From the category archives:

Spirit

Has travel changed me?

December 10, 2011 Bolivia

‘So has it changed you? Travelling for so long?’ I was at the bus station in sky-high Potosi, Bolivia. It was about a month before I was due to return to Australia. A fellow traveller, who I’d just met in the taxi to the bus station, and I, were waiting in line to purchase snacks [...]

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Death, life and drugs in Xela’s cemetery

August 3, 2011 Central America
The cemetery in Xela, Guatemala

The other students at my Spanish school and I were warned. You don’t go into the cemetery at night. And if you’re a woman, best not to go there at all, unless in a group. So naturally, I put it on my list of places I wanted to see before I left Xela. 

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The people you meet: Xela, Guatemala

August 1, 2011 Central America
People you meet: Xela, Guatemala

This is Alesseo. He lives in a small village outside Xela, Guatemala where many of the men from the village have gone to the USA to work, including his father.

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Volunteer Guatemala: Building Stoves

July 27, 2011 Central America
Building stoves in rural Guatemala

I chose my spanish school in Xela based on their philosophy and mission, as well as the volunteer projects they run. Recommended to me by Shannon from A Little Adrift, the great thing about Pop Wuj is that they allow you to participate in their projects whether you’re spending one week or one month at the [...]

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A matter of life and death in Varanasi

June 5, 2011 Asia
Visiting Varanasi

I’m not going to lie to you. Varanasi, the holy ancient city of Benares, is grubby and rough. It’s muddy. It’s either oppressively humid or bitingly cold. It smells and the water at this point of the river Ganges is probably radioactive. It’s not uncommon to come across the body of a dog or some [...]

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Yoga by the lake in Pokhara

May 29, 2011 Nepal
Yoga retreat in Pokhara, Nepal

‘This is it,’ my taxi driver said. He pointed up a steep gravel hill and a path that disappeared into a clump of trees. His car was unable to go any further. From here, I had to walk.

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Celebrating Diwali in Kathmandu

May 22, 2011 Destinations
Celebrating Diwali, the festival of lights, in Kathmandu

I arrived in Kathmandu right before Diwali, a five-day festival of light. It’s the reason I stayed in Kathmandu for ten days – public holidays during the celebrations meant the processing of my Indian visa was to take much longer than usual. One of the most important festivals on the Hindu calendar, Diwali is almost [...]

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