Home Articles Posted by Izy Berry (Page 116)
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Couchsurfing in Mexico
When I was at Coachella with a friend, I decided that I wanted to do a border run to Tijuana, Mexico. I had always wanted to Couchsurf, I even hosted some people in when I lived in New Zealand. But I was always so apprehensive about my camera being stolen or something really terrible happening. After being stabbed in Indonesia and having my camera already stolen in Los Angeles, I felt that there was no harm in trying it out. I decided I would start Couchsurfing in Mexico.
Best decision ever. I had such a great time with my host in Tijuana that since then I’ve surfed in San Diego, Bilbao and will be surfing again in San Sebastian tonight!
So, why do I love it? Well, first of all it’s like meeting with a friend you’ve already met before, but haven’t. I love the social aspect of hostels, but sometimes I get tired of the small talk trying to establish what your story is. Thankfully, most of this gets cleared out of the way when you exchange messages with your potential host. You can read their profile, find out if you have any common interests and go from there – easy “pre-made” friend.
Secondly, they know their city better than any guide book possibly could. My hosts have known the best bars, cafes, sites and general attractions that I would have certainly missed if I’d stuck to a hostel and a guidebook. They’ll take you where the locals go. On my first trip to Mexico my host took me to his partner’s mother’s house for the best fish tacos of my life. What’s better than Mexican food? Home made Mexican by an actual Mexican.
Thirdly, they have their own already established social groups, so not only do you have one pre-made friend, but you might have a bunch depending on when you visit. When I was in Tijuana we met up with one of my host’s best friends and we went on a little road trip to Ensenada. This was much more fun than taking a bus alone. We ended up on a little boat cruise around the habor and then they took me to one of their favourite vineyards where we sampled ALL of the dips and filled up on tasty things. It was awesome!
Is Couchsurfing safe?
I can’t promise you it’ll be entirely safe, but I’ve had no problems. Couchsurfing hosts have feedback, so I think it’s always a good idea to read the feedback of the people you’re surfing with. If you’re a little anxious about security, make sure you know a decent hostel in the area that you can go to if you need to. You could always book a night’s accommodation for the first night and then meet up with your host for drinks and see how things are. All of my hosts have been awesome and people I hope to keep in touch with and would love to host one day in New Zealand.
Some people use Couchsurfing just as a ploy to make long term travel cheap, but I think it’s important that you’re genuinely interested in the people you choose to surf with and the experiences you’ll share together. It’s the best way to meet locals, who definitely speak your language and you’ll get a unique snapshot into what their life is like.
In the end I had an amazing experience Couchsurfing in Mexico. I made friends that I’ll always treasure and hope to visit again… and I’ll definitely be Couchsurfing in Mexico next time I visit.
Does anyone else have any Couchsurfing experiences? I’d love to hear them.
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24 Hours in Hong Kong
This post will be the first 24 hours of my 48 hour trip to Hong Kong. It wasn’t my first trip to Hong Kong, previously I’d been there for a brief stop over. It was my first time outside of Australia or New Zealand and I remember how different everything felt. Everyone around me was speaking another language, the air smelled strange, massive billboards plastered with chinese characters – and that’s exactly where my wanderlust began.
Originally I was supposed to be in Hong Kong for five days, but my plans were interrupted and it ended up being another short trip of forty eight hours. Not long enough to see all of Hong Kong, but just enough time to get a feel for this crazy bustling city.
As I was making my way to my hostel, I found myself in Victoria park – it’s a beautiful sanctuary away from the craziness of the street. There’s lush trees, with a skyline of tall buildings in the distance. It is possible, however, to find yourself completely lost in the lush forest and you feel so removed from the chaos on the street.
As I was in Hong Kong on a Wednesday, the main museums are free! So I headed down to the Hong Kong Museum of Art. I was there mostly to enjoy the art, but also to enjoy the aircon.
After enjoying the museum I made my way down to the Avenue of Stars, which provides a gorgeous view of Hong Kong Island. I always find the skylines of big Asian cities such as Singapore and Bangkok to be overwhelmingly impressive. The view from Avenue of the Stars must be one of the nicest in Hong Kong and the best part? It’s free. You can take a ferry across the harbor, which is something I actually did last time I was here – if the weather’s great this is a must do.
