The wrong desert
At age 24, I hit the road with two of my closest friends to travel and explore India. Naive, overly confident, wide-eyed and on a fresh-graduate/backpackers budget: we were the perfect cliche. I have always struggled with travelling purely for sightseeing and ‘witnessing’ cultures – I wanted to find a bit more purpose for this trip.
Learning to put myself first
So many years ago, I made plans to travel alone in Asia. I was very excited to do this and also a little bit nervous. I thought it was a challenge to plan and do everything by myself, but I really wanted to do this. And then came my wonderful friends and family, just being
A flight best forgotten
My first trip, with a child, was to England in 1975. My husband, Dennis, had been selected to be on a naval course in Portsmouth and these courses can take anything up to 11 months and 3 weeks. Their policy was that wives and families were not paid to travel and live together on an
Me and my monkey mind
I had this idea of travelling by myself for a few years. But one of my biggest fears before going was actually to travel with me and my monkey mind! What if I feel sad? What if I’m not motivated to do anything? What if I start diving in my dark places? Usually, when this would happen
Traveling with Kinetosis
Professor Tillman was animatedly explaining the worst offenses elderly drivers obliviously commit when they are unfortunately too old to drive but believe they still can. Stories such as, dragging a body they have hit all the way home only to notice as they slowly step out of the driver’s seat. Given my already ingrained fear
Accepting the past so I can move into the future
It was a beautiful day in hectic Yogyakarta. I’d been travelling for nearly one month and enjoying disconnecting from reality, which was not so bright and shiny back then… Looking back, that was the year my father died and, in a nutshell, it was not the greatest year of my life. Yet, it was probably
Solo Trip to Peru & Trekking Machu Picchu
For many years, the idea of going on a solo trip to Peru and Machu Picchu was in my heart and on my mind. I would occasionally test my endurance by hiking local trails, check flight prices, refresh my Spanish, and seek advice from friends who had gone on similar journeys. However, anytime I would
Roaming Memories
– a photographic essay by Jessica Papini – “Arnhem”The moment when mild mania creeps up whilst waiting for the next chariot to collect you. Left alone and separated from routine can often lead to deep or nonsensical thoughts, relying on imagination and reflections to help to bide the time. “Finger Animal”Road trips with unlikely, ever-morphing
Making life choices unapologetically
“If you are always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be.” Maya Angelou All over the world, the journey of a woman’s life is predetermined by the patriarchal society we live in – it’s not an opinion, but a fact. This restricted and claustrophobic journey is sadly amplified for
Cycling alone, surrounded by men
“You’re going by yourself?” “Yes.” “Why?” Why not. For months, I’d dreamt about doing my first overnight cycling tour. A bit at a time, I cobbled together a pair of on-sale bike panniers, an inflatable sleeping mat, a cheap, but light, A-frame tent. I was doing longer day-rides. I spent hours looking up potential cycling