2016 marks 15 years since I went on my first backpacking trip to the US, Europe and Asia at 21. To celebrate, I put together a little compilation of experiences caught on camera from all of those years.
Read more
It wasn’t until 20-something party-travel writer Vince Gibbs was getting sick of the European party scene, and travelling up the coast of Portugal, that he thought about giving the beers a rest and waxing up a stick. The results were epic. Here’s how you can do it too.
Read more
Last week, we heard about Vince’s Moroccan adventures in Part 1: Intimidation, Mint Tea, and Hammams. It was nothing if not a heavy read, and this week’s tale’s both heavy and light in equal measure, as a good adventure often is. Vince is a mid-20s Aussie backpacker who recently spent 6 months in Morocco working as a surf instructor and got more than he bargained for, which he’ll continue to tell us all about in Part 2.
Read more
I first entered Morocco as an escape from my expiring Schengen zone visa (basically the European Union), but soon decided to stay for 6 months to teach surfing just outside the city of Agadir, in a small fishing turned surfing village named Taghazout, in Morocco’s South. The place was just too good, too crazy for an “escape”. Home to the Western Sahara desert, Atlas Mountains, delicious spice infused meals, world class surf breaks, various deadly animals and amazing people, I got more than I bargained for when I set foot in this North African country.
Read more
Ah Singapore, home of skyscrapers, shopping malls, and anti-chewing gum laws. But hold the phone, there’s more! Known primarily as a popular gateway hub due to its geographical location and quality of airport, Singapore is also a damn fine place to stop for a day or three on your way to or from Europe or Asia. With so many friends and colleagues living in Singapore over the years I’ve taken plenty of opportunities to stop on the way home and put my feet up. If you’re there for a good time but not a long time, here’s what you need to check out.
Read more
It’s a humid morning in Rio, and still cool but with the promise of oppressive heat in the air. My fiance and I wander through the jungle-city streets with our surfboards, attracting only cursory glances from early morning risers and those who are yet to go home after a night of partying. We reach the bus stop and there are a few others standing around I can’t quite help feeling slightly awkward. It’s been years since, as a grommet with no drivers licence, I’d caught buses with my surfboard back in Sydney. But then the big orange surf bus comes thundering down the street with impressive punctuality for Brazil. The see us with the boards and stop. The door opens and the sounds of Bob Marley waft out into the Rio morning. The driver, looking not unlike Otto from the Simpsons, gives us a friendly “Oi” and waves us aboard.
Read more