I tried to find China Town, but google maps led me in the wrong direction and I ended up in what must have been Hong Kong’s red light district. I didn’t take any photos, but it was like Patong, Thailand had temporarily invaded Hong Kong, complete with ladyboys. One thing I love about Hong Kong is the fact there are a lot of pedestrian over bridges, so you can walk around the city above all the traffic and the busyness below. Also, there’s a building that looks like a transformer, which is all kinds of amazing.
I was pretty tired after such a long flight and so much walking around, so I had an early night. In the next few days I’ll post what I did on my last day in Hong Kong. Even though it was a brief visit and I didn’t manage to do all that I wanted, I had a great time and would definitely love to spend more time there.
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Technology Ruining Travel?
I arrived in Hong Kong yesterday, checked into my hostel and went to the common area to finally get my bearings. There were four other people sitting in the lounge, two of them on their laptops, one on a iPad and the other on an iPhone. As I placed my keys and phone on the table I said “hello” only to be met with a brief nod of acknowledgement while everyone went back to their Facebook bubbles.
I couldn’t help but wonder whether how much of a negative influence technology has had on travel. If these people couldn’t clutch on to their friends back home, perhaps they would make a better effort to be present. I am guilty, too, of standing outside a Starbucks in order to scam free wifi so I can text someone from home or upload my latest picture to Twitter. I understand the fear of missing out on things back home. But I’m starting to question how much of this addiction to being, and keeping everyone I know, in the loop is affecting my travels.
Photography is one of my passions and I love to capture photos of the places I visit. But so often I see other tourists hidden behind their bulky SLRs and I wonder if they ever take a moment to look at anything just through their own eyes. You see, in the past getting film developed was relatively expensive, so I imagine people were a lot more conservative with the number of photos they took. More attention and time would have gone into deciding to ‘invest’ into the shot. These days images are cheap, you can walk around being as trigger happy as you like, employing a more hit and miss approach to photography. There are certain places I’ve visited such as Angkor Wat and The Eiffel Tower, that were littered with hoards of photographers pounding down on their shutter speed – so many that I didn’t bother to take photos myself.
There’s little need to look at a real map when you can let your smart phone’s map application show you the fastest route in real time. I have spent days in a city without getting a real feel for the layout, because sometimes I chose to be blindly led by my phone. There’s some magic in getting lost somewhere, in having to navigate streets that are filled with foreign names, trying to ask directions when you don’t speak the language – this is all beauty, hidden in difficulty, that we are not allowing ourselves.
Before I had an iPhone, I remember going to a dinner with a friend of a friend and some of his coworkers in Thailand. We went to a very nice restaurant, it was very popular and trendy. All of the tables were full and once we had ordered I noticed that everyone at my table pulled out their smart phones and conversation died off. As I looked around the restaurant, I realised I was in the minority. I saw people obviously on dates, with each person so engaged with their phone that there wasn’t even a hint of acknowledgement of the other person’s existence.
Despite all of the advantages technology provides, being constantly connected to technology can’t be a good thing. When you plug in your ear phones and put on some music you’re skimming away a layer of the life around you; the daily rituals of Muslim prayers, the sound of birds chirping, the chaos of the hustle and bustle of the people around you – you are missing out.
Do you think technology is ruining travel?
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Guide To Travel Insurance
When I flew between Australia and New Zealand I never bothered with travel insurance. In part because I never flew with anything particularly valuable, but also because as a New Zealand citizen, healthcare in both of those countries is free for me. It wasn’t until I flew to Hong Kong and Europe that I first got travel insurance. I was debating between health insurance and travel insurance, but I need someone to explain how the ACA works? It was expensive for the two week journey, but the added security was a huge peace of mind. When I finally departed on my first solo adventure, I hesitated before purchasing travel insurance: I hadn’t come close to making a claim on my previous trip and it was expensive and I’m really careful. In the end, I realized it was a necessity and booked a few months travel in advance. I am so glad I did.
My trip progressed well and without any issue until I was in Calcutta, India and my worst nightmare became a reality: a family member of mine was killed in an earthquake that destroyed my city. It was a dark day, but thankfully my travel insurance pulled through and they organised my flights home to be with my family, saving me around $2,000. On my second adventure I was stabbed and my travel insurance reimbursed me for my medical costs (stitches – ouch), the damage done to my camera (almost $1,000) and paid for a replacement of my backpack. They reimbursed my medical costs when I had really bad food poisoning and even repaired my shattered laptop when it randomly broke. I have got my money’s worth and then some.
