September, 2010

Crikey intern Nick Johns-Wickberg writes: It’s a typically freezing day in Kashmir’s capital city Srinagar and my travelling companion Mike and I, wrapped up in our knock-off Indian jackets and two dollar beanies (mine has the ear flaps, his says “Free Tibet”) are having a nice afternoon stroll. We’re probably on the main street of [...]

Timor-Leste is not for the unadventurous — it has little tourist infrastructure, the language barrier can be a challenge, the US dollar means that it’s expensive when the Aussie dollar’s not doing so well, it’s hot and dirty. But there’s much beauty amongst it, discovers Rebecca Arnold.

Dave Keetch writes: The French version of Al Jazeera was on the television so I was only half paying attention to it as I sat with Hajar’s family in their home at Tiznit, Morocco. It was the news ticker that caught my eye though. “Mauritanie” scrolled across the bottom of the screen. I then caught [...]

Martin Lane writes: I’m the sort of person mainstream travel agents should love. Once a backpacker, I now have two kids aged 10 and 14 and, while the old spirit of adventure remains undimmed, my first priority is to make sure they’re going to be safe and that flights, accommodation and probably transfers are all booked in advance.

Crikey deputy editor Jason Whittaker writes: I feel like Maeve O’Meara (and if you don’t know the reference, shame on you). I’ve had my Food Lover’s Guide to Malaysia, and it was delicious. A wok toss away from the so-called Golden Triangle entertainment district around KL Tower, this food market is where the locals come [...]

My Back In A Bit colleague Kevin O’Faircheallaigh recently wrote a stinging piece about camera-wielding tourists – very much worth a read if you haven’t already done so. While I agree with a lot that Kevin said I’d like to partially defend myself and other travelling photographers, says Scott Bridges.

I know a guy who insists that the only way to truly experience a country is to organise yourself a home stay. He feels that it’s home stays alone that enable us to understand how the average citizen of any particular country lives, and anything else is really just shallow surface tourism. I think we can all agree that this idea is unadulterated horseshit.

Our first stop was Soweto, that most famous township. Rebecca Arnold wanted a chance to see Soweto and meet the people who lived there and hopefully understand a bit of this place which has played a fairly significant role in the formation of the nation.

When peers were coming back from over-crowded venues like Florence and Rome, I was basking on the quiet (concrete) shores of the Mediterranean. It felt glorious to be the holder of this ‘secret’ place and I was understandably smug. Unfortunately, I always feel the need to proclaim my brilliance to those around me.

In this, the latest in a series I’ve been calling “In defense of hugely intrusive government regulation in order to eradicate behaviours in others that I find annoying”, I’m going to explain why I feel that in order to purchase and operate a camera people should be forced to obtain a license.