Talking To Strangers: Guidebooks and Sushi

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Unless you are an omnipresent, immortal being there is no way you will know every piece of information about wherever you are in the world. It is the accumulated knowledge from different perspectives that, if you pay attention, can transform your stay from a simple holiday where you tick the usual tourist boxes (not a bad thing) into a memorable tale that even your great grand kids will know by heart.

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Borders and Boundaries: The Berlin Wall

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Photo by Steve Collier.

25 years ago a period of social and political change in Europe allowed countries who, since the end of the Second World War had remained in the iron grasp of Communist Russia, to glimpse true freedom once again. Families were reunited after thirty years or more of separation, a country felt whole again and a positive future was in sight. Once a stark reminder of the divide between Eastern and Western political ideologies, the Berlin Wall had effectively split a nation and it’s people in half causing misery for those whose lives were torn apart.

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Your Stories #3: James Harris

Our third story comes from James Harris who at the time of writing was working his way through Europe but right now is actually back in the UK.
We put together a set of questions to ask travellers whether they travel short or long term.

Be inspired as James does travelling the gritty, adventurous way. Enjoy!

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I don’t have many photos of myself because of travelling solo a lot. I used to keep a kind of video diary in New Zealand, really just as a personal project, to try to help me keep my sanity. So I screen grabbed this. It was wet, the path was a stream, I was not sure how far I had to go, where I was going to sleep, and was a long way from other people. As that was a large part of that time, this seemed an appropriate face to be pulling. In the end the video diaries turned out to be more of a record of not much sanity!

I’m just a guy who sometimes travels, sometimes works and tries to enjoy life!
I’m a film-maker when I work, and a general adventurer when I don’t. I try to get outside and see new stuff and meet new people as often as possible, whatever I’m doing. Other people rock, so I jump at a chance to join in with something they do that I haven’t before, and I always try to invite people to join me for whatever I do!
I reckon we should all knock down our garden fences and have shared gardens.

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