This is what you need in a good insurance policy:
- Coverage for the specific countries you’re visiting
- Provisions for lost or stolen property
- Coverage for your electronics
- Coverage for injuries and illnesses
- Medical coverage, including hospital stays
- Round the clock emergency help and services
- Emergency evacuation coverage
- Cancellation coverage during the trip, such as hotel bookings, flights etc
- Coverage for any hazardous activities you imagine yourself taking part in
- Personal accident and legal expenses
The first step to figuring out what travel insurance will suit you is to decide what electronics and/or valuables you are taking with you and how much they are valued at. You’ll find most companies will have limits to how much individual items can be insured for.
One of the best value and most recommended travel insurance companies, World Nomads, has an upper item individual insurance limit of $1,000NZD (varies based on your country of residence). This means for “flashpackers” like me, it is, unfortunately, not a viable option. I’ve heard such great things about World Nomads I was almost tempted to leave my laptop at home so that I could use them.
If you are New Zealand based another great insurance company you can use is Travel Insurance Direct – they meet all my above requirements but allow you to insure certain electronics up to $4,000NZD. They are around 10% more expensive than World Nomads, which is a bit of a shame, but I would prefer to have my laptop covered.
Certain types of credit cards will provide you with travel insurance, mine doesn’t so I am not very familiar with how extensive these policies are. I would advise that you check the policy wording to ensure that it meets my above criteria. It would be a shame to skimp out on decent insurance coverage only to find out when you really need it most.
Anyone have any suggestions of great travel insurance companies?
Travel insurance is something we all hope we wont have to use, but are really grateful for when we do need it.
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Do You Need A SLR?
So many of my friends come to me asking whether they should buy a dSLR for their travel photography. It’s hard to say whether or not exactly you should buy one, as it’s a very personal decision, but often I find people are buying them for the sake of it and not really thinking about the practicalities of them. When I ask people why they want an SLR their response is always the same
“I want to take great photos”
Here’s a big surprise: you don’t need an SLR to take great photos, in fact I know a few people who brought SLRs expecting to open it out of the box, press the shutter and to take amazing photos – they were sorely disappointed. It simply doesn’t work like that, it’s all on the photographer to take great photos. A good camera helps take things “next level” but when you consider the additional cost and price, it might not be practical for you.
My first SLR was a Canon 400d, which is an entry level SLR. I had this camera for a couple of years, but only ever used the kit lens. I enjoyed taking photos and occasionally got a few photos I was proud of, but the truth was I could have easily taken equivalent photos on a Point and Shoot that would have cost and weighed half as much. I got to the point in my photography where I became frustrated, I wasn’t really making much progress, so what did I do? I invested in a 5d mark ii and spent time researching lenses that would suit what I wanted to achieve from my photography. It was an expensive decision, but my reasoning behind it was that if I had the best camera and lenses I could afford, then it definitely wasn’t my gear that was limiting me anymore, it was me. I found my photography improved in leaps and bounds. Do you need to invest in a full frame SLR for your photography to improve? No! You just need to change your frame of mind.
The truth is a high end point and shoot is probably going to serve you better than a low end SLR, especially if you’re going to stick to the kit lens. If you’re reading this article, then chances are you’re interested in buying an SLR or at least upgrading your camera, so let’s point out what I consider to be essential when purchasing a new camera if you want to take great photos.
The first thing I would encourage you to look out for is a camera that shoots with adjustable settings – for example, a camera that you can shoot in AV (aperture priority) or manual mode. This will allow you to have a lot more control of the specifics of the photo – which I believe is absolutely key to making progress in your photography.
The second essential criterion is: a camera that shoots in RAW. For some people this might not be as important as it is for me – it is a deal breaker. I will discuss the benefits of shooting in RAW properly at a later date, but for now I will say that shooting in RAW basically takes an entire snapshot of what the camera sees. When you shoot in JPEG or other formats, the camera automatically compresses the image. This means that when you come to edit the photo (a key aspect of photography, for me personally) you have an image that already has a fixed exposure and if you try to edit it you will negatively impact the image quality. However, if you shoot in RAW, you have much more flexibility with your image processing at a later date, as the “snapshot” of the image has been saved.
A high end point and shoot will meet both of those criteria, for example the Canon G12 which is a great camera. But SLRs are bigger, so they’re better, right? You might be able to take marginally better pictures on the entry level SLR with kit lens than your high end point and shoot, but, for the extra price you pay and the size and weight of the SLR, my overall opinion is no – they are not better.
