Encounters: Lonely Planet Blogsherpa Carnival #6
The ordinary but unforgettable encounters that characterise travel - a carnival from the Lonely Planet bloggers.
Happiness is an ill-planned roadtrip: Paucartambo’s Virgen del Carmen
Images from Paucartambo's colourful festival for the Virgen del Carmen - and the extraordinary sunrise over Manu National Park.
Mission Impossible: Learning Quechua in Cusco
It's not easy, but here's a few clues on tracking down non-intensive Quechua lessons in Cusco
Flying Solo: safe travel for women on their own
Travelling as alone as a woman requires an extra dose of caution - but that doesn't mean you should stay home.
How to balance a penchant for travel with your further education
Whether it's choosing to take one semester by distance or an entire degree, balancing travel and further education both frees you to embrace your inner travel addict and ties you down to an incredibly difficult and stressful balancing act.
Adjusting to Life as an Expat: Interviews and Resources
Image: TreeFaerie via stock.xchg I’ve always considered myself to be an especially adaptable, laid-back and open-minded traveller. I suppose we’re all susceptible to that kind of self-congratulation, especially as you get into the double-digits of countries visited and the triple-digits of hostels slept in, unfamiliar cultural aspects observed, weird and wonderful people from all corners... [Read more]
Yamanyá Backpackers is finally open, and other goings on
Yamanyá - open and beautiful. Image: Carlos Silva I’m living an inspiration-free moment. Yamanyá Backpackers is newly open, which is wonderful, but it has plunged me into a deep pile of stress and hideously boring administrational-type jobs. I had to put uni to one side for this trimester, in the interests of my mental health, and writing? I work from one of the desktops in the office, while... [Read more]
Expat Interview #11: A Norwegian in New Zealand, and the US
It’s been a little while but I’m back with the eleventh interview in my Adjusting to Expat Life series. I’ll be running interviews, writing about my own experiences adjusting to expat life in Peru, and rounding up the best expat resources on the web. Expat Sophie with daughter Cat. Anne-Sophie Redisch is a bilingual freelance writer and translator based in Norway. She... [Read more]
Expat interview #10: MaryAnne Oxendale in Shanghai
It’s been a little while but I’m back with the tenth interview in my Adjusting to Expat Life series. I’ll be running two interviews a week over the course of six weeks, writing about my own experiences adjusting to expat life in Peru, and rounding up the best expat resources on the web. Image: MaryAnne Oxendale Today I’m talking to another serial... [Read more]
Notes on Western femaleness in Peru
This is a work in progress, people… I’m building it up into something a little more coherent for one of this month’s Matador Abroad pieces. In the meantime, I’d love to hear about your experiences as a female traveller or expat in Latin America. Image: turboalieno via flickr I wasn’t going to cry. Instead I took a long sip of too-sweet Pisco and lemonade and leant... [Read more]
Encounters: Lonely Planet Blogsherpa Carnival #6
I don’t remember if I went to a single museum in Vientiane, Laos. In fact, I couldn’t tell you what tourist attractions there even are there. But I do remember, and vividly, the day Betto sits down at the next table as I lean back with a mug of hot, too-sweet coffee and happen to glance up from my book. I taste exhaust fumes on a hot wind I sit on the back of his motorbike, laugh with... [Read more]
Happiness is an ill-planned roadtrip: Paucartambo’s Virgen del Carmen
Paucartambo's famous bridge - Puente Carlos III. Dancers waiting to enter the cemetery. Sunrise over Manu National Park from Tres Cruces. Chullpas - Incan funary pyres All images: Camden Luxford Happiness is cheesy 80s music and a bottle of Pisco on a late night drive. It’s waking up in the pouring rain in a borrowed tent you failed to notice the night before was less than waterproof. ... [Read more]
Expat Interview #9: Australian Mandy Rowe in Saudi Arabia
Welcome to the ninth interview in my Adjusting to Expat Life series. I’ll be running two interviews a week over the course of six weeks, writing about my own experiences adjusting to expat life in Peru, and rounding up the best expat resources on the web. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Image: Ayman Aljammaz via flickr Today I’m talking to a returned expat, Mandy Rowe,... [Read more]
Expat Interview #8: Karen Dion in Tokyo
Welcome to the eighth interview in my Adjusting to Expat Life series. I’ll be running two interviews a week over the course of six weeks, writing about my own experiences adjusting to expat life in Peru, and rounding up the best expat resources on the web. Expat Karen on the busy streets of Tokyo. Image: Karen Dion Today I’m talking to Karen about her life in the... [Read more]
Mission Impossible: Learning Quechua in Cusco
Image: unojofuerte via flickr Sorry about the radio silence the last few days, everyone – Yamanyá Backpackers will be opening its doors in 12 days (!) so I’ve had my hands quite full (as an even cursory look at our still below par website will tell you). Uni also started back this week. What sound does a nervous breakdown make? Quechua. The second official language... [Read more]
Expat Interview #7: Todd Wassel in Kosovo
Welcome to the seventh interview in my Adjusting to Expat Life series. I’ll be running two interviews a week over the course of six weeks, writing about my own experiences adjusting to expat life in Peru, and rounding up the best expat resources on the web. Todd, looking somewhat terrified. Image: Todd Wassel This week’s final interviewee is Todd Wassel of... [Read more]
Expat Interview #6: Vago Damitio in Morocco
Welcome to the sixth interview in my Adjusting to Expat Life series. I’ll be running two interviews a week over the course of six weeks, writing about my own experiences adjusting to expat life in Peru, and rounding up the best expat resources on the web. The fascinating city of Fes. Image: tijmen via stock.xchng Interview #6: A Vagabond settles down, for now, in Fez One... [Read more]
Do Your Research: Resources for current and prospective expats
Planning to go expat? Time to hit the books. Image: killermonkeys via flickr In her recent interview, serial expatriate Heather Wright stressed the importance of research before making the big move. There’s a ridiculous amount of information to be processed – from the nitty-gritty of visas, bank accounts and the packing up of an entire life; through unfamiliar cultural dos and don’ts;... [Read more]
Bolivia’s Isla del Sol in photos
I’ve never been much of a tranquility-hunter on my travels. I like bustling cities, heaving markets, heaving surf, sweaty crowded clubs with a pounding beat. I enjoy museums and galleries, grand old libraries with green desk lights and the smell of polished wood and musty, dusty old books; but I enjoy them for the mental stimulation, the thought, the overwhelming sense of history and genius... [Read more]
Expat Interview #5: Heather Wright “on the fringe” in China
Welcome to the fifth interview in my Adjusting to Expat Life series. I’ll be running two interviews a week over the course of six weeks, writing about my own experiences adjusting to expat life in Peru, and rounding up the best expat resources on the web. Apologies for the late posting – this interview should have gone up Friday but I suffered from some Bolivian internet woes... [Read more]
