boston did come as a bit of a shock. However despite having to dress up like the Michelin Man, Boston is undoubtedly a place worth visiting.  

Prior to my arrival, my preconceived idea of Boston was that of an important component of America's history, and also a place with strong Irish roots and I was pretty much bang on accurate with both assessments.

Pretty much straight away I bumped into a few guys and formed a pretty cool and contrasting group. I struck up a friendship with a like-minded Dane (a lovely guy who likes football) and a chap from Colorado who has proved to be one of the most interesting characters I've ever met. Oh and we also picked up an Irish guy along the way too.

This guy possesses a thick Southern accent, drives a pick-up truck and used to ride a horse from his ranch to school, but rather than being a country bumpkin who never leaves the country, this guy speaks five languages, has traveled a good proportion of the world and knows facts about everything under the sun. 

The first day we took the subway into the city of Boston and walked the Freedom Trail. The trail takes in many of Boston's sights and several that played a major part in the American Revolution. Although the walk got a little chilly as the afternoon wore on, we were treated to the beautiful Autumn colours as the leaves fell in the parks. 

Boston is a pristine city, with even the high-rise buildings looking good aesthetically and with the parks and harbour all located within walking distance, Boston is a city of contrasts.

The nightlife has the vibe of a young city, perhaps a result of Harvard and other such colleges located within the city, and the bars we experienced downtown on a Friday night were packed solid all night.

The following morning, after downing numerous bottles of water in an attempt to drown out the excesses of the night before, we traveled to the nearby town of Salem.

Salem is a town famous for a series of witch trials and hangings many years ago. After taking in the interactive museum and local brewery, we headed back into Boston for which proved to be a slightly strange night.

After experiencing the nightlife of the inner city the previous night, me and my comrades decided to keep it local and headed to a Brazilian bar down the street. As if being the only English guys in a Brazilian bar wasn't strange enough, we headed to a Colombian nightclub for the remainder of the night.

Walking in, we were greeted by puzzled stares from the locals and as we proceeded downstairs, it was plainly obvious that we were completely out of our comfort zone primarily because we had absolutely no concept of the salsa/tango dance, so we took the safe option and sat back and drank beer while the locals tango'd the night away. 

Boston has been great fun but I'm looking to grabbing an early night tonight after another afternoon spent walking, this time around Harvard, which was as expected full of nerds.

Next stop Washington DC.