Tag Archives: travelling

A year in moments #17 – The Peak and the Ultrarunners

I sat on a bench at the top of Victoria Peak in Hong Kong in the dark. I was in shorts and a singlet, because it was still hot and humid as fuck, even at night. I was waiting for two people I’d never met before. I was in Hong Kong for a week, andContinue reading “A year in moments #17 – The Peak and the Ultrarunners”

French sunshine

I recognise the sofa on the screen, and realise Bev is back in her house in Cheltenham. She’d spent the previous six months with her husband Rich travelling through Europe in their motorhome, and I ask her how she feels to be back. ‘It’s nice being in the house but I’d rather be in France.Continue reading “French sunshine”

A year in moments #15 – the ‘what have I got myself into, am-I-going-to-die?’ moment

I was told I was to accompany Sandeepan’s husband later that day to some accommodation outside of Shimla. It seemed like an instruction rather than a request. I was in Northern India and had connected with a family who ran an NGO which helped with the education and empowerment of women and remote villages. TheyContinue reading “A year in moments #15 – the ‘what have I got myself into, am-I-going-to-die?’ moment”

A year in people #95 – Greg from Phnom Penh

Nick and I had been wandering around the city for a while. It was a hot, dusty evening and we’d just spent hours on a bumpy, stuffy minibus. Laden down with backpacks and travel-weary, we were losing hope of finding somewhere to stay. Guesthouses were either all booked up or way too expensive, and soContinue reading “A year in people #95 – Greg from Phnom Penh”

A year in people #79 – the San Francisco guy

I met R in Queenstown when I was travelling in New Zealand in 2014. He was staying at the same hostel and I was about to head to bed but a friend persuaded me to stay up for a few minutes longer and after ten minutes of chat, I found myself crashing on his sofa two monthsContinue reading “A year in people #79 – the San Francisco guy”

New Zealand vs the UK

I love New Zealand. I also love the UK. Some people think you can’t do this, that it has to be one or the other; that living in New Zealand means dissing the UK, and this really bugs me. You can’t really compare the two. Bloody comparison is the thief of joy. Yes, there areContinue reading “New Zealand vs the UK”

A year in people #57 – Scott Watkins

You know when enough time passes and you can’t remember how you first got chatting to someone? That’s what I’m like with Scott. I *think* it was on Twitter, and then at parkrun, but it could have been the other way around. He’s the run director/top dog/organiser person at Albert Park parkrun in Melbourne, and IContinue reading “A year in people #57 – Scott Watkins”

A year in people #28 – Margaret from Tasmania

Railay beach in Thailand, 2013 and Nick and I were hanging onto a rope in a monsoon, trying to climb up a near-vertical cliff to get to a lookout. We were soaked to the skin, sliding all over the place, trying desperately not to fall to our death. We kept meeting a family, parents andContinue reading “A year in people #28 – Margaret from Tasmania”