When I first arrive in New Caledonia, a small Melanesian-majority French colony in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, my French is shit. Like properly shit. Like, people can’t understand me when I try to order a baguette.
I knew it had to be bad. I did nearly fail half of my university French classes, and…
I’m an atheist. It’s never normally hard for me to admit that. But last time I settled myself in a city overseas, while looking for community, I found myself in a circle of Christian men that made me their prey.
Personally, I’ve always found church a bit hard to swallow. Perhaps it is the remnants…
I was splayed between gravestones, with multiple jackets strewn across the grass. Like most men I've encountered, Galway Guy was bending my body in ways that it simply does not bend – not everyone has gotten into the yoga phenomenon. I was shivering as dew seeped through one of his many jackets and onto the…
It was the eve of my 30th birthday: a painfully gorgeous afternoon in the south-east of Tasmania. A handful of friends and I were basking on the sunlit balcony of a 205-year-old pub after emerging from a remote and chilly hiking hut, which we had spent the past few nights in.
“What would you like…
Amongst the backpacking community, there’s always plenty of buzz surrounding the highly fantasised life that is weed trimming. And the first rule of Trim Club is that you do not talk about Trim Club. Rumours abound that you’ll make bulk cash in a short amount of time, which gives every traveller a semi-chub as they think about…
We all know that a drunken karaoke session can make even the most admirable person fall from grace. I just didn't realise how far I would plummet.
It was summer in the humble Swiss village of Lauterbrunnen – a picturesque resort town nestled in the Alps, surrounded by green fields filled with winter flowers and…
I can’t even show you the CD. Why? Because I threw that five-track motherfucker straight into the Chao Phraya River, Bangkok’s crystal clear aquatic thoroughfare. As a Dive Instructor, I should’ve known better – eventually it’ll end up lodged in the colon of a sea turtle, and I’ll be no better than Tony Abbott or…
Our guide sunk his comically large paddle into the bank and pushed us away.
While I half-expected us to gracefully sink into the river like Jack Sparrow's Black Pearl, we stayed afloat. Once we gained distance from the raucous restaurant, a peaceful silence settled over us as the boat cut through the silken black water.…
“What is the title of the second track in the DJ’s third EP?”
I stood there, stunned. I didn’t know who was playing the venue.
Truth be told, the bouncer didn’t have to ask such a complicated question. A simple, “What is the name of this club?” or, “What does ‘DJ’ stand for?” or even,…
This black fur rug feels a bit porny. Don’t make eye contact with the older lady in the corner. Oh god... I hope no one heard my stomach. Should have grabbed that damn chocolate bikkie. Really can’t see a thing with this light in my eyes. Gross, I can feel the sweat sliding down my…
After a bad injury, when I booked my first ever sports massage, I was shocked at the level of intimacy. The experience was more intimate, in fact, than any romantic encounter I’d had up until that point in my life.
I’m British, you see, and we Brits tend to be a bit uptight. It's actually…
This is a story of community, kindness and sharting.
I arrived around midday at a little surf town in the north of Peru called Lobitos: a place where the desert meets the sea. In the wintertime, it’s a buzzing oasis for surfers from around the world as they gather to ride the long barrelling…