Australia does experience what they call tropical cyclones, or, cutely, “Willy-Willys” (this is actually not cute; rather, it is a term believed to have Aboriginal origins and just sounds cute). For their own very sound geographical and meteorological reasons, these little Willy-Willys just don’t pack quite the same destructive punch as their big hurricane brothers in the U.S.

Since there are no great winds and waves spelling natural disaster here in Australia, in honor of the onslaught of hurricane season back home in the U.S., here’s a peak at what it can look like when the waves of the Atlantic do get wild here. The scene at this beach is no Willy-Willy, but it’s still quite a sight, I think.

A Mini Willy-Willy in Australia is a post from: Travel Writing Blog - Solo Travel Stories from Far and Near

Oxford Street Farmer’s Market – While setting off to explore some of Sydney’s weekend markets one Saturday, I accidentally walked straight into a tiny farmer’s market on Oxford Street while on my way to another market (which I never found). Here I met a girl named Sarah, who would capture the heart of many a travel blogger, as she quit the corporate world three years ago to pursue her dream of – second in importance only to travel – food! She created and cooks a saucy line of uniquely flavored sauces called Relish This, several of which she spread on crackers for me to sample. I loved them all and would have bought her outrageously delicious Beetroot Apple-n-Orange, if I hadn’t been traveling on so soon.

Sydney Fish Market – Apparently I love dead fish heads. I noticed this about myself at the Sydney Fish Market, where I couldn’t stop taking photos of the severed skulls arranged in many and varied positions on ice. Yum. What to do next? Eat, of course. Several little restaurants fill the buildings that comprise this chaotic market, but prices seemed steep everywhere. You might as well order something anyway, because you sure can’t take dead fish home with you on a plane.

Paddy’s Markets – This large indoor market is near Darling Harbour, a busy, busy super-touristy area which, inexplicably, I just really like. The market itself reminded me of an indoor souk without the sales pitch pressure. I mean this in a positive sense. I like souks. I think it was the enormous mish-mash of tables and goods on stands crowded together along with the hundreds of numb people flocking past. My personal highlight was standing and poking toothpicks into raw seafood to taste tiny samples. Paddy’s Markets was actually one of my favorite markets in Sydney.

The Rocks Weekend Market - This is an upscale spot, not far from the Sydney Opera House. It is also quite vast, with tables that run around and over the exclusive small underground shopping area called The Rocks Centre. I was in a little bit of a hurry, as I was on my way to meet a girl named Dina so we could watch bats flying past the moon in the Royal Botanic Garden. I did find one un-upscale and somewhat disturbingly quirky item at this market in Sydney, though – plastic pig masks, along with other animal faces to fit over your own. For Halloween, I hope.

Surry Hills Markets - I was really glad I was around for this Sydney market, open a mere once a month. Located in a small park, I saw a goodly share of clothes, books, jewelry and cute stuff. I found love, though, at a food stand. Turkish Gozleme – a dish I’d never before heard of – was being concocted on a griddle in the middle of the park. Folded over and stuffed with stuff, it looked so delectable I realized I would regret passing it by. I ordered a plate of this flat, soft, hot dough filled with lamb, spinach and cheese and wound up experiencing the best meal I’ve had in Australia

The Scene at Sydney’s Weekend Markets is a post from: Travel Writing Blog - Solo Travel Stories from Far and Near

One moment of memory-induced ecstasy occurred for me the last time I was in Sydney. Shortly after I arrived, as I was heading down George Street away from the train station, out of my left eye I caught a glimpse of familiarity. I turned my head and took in a sight that I thought I’d left at home – bubble tea! A pictorial sign in a shop window grabbed me by the hand and yanked me inside. Here, at ChaTime Tea House, I was once again amongst my beloved bubble tea, so beautifully similar to what I used to routinely enjoy in Chinatown in New York City.

Gooey glunks of jelly float around in a milky cold tea. Yum.

Standing on the verge of ordering a glass of this incredible cold tea with tapioca balls piled at the bottom, I noticed that the shop also offered a tea unknown to me. My excitement over a taste of home was overtaken by my love of the unfamiliar. I had never heard of this shop’s specialty before – Jelly tea! Since I was a “beginner” as the guy behind the counter dubbed me, he recommended I taste the Grass Jelly Roasted Milk Tea. I consented. The bizarrity of this tea from Taiwan combined with its genuinely good flavor was a great unexpected surprise. How can you not love tea with gooey glops floating around in it?

