I had expectations of Kosovo as a country still finding its identity after a war that wasn’t all that long ago. So I was surprised to instead discover a country that was traveller-friendly and packed with history, culture and sights.
“Don’t stay with men. They will think you want sex because you are a Western woman.” This was the warning I was given about CouchSurfing in Turkey.
He came to my aid when I was questioned by Turkish guards. Then he spent the day showing me around his home town. He was one of those people that make travelling so wonderful. Yet I can’t remember his name.
I logged into my CouchSurfing account a few weeks ago and realised I’d been a member for nearly three years. This project has given me so much: great experiences, memories and friends. It’s also taught me a thing or two.
The colourful Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is billed as one of the craziest marketplaces in the world. Visiting it is certainly is an experience. Be prepared to spend, or have some good excuses.
For weeks people have been asking how I feel about being in Vancouver. For a while, my answer (when I had one) wasn’t very positive. Returning to “real life” was hard, and it took me a while to accept it.
If I leave a country with just my memories and photos, that’s fine with me. This isn’t a “best of” collection. Some of these photos aren’t that great. But they are my favourite images from 2013.
Photographing a trinket, toy or mascot on the road isn’t a new concept. But I’ve still never seen another teacup. This year my teacup visited 13 countries and even went hot air ballooning in Turkey. Check out what it got up to in 2013.
I’ve spent the last five months travelling. I’ve visited 11 countries. Seen some incredible things. Met some amazing people. Sounds like a dream right? But that’s not always the case. Sometimes life on the road is hard. Really hard. So why doesn’t anyone talk about it?
Two months ago I had know idea where I would be spending Christmas, but a random email brought me to Finland, the home of Santa. It’s wasn’t my first Christmas away from Australia, but it was the most culturally different.