#travelling

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Read about my journey into becoming a creative freelancer, interviews and reviews with great authors, and advice on writing and creative living.

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Aug 28, 2018
3 min

Stuff

On Sunday, we finally let ourselves back in. Six months and three weeks after we locked the door behind us and set off round the world, we came home. The flat was full of echoes, of the strange feeling that other people had existed in our space for all that time. You could see it in the extra wear on the kitchen worktop, the limescale lines around the base of the taps. All those months ago… It felt strange, at first. Not that there was much time to take it all in. First, we h

Aug 5, 2018
4 min

Unexpected Dangers

One of the reasons people thought we were mental to travel around the world with a baby (and there were many) was because of the perceived danger. The world is a hazardous place if you are small and inquisitive. But abroad, those risks become much higher, or at least they can seem it because they are far from home. The flights, the germs, the foreign illnesses, the dangerous creatures (yes, Australia, I’m looking at you) the sea, the swimming pools, the cars, the trains, the

Jul 29, 2018
3 min

Hanging It Up

It dangles at the end of the bed. The plastic clips rattle against the bed frame when I walk past it. The straps have yielded to the stretch of my baby’s changing size, the buckles clasped around me in snow, wind and sun. It’s been left there like a forgotten thing – the sling that we used to carry her round in every single day. Now we are home, a pram is providing her transport. It’s much easier for many reasons. We don’t have to carry the weight of her all the time, there’s

Jul 23, 2018
4 min

Back to Reality

In the week since we’ve touched down on UK soil I’ve been back to work, travelled (again) up to London and attended a book launch. It’s fair to say it hasn’t exactly been an easy transition. I was expecting the tiredness. I was expecting the excitement at seeing faces I had missed for so long. What I wasn’t expecting was an emotional surge which has left me teary over the slightest things, and a general uneasiness. I can’t quite put my finger on it. Whether it’s relaxing in t

Jul 1, 2018
6 min

Winding Down

This week marked an important event – we booked the very last accommodation we’ll need until we leave. No more trawling through listings every few days, no more comparing prices and amenities and weighing up the best option. Looking back over our trip, we’ve stayed in eighteen AirBnbs and twelve hotels. That’s quite a lot of moving around! The other significant difference from this point on is that we’ll be staying in the same place for five days, and then an entire week. Up

Jun 24, 2018
6 min

Becoming a Parent on the Road

They say it takes a village to raise a child. In our modern society, communities have dwindled and family rarely live close together. This often leaves the parenting to fall on just two people. A daunting task, at the best of times. Of course, technology offers its own solutions. There’s an app called Mush which allows you to meet up with local parents (a sort of Tinder for mums, without the swiping or the sex). Just the ticket when you’re stuck at home with a squawling infan

Jun 17, 2018
7 min

Dressing Up, Dressing Down

This week we found ourselves back in civilisation, as Mexico City was the first stopping point for our Mexican adventure. It’s the biggest city we’ve been to since Tokyo, back in the chill of February. While most of our travels seem to have revolved around countryside, national parks and beaches, cities are probably the only place that I feel self conscious about what I’m wearing. A combination of skinny jeans and hiking shoes just doesn’t scream urban chic, and the frequent

Jun 3, 2018
5 min

Why Am I Getting Bored?

The human mind is an incredible thing. It has the capacity to render the most extreme things into something mundane. Just look out of your window, isn’t it marvellous? Maybe you think a few buildings, maybe some plants, are dull, but just think about everything behind them. The years of trial and error, of development and time that took us from a crude hut to the sophisticated living structures we live in with heating, water, toilets, everything we could possibly need under o

May 28, 2018
7 min

Decisions, Decisions

How many big decisions did you make today? Perhaps a few in relation to food, one about whether or not to go out, then a final one about when to go to bed. Forgive me, maybe I’m underestimating the hectic life you have that keeps you teetering on the brink of one vicious problem to the next, but for me, daily life is not exactly awash with options. Sure, there are small things I need to make my mind up about, but in general the big things – where I’m going to sleep, what I’m

May 20, 2018
10 min

What’s Going On?

