Composed

Out of Africa

Imagine this. You’ve just spent five days driving through deep sand and dry grass in search of elephants. Scratch that. In Botswana, you’ll find them around every bend in the road. The country is home to more than 130,000. So, you’ve seen hundreds, maybe thousands, and as you make your way by car to the next destination, the driver says…’an elephant has been killed in a nearby village, do you want to go see?’ I didn’t. The elephant in question had become a nuisance, rampaging through ...

O Canada

Canadians. We’re best known for poutine, hockey, saying sorry and Ryan Reynolds. At least on the west coast. If I lived in Ontario, I would have gone with Ryan Gosling. Whatever. It’s the small things that make us who we are. We’re understated about our nationalism. Canada is already great. So, when our token Australian mentioned that he was working on his citizenship application, I was (very humbly) proud. It takes some time. You have to learn history, politics and culture. There’s a ...

Chicken Parts

One of the best things about travelling is the food. It’s the thing people most often ask about when you get home. How was the food? Did you go to local places? What was the weirdest thing you ate? When we decided to book a trip to Cuba last year, it was the first thing people pounced on. The. Food. Is. Awful. They went on and on about it. It’s tasteless. It’s boring. The country is beautiful, unless you’re a foodie. We had a different experience, but this isn’t that story. I’ll talk about ...

I Was Here

“What is sought for in a holiday is a set of photography images, which have already been seen in tour company brochures or on TV programmes.” – John Urry from his 2002 book, The Tourist Gaze. It’s how we prove we were there, and the growth of online platforms has made these images into the social currency that we use to validate our lives. Each photo says, I was here. I’ve seen it. Hell, I live it. And it most definitely altered the way I experienced Japan. I’d been told that Tokyo ...

Hey Siri…

I have a shelf full of Lonely Planet books. I buy one about six months before each trip and flip through it, folding page corners for coffee shops, quirky hotels and the like. I also hoard travel magazines. I have my favourites – Afar, Conde Nast Traveler, Airbnb. They’re stacked together in white mesh racks. Oh, and Pinterest. I do that too. Gorgeous images. Well researched articles. Insider tips. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I do research. I have a pretty good idea ...

No Trespassing

We arrived in Tokyo on a Friday afternoon. Picked up the bags, bought a SIM card and booked seats on the train that would take us into the city. Ordinarily, I’d grab a cab to the hotel after a long flight. In Japan, that would cost more than $300. And if you read my first post, nope. The high-speed train that runs the length of the country is called the Shinkansen – and it moves fast. I watched the scenery glide by. The city seemed muted. Square windows, flat walls, soft colours. ...

False Start

If you’re like me there’s a feeling of dread that comes with walking up to a check in counter at the airport. Did I remember my passport? Did I get the aisle seat? Did my booking even go through? But it’s always ok. It always works out just fine. Until it doesn’t. We arrived at the airport early. Really early. There was no line. We walked up to the counter and handed over our passports. She checked our tickets. Good. Our seats. Also good. But as she flipped back and forth through our ...

Woman Overboard

I should start by saying, I hate putting my face in water. I don’t know why. My mom concluded long ago that I drowned in a past life after I freaked out at the community pool. She made me take lessons. I learned the basics. I persevered. But when I failed my blue level badge because I wouldn’t do a stride jump into the deep end, I was done with swimming altogether. So naturally, many of my vacations are…ocean-based. Chalk it up to an awesome group of friends who love to sail in exotic ...