Travel stories made for sharing

It was -28 degrees, and it was starting to get dark outside.

The little wooden hut that I was in with some of my colleagues was fairly warm and cosy, thanks to the lively fire that I had started earlier that afternoon. However, outside the huskies were getting restless. They were barking and howling. I knew that they didn't want to spend the night out there. I can't blame them.

We were supposed to wait until the morning, when another sled would arrive so that we could take them home. But I'm a spontaneous person, and I decided to do it the hard way.

"Guys", I said, "I'm going to take the huskies home."

There were 14 run-hungry huskies outside and only one sled. Normally, each sled has 6 huskies or maybe 8 pulling it. I'd never even driven a sled with more than 6 huskies before. 14 of them was going to be crazy.

I set up the lines with one of my colleagues hooking up the dogs one by one to the sled, as the snow and wind started to pick up. I took my gloves off to tie the ropes better. My hands and fingers were almost numb from the cold.

When all the huskies were attached to the line in front of the sled, we were off. I didn't want to waste any more time than I had to. I wanted to get the huskies and myself home.

If you've ever been pulled by huskies before, you know how fast they can pull you along in your sled.

Imagine 14 of them!

We tore through the Lappish evening like a Japanese bullet train. The wind and snow rushing into my face, the part of it that was exposed anyway. Driving that fast through the wilderness, I have never felt so alive.

It was midnight when I got down at a bus stop called the "115 miles" somewhere in the Yangon-Mandalay expressway. I had to run and find a loo for myself. But in that huge, crowded place I was not quite sure how to do it. That's when I came up with an exciting plan that I was sure would work. I decided to follow a fellow Burmese passenger to the loo and back.

The plan was working great until I came out of the loo and realized that there were hundreds of Burmese women standing in front me and everyone seemed to look the same. There was no way I could figure out who I had followed. This was the "Cross-Race Effect" and it had bitten me hard that fateful night especially in my half-asleep state of mind.

I simply had no idea what to do after that. I could not go back. The bus stand was huge and there were hundreds of buses lined up. And in only one of them were my family and my phone. I spoke no Burmese and had no means to contact my husband.
Everyone around offered to help but we could not fathom how. I ran and ran and ran until it felt like I had run all my life.

Suddenly, a vague memory crept out of nowhere. I remembered my bus being yellow in color. And I ran towards all the yellow buses until I found one where my husband was anxiously waiting for me. I collapsed right into his arms.

It had been a big night for me: one with big experiences and even bigger realizations. Recognizing people that were different from me could take me days. How, in the world, could I hope to understand them in a matter of weeks? "Understanding" surely was the journey of a lifetime. A hundred Burmese smiles flashed right in front of my eyes. My journey to understanding Burma had just begun.

https://www.storiesbysoumya.com/travel/almost-lost-in-myanmar/

While there were many battle sites during the Civil War, none of them are as famous as Gettysburg. We were able to visit this massive destination a few years ago for a Boy Scout campout and it was quite different than what I thought it would be like!

First, you cannot possibly see all of Gettysburg in one day. Trust me on this, as we drove along the entire thing, rushing around, and accomplished maybe a quarter of what we wanted to!

The fields, the monuments, and statues are remarkable, and we stood there in awe as we saw what all the soldiers who fought in the war saw at that time. Everything has been carefully preserved and it was one of the best places to learn a lot about the Civil War.

My favorite part was when we visited the cemetery and looked across the way to where the only civilian of this battle was buried. Jennie Wade was killed by a stray bullet as she baked bread in her kitchen one morning. Her grave is marked by the American flag flying high next to it.

Of course, you cannot miss the panoramic piece of art inside the Visitor Center either. We needed to wait our turn to go see this magnificent work of art and we were amazed at how it seemed to come to life before our eyes as sounds of the war were played in the background.

Do me a favor though, if you want to explore many of the Civil War battlegrounds, do not start with Gettysburg. We have been to a few since and have been terribly disappointed with how this piece of history is portrayed everywhere else.

There were four big tough-looking men staring at me with knives in their hands.

The white overalls that they were wearing were smattered with blood stains. Was I in the right place I wondered? This was the address that I had been given. There weren't many other houses along this long lonely road in Lapland. The snow had really started to come down hard now. Everything was white and all of the houses looked the same.

One of the Sami men leaned forward and spat to his side. I decided it was time to speak.

"Hi my name's Tony. I've come here to work with reindeer."

My tone was inquisitive rather than factual, even though I knew what I was there to do.

"Mitta?", said the biggest of the Sami men. This means 'What?' in Finnish. It was clear that none of these men spoke any English. This was going to be difficult.

