I was in the Tokyo suburb of Shibuya when I first laid eyes on one. Nothing about my bright and hectic surroundings felt familiar to me, until I recognised the spiky-haired cartoon hellraiser printed on a stranger’s T-shirt. But there was something not quite right about the Bart Simpson I was seeing. This Bart was…
Are you a wannabe travel writer or an aspiring journalist with itchy feet? Do you want to spend a month living in the cosmopolitan city of Barcelona, being mentored by media industry pros and getting real-world writing experience?
Immerse yourself in the Catalan home of art, history and architecture that has long inspired writers with…
Our legs dragged as we approached the traditional Indonesian restaurant, known as a warung, at the end of the street. Smokey grey fumes swirled from an open wok, behind which sat a small woman perched on the edge of a stool. Alerted by the footsteps of prospective customers, she glanced up momentarily from her work.…
Content warning: Suicide and associated themes
I lay cocooned in an old duvet on the hard hospital floor, drifting in and out of consciousness to the haunting lullaby of my best friend's heart monitor. I looked at the clock perched on the stark wall above me -- the only gauge of time I could find…
I’m sat in an empty American-style diner on Melbourne's Chapel Street when I hear the news.
“We have a new PM,” she says, as casually as one would say it’s raining on Sunday, or we should pick up some milk on the way home. I look at her, the one with whom I have spent…
The trainee clerk at 7/11 gives me a nervous smile as she fumbles my items through the scanner. I wait for her to see the last item on the bench.
She pauses. She says something to me in Japanese which I don't understand, but I recognise the word I was expecting to hear – “Neko.”…
I enter the hospital room and my body freezes. Before me stands a lifeless room full of clinical white light. Death lingers in the fringes, waiting for permission to feast. Bleach engulfs my nostrils. My feet shuffle past the door as I take in the slumped bodies occupying the room. Sunflowers sit in a vase,…
Long days. Cold nights. Fatigue and loneliness. Standing in the harsh sun, I’m surrounded by walls of tall jungle. Staring ahead at a steep overgrown path that never seems to end, I hyperventilate. Time passes with each step. My breathing softens as we make it to the summit. I wonder whether I’d be better off…
Content warning: themes of sexual assault
In the winter of New Delhi, the birds of prey drew imaginary circles below the smog; they wouldn’t be seeing blue for a long time. The buildings that surrounded my hotel were hungover, power lines strewn over their stocky bodies like streamers at the end of a party. The…
I just missed another friend’s wedding. A friend I have known since the age of 10. She sent me the invite months ago.
Absolutely no pressure if you’re not, but do you think you’ll be in Australia in June? We have booked the date and I would love you to be there.
When she asked,…
The reactions are diverse when you tell someone you've decapitated a live chicken in Vietnam: I’ve been laughed at for my inept bravery, labelled as a bloodlust sicko and given a pat on the back. One thing’s for sure: it peels open a fresh can of controversial worms.
Nearly all of us kill animals every…
Australians love Japan. We crave its sushi, we embrace getting pissed at karaoke, we marvel at the novelty of being naked in a public bathhouse. We also love to shred the powder that coats the mountains of the country’s many ski destinations. This is especially true of Hakuba, one of the most accessible snow resorts…