If you’re going to set aside thousands of dollars to invest in good quality lenses to go along with your SLR then by all means, go ahead and make the financial commitment. But if all you’re looking to do is take great photos on a practically sized camera without destroying your bank account, then look for an adjustable high end point and shoot.
What do you you use for your travel photography?
At the moment I’m camera-less as my 5d was stolen in Los Angeles, so I’m using my iPhone!
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Missing Things
It seems the more places I visit and the more people I meet, the more I have to miss. I believe that missing something in itself is a blessing, as it means you’ve had things, experiences or people in your life that were so valuable and precious that you ache in their absence.
There’s also the type of missing that’s more akin to missing out – missing out on birthdays, weddings, milestones, and even missing out on the ability to see someone you want to the following day. That feeling can be, at times, almost paralysing. It’s part of the reason I removed almost everyone on my facebook from my newsfeed – I was spending too much of my life away from home trying to keep up. I’m determined not to do that on this trip, especially as I’m planning to spend the New Zealand summer, this year, at home.
I’m not sure how much I want this website to cross over into my personal life, as I do believe aspects of it are… personal. But transparency is interesting, and I’m sure romance on the road is something that other people might be curious about, especially those contemplating long term travel. Prior to this visit home, I listed one of the downsides of perpetual travel as basically giving up on any hope of being in a relationship within the next few years. But then I met someone who’s, in summary, the epitome of badass and I’m a bit more open to things, in the future – read: I want to rearrange the universe so this can be something, someday soon. My plans were interrupted, partially due to be taken back by the feelings that developed. But I have managed to push my planets back into alignment and tomorrow I’m boarding a flight to Sydney.
It’s much easier to use heartache or a bad job as a motivating catalyst to up and leave when you’re not happy somewhere. I first left New Zealand in a bid to explore more of the world and mend a broken heart. Nobody mentions how hard it is to leave when you’re happy, when you’re fully content with life. I guess it’s easier if you can take what you adore with you.
How do you push yourself over the “to go traveling” edge, when all you really desire is right at home?
Well, I write lists. Lists of all the things I want to do over the European summer that I couldn’t do in New Zealand.
Starting with hugging one of my best friends, Rob, at Sydney airport tomorrow
Walking around National park with aforementioned friend
Trying to survive on AUD$150 for five days in Sydney
Wandering around Hong Kong for two days next week (suggestions welcomed)
Catchups with lovely English friends in London next weekend
Nine days to make my way from London to Madrid via awesome places (suggestions welcomed, again)
Learning Spanish to a conversational level
Eating All The Tapas
Finding my groove in Madrid
Making authentic Spanish friends
Finding a nudist beach in Spain and getting my first tanline-less tan
Attending Tomatina festival
Watching a Madrid v Barcelona football match
Exploring Croatia, Slovenia and Italy (finally)
Although I feel a bit weird about leaving right now, I think it’s going to pan out to be one of the most amazing summers of my life. I’m also really looking forward to coming back to New Zealand for the summer, too. Two summers in a row – absolutely spoiled.
I’m going to try my hardest not to worry about missing and missing out. Because if my attention is too focused on what I don’t have, I’ll end up letting all that I do have slip by.
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Postcards from Angkor Wat
There are places in the world that you’ve seen so many photos of, or heard so many stories about, that you expect in a way to be disappointed when you finally see them. I was born in Sydney Australia, but never ventured back there until I was 16. I’d always been fascinated with travel and saw numerous photos of the Opera House and by all accounts it looked stunning. Until I was on the ferry, making my way to manly beach, when I realised it was not as large, white or impressive as I had imagined.
It has been said that expectations are the root of disappointment and I agree to some extent. When I was traveling around Asia I found myself a little “templed out” – as in, I couldn’t have cared less if I ever saw another temple on my travels. But after volunteering in Cambodia, I knew that Angkor Wat had to be on my list of things to do. People had gloated about the sheer size and intricate detail. Everyone was impressed. I tried to brush away my expectations, but as soon as I stood before Angkor Wat I found myself both surprised and overwhelmed – not unlike that cute monkey pictured above.
It is all that they say and more – I love that I can say that to you and still your expectations will never exceed the reality of Angkor Wat. I have visited Angkor Wat again since and there is a substantial difference in the environment and the feel of the temples between the seasons (rainy and not). Like Cambodia, it is a place that I hope to visit throughout my life to see how it changes and evolves. I’m sure you’ve seen countless photos of the wonderful temples, so I decided to make my Postcards From Angkor focused around the things that are a little less static.
