It took me nearly 25 years to get around to starting to learning a language properly… I’ve always been a “numbers guy”. At school, university, and now my job. When I was a teenager I dismissed learning a language as a frustrating thing. I got an A at GCSE French, but my accent was poor, […] Read More
The importance of cocktails and footwear (hiking around Bariloche, Argentina)
Written December 2014. Before arriving I wasn’t sure what I’d make of Barilcohe. The guidebooks continuously refer to it as the Switzerland of Argentina. Amongst the lakes and low lying mountains, the postcard of Bariloche is wooden lodges and pine trees. It claims to create the best chocolate of south america too. And if that […] Read More
No time like the present (14,000 ft above Queensland, Australia)
With a raised heartbeat and a pump of adrenalin, the very thought of the prospect was overwhelming my thoughts. I’d already been through this once. In Argentina, before I realised that I didn’t have the time to fit it into my schedule south. And so, when I saw so many skydiving adverts after arriving in […] Read More
A showcase of Chinese tourism (Yunnan province, China)
Written March 2015. I stood consulting my map in the main square of Lijiang’s old town. A women had taken a few steps closer from nearby, into hearing range. After saying excuse me in Mandarin I began to carelessly chat a few words in English. Eventually asking for directions. “Minzhu road?”. “Can I help you […] Read More
Shock and awe: stranded in China’s most abrupt urban expansion (Shenzhen, China)
Written March 2015. I looked around me. Within the heavy lines of people I didn’t spot another white face – anyone to recommend a hostel or cheap hotel to stay. I’d not yet got around to buying a phrase book either. And on attempting to log into the free WiFi via my phone I was […] Read More
La vida buena and how it’s more difficult to speak Spanish poetry when drunk (new year in Valparaiso, Chile)
Written January 2015. “Me gustas cuando callas porque estas como ausente” – I love it when you shut up, because it is as though your are absent. An ode to the beauty of women, just only when she stays quiet and keeps her distance. Words said with a wink in the opening line of poem […] Read More
Cultural differences in the high Andes (walking in Huaraz, Peru)
Written September 2014. On the edge of Huaraz a 6km dirt track climbs upwards towards Wilcahuain. A small collection of ruins dating to sometime between 600AD and 900AD. In an aid to acclimatising to the mountain heights of the region I head up their on a late Saturday afternoon. Huaraz is 3,100m above sea level. […] Read More
Everything is better with practice (Gambling in Atlantic City, USA)
Written August 2015. I was baby faced at the poker table. To the right of me, a white haired woman rocks her head from side to side and looks up sharply. She’d fallen briefly asleep, a small pile of chips in front of her. This Monday night at the Trump Taj Mahal it’s mainly the […] Read More
It’s easy to find new constellations (Yosemite park – California, USA)
Written August 2015. I’ve just been lying on the warm tarmac near Yosemite park gazing up at the stars. They are clearer and deeper than I think I’ve seen for some years. The sky doesn’t even seem black. I have the sense that behind my immediate view there’s a cloud of countless more stars and […] Read More