Tag Archives: nature

Rijeka

There are few greater small pleasures in life than taking the train through a new country.

In this case, I was nearing the end of a month-long Interrail trip with a group of friends in one of my summers out from University. For our transport, we had taken the night train from Bratislava to Rijeka after a glorious few days exploring the Tatra mountains on the Slovakian-Polish border.

Sleeping on a night train feels like sleeping and waking in a world where neither time nor reality exists. At the same time, the discomfort of a small bunk for anyone over 150cm tall, the cramped shared bathrooms per train car or the loud snoring of a nearby bunk mate can be a rude awakening, both literally and metaphorically.

Uist

The water here is bluer than the holiday brochures of Mediterranean all-inclusives and Caribbean cruises. Even better, there are more sheep, too. So, I couldn’t help but gasp aloud as we rounded the next bend and another bay appeared glittering with bright turquoise water, the sand underneath a pristine white. The land that the waterContinue reading “Uist”

Why Walking is Important

Visiting a new place is scary, but here are some top tips to make the most of your travel experience.

That is what every trained media professional or influencer will tell you when trying to show you the beauty of a place through rose-coloured glasses, in which they show themselves on top of a mountain or walking through a bright, bustling market. The “but” obscures the actual process of arriving in a place and being faced with the fears and insecurities that come with being a foreigner, and the fact that you are usually being perceived by all those around you. Or that’s what my mind tricks me into thinking.

The truth is, people will look but won’t remember. The glance you think is judging you is extremely temporary before the person continues on with their day, since they are thinking of their own issues and tasks that need doing instead of considering your clothes, origin or when you last showered. It really is that simple.

The Art of Access: “Into the Wild’s” Critiques of Power and Visualising Geographical Knowledge

Sean Penn’s “Into the Wild”, based on Jon Krakauer’s book about the life of Christopher McCandless, begins with this poem. The words echo throughout the two hour long visually stunning journey of Chris from College graduate to lonely nomad, huddled inside an old Fairbanks City bus. It describes the pleasure found in nature, away from human intrusions and structures, away from capitalist habits and responsibility and taxes.
The film’s cinematography communicates these pleasures and evokes empathy from audiences seeking escape from societal power structures, namely capitalism and neocolonialism.

Twentieth Century Women : Why I wish I grew up in a colourful house with strangers.

Santa Barbara 1979.

An old white car sits in a car park engulfed in flames while a mother and son look on from the window of a grocery store.

This kind of beginning of a film is rare. The rarest kind of intrigue that doesn’t require the usual conversation of – “Oh you just have to get into it a bit first before it picks up.” There’s none of that and that is why this film is classified as my third favourite film of all time.

Junquillal

Visiting a new continent entirely on my own is not how I thought I’d start my summer. I also didn’t think that I’d be shovelling sand on a beach and seeing an Olive Ridley turtle with my own eyes, but here we are.
Junquillal, Costa Rica. 
When I took my first step off the bus after a fresh bout of rain that left the dark asphalt steaming, I did not expect such a small village to emerge from the greenery on the roadside.