A yummy worm-like glob of jelly resting on my straw

Thumbnail photo by eschipul

A Taste of Home Abroad – Jelly Tea is a post from: Travel Writing Blog - Solo Travel Stories from Far and Near

Here are the destinations that, for a myriad of reasons, grabbed my attention this week.

Sarande, Albania – I immediately loved this beautifully written short piece in Sophie’s World about a 1992 encounter with a young boy in southern Albania. In The Boy from Sarande when Anne-Sohpie Redish ventures off a busy street and finds a boy sitting on a wall, she demonstrates that even though you have no common language, it is very possible to communicate and even get to know someone.

Harar, Ethiopia – With exquisite caution borne of lessons learned, traveler Jillian from I Should Log Off selects a cut of meat at a restaurant in Harar, Ethiopia. Sadly, her vigilance was for naught. In Diarrhea + Ethiopia = Worst Day Ever, the most hilarious blog post I’ve read in a long while, her partner in adventure, Danny shares a detailed account of his resulting intestinal trauma. You can go ahead and read it. It’s not that detailed.

Road Trip in New Zealand – Amanda Williams from A Dangerous Business left a comment on last week’s Where I Want To Go, asking me to take a look at her post New Zealand Drives: The Southern Scenic Route Through the Catlins. I really liked her photo essay, but another of her posts, 5 Roads Less Travel in New Zealand more caught my attention, as it focuses on off-the-beath-path road trips. Amanda calls the areas that these drives highlight “slightly more perfect than others,” and her photos and words support her claim.

Caramoan, Philipines – This secret spot has been found and filmed on by the French and Israeli Survivor television series, but most people flock to touristy Borcacay nearby. Nathan and Sofia of As We Travel jumped out of the crowd, though, and headed straight to the tiny island of Caramoan, a locale so remote, they say in Caramoan, Philipines, the Secret Paradise? , that it was 2008 before even locals began venturing ashore.

Teutoburg Forest in Germany – Michael and Maryls, hikers so avid they are almost pro, give their account of the ups and downs of hiking 220 kilometers of the Eggeweg and Hermannsweg trails in northwest Germany on Easy Hiker. In Hermannshohen – Two Old Easy Hiking Trails, they write about not only the positives but the negatives of the route. I appreciate this, as it seems their they can be an honest and trusted source for hiking information.

Do you have any enticing, unusual, incredible or thoroughly bizarre travel stories you’ll soon be posting? Let me know in the comments below, and I’ll go check them out for next week’s segment.

Thumbnail photo by FutureAtlas.com

Where I Want To Go This Week In Travel – August 29, 2010 is a post from: Travel Writing Blog - Solo Travel Stories from Far and Near

One standout of an expat is Carrie Kellenberger, who left her life in Canada to move to China and teach English for a year. Her year of living abroad has turned into eight, with no end on the horizon. Carrie graciously agreed to answer some questions about the why’s and how’s of transitioning from citizen at home to expat abroad. Here’s what she had to say:

Sabina: You’ve lived abroad for almost eight years. When you left your home in Canada, did you ever think you would be gone this long?

Carrie: Not at all! I figured I’d be gone for a year at the most. I really had to psych myself up to leave by telling myself that if I didn’t like China, I could always come home. Within weeks of my arrival, I knew I wouldn’t be heading home any time soon, and when I met my husband a year later, well, you know how the story ends. I’m still here and I still love every minute of my life in Asia.

Sabina: What took you overseas in the first place?

Carrie: Everyone asks me that question, but honestly, after all these years, it’s still one of the toughest questions to answer. I moved overseas for a lot of reasons, but I think it mainly had to do with my fascination with Asia. I’ve read countless travel books about Asia, but my favorite book, also written by one of my favorite authors, Pearl. S. Buck, is an autobiography entitled My Several Worlds. That book provided some of the inspiration I needed to embark on my own journey of self-discovery. That’s why my first web site is entitled My Several Worlds.

