THE WORLD IS FULL OF wꜵNDER
Mount Batur, Bali, Indonesia | November ‘23
SECOND-HANd,
PLACES come alive best THROUGH STORY
Travelling is an experience I aim to commit to paper (and Instagram…) not just memory.
To share a place with more than an image of myself, face to the sunset, back to the camera – with #travel as the only detail.
But to create a visceral feeling for the reader, to portray my full experience paired with details of where, how and when – so that others can shape their travels and soak up the world too.
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A firm favourite. This charming town was the perfect chance to switch from traveller to tourist mode. I challenge anyone who comes here to find a street without a lantern.
My hotel was super cute and 15-min cycle into the Old Town or 30-min to the beach. The Old Town is mostly a wiggly grid of two-story houses under the French influence. With little backstreets where you’ll find great eateries, painting workshops and people serenading themselves from their sofas (karaoke).
Famed for its tailors, Hoi An is *the* place to get clothes made from scratch — shoes & sandals too. I’d known this for a while and complied a list of items I’ve outgrown or lost the plot trying to find back home. Culprit #1: High-waisted, wide-leg trousers.
I spent a glorious 3 days here, and could’ve stayed longer with a designated beach day. Or two. And switching to beachside accommodation for the night.
There’s a good gym here too, with yoga classes and decent air con, if you feel the need to lift something other than your backpack.
😴 @lazy_bear_hostel_hoian 🥢The Seashell by Nu Eatery 🥢Cao Lau Không Giang Xanh 🥢Bánh Mỳ Phượng (Bourdain-fame) ✌️ Hoi An Handicraft arty workshops ✌️ Tailoring at @baodieptailorhoian ✌️ Superfit Hoi An
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Of all the provinces we’ve visited, Jujuy has to be the best to say. We day-tripped dawn past dusk with the effervescent Edu, making four stops along the way:
Parada 01: P U R M A M A R C A • Cerros del Siete Colores & our first inhale of thin air. Seven colours determined by fossilised fish, multiple minerals and their place of oxidisation (overland vs. underwater) 🐠 As facial pareidolia would have it, we scanned every rock face – and with a wrong turn, found an absolute babe.
Parada 02: H U M A H U A C A •Our highest point at 3012m above sea level, in this little village cacti saluted the sky, bright-white Colonial buildings and Huevos de la Pascua were sold in the shade🌵
Parada 03: U Q U I A •We hoped to visit this puny place since Julián mentioned it in BsAs. Why? Because in its church hang some truly unique paintings. Ones that capture a culture-combo from many moons ago 🌙
The story goes that the indigenous people were tasked to paint angels. And unfamiliar with the concept, the 18thC Spaniards said, “they’re like us, but with wings”. So, the skilled artists painted just that: brooding men with muskets, spaniel perms, ballooning trousers and feathered hats — with wings 👼 Photos aren’t allowed but have a Google – or if you can, see them IRL.
Parada 04: T I L C A R A • Cacti botanical gardens, a trio of llama and rebuilt ruins. Constructed with the same rainbow stone and epic 360° views of the Quebrada. This rugged landscape is a tough landlord, with the OG residents staying up high for fear of their animals falling sick in lower altitude.
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Returning south, the westward sun lit up the other side of the Quebrada. Where ocean waves frozen in time stood bolt upright. A big fat geological question mark bobbed over the chronologically-curious sedimentary rocks: where new(er) gen reds and old gen yellows created tiger-stripes ⛰
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💦Hop, sleep and a jump I got to the docile(r) town of Tam Cốc. Just down the road from Ninh Binh, its limestone karst lined waterways are high on the tourist trail.
💪The town overflows from Tam Cốc-Bích Động sailing point, where metal boats are elegantly rowed by the sailors’ feet – in a dual-pedal motion. No matter how long I looked, I couldn’t quite figure it out.
🛶A river row through three low caves, paddies and wading workers sets you back about £9. Plus £3 if you’re swindled by a snack-selling boat.
😎Treating myself to my very own room at the gorgeous #TamCocDiBiVilla, where the outdoor pool has a sunshield to keep the water perfectly cool.
🚴 Cycling around gave me a new sense of freedom and the chance to weave around the backstreets – which are home to some beautiful buildings, and hidden graveyards.
🦋I followed the road out to Thung Nham nature reserve cum resort. A protected area dedicated to birds. A mix of manicured flower gardens and wilder paths, my timing (midday) was more butterfly-friendly than bird, but still well worth the £3 entry.
👀 There’s loads more to see around here, like the Mua Cave, Bai Dinh Pagoda and Trang An. But the night bus and a jungle trek called.
😴 #TamCocDiBiVilla ✌️Tam Coc boat trip ✌️@thungnham_ecotourismzone
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wildlife • swimming • shaman
One trip to the Amazon wasn’t enough. So we went back for more. This time a little more rustic and with a new lot of nature to see 🕵🏻♀️
The Cuyabeno river flows into the Napo, which becomes the Amazon as it enters Brasil. Being wet season, the river ran high and the cayman and anaconda kept to the edges (or something, supposedly) so we could swim off the lodge – we lived to tell tale 🐊
We canoed the water webs, swam in the lagoon, made hot choc from bean to cup and wandered the jungle at night. Creatures with too many legs and too many teeth were outweighed by the mystical dolphins, squad of spider monkeys, sloths simply hanging and rainbows of toucan and macaw 🦜
The sun took a day off and the monsoon poured as we trenched our wellied feet through the jungle — via an optional bullet ant bite — to our guide’s village. There, we made yuka bread (dig up root, grate root, squeeze, dust on hot stone, wait, wait, wait, flip), and met the shaman with some …interesting… techniques of sharing good energy, like slapping our knuckles with stinging plant Ortiga 😬
Drifting off to rolling thunder under mozi nets, rescuing hummingbirds and drinking snake-skeleton infused whiskey; this stay felt like a dream ⚡️