What is the most breathtaking place you’ve ever seen?
Angkor Wat is certainly up on my list, along with Ha Long Bay and Borobudur.
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Girl Interrupted
After just arriving in New Zealand I wrote a post about the downside to travel and since then I feel like everything has changed. The last time I was back in New Zealand was February last year. A devastating earthquake had torn apart my home town and family, causing me to cut my time in India short. As much as I was glad to be back, to be able to support my family, I wasn’t myself. I wasn’t happy here and I was itching to get back to The Rest Of The World.
This trip home was a conscious decision, fueled by a genuine desire to see my friends, family and country again. From the beginning it felt different. I had worried about reverse culture shock and had intentionally planned a short time frame home so I didn’t get bored. I wanted my trip home to be special, but fleeting.
And then life got in the way of all of my plans. My dad wound up in hospital and I chose to miss my flights in order to be here for him. He’s fine now, but, if I’m honest, there’s another reason I want to stay. I’ve already said more goodbyes than anyone should have to say in a lifetime and each is getting a little harder. Since being home I’ve met someone I’m not ready to say goodbye to. I just don’t want to. I know that I have to return to Europe for myself, but for now there’s a little less spring in my traveling step. I’m mindful of the fact that having my camera stolen has really changed travel for me, but it’s good being challenged and forcing myself past it.
As much as I’m tempted to stay, I think it’s important to follow through with my summer plans. I’m looking forward to spending some time in Sydney, getting lost in Hong Kong, visiting friends in London and making my way to Madrid for the summer, via Portugal. After I’m finished I want to visit Croatia, Slovenia and Italy before making my way back to New Zealand. I’m gifting myself a summer in New Zealand because I’m greedy and because I’m madly in love with my own country, too.
And because the coffee is just way better here.
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The Hard Stuff
When you’re backpacking it’s easy to get caught up in the fun of it all: endless boozey nights, with your days spent lounging on beautiful beaches drinking fresh coconut milk. Cambodia was the first country I really tried to get under the skin of, before I arrived I really knew very little about it. I’d met someone on my travels who suggested that I should volunteer in Cambodia. But when I arrived in Phnom Penh, I had no idea what to expect or anything about Cambodia’s history.
I had just been in Saigon, Vietnam, where I visited the War Remnants Museum with two of my friends. Coming from New Zealand, we’ve had a pretty neutral history (by international standards), so being in a place that displayed all the horrors of war was really moving. There were numerous times where I had to walk out and take a break from all the heart wrenching images. It’s not as fun as riding around beautiful Hoi An, shimmying between tailors, but I found it to be really important. When the three of us left the museum we barely spoke a word to each other for the rest of the evening. Life had been put in perspective and it had made us see Vietnam in a slightly differently light.
Arriving in Phnom Penh with a clean slate in terms of knowledge of their history, proved to be very interesting. I had no idea about the Khmer Rouge or about the fact that during the late seventies almost a quarter of Cambodia’s population, an estimated four million people, was murdered. The total population of New Zealand at present is around four million, so that really put the size of the trauma that Cambodia suffered in perspective. I was welcomed by the warm, beaming smiles of the local people, despite much of the population hovering a little too close to the poverty line. As I dug deeper and found out more about the history, it became obvious that everyone alive in Cambodia had been in some way affected by the Khmer Rouge. There was an obvious generation gap, it seemed that there was almost no one who was in their mid thirties, as it was just an impossible time for people to survive. The more I learned about Cambodia’s dark history, the more my affection grew for the people.
On a weekend away to Rabbit island, I found a copy of First They Killed My Father. It’s an easy read, as it’s written from a child’s perspective. It also makes it very relatable, because it’s easy to draw correlations between some of the confusion the author had as a child and to some of that I had growing up too, although our realities were worlds apart. I set aside a day to go to The Killing Fields, and although my stomach was in knots the whole time and I felt emotionally heavy, I’m glad I went.
It’s tempting when you travel to do the nice things, to stay in nice hotels, eat at nice restaurants, and have a nice time. While that’s good and well, for me it’s important to penetrate the surface; I want to know what life is like for the local people. Because I took the time and effort to see the worst of Cambodia, it made the best of Cambodia a lot more obvious, too. I appreciate the people more, because I had some understanding of the struggles they had faced and how far they had come.
