Where do you want to be?

Everything about travel excites me. Hotels, different languages, mysterious food, interesting architecture, culture, art, people, suitcases.  I even like airports. I’ve been to a lot of places but when I think of all the places I want to see, I begin to realise how incredibly insurmountable the task of seeing everything really is.

Despite the fact that I want to see everything and experience everything, I did want to force myself to put together a list of destinations. I think if I put these details down, I’ll be more likely to commit myself to actually seeing some of these places in the flesh. I think for me, its more than the experience of being away from home or experiencing a different culture. I like the culture shock. I love it. I like the way being away from people gives you perspective.

The following list is not a list of locations, but a list of moments, a list of contexts, of time and place because just to say “I want to see x” isn’t the point. Places are the combination of people and their stories. So, here it is.

001. Holi Festival, India

Holi is the celebration of the beginning of spring and is a Hindu festival also known as the ‘Festival of Colour’. The festival starts with a bonfire on ‘Holika Eve’ and the following morning, coloured chalk is used to commemorate both the full moon and the vernal equinox. People visit family members and drink and dance and play with colour. It is also celebrated in Nepal and other parts of South East Asia but is most prominently observed in India.

002. Guca, Serbia

Ah, so Guca is a little (read: a lot) different to Holi. Guca is called in English, ‘the Trumpet Festival’ and the moniker is correct. It is a three day festival over a weekend in August. It has occurred for the past 52 years and the festival continues to draw even bigger crowds. I happen to be Serbian and yet I’ve never had the privilege of being in Serbia during the time of the festival. Nevertheless, it brings together people from all over the place to dance, sing, eat and drink.

003. Jukkasjarvi, Iceland

I kind of collect dream destinations, you know, like a hoarder and usually its through lusting over other peoples’ holiday destinations but this destination was a place that sort of weirdly fell into my lap. Just as I started writing this post, a documentary started on TV on the creation and design behind this hotel in Iceland. Oh man, watching the engineering prowess behind building an ice cube as a hotel made me kind of proud of humans. We’re a weird bunch, (oh yes, please let me sleep on an ice cube inside a giant ice cube) but we’re also a kind of awesome bunch. So yes, I’d love to visit.

004. Masjid al-Haram, Mosque of the Prophet Muhammed, Mecca

This is the holiest site in Mecca in the Muslim faith and it is beautiful. There isn’t a particular time I want to visit during as the site is active and prayers are conducted 5 times a day but its so gorgeous and even though I am non-denominational, I still think the practise of faith and the monuments that are put up to commemorate faith are gorgeous.

005. Valletta, Malta

Whats a travel lust list without a tropical destination? Well, Malta isn’t exactly tropical but as a country located in the Mediterranean, you know, it kind of does. Valletta was a city under siege and yet, it’s so pretty. It’s also teensy so I can forgo the whole “visit during a specific time”. If I was going, I’d want to see the museum. Apparently it’s got some really weird phallus’ and hey, that’d make some great photography.

THE BOOKSHELF 001: Everyday Sexism, Laura Bates

Don’t be alarmed by the title, or if you are, pause and consider why exactly it is that you’re alarmed by the title.

The eponymous project by Laura Bates was started in early 2012. The book explores incidences of harassment, prejudice, unfairness, discrimination that disproportionately affect women due to the ingrained expectations and stereotypes that surround women.

This book, I mean, wow, wow, I had to put it down a few times because it got to be a little much, you know? But at the same time, its not really like I was surprised – it was more this feeling of overwhelming despair. No, truly, despair.

If you’re interested in reading more about Bates’ project, you can read about it in the book, Everyday Sexism, or online at http://everydaysexism.com

Because while on the one hand, I related to some of these incidences she was describing, or had heard of them from a friend of mine I also felt an incredible amount of: ‘well, ok, so the statistics speak for themselves, and there is a case that sexism is causing undue mental, physical and emotional pain to a lot of women and men but NOW WHAT?’

 I think Bates does a really good job of engaging with the different facets of the experiences of women and men without being exclusionary or dismissive. It’s huge, really, the issue and therein lies the problem. The reason Bates’ book stood out for me, as opposed to the countless (and let me tell you, in my vast experience or rather the one semester I spent doing feminism at University 😉 literature on sexism and gender-based violence, was that Bates acknowledged one fundamental thing: the problem is personal.

I could go on and on and on about how laws don’t do anything. They’re useful in their existence, they’re useful in the appearance of a civilised society that recognises politically on a fundamental moral level that these actions are wrong but more importantly that they need to be punished.

However, laws don’t necessarily change behaviour. It’s illegal to murder someone, but as anyone who is from Atlanta will tell you – that ain’t stopping anyone. So, what does Bates say?

