Blog of Sam Fox

(Not page 3, popstar, politician, pornstar, or phoenix professional)
USA

New Orleans: Swamps, Food, Booze and All That Jazz

New Orleans has been on my bucket list for a long time, I think what initially started the wish...
Read more
USA

Exploring the Enchanting Swamps and Vibrant Music Scene of New Orleans

I wrote this blog post about New Orleans with the help of ChatGPT, which fed the itinerary to create...
Read more
Africa, Kilimanjaro

One foot in front of the other all the way to Uhuru Peak (and down)

The next two days are going to blend, in 36 hours we will have added over 6K feet in...
Read more
Africa, Kilimanjaro

Last of the 'easy' days as going gets tougher but home comforts help

“Day four! Half way done”. This is the first line in my notebook that I wrote in my tent...
Read more
Africa, Kilimanjaro

The scenic route up Kilimanjaro

This is post 2 of 4 in the series “Kilimanjaro” Kick-off for Kili The scenic route up Kilimanjaro Last...
Read more
USA
New Orleans: Swamps, Food, Booze and All That Jazz
USA
Exploring the Enchanting Swamps and Vibrant Music Scene of New Orleans
Africa, Kilimanjaro
One foot in front of the other all the way to Uhuru Peak (and down)
Africa, Kilimanjaro
Last of the 'easy' days as going gets tougher but home comforts help
Africa, Kilimanjaro
The scenic route up Kilimanjaro
New Orleans from Muriels balcony
USA

New Orleans: Swamps, Food, Booze and All That Jazz

May 21, 2023
  1. Exploring the Enchanting Swamps and Vibrant Music Scene of New Orleans
  2. New Orleans: Swamps, Food, Booze and All That Jazz

With all the focus on AI at the moment I thought it would be fun to try and get ChatGPT to write my New Orleans blogpost for me. It didn’t quite capture the trip but made a good effort. You can read the AI version by following this link, and my version below:

New Orleans has been on my bucket list for a long time, I think what initially started the wish to go there was seeing the film Chef. After I moved to New York in 2014 it was an analytics team outing to go and see the film. It’s become one of my favourite films, with the music, food, and comedy a perfect formula. As I heard more about New Orleans it cemented its place on my bucket list.

Continue reading
Leave a comment
Kayaking in a swamp, image created by AI
USA

Exploring the Enchanting Swamps and Vibrant Music Scene of New Orleans

May 21, 2023
  1. Exploring the Enchanting Swamps and Vibrant Music Scene of New Orleans
  2. New Orleans: Swamps, Food, Booze and All That Jazz

I wrote this blog post about New Orleans with the help of ChatGPT, which fed the itinerary to create the content. While trying to edit the tone, I realized that the initial version was the best one, so I decided to go with it. I did ask it to make two more edits after I input it into WordPress. The first was SEO tips, the second was to reduce the use of passive voice. To really push it, I use Dall:E to compose the images to go into the post. As a comparison, you can find my personal blog on New Orleans here.

During our recent visit to New Orleans, we had the chance to explore some of the city’s most famous attractions and activities, with a particular focus on the enchanting swamps and vibrant music scene. Our stay was at the Virgin Hotel, a modern and elegant property located in the heart of the city, providing us with the perfect base for our adventures.

Continue reading
Leave a comment
Africa, Kilimanjaro

One foot in front of the other all the way to Uhuru Peak (and down)

March 20, 2023
  1. Kick-off for Kili
  2. The scenic route up Kilimanjaro
  3. Last of the ‘easy’ days as going gets tougher but home comforts help
  4. One foot in front of the other all the way to Uhuru Peak (and down)

Day 6: Karanga Camp (3,935m/13,106ft) to Barafu Camp (4,650m/15,331ft)

The next two days are going to blend, in 36 hours we will have added over 6K feet in altitude to reach Kilimanjaro summit/Uhuru Peak and descend another 6-7K feet. All of this will be done with maybe 3-4 hours sleep.

