Tea Baggers. The Westboro Baptists. Donald Trump. Americans are a weird bunch. They’re also wonderfully diverse. So I just know I’m in for some unusual encounters with the locals whenever I book a ticket to the States. Here’s some of the more memorable ones.
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I watch the sun set over the American South from my sleeper compartment. The train ploughs headlong into the night, and the clickety-clack of the tracks is hypnotic. I will myself not to fall asleep, because I know that Memphis is fast approaching.
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50-something traveller and photographic expert Rob Gibbs reckons roadtrips are necessary to the very essence of his soul. One of his US favourites is the Pacific Coast Highway in California- he’s done it 3 times for Pete’s sake!
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Back in the old days, before the Sony Discman became extinct, choosing your top 20 travel albums was pretty important because that was about as many CDs as you’d be able to fit into a travel CD wallet. Nowdays, it’s still pretty important to determine what fits on your iPod Nano. Here’s the music I always carry around with me on a trip.
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The Soundwave Festival is the biggest rock music festival in the Southern Hemisphere. Held annually in late Summer, Soundwave 2015 was for the first time held over two days, a regime that allowed for a greater number of bands on the bill whilst minimising clashes and sheer number of stages. Though I love live music, I generally hate festivals- too many people, too much noise, too tiring. But the Soundwave festival has such an impressive array of incredible punk and metal bands on the bill that clearly, an exception must be made. I went along this year for both days to see what was up.
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American actress Loretta Young once said “Love isn’t something you find. Love is something that finds you”. Though she had a point, the problem with Love is that, being blind and all, it could be looking for you in Norway or Thailand. That’s right- Love may be confused about the continent in which you reside. If you’re at home, stuck inside a shell preventing the petals of love from raining down upon thee, some travel may be a blessing. But be aware that travel can itself be the shell which imprisons you. Here’s some tips to using your wanderlust to your romantic advantage and finding love on the road.
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In last week’s episode, (Part 1: Amsterdam, Haarlem, The Hague and Zeeland), we’re unable to resist the tempation of a roadside corn maze and we’re running late for an important work conference call as we cross the border into Belgium. It begins raining torrentially, and somehow, inevitably, we miss a critical turnoff to Bruges and have to double back, wasting precious time. But I still don’t panic, because we’ve booked ahead of time, and the hotel website loudly proclaimed “FREE WiFi in all rooms and public areas”. What could possibly go wrong?
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The Netherlands and Belgium? They’re flat as stroepwafels, rather small and half under-water. Who’d want to go there when you could visit France, Germany and the UK? Me. The lowlands of Europe are oft-maligned yet among the best the continent has to offer. If you enjoy canals, cheese, bikes, very tall blonds or geoengineering then you’ll enjoy the Netherlands, while if waffles, apple pie, beer, chocolate or national disunity are your bag then you’d really dig Belgium. I’ll be honest- all of those things appeal to me, which is why my roadtrip through The Netherlands and Belgium was so long overdue.
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It’s almost the perfect fantasy. “Quit your job and travel the world!” But what if I told you that you shouldn’t? About ten years ago in Norway, I got an email from my boss back home with some bad news.
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Despite living in Sydney most my life, I’d never really seen the famed Sydney Harbour New Year’s Eve fireworks display properly. We went to a fun waterfront party in Point Piper in 2010, and I packed my tripod and camera with great anticipation, only for smoke to block all but the first couple of minutes. This year was going to be different. These photos are slightly different from your average fireworks photos. We were on a floating platform, so a long exposure was not possible, nor was using a tripod, and I had to make do with a high ISO. Because of this, these photos show a lot more detail in the smoke and explosion than you might usually see in regular fireworks photographs. We were also really close to one of the fireworks barges in the harbour which enhanced this effect.
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