Obviously I was also looking for adventure and I was intrigued by the idea of teaching and traveling. I chose Changchun in Northeast China because of its remote location. I didn’t want to go to an overly Westernized city and I’ve never regretted my decision. It really forced me to get involved and learn about Chinese culture.

Sabina: I’ve heard China can be a difficult country to live in. You lived in Changchun for three years! How hard was it to adjust?

Carrie: I used to equate living in Changchun to living in the Wild West. I haven’t been back there since 2006, but in 2003, there were less than 300 ‘foreigners’ in a city of 7 million. I had never been in a city that big. Moreover, everyday activities like banking, shopping, and ordering food were a complete mystery. I remember walking down a market street on my second day in China and being absolutely terrified at all the people who were staring at me. China really taught me how to face my fears and deal with things head on.

Culture shock is something that everyone suffers from, but it’s how you deal with it that makes all the difference between leaving and hanging in long term. I wrote about my experiences in dealing with culture shock on My Several Worlds. Two things that helped me adjust to life in China were a regular exercise routine and a desire to get involved as quickly as possible. I started Chinese lessons and tai chi classes, for example, within a month of my arrival.

Sabina: After a few years, you made a career switch from teaching. How did you segue into writing and photography?

Carrie: Asia really is a land of opportunity and since I moved here, I’ve tried my hand at a lot of different activities. I’m not a wallflower by any means, and teaching was just one of the things that I enjoyed when I first moved to Asia.

My husband and I moved to Taiwan with Reach To Teach in March 2006 and we were placed with a terrific school. I spent about two years at that school and during that time, I decided to move my journals online. Moving into the world of publishing seemed like a natural step for me as a writer, and when a blogger friend offered me a chance to interview at a publishing company in Taipei, I leaped at the opportunity. My writing on My Several Worlds and my experience on-stage and in the recording studio were key in landing that job, and I ended up working for that company for two years before making the decision to go freelance.

My photography evolved a little more slowly. I started Taiwan Photographers in 2007 with the intention of creating a small community of photographers in Taiwan and over the years, I’ve met with a number of them and they have all helped me with my art. Today, we have over 1,300 members, both expat and local photographers, and a bunch of us meet up once a month for photo walks, thanks to talented pro photographer Craig Ferguson. Craig is an incredibly supportive friend and he has spent an immense amount of time with me over the years. He has taught me almost everything I know about photography.

Sabina: You’ve been in Taiwan for several years now. What is its appeal for you?

Carrie: Taiwan, simply put, is a wonderful place to live. The cost of living is low, my husband and I are able to save money, we have plenty of time to travel, and the island itself is a captivating blend of East and West. There aren’t many cities in the world that boast exotic markets and temples alongside the conveniences of a semi-Western lifestyle. My husband and I don’t need a lot of Western amenities, but it’s nice to have the choice. The shopping is awesome, as is the food. The people here are friendly and welcoming, and even after four years here, I’m still amazed at everything that Taiwan has to offer as a travel destination.

Sabina: After all of your years abroad, when you return to your home country of Canada does it feel like home – or is it in a sense a foreign country to you now?

Carrie: I think I’m more patriotic than I was before. It’s hard to really understand how truly unique your home country is until you have something to compare it to. Although I don’t live in Canada, I’m extremely proud to be Canadian and I absolutely love coming home. With that said, a few weeks is usually enough and then I start longing for Asia again. I like the hustle-bustle of Asian cities.

Sabina: What are your plans for the future, or is it wide open?

Carrie: The one thing I’ve learned over the past eight years is that life is transient. I know we’ll still be traveling, but where we’ll be and what we’ll be doing is something that waits to be seen.

Interview with an Expat is a post from: Travel Writing Blog - Solo Travel Stories from Far and Near

Here’s the destinations where I’d love to travel this week.

Dahab, Egypt – In Of Shib-shibs and Shay-The Sounds of a Dahab Night Nick Rowlands from Delicious Chaos plucks us up from where we sit and sets us down in this little town on the Sinai. In his skillfully worded story he makes us feel as if we’re right beside him listening to the the shib-shib sound of Egyptian sandals while watching the action of the night.

