Category Archives: Travel

Savagery and Sophistication

I have been in Romania for almost two months now. I should be regaling you with tales of incredible exploit, of new adventures and new people and new experiences. However as you can see by my archives, the sad truth is that I’ve been otherwise ‘preoccupied’; that is beta-testing an idea for a video game vacation.
Now I’ve talked about video games in the past and my own personal addiction to them. I don’t know why the call of electronic hubris attracts me so, but the digital realm of entertainment has always been my Achilles heel. I have propositioned to my Romanian friends the possibility of starting a company aimed at cheap, extended video game vacations, but really this is just an expansion of my own personal wants and desires.

Continue reading Savagery and Sophistication

Communication and Connections

I know I’ve written about the the power of connections before, but this time on my ‘own’ has only reinforced my viewpoint that the connections we make are the root of our individual personalities. Our connections fill an emptiness within us; it makes us less alone in the world then we were before we reached out and metaphysically touched someone else.
See, here’s the thing. If we couldn’t communicate, we would all be sitting on the ground, scratching out a living killing beasts and harvesting roots and grubs. With language, we’ve bypassed a barrier that exists between individual instances of consciousness. It seems to me that in hostels, the barriers that we carry with us are dropped as we are all basically lonely souls reaching out for someone else to validate us.

Continue reading Communication and Connections

All on my own

Well, for the first time in my life, I’m not surrounded by friends or family. I just left Wally and company at the train station; they are returning to Amsterdam and I am off to Prague. I whole heartedly enjoyed my time in A’dam It is a city with so much history and heritage that myself, coming from a babe of a country, can only gape and marvel at it’s extensive heritage. The last two days have been very relaxing for me, as we stayed with Wally’s sister’s boyfriend’s (Moses) parents. We were thrown into a traditional Samoan party the minute we arrived; we were treated to traditional Samoan songs and dancing. Samoan dancing seems to be comprised of getting drunk, hoping around, hooting and slapping your chest while trying to put out a fire with your body. Strange traditions for a very friendly people.

Continue reading All on my own

High Speed Trains and Samoan Parties

It seems ironic that I travelled to Europe to write, and yet so far my writing has been less then forthcoming. Perhaps it’s only a matter of getting away from the Internet, because when I’m connected it’s as if all those possibilities prevent me from focusing on just one thing. So it’s only when I’m on my computer and not on the Internet that I find the time to actually sit down and write.

Continue reading High Speed Trains and Samoan Parties

Two for One

I may very well be staying in the smallest flat in London. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very cozy and full of love, but in terms of physical dimensions, I believe it’s all of 290 square feet. I’m staying with my buddy howie and his girlfriend, and every night I put down the futon and engulf the entirety of their free space. In terms of convenience, I don’t think you could find anything better. It’s smack dab in the middle of downtown london, easy access to any tube that you may wish to travel on. Their hospitality has been unexpected and beyond what one might ask – you don’t know how many times I’ve tried to pay something only to be waved away and told that because I’m not used to british pounds, I can’t be expected to pay. At any rate, I’ve spent far less in these last few days then I expected, and the time has passed quite pleasantly. Tonight’s adventures involved happy hour (2 for 1 coronas), drinks at one bar, drinks at another, emotional dramas and dramatic emotions. All in all good fun and pretty much what I expected when I crossed the pond.

Continue reading Two for One

A voyage of a thousand miles…

I have a confession to make. For the last while my writing has been lackluster, uninspired drivel with no real purpose or direction. From this day on it changes – new environments demand new perceptions. Yesterday, I boarded a creaky old 767 that flew me direct from Winnipeg to London, England. I’ve been planning my journey to Europe for the better part of 4 years – basically since I got back from a year and a half in Australia. Planning, well that’s a generous word. How about a nebulous idea with absolutely no preparation, a flight date, a mad scramble to pack, a series of drunken and not so drunken nights with friends, regrets, hopes, loves, losses and all that fucking jazz. I love to procrastinate, but let me tell you – preparing for an extended journey is something you should be doing months before your departure, not days.

Continue reading A voyage of a thousand miles…