Time, and how it is perceived, varies greatly depending on where you are in the world. In the Western culture I’ve been raised in, we prioritise and organise frantically to fit everything into our day. We live and work to deadlines, wake up with alarms and work rotating shifts. In several countries I’ve visited, however, the notion of immediacy is actually shunned, or simply doesn’t exist. Vietnam and Cuba are two countries in which patience isn’t just a virtue but a necessity. The country that takes the crown, however, is Fiji. Continue reading
Travel
The Definition of Freedom
I know, right? Intense title for a blog post.
I’ve been around the world a couple of times, and I’ve learned a few things. One of the most prevailing is this: freedom is a completely subjective concept. Some of the most liberated individuals I’ve met have come from countries we view as oppressive. To illustrate this, let’s compare Vietnam with the good old US of A. Continue reading
“I can’t afford to travel” Shut up. Yes you can.
Right. I’ve heard too many people say that they would love to experience the mystery of Asia, or the adrenaline of New Zealand, but they just can’t scrape the money together. Is that how you feel?
*slap!* Continue reading
What To Expect in a Hostel
If you’ve never been backpacking before, it’s likely you’ve never experienced the sweet mayhem of hostels.
If you go travelling for an extended period of time to pretty much any country in the world, chances are you’ll wind up in a hostel sooner or later. Before visiting one, many people (my old self included) picture hostels as grim places – cheap, slept in bunk beds, grimy backpackers, grimier bathrooms, no personal space… and to be honest, that’s exactly right.
The thing is, though, they’re brilliant. Continue reading
Hot Water Beach
You’ve got to love the Kiwi’s knack for naming things.
Hot Water Beach was one of the first stops on my month exploring NZ. On the Kiwi Experience bus, fifty or so of my fellow backpackers, all fresh faced and eager at the start of the three-week tour, giddily watched the green hills of the North Island roll by. We stopped at a supermarket en route and grabbed the essential alcohol as well as reluctantly spending precious travelling money on food. Continue reading
Vietnam
As my plane began a fairly turbulent descent and the lurch of a mild to middling fear of flying kicked in, I cranked up my headphones and put on some Rolling Stones.