Well, the issue is not a woman’s issue or a man’s issue – as if by laying blame on an entire gender isn’t how we got into this mess in the first place! – it’s a collective issue. Sexism and the patriarchial values that underpin it disproportionately affect women, yes, but these women (you, me, us) don’t exist in a bubble off the side somewhere they are someone’s sister, mother, friend, daughter, aunt, teacher, colleague and I could continue, but you get it.

Instead, Bates just encourages everyone to tell their story to keep talking, to keep tweeting and to share the conversation with our friends, and our family and legitimise it in the eyes of disbelief. And if, after reading this, you yourself are in disbelief that what I am talking about is real, or perhaps that the few stories I’ve included are real, I’d encouraged you to read it.

If you’re interested in keeping updated on my reading exploits above and beyond what is featured here, (I’m doing a 52 Book Reading Challenge this year!) please add me on Goodreads!

THE BEST OF: JANUARY 2015

I have to admit, I’m a sucker for a good blog series. I like it when people tell you ALL about everything on a generally regular basis. To celebrate my slight klepto tendencies toward internet themes, I bring you – self-improvement!

Or as I affectionately call it: ‘being more appreciative of the stuff I have, in order to feel less crappy about the stuff I don’t’. There! See? I can do it too! Bring on the juice cleanses and the ‘stop and smell the rain’ approach and maybe this year might not be so bad.

Nah, I’m just kidding. I’m still going to be the same old, same old.

Because I’m an old hag that doesn’t like new things or even giving proper appreciation to old things, here is much seven good things (seven! COUNT THEM) for the entire month of January. Damn.

One. GLEBE MARKETS

These happen every Saturday of every week at Glebe Rd. Primary School and the convergence of all of Sydney’s hipsters and all of Sydney’s best food trucks into one glorious morning. It’s very much a vintage/alt market but its great. You’re not going to be going to ‘bag a bargain’ but at the same time they sell TERRARIUMS and CACTI and 80s clothing. It’s a cool place to go for a squiz. Another kudos is that literally every cafe has good breakfast but WellCo. just up the street from the market, towards Broadway is a must.

Two. NEW YEARS EVE/DAY
It was so good. I spent my NYE in Byron Bay, up the coast of Australia looking at the pretty water and the pretty boys and daydreaming of what my life would be like if I too was a Surfer!Girl and this was my entire life. I resolved I’d hate it but five days sure were nice.

Three. CAT EYE SUNGLASSES
This shouldn’t really a “January” favourite because technically all my sunglasses are cat eye’s and I wear them all the time. But. Technicalities. Y’know.

Four. CHOC MINT KIT KATS
Nothing needs to be said, just witness this great leap for humankind.

Five. ASOS HAULS
I only bought winter things. A coat and a thick sweater. In summer. In the middle of an Australian summer. Wow. My only defence is: sales?

Six. WHITE CHOC CHEESECAKE
So much for that juice cleanse, right.

Seven. REALLY, REALLY GOOD FRIENDS
Again, not a month specific favourite but a good one, nonetheless.

And if that doesn’t make you really happy, then I’m not sure what will.

Cya, sweets!

WOW, THIS IS NEW

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Style Stalker: The Chambray

My mum has four chambray shirts and of those four, she lives in three. As for me, it took a long, long time to convince me to buy one (remember me, whole old habits, hates change? Yeah. Hello).

First of all, I didn’t want one with studs or sequins or multi-wash because I wanted a style that would last forever.Then my issue was price. A good chambray – the type where the jean material is a little stretchy, a little lived in, a little soft, doesn’t come cheap. You could always go to Big W or Target but the quality is going to be evident in the price. So, I waited and deliberated and eventually found the one.

This is basically what I wear to university. Swap out my huge uni tote for a cross body bag and I can head out of my house and go straight to dinner or a movie with friends. I probably wouldn’t wear a hat to uni but there’s always Saturday markets or brunch and a wide brim goes perfectly with that!

I respect my bank account (mostly) so these Miu Miu glasses included in this set are purely a lust-after but still, the theme is there. A chambray and leather. Hellllllo winter uniform! Flats are always a good choice with some thick tights if it’s chilly and a huge scarf to burrow in.

Hey, if Sydney isn’t going to do nice things like snow the least it can do is give me crisp, sunny days.

My “is anybody fooled that I’m an adult?” outfit. Yeah, probably not. Still, tote and black trousers are a staple. If you’re working in a creative environment like media, news or even some more laid-back offices, something like this is acceptable.

Click the thumbnails under the sets for product information and if you’re stuck, or you know, can’t afford Louboutins (!) consider similar styles but different products.

Hope you’re having a lovely week,

Cya sweets!

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This is going to be a space for life, (in all its greatness and glory) travel, food, and style. Mondays and Thursdays for the foreseeable future.

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