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Yarns
The Sushi Predicament
The plates circulated like a runway at fashion week, except instead of haute couture, the models were dressed in shades of raw fish, and instead of leggy models, they were small balls of rice. I imagine I felt the same way at this Shinjuku sushi restaurant as I would have at a high-end fashion show,…
September 14, 2018
Yarns
The Other Side of Suicide
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…
August 28, 2018
Yarns
Losing My Mum at Six Years Old
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,…
August 23, 2018
Yarns
One Step at a Time: Trekking Kokoda at Age 15
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…
August 20, 2018
Yarns
Tracking the Exchange Rate of my Trust
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…
August 17, 2018
Vietnam Yarns Yarns
Killing in the Name Of
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…
August 13, 2018
Yarns
Crushed By My Holiday Crush
He was so handsome. Tall with dark chocolate skin and big brown eyes to match. He climbed in the minivan and took the last available seat next to me. Smiling, he revealed his perfect white teeth. I could already imagine kissing his plump lips. “Hello,” he said. “Hi,” my voice quivered. “Where are you from?” “South Africa,”…
July 30, 2018

Astray is a storytelling project centred on travel, place, culture and identity.

We’re run by a team of writers who mostly live, work and play in nipaluna / Hobart. With reverence, we acknowledge the Tasmanian Aboriginal people as the traditional and ongoing custodians of trouwunna / lutruwita / Tasmania: land that was stolen and never ceded. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.