I tried again, half in Finnish and half in English; "Mina olen Anthony. Olen here to work with poro".

This seemed to work. The youngest Sami said something in Finnish and then came forward. "Hello Tony. Welcome in Finland. Now you cut meat from dead reindeer!"

That was the beginning of my winter in Lapland working as a reindeer herder with the indigenous Sami people. I would go on to work there for the next 6 months and return for another 6 months the next winter as well.

It was an amazing experience that saw me practically become a part of the family. This first meeting was just one of the many adventures that followed between the Sami and I.

Meteora is unlike any other place I’ve been. When I told my friend I was going to Greece, she said told me I HAVE to make a stop in Meteora. I quickly Googled it and my jaw dropped. It was absolutely unfathomable. For those that don’t know, Meteora is famous for the six operating monasteries perched atop impossibly vertical peaks. One wonders how they transported all those building materials and constructed such fascinating buildings. We made a 3 day stop in Meteora and surrounding Kalabaka and Kastraki while on our way from Athens to Thessaloniki. We took a train from Athens so we were on foot once we arrived at our B&B in Kastraki. Our host was kind enough to drive us up as close as possible to the first monastery where we then hiked the rest of the way up.

Each monastery has its distinct features and charm and you really have to visit all of them to get the full picture. To go from one monastery to the next, you have to completely descend and re-ascend. We found what appeared to be a footpath and asked a tiny old nun with a sense of humor for directions. She spoke only Greek, but gestured a walking motion with two fingers, complete with sound effects that if we were to take that path, we would fall off the cliff!

We followed the road back down and took an alternate footpath up to the next monastery, getting a bit lost and backtracking along the way. We spotted many goats around the hills, with bells around their necks, clearly owned by villagers, but otherwise free to graze and wander as they pleased. We did this for all of the monasteries and whenever we were on the winding roads, cars and tour buses whizzed by, taking them from monastery to monastery, unfamiliar with the toil and sweat experienced by the monks and nuns of the day.

If you want to learn more, NTripping has the best guide I’ve seen to get you excited and prepared for your visit to the Meteora Monasteries!

https://ntripping.com/meteora-monasteries/

I have my share of camping stories. At a young age, my parents would arrange summer roadtrips just before heading back to school. For me, it was all carefree. I’d hunt for frogs and go canoeing with my friends while the adults did all the work.

In my teens, I went on several camping trips with my friends and had many misadventures. I’ve been bitten by a snake, attacked by an army of raccoons who ate an entire tub of margarine, and gotten lost canoeing in the Great Lakes at dusk trying to find our camp site.

On one trip, a major storm hit and blew our food tent along with all its contents into the lake and knocked over dozens of big trees blocking every road out. Our tents collapsed and the five of us ended up hunkering down in the car under the threat of trees crashing down around us.

My only experience “camping” abroad was in the Moroccan part of the Sahara Desert. We exchanged our 4x4 for camels at the edge of the desert and rode about an hour and half into the sun. The scenery gradually changed from beach-like to massive sand dunes 250m high. It gets cold and dark quickly in the desert and after having the dinner our guide prepared for us, we went straight to bed. The next morning, we rose early to witness the most magnificent sunrise before heading back to the village on our camels.

Over the last few years, we’ve really tried to conquer as many exotic trips on our bucket list as possible before having kids. Now with an 8-month-old in tow, we’re ready to fly again. It’ll be our first overseas trip and Glasgow is our destination.

I’ve always been a nature lover and try to visit a national park whenever I’m travelling. I’ve got to say, Scotland has some of the most amazing parks. Our plan was to visit Loch Lomond and Dumbarton Castle for a day trip, but now I’m convinced the only way to experience this fully is to camp! Apex Forestry has some great tips and information for camping abroad. https://apexforestry.com/category/forest-travel/

Everyone has big dreams that they’re too scared to follow. It could be a dream job, starting your own business, achieving that family with your dream house. For me, it was to travel. But even though travelling is something that is done worldwide, for me - a welsh valley girl from a small town where no-one went further than Spain - it was something that felt beyond reach. Like many people wanting to chase their dreams, I bounced back and forth through all the reasons why I should and shouldn’t travel. I was happy with my life. I had my dream job, my own house, a boyfriend, an amazing family and great friends and a comfortable lifestyle and income. But I was discontent. I felt like I didn’t belong in Wales. Some people spend their whole lives debating whether they should or shouldn’t travel. Other people have a ‘breakthrough’. A breakthrough is a point in your life which flicks on that switch that says ‘GO’. It happens in a matter of seconds and changes your whole life.
When I had my breakthrough, I will riddled with fear and anxiety and I couldn’t quite untangle it from my excitement and happiness that I felt about finally putting myself first, despite my family’s doubts and disapproval to live my life the way I wanted to.