It’s fair to say that our levels of planning ahead have diminished somewhat since setting off. Before we left, we spent hours perusing guide books and websites, looking out for the best places to go in the first two countries. At one point, we even had our accommodation booked for the upcoming seven weeks. At the moment, we know where we’re staying for the next three days, and we’ll probably look at the guide books for our next destination while we’re on the flight. Part of i

May 13, 2018
7 min

Huh, Other People

As Satre put it, hell is other people. Although he said it in French, which probably made it more profound. As someone who lives in London, I can definitely relate to that sentiment. Waiting to get through the barriers on the tube, navigating around dawdlers on the street when I’m late (as always), or just trying to drown out the chatter of others when I’m trying to listen to a podcast or write. Since having a baby there’s a new annoyance to add to the list – when a bus arriv

Apr 29, 2018
7 min

Wide Open Spaces

New Zealand feels enormous. It’s odd, considering that we’ve just come from a country that could fit the entire of Europe in it, to say that this diminutive pair of islands seems so much bigger. It just goes to show the impact that people have on a place. With so few people living on the south island (33% of the population of the entire country live in Auckland) there are huge spaces of land with nothing as far as you can see. No shops, office blocks, houses, farms (ok, perha

Apr 21, 2018
4 min

Stuff for YOU on the Road

I could have called this ‘Mummy Treats’ or some such nonsense, but frankly I think there are times when it is great to not consider yourself a mum, and just think about the things you want to make you feel good. After all, it’s all very well if your little darling is all set for a day at the beach but it’s far less fun if you feel like your hair is a fuzzy monstrosity and your skin resembles some of the leathery lizards you encounter in your tropical travels. So, let’s ditch

Apr 7, 2018
6 min

Is My Baby Ok?

At four in the morning I heard it. A scratching sound, above me in the van. Claws on canvas. Something nestled up there, behind the tent she was sleeping in. Earlier, before I’d gone to sleep, I’d checked on her. Arms splayed out either side of her, so still and calm in her slumber. So defenceless. I lay there, dithering. It was probably nothing, but then we were in Australia. What if it was a snake? It could have slithered into the cool canopy while we weren’t looking. I got

Mar 30, 2018
6 min

Losing Time

One of the biggest things that has changed since having a baby is my experience of time. Back in London, whole days would go by when all I managed to do was feed and change her, hastily scrabbling together a sandwich or pouring as much water down my throat as I could in the few minutes I had while she slept or didn’t want attention. The washing would get hung out in parts – a few pieces thrown over the airier until her crying got too loud. In the half hour before he came hom

Mar 21, 2018
3 min

The Roads I Didn’t Travel

Travelling around gets you thinking. Hours spent sitting on planes and trains reminds you of previous journeys, places you’ve visited, memories you created. Sometimes, it can make you think of the trips you didn’t take. Whilst travelling through three cities and two continents, I’ve come across a few friends that have taken different roads from me, that could well have been mine. One studied for her PGCE with me, and is now teaching in Singapore. Another was a friend in schoo

Mar 11, 2018
5 min

Cultural Collision or Communion?

I’ve just spent 10 days in Singapore. At the tip of the Malay peninsula and the crossing point between India, Australia and China, it has been a meeting point for for many years. Everywhere you walk you can see and feel the these influences. So what impact can a combination of cultures have? My daughter is a foreigner. Her current methods of communication are certainly unintelligible. The favourites are a sort of bubbly buzzing noise produced from pressing her lips together a

Feb 28, 2018
5 min

Staying Sane on a Plane with a Baby

If you listen to Mr. Daily Mail, you will not inflict your offspring on anyone until they are capable of being in public spaces without being annoying. When they get to 25, perhaps. If you find yourself longing for a bit of adventure beyond Bognor before then, you’re going to have to get on a plane. Arguably the younger you do this the better, as they are more likely to just eat and sleep, and need less entertaining. Being gluttons for punishment, the first flight we took our

Feb 25, 2018
3 min

Can You See Yourself in History?

When we visit places, we always look to the past. Seek out the origins to better understand the culture and the town that sits there now. Certain places wear their history more openly than others. With the clustering of temples on every corner, the profusion of old-fashioned wooden buildings and streets thronged with people wearing kimonos, Kyoto certainly flaunts its antiquity. The golden pavilion in Kyoto While some people are a little disappointed with the parts that are b

Sarah Scribbles

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