Continue reading
Leave a comment
Africa, Kilimanjaro

Last of the ‘easy’ days as going gets tougher but home comforts help

March 18, 2023
  1. Kick-off for Kili
  2. The scenic route up Kilimanjaro
  3. Last of the ‘easy’ days as going gets tougher but home comforts help
  4. One foot in front of the other all the way to Uhuru Peak (and down)

Day Four: Shira Two camp (3,810m/12,500ft) to Baranco Hut (3,950m/13,106ft)

“Day four! Half way done”. This is the first line in my notebook that I wrote in my tent knackered after quite a day climbing to Lava Tower. And on the Kilimanjaro tour company website, it’s described as the “last of the ‘easy days’”. Easy days?!

Despite the claims of an ‘easy day’ it was going to be one of the longest days and the peak altitude would take us above 14K feet for the first time. With the landscape changing the paths widened as well and we found ourselves less single-file.

Continue reading
Leave a comment
Shira One Camp
Africa, Kilimanjaro

The scenic route up Kilimanjaro

March 6, 2023
  1. Kick-off for Kili
  2. The scenic route up Kilimanjaro
  3. Last of the ‘easy’ days as going gets tougher but home comforts help
  4. One foot in front of the other all the way to Uhuru Peak (and down)

Day One: Londorossi Gate (2,220m/6,825ft) to Mt Mkubwa (2,800m/9,100ft)

There are several different routes to take up Kilimanjaro, our Lemosho route is the most scenic route, and at 8 days is one of the longer routes. People come here without proper training and try and do it in 5 days – what’s the point? Throughout the Kili hike, EBC was a reference for me, it is my only other high-altitude hike, but one of the best things about that trip was the scenery and the journey (will try not to talk about the worst things!).

Continue reading
Leave a comment
Team pre-departure
Africa, Kilimanjaro

Kick-off for Kili

March 5, 2023
  1. Kick-off for Kili
  2. The scenic route up Kilimanjaro
  3. Last of the ‘easy’ days as going gets tougher but home comforts help
  4. One foot in front of the other all the way to Uhuru Peak (and down)

Gathering the groups

“Let me know what you think about Kilimanjaro and if you’d be up for it in Feb 2023”. That was just over a year ago in January 2022 when Beth messaged me. Back in 2016 I, along with 6 others, climbed Everest Base Camp. The aim was to create another small group to do Kili.

“It looks really good, very tempted”

Kilimanjaro was going to be nearly 2K feet higher than Everest Base Camp, which gave me some thought. I’d struggled with the altitude at times on EBC , as had another member of the original EBC crew. In the end, our Kili group was 8 people, Beth, Ollie, and myself part of the same crew from 2016. Now it was time to kick off the preparation.

Continue reading
Leave a comment
Grand Canyon at sunset
USA

Vegas? Casinos, no. Road Trip, yes.

August 19, 2021

Back in June, we found ourselves somewhere neither of us really wanted to be. Las Vegas. So we hired a car and took a mini road trip from Vegas, west to the Grand Canyon.

I had flown into Las Vegas to join Danielle who had already been there for a few days with work. Her team were representing a new hotel/casino, Resorts World, which was opening on the strip. I’ve never had much interest in visiting Vegas, nowhere close to the top of the list of places to visit, but when opportunity strikes…

Continue reading
Leave a comment
Caribbean, North America

Quarantine in Paradise

February 21, 2021

14 days in the Caribbean sun? Or, 14 days in the bitterly cold New York winter? Could be a hard choice, or no choice at all. In more ways than one!

I’d just dropped Danielle off at Heathrow and was on the way home when I realised I had a missed call from Danielle. My first thought was, did Danielle leave her passport? Or, maybe the flight was delayed/cancelled? But then wouldn’t there be more panicked signs? Multiple missed calls, a text message? Maybe it was a butt/pocket dial.  

Continue reading
1 Comment
USA

England raised, New England engaged

January 23, 2021

The beating Mediterranean sun, golden beaches, rugged hiking trails, French wine, and fresh seafood. That was the idea. We’d celebrate a friend’s wedding in Toulouse then travel onto Corsica to enjoy a summer holiday…and our engagement. Unfortunately, all plans got postponed.

Continue reading
2 Comments