Have you ever dreamt of filming yourself engaging in action sports, like surfing, skateboarding or skiing? No? Me neither. Although I’ve always loved a walk on the wild side, especially on a new continent, any action I couldn’t easily capture on my Canon EOS SLR (which comes with me everywhere) was happily confined to memories inside my head. However this year, I finally succumbed to the technological seduction and slick marketing and got myself a GoPro. And the verdict is: It’s fun, and great for travellers. Read more →
Life is a Roadtrip through Southern England
England never interested me until recently. My early backpacking days were filled with mountains and ice and snow and golden-skinned Scandinavian goddesses, and wild parties and cheap beer in hot, humid locales in South-East Asia. (Or at least that’s my rose-tinged reflection.) England didn’t seem exotic enough for this Aussie, the cultural appeal of a plate of fish and soggy chips cooked by a man named Roger and eaten on a sodden shingle beach in the rain. Of course, I was merely ignorant of the fact that England is brilliant. A fog of mortality and reflection shrouded my journey through the motherland. Read more →
How to Leave London
Last week, we ruminated over things to do in London. In keeping with the English theme, this week Alyssa James of Alyssa Writes gives us some options for London day trips – getting out of the city and seeing the surrounding countryside. There is enough going on in London to keep anyone occupied for a lifetime, but, if you’re looking for a change of pace and can only spare a day or two, here are some day trips you can make to see more of England. Read more →
18 Cool Things to Do in London
“Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”
— Samuel Johnson
Thus spake Johnson to his distinguished biographer James Boswell, and though the words are over 200 years old, they might equally well apply to any age. For London is and has always been one of those places where you can experience the complete spectrum of human possibility. Centre of an empire for centuries, from history to the arts to the sciences, London is a place where you can see, do, and find anything- a world unto itself. If you however, unlike Johnson, will measure your stay in London in the days rather than the years, you’ll want to quickly sort the wheat from the chaff and avoid the touristy riff raff. This list par excellence will help you decide what to check out. Read more →
List of Countries I Have Visited … Plus a Photo for Each
I awoke from the deepest, darkest sleep on the softest pillow and found myself staring out the window of a hotel in disbelief as the last red rays of the sun drifted below the clouds. Wow, I thought, that’s the most beautiful sunset I ever saw. But the bed was unfamiliar and it was far too early in my mind for the sun to be setting. Hang on a second, I thought- where am I?
I am often asked where I have been. But over the years I have done so many oodles of trips that the answer is blurry- several countries I have been to several times, with little rhyme or reason- sometimes I’d need to travel for work, sometimes I followed my heart someplace and sometimes my heart yearned for someone I’d met on a distant continent. I make this list as a little catelogue of memories and moments as much for myself as for you. Read more →
From a Terrorist Bombing to a Pachinko Jackpot
There was 45 minutes remaining til takeoff as I rushed up into the terminal. As I ran my gaze caught a plasma screen showing the BBC News. The label across the bottom of the screen shocked me- “THE ENTIRE TUBE SYSTEM HAS NOW BEEN SHUT DOWN”. How could this be?, I thought. I had just been on the tube! The anchorwoman was talking about a “major incident” on the London Underground. But I couldn’t stay to sate my curiosity as they were about to close the gate. I jumped on the plane and we took off for Japan. Later that day, shoeless, a crowd of onlookers whooped and cheered as I inexplicably won a major jackpot in a strange Japanese Pachinko parlour. If there’s anything to be expected when travelling, it’s the unexpected, as I found out during a most bizarre 24 hour period spanning two continents. Read more →
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