Urban life in Russia is a far cry from the adventure that lies further out, and it’s only here, among the icy Siberian tundra; among communities who have never seen a foreign tourist; among Nomadic desert tribes on the Mongolian border, that you’ll find the true soul of Mother Russia.
And it’s this soul that is so perfectly captured in Fabio Bertino and Roberta Melchiorre’s new book “Destination Russia. A ship and a cat in the tundra and other extra-ordinary encounters”.
Having recently been released in English after immense success in Italian, the book is a captivating collection of stories that takes you on a journey with Fabio and Roberta as they travel to the farthest corners of the country, discovering the treasures (and adventure) that lie beyond Russia’s increasingly westernized veneer.
We’ve well and truly entered an age of female empowerment, and as far as 2019 is concerned, I’m dubbing this the year of the wander woman.
Over the past few years women have tipped the scales to become the majority of travelers over men. We’re taking more active adventures, and saying no to sipping cocktails on the beach. And we’re not letting age be a limiting factor (the world is now being taken OVER by amazing traveling grandmas).
Some women are doing it solo, some are traveling with their families, and some are dragging along their husbands (lucky guys!). Some have quit their jobs and sold everything, while others travel while holding down a job and a mortgage.
Women these days who want to travel aren’t letting anyone tell them how it should be done, they’re making their journey their own. But even better, they’re writing about it to inspire the rest of us.
If you’re looking for a great travel memoir to add to your summer reading list, make sure you pick up one of these; brand new titles from kick ass women who haven’t been afraid to follow their dreams.
I didn’t exactly know when or where I was going to find my forever partner, but I never could have predicted it would involve a man who lived 15,000km away from me.
Having successfully navigated the 1am phone calls, the miscommunications, the extreme highs of seeing each other after so long, followed by the extreme lows of being kept in immigration limbo, we have compiled our experiences and advice into the ultimate ‘how-to’ guide.
Our ultimate goal with publishing this book? To offer other long distance couples the tools, knowledge, and the hope that your long distance relationship can be just as successful as our own.
I met Oren Liebermann in 2014, 5 months after he had been diagnosed with diabetes. Though his journey to diagnosis was anything but conventional.
In the middle of a yearlong backpacking trip around the world with his wife, Oren was teaching English to young Buddhist monks in Pokhara, Nepal, when his body began to fail him. He had picked up a virus in Kenya weeks earlier, and had been traveling for two months as a medical time bomb.
He had been brushing off signs of poor health for months; dismissing constant thirst as a consequence of the Bangkok heat; exhaustion in the Himalayas to the altitude, and weakness / extreme weight loss to malnutrition.
But after visiting a local clinic in Nepal, a doctor gives him a diagnosis that will change his life forever: “I’m sorry to tell you, my friend, that you are a diabetic.”
The Great Ocean Road is considered to be one of the most scenic drives in the world, and is certainly a jewel in the crown of Australian tourism. Its stunning coastal road hangs precariously on soaring sea cliffs and winds between pretty towns and beaches, all set against the backdrop of the Great Otaway National Park, the site of Australia’s few temperate rainforests.
Though for one of Australia’s most popular tourist destinations, most visitors to the area sadly see very little, and most of that through a coach window. But you won’t see the best sights from your car.
Much more than a scenic highway, this region is home to a myriad of coastal tracks, rainforest trails, and hikes which connect historic seaside villages, taking in ocean views and dramatic waterfalls. If there’s one thing for certain, the best way to discover the Great Ocean Road is to walk.
“Stop!” he yelled at me from across the courtyard. “Yes, you!”
“Show me your student card! How did you get in here? The school is closed today. You’re not supposed to be here!”
The ironic thing was he actually looked like Vernon Dursley and was about to have a palpation that I had snuck past the guards.
The many colleges of Oxford University were closed for orientation day, and tourists were being turned away as students passed through the gates. Though I hadn’t traveled from Australia to see my Harry Potter trail go cold, and as an 20 year old employing the idea that if I didn’t look suspicious, they wouldn’t have reason to stop me, I walked myself straight through the gates.
It’s my favorite kind of travel read; a laugh-out-loud travel memoir that reveals backpacking’s awkward side. So upon picking up Sue Bedford’s new book “It’s Only the Himalayas and Other Tales of Miscalculation from an Overconfident Backpacker“, I naturally became engrossed.
Sue is a disenchanted waitress when she embarks upon a year-long quest around the world with her exasperatingly perfect friend, Sara. Expecting a whimsical jaunt of self-discovery, Sue instead encounters an absurd series of misadventures that render her embarrassed, terrified, and queasy (and in a lot of trouble with Philippine Airline).
Whether she’s fleeing from ravenous lions, dancing amid smoking skulls, navigating the torturous Annapurnas, or (accidentally) drugging an unfortunate Englishman, Sue’s quick-witted, self-deprecating narrative might just inspire you to take your own chaotic adventure.
Real movie lovers realize that it’s not only the plot, music, or great direction that matter when they kick back with a film, looking forward to be transported to another world. No, a lot of the time the make or break comes down to the setting.
A number of locations around the world have proven to be popular with many movie makers, whether they are exotic spots, busy cities or rural settings. And these locales appear in our favorite films again and again. So what makes them so special and why are they chosen so often? Read on to find out.
For more than a thousand years, pilgrims have been making their way on foot to the Spanish city Santiago de Compostela, the purported resting place of the remains of Saint James, one of the disciples of Jesus Christ. The pilgrims walk hundreds of miles that make up the Camino, which in Spanish means the path, a road, a route, a way.
Pilgrims from every background are today drawn to the Camino from all over the world and for a wide variety of reasons. Some are ill, some grieving, some confused, some celebrating, some walk out of devotion or in fulfilment of a vow and others are just simply curious. Some will have walked a hundred miles, others five hundred and others more than a thousand.
What is nevertheless common to them all is that they will have left behind what is familiar and habitual in order to wake each day to a new vista, to a new stretch of road, to the scents and flavours of a land other than their own.
The best way to prepare for such a walk? To know if this pilgrimage is for you? The Road to Santiago movie is a very real account of the journey as walked by Alan Fields; an authentic, down to earth documentary which will transport you to the trail and put you in his shoes.
Earlier in the year we reviewed “Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago”; a 90 minute documentary which provides up-close look at the ancient spiritual pilgrimage known as the Camino de Santiago, or Way of St. James.
The documentary itself was fantastic, and you can read our full review, though while watching the journey of each pilgrim unfold, I found myself equally as fascinated with the process of making the film.
How did they cast the travelers who took center stage? What was the budget for this kind of a film? How did the camera crew cope with completing this same trek but with all of their heavy equipment?
Determined to find out what goes into the making of a travel documentary, I decided to consult an authority on the matter. This week’s interview is with Lydia B. Smith, the director and producer of Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago, on what it takes to make a travel film. She takes us behind the scenes.