A Moroccan marketplace – Modi, a guest blogger on Maiden Voyage, writes that, “The real beauty of traveling [is] exploring new customs, trends and ways of life as there isn’t any right or wrong one.” I agree. One of life’s customs that varies quite wildly worldwide is shopping. In How To Bargain in Morocco, Modi provides some truly useful and effective tips on how to navigate around and possibly emerge victorious from the typical chaos that is an Arab marketplace.

Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts – Kira Matus, guest blogger on We Blog the World captures the feel of my favorite island on earth in Three Hours in Oak Bluffs and made me long for its breezy warm harbors. “Not much changes in Oak Bluffs,” Kira writes. I personally have seen literally exactly one thing change in 15 years. And that is one of the millions of charms of this island in the Atlantic.

Mash Gush Falls, Newfoundland, Canada – My friend Candice Walsh loves her home province in Canada so much that, through her writing, she makes me want to travel to Newfoundland to capture even a moment of what she experiences every day – not the nights stretching into sunrises of partying on George Street but the culture, the nature and the character of her region. In Candice Does the World’s Seriously Off the Beaten Track-Hiking to Mash Gush Falls she focuses on my love of off-the-beaten path locations. I am positive, were it not for Candice, I never would have heard of this waterfall with the roar that can be heard a mile away.

Chichen Itza, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico - I’ve traveled to Chichen Itza and seen the many serpent heads around these ancient Mayan ruins, but I learned all about their history from Barbara Weibel of Hole in the Donut. In Feathered Serpents Litter the Grounds at Chichen Itza, But One Can Only Be Seen on the Equinox, Barbara writes a carefully detailed post on serpent worship at these second-most-visited ruins in Mexico and makes me want to return for a closer look.

Do you have any enticing, unusual, incredible or thoroughly bizarre travel stories you’ll soon be posting? Let me know in the comments below, and I’ll go check them out for next week’s segment.

Thumbnail photo by kevindooley

Where I Want To Go This Week In Travel – August 22, 2010 is a post from: Travel Writing Blog - Solo Travel Stories from Far and Near

The Top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge – A major attraction in this city is the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The largest and widest steel arch bridge on earth, this a beautiful piece of architecture and remarkable to see even from afar. Climbing its 465 steps to gaze out over Sydney is quite a popular activity for many visitors. As I have a fear of heights, I wasn’t going to be climbing this bridge, whose summit is 134 meters above the Sydney Harbour. I did learn, though, that prices for climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge range from $188 to $298 for adults. Whoa. Why?! It is a remarkable bridge with a spectacular panorama, but I managed to get a view of my own. As I traveled to Sydney by train, we chugged over this bridge that costs so much to climb. The cost of my round trip train ticket? $10.80. And the close-up view of the bridge itself with Sydney peaking through, I think, was more unique and interesting than standing on top just gazing into the distance.

The Largest Bats in Australia – I’d never seen wild bats up close until I strolled through the Royal Botanic Gardens. Here Flying Foxes, Australia’s largest bats, dangle from trees by the hundreds. I had the privilege of seeing them slowly wake up and stretch and filmed a video of these mega-bats swooping through the sky into the moon. Flying Foxes are fruit eaters with appetites that have so badly damaged much of the flora in the Royal Botanic Gardens that noise disturbance is being utilized to force them to relocate. I’m so glad they haven’t yet.

The Gloss of the Sydney Opera House – Flash a photo of this landmark in the face of anyone in the Western world, ask them what it is, and they will say “That is the Sydney Opera House.” Finally I arrived on the grounds of this piece of quintessential Sydney but was still trying to figure out what I’d long wondered – what gives this architectural beauty its shine? Just standing at a distance staring at it wasn’t telling me anything, so I strolled up for a closer look. I smacked my head on one of the outwardly arching sheets of glass, but that’s not the opera house’s fault, nor is the glass part of the sheen. The majority of the exterior is made up of thousands of small pieces of beige and white colored square tile. Pieced together in just the right pattern, these little unassuming bits are responsible for the high-gloss appearance of the Sydney Opera House.

Like the tile that helps shape the Sydney Opera House, piece together the little independent aspects of any place you travel, and you’ll come out with a good picture of what makes it special.

