At about 4:30am the guides returned from base camp with the yaks, bells clanging in the pre-dawn darkness, carrying their cargo. Headlamps buzzed around like fireflies as preparations were made. I had a quick breakfast of rice and vegetables and by the time we joined the parade of pilgrims the sun had began to tint the sky a brilliant pink and orange.
It is an extraordinary way to live, waking up everyday and putting on your boots and everything else you need on your back and heading off into the unknown. I mean, you have a destination on the map you’d like to get to but essentially you have no idea what you will encounter, what beauty awaits you.
Engulfed by Bangkok’s humid night air on the second floor of a balcony bar I got to thinking about technology and the myriad ways it has changed the world and the way people travel. I’d only come back to have a look at Khao San Road out of curiosity, preferring to stay in a more mildly mannered part of Sukkhumvit these days. Observing the smoke rise up from the street vendors food stalls and watching gap year students drunkenly stumble…
A particular destination becomes so popular due to its cultural significance or aesthetic beauty that it almost loses its charm due to the influx of foreign and domestic tourists. But there is an alternative. If you want to immerse yourself in the culture of a place, understand what makes the people tick and be the first to uncover some little hidden gem then you need to be prepared to wing it a little, get off the well worn path, go somewhere that you didn’t see in lonely planet or on instagram and be more than an average tourist.
Manila was tough, not least because it’s big and dirty and hard to get around. For the first time in a long time my brother and I were in just each others company and in a foreign land. Issues began to arise. When you are travelling with someone and your opinions on certain topics differ, there is nowhere to hide. Life can be tough when someone close to you feels strong negative emotion but it’s how you react that determines…
A story about buying a van for travelling and a case of mistaken identity.
What its really like at a 10 day silent meditation retreat in Thailand. What good is anyone who just sits around on his arse all day anyway? You could be building a school in Africa or something right? With his legs crossed and his eyes closed and doing, well not much at all really. Rest assured, its not as easy as all that and the truth of the matter is that anyone can get busy doing something…
25 photos of various national parks from my road trip through Canada and the U.S.