The experiences and adventures you get from travelling and living in different countries is not something you can buy or read about. It has to be lived. It has to touched, smelt, heard and witnessed. Travel will change you for the better. It will open your eyes to many possibilities and you’ll do things you’d never have dreamt of doing before. Life’s too short and you have to seize your opportunities now before it’s too late. Ask yourself, what’s holding you back? What’s stopping you? Everything will be waiting for you when/if you ever go back so you really don’t have anything to lose! Don’t let life just pass you by. Grab your opportunities and achieve the impossible.

I have had quite the history of being afraid of animals since I was little and almost bit in the face by a dog. To say it mildly, I have stayed away from creatures of all kinds for many years!

However, a few years ago, my family and I traveled down to Virginia for a vacation and stumbled upon the Virginia Safari Park.

Inside this park, we were able to drive through while interacting with and feeding the animals. Needless to say, after our third drive through, I was hooked! I couldn't get enough of these animals as they craned their heads into our van trying to get the food that we hid behind the front seats. (We had been told to do this, as these animals are quite greedy and the first few will eat all the food, leaving nothing for the rest of the animals further down the road.)

Imagine a bull elk or deer sticking its head into the front window of your vehicle as you allow it to eat from a bucket of food... It was quite the experience, although, we are still finding little pieces of this food in the oddest places in my van, even in the stow and go!

I wasn't a fan of the ostriches, as they kept trying to eat our windshield wipers instead of the food. The most interesting part of our drive was losing a bucket to one of the animals, as they love to steal them right from your hands!

After our drive, we walked through the area where kangaroos were sleeping and hopping around and pet some of the animals at the petting zoo.

My favorite part though was getting face to face with one of the giraffes! They are quite tall, and thankfully I had a platform to stand on, or I would have only come up to their shins! This gentle animal ate some food out of my hand and even stood there as my husband took a photo of the two of us.

My love for animals has grown since this trip, and I have even found myself holding a baby alligator and touching a sting ray or two. Oh, and one year, I went in the water with dolphins. But that is a story for another time....

Being a Westerner growing up in the 70's and 80's, I actually never really had Japanese food until I was in my teens. Even then, it was usually just the Bento box and if feeling brave, some sushi. I'm not really sure how the food scape changed, but all I can say is there are a lot of Asian and Japanese places popping up everywhere and I couldn't be more thrilled! Everything from the cafe serving delectable Japanese desserts to the Izakaya, serving more bar+grill small dishes. You just can't beat the Izakaya ambience - the resonance of the taiko drum, the in-sync announcement of every event by every staff member; the izakaya is now my preferred channel for Japanese food and good times.

I thought I'd share a few tips I've learned over the years for would-be Izakaya goers.

Try something new!
Newcomers may be nervous about trying some of the more daring dishes, but I promise your taste buds will be pleasantly surprised by these weird and wonderful flavours. Go on... live a little!

Share your food.
An izakaya is not a 'one plate' type of place. The portions are smaller, but this means that you and your party can order plate after plate of mouth-watering dishes and enjoy all sorts of delicious foods.

Bring your friends, eat more food.
The more friends, colleagues, or family you bring, the bigger the feast you can enjoy.

Think outside the Bento box.
Don't expect the same types of foods you might see at a typical sushi restaurant. An izakaya is a whole new level of Japanese dining... Delight in the differences.

Don't forget to order a drink!
Your meal wouldn't be complete without some sake to sip or a cold beer to quench your thirst. Remember, an izakaya is the fantastic fusion of Japanese restaurant and pub. You can't have one without the other!

Every day around 7PM he's here, maybe it's just a healthy habit to take a walk in the neighborhood after dinner. He looks like he's in his early 70s, a bit hunchback. He always sits down at the same yellow bench by this tree and lights up a cigarette as he looks out into the distance as if he's recalling his day so far. He carries a small white plastic bag with him, after he finishes his cigarette he would pour something out from the bag into a paper box at the end of the bench. I never knew what it was until I saw what he did next. He looks away and starts waving his hand. Saying hi to a friend perhaps? A caramel colored cat emerges from the bushes. The little fur ball walks up to the old man, jumps onto the bench, taps his lap with her paw. He caresses her head as she squints her eyes and meows. The paper box contains her best meal of the day. Just before she starts enjoying her dinner, she looks up to the man and meows again, he smiles back and taps her nose. I guess, this is what friendship without borders looks like.