Sydney Up Close is a post from: Travel Writing Blog - Solo Travel Stories from Far and Near

These flying foxes, the largest bats in Australia, were slumbering sweetly as the gentle wind swayed them slightly to and fro. I continued walking and found that tree after tree after tree was chock full of these bats. Every several seconds one would awaken and stretch, extending its red wings to their full one-meter span. Otherwise known as mega-bats (no imagination necessary to figure out why) these flying foxes weigh about a kilo and use their eyes and noses to find their way around when they wake up at night, rather than relying on radar like their little bat friends.

Later, Dina from the travel blog VagabondQuest informed me that when they awaken, these mega-bats fill the skies of the park as they fly off into the sunset. Both she and I love these bats, and I just had to see them flying off into the night sky. I am without any idea why her husband Ryan didn’t want to come along to the park to look at pretty flowers and bats, but he did not. So Dina and I alone headed to the Botanic Gardens to watch the sleeping giants awaken.

We were operating on an extremely tight timetable, as we had to get out of the park and back to the train station not long after darkness fell so that I could catch a train which would arrive in Gosford in time to make the last bus of the night. If I was late, I’d be paying for a half hour cab ride back to the house. Another factor came into play which we had not anticipated. As the sky began to darken slightly, rangers drove by, on their loudspeaker announcing that the park was closing. “It shouldn’t be closing,” Dina said. “The internet said it was open till 6:30.” Now, who are we to believe – human beings feeding us information personally, or the internet? The internet, of course.

So we stood and stood and waited and waited, as the bats slumbered on and the park rangers passed by again. By now, time was ticking and the train was on its way. Not many more minutes remained to stand and stare. We reluctantly started heading out of the park toward the exit near the Sydney Opera House, not taking our eyes off the sky in case the bats should finally wake up and start swirling through the air.

Suddenly a pair of huge black bat wings swooped overhead. Finally! “Let’s lie in the grass,” Dina said. “We can get better shots from here.” So we lied down in the grass and watched the flying foxes swooping through the sky across the moon. Here’s what the largest bats in Australia look like as they fly off into the moon at the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Note: The park rangers, not the internet, were, in fact, correct, and the park was indeed closed as we lie there in the grass watching the flying foxes. When we arrived at a locked gate, Dina, savvy about the Botanic Gardens, immediately spotted a portal in the form of a tiny one-way revolving gate off to the side. Through here we were able to quickly pass before we got caught and before I missed my train. Once again, another great night with VagabondQuest and an unforgettable evening of lying in the grass watching the largest bats in Australia fly overhead.

Flying Foxes in the Royal Botanic Gardens is a post from: Travel Writing Blog - Solo Travel Stories from Far and Near

Where I Want to Go This Week in Travel is all about the colorful, the powerful, the quirky, the enticing. Travel stories and articles that I include might be of stellar writing quality, they might highlight a destination I personally love or have long wanted to explore or bring to light for me a spot in the world of which I was unaware. They may tell a travel tale – one that makes me want to grab my passport and go, or makes me happy that I’m reading the story and not living it. My focus for Where I Want to Go This Week in Travel is any aspect of the power of the place.

Here’s what grabbed me this week:

Cumi and Ciki, two Malaysian bloggers who run an eponomous travel blog started off my week on an enticing and educational note in Mooncake Festival when I learned that little colorful cakes were used in overthrowing the Mongolian government during the Yuan Dynasty in China. If you want to experience this delicious and historical treat, now is the time to travel to Malaysia, as the Mooncake Festival is drawing nigh.

Kristin of Camels and Chocolate made me want to head immediately to tiny Mataking Island in Borneo, so lovely were her words and beautiful were her photos in Chasing Paradise. She had the intense pleasure of being on her honeymoon in this idyllic tropical locale, but I’d be happy even with just a solo trip.

The week then took a turn for the unexpected when I landed on a particularly wild story on Brendan’s Adventures. Brendan van Son tells an almost unbelievable tale of robbery and escape late one night in Panama City in The Last Time I Ever Got Robbed.

Amateurs in Africa bloggers Benny and Harty continued the trend toward the bizarre when they recounted what happened one night on a beach in Tofo, Mozambique. What do you do when you’re in a foreign country and a cop sexually attacks your friend? Read how they handled it in Don’t Shoot.

