Tag Archives: Travel

The Coast

Italy: High School, Rock Climbing, and a Glass of Milk

Posted on by

Although they are highly enjoyable, holidays in Italy aren’t really conducive to interesting storytelling. Perhaps this is because every single person’s Italian holiday gush sounds exactly the same. If you’ve ever fallen victim to one of these recountings, you know the glazed over look in the eye as the holidaymaker retreats into their visceral memories of gelato and pizza, the enthusiasm in their voice as they recite the notorious buzz words. . . The Vatican. . . The Colosseum. . . The Pantheon, and the eager hand gestures, channelling the inner Italian spirit with the thumb pressed securely to the index finger.

yep.

ditto.

Continue reading →

West Auz

Posted on by

Like any other country at the moment, Myanmar has mixed feelings about their expats and immigrants; feelings ranging from stewing xenophobic tension to glowing admiration. Myanmar’s current policy towards foreigners on working visas mandates that we leave the country every 70 days. For some this is an annoying inconvenience, for me it’s a regular forced vacation to an exotic location every couple of months. Due to our regular visa runs over the last two years, Katie and I have been running low on Asian countries to visit (it’s a tough life). We decided to stretch our visa run distance and length to hop over to Western Australia for something novel.  Continue reading →

Myanmar’s Second City, Our Second Home (Mandalay in Photos)

Posted on by

Mandalay is Myanmar’s royal city, and we are Mandalay’s loyal weekend warriors. The ten-hour night busses that take us to Mandalay and back to Yangon make for grueling transportation experiences. On a typical Mandalay trip we will spend two nights on busses and one night at a hostel. When we arrive back in Yangon early Monday morning, we emerge from the bus in a zombieish haze and essentially head straight to work from the bus station. After more than ten trips like this, Katie and I have the details dialed: Our favorite hostel, number of melatonin tablets to take on the overnight bus, cheapest motorbike rental shop, everything is dialed.

Continue reading →

Shwe Yangon: The City in Photos

Posted on by

A selection of photos from nine months in the Golden City. Brought to you without the consistent drip of sweat, the frequent itch of mosquito bites, or the slow growth of mold on seldom-used shoes. Lacking the metallic exhaust, the savor of bean curry, the snap of burmese, or the curious glances. Yangon in photos. 

Continue reading →

La Vida ‘Ladesh

Posted on by

This is a post containing reflections and photos concerning the six months I spent in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. I’m planning on also posting something about my work with the Rohingya refugees after I feel that I have acquired sufficient words to share their story. DISCLAIMER: This post has some potentially disturbing photos of a cow being sacrificed for Eid.

Cox’s, Bangladesh

I lived in the far South of Bangladesh in a “seaside tourist destination” called Cox’s Bazar. The term “seaside tourist destination” is perhaps deceiving. Please suppress the images of tourists strolling down white sand beaches in their swimsuits relaxing and enjoying a carefree vacation. Although for Bengali nationals this image is near accurate, for anyone not possessing the complexion of a South Asian, it is far from the truth. For myself and others of a similar complexion, “strolling” on a beach in Bangladesh entails 30 Bengali locals following you, taking pictures of you/with you, asking what your country is, how much money you make, what your religion is, if you are married, and what your father’s name is, Oh yes and would you also like to buy a boiled egg? Continue reading →