Marian, a guest blogger on Skool of Life, dished out yet another traveler’s nightmare – being thrown in jail for failure to produce evidence of onward travel after arriving at the airport in London. She gives her blow-by-blow account of her short life in the slammer in Social Media Lessons Taught by my 26-Hour Incarceration.

Do you have any enticing, unusual, incredible or thoroughly bizarre travel stories you’ll soon be posting? Let me know in the comments below, and I’ll go check them out for next week’s segment.

Thumbnail globes photo by John LeGear

Where I Want To Go This Week In Travel – August 15, 2010 is a post from: Travel Writing Blog - Solo Travel Stories from Far and Near

Descending from the fastness of the Valley of the Queens, the monumental pylon gateways of the Medinet Habu rise proudly above the rooftops of the brightly-painted local village houses. This temple, at the juncture of the cultivated land of the Nile plain and the escarpment of the ancient West Theban desert necropolis, stands where the world of the living meet the realm of the dead. Its magnificent towers are part of a memorial built for the last great monarch of the Egyptian 20th Dynasty, King Ramesses III (c. 1184 – 1153 BC) – a ruler believed assassinated by his harem.

Medinet Habu's Main Temple (Photo by: Benedict Davies)

Inside the gate tower at the entrance to the temple, well-appointed rooms with inwardly inclined walls and generously tall windows inspired by Syrian fortresses of the day depict scenes of the king relaxing in the company of a host of specially chosen female companions from the royal harem while playing board games, listening to music, eating and drinking and sharing unusual moments of intimacy. A sharp poignancy surrounds the history of this ‘pleasure quarter,’ for it was from these same rooms that certain female members of the king’s harem hatched and carried out a deadly plot to murder Ramesses.

The ringleader of this faction was Queen Teya, a minor wife of Ramesses III. Her motive was clear – the assassination of the aged king, the displacement of his heir apparent and the crowning of her own son, Prince Pentawere as ruler of Egypt. Teya did not act alone, instead enlisting the help of several other members of the harem in addition to certain ‘insiders,’ including priests, highly-placed palace courtiers and even an army general.

Security within the harem quarters was known to have been notoriously tight, causing the women to rely on the use of certain magical incantations and potions to either distract or incapacitate the palace guards. The mummy of Ramesses shows no signs whatsoever of having suffered a violent trauma, so it’s possible that the schemers turned to the use of poison, a venomous serpent or the destructive power of black magic for his assassination.

Medinet Habu Festival Scenes (Photo by: Benedict Davies)

It is debatable, though, whether the attempt on Ramesses’ life was a complete success. The king clearly survived long enough to witness the rounding up of the various suspects and to appoint to a council of magistrates who would see the case through to a formal prosecution. However, the elderly king was dead before Queen Teya and her accomplices could be brought to stand trial. The ultimate aim of the plot – to change the course of the royal succession – had ended in failure. At his trial Prince Pentawere was duly found guilty and the legitimate heir, Ramesses IV, followed his father onto the Egyptian throne.

Over thirty individuals were involved in this gravest of capital crimes. Most of the would-be assassins were found guilty and either executed or invited to commit suicide, suggesting that they may well have succeeded in the plot to murder Ramesses III.

Given the significant history and excellent state of preservation of the temple, it is rather curious that Medinet Habu is still very much considered off the beaten path for many of the mainstream tourist groups visiting the west bank of Thebes (Luxor). The often eerie solitude of its hallowed hallways and courts captures perfectly the ancient sanctity and thoroughly fascinating history of this august institution.

Dr. Benedict Davies is an Egyptologist, traveler, freelance writer and founder of the MP3 audio tours Iconic Guides. He holds a PhD in Egyptology from the University of Liverpool and is a leading expert on the community of royal workmen of Deir el-Medina and the Valley of the Kings. A seasoned traveler, Benedict is particularly interested in the cultures of the ancient Near East and the Far East.

Edited by Sabina Lohr

Thumbnail harem photo by freeparking

An Egyptian Harem Conspiracy is a post from: Travel Writing Blog - Solo Travel Stories from Far and Near