Outpost Travel Magazine Issue 94 Preview

From PRAGUE Iconic Bohemian Europe to I WALKED AMONG THEM Braving India’s Famed Rat Temple

in the World’s

Great Cemeteries

MALAYSIA’S

Smelliest Food

Makes Great CHEESECAKE

PERU

Big Sky Andean Country

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AUGUST

OUTPOSTMAGAZINE.COM $4.50 CAN/US. DISPLAY UNTIL SEPTEMBER 08, 2013

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94

Who’s Dead

How to Flash Photograph How One Little Fishy Beat the Odds

How to Work Smart

When Travelling

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In The Valley of The

Condo

PER ŠMarita Abad

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dor Story by Carla Bragagnini

Photo by Marta Abad and Christopher Plunkett

Not far from Arequipa, Peru’s second largest city, is the Colca Canyon, where ancient villages lie on terraced slopes and the Andean Condor is known to soar As I sit on a bench, with my head in my hands, noticeably palefaced and feeling dizzy, three village children play around me, giggling to each other. “How can they run around like that when I can’t even breathe?” I think to myself, jealous of their ability to function here.

The bravest and smallest one, rosy-cheeked Stefania, eventually sits down next to me. After staring for a few seconds she shyly asks, “Do you have soroche, señorita?” I guess the absence of colour in my face must’ve given it away. It takes a lot of energy just to nod. She grabs my hands. “They’re so cold. My mom can sell you some water if you want,” she says, pointing to a smiling merchant a few feet from us.

The pint-sized doctor with a hidden agenda makes me laugh and momentarily forget the discomfort. We go on to have a distracting conversation about her school and friends. She’s playing with a little box, pretending it’s a cellphone. She informs me that she’s unable to make any phone calls, not because of the true nature of the object, but because she doesn’t have “any credit.” We may be in Chivay, a village deep in the Andean highlands of southwestern Peru, but in many ways Stefania is just your typical six-year-old with a vivid imagination.

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E

one Day The Great Canadian

adventure

Press •REC and WIN A ROUNDTRIP FLIGHT FROM SELECT CANADIAN HUBS

Presented by

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Presented by:

A ROUNDTRIP FLIGHT

FROM SELECT CANADIAN HUBS

GOT an action Cam? Camcorder?

Just send us a

Smartphone?

Something to record your

adventure on?!

video of yourself

—or someone else!— in action to show us

how KEEN you are on ADVENTURE.

What can you WIN?

a Roundtrip Flight from select Canadian hubs

One of many Great Canadian One-Day Adventures

and a fabulous PAIR OF

KEEN CNX FOOTWEAR

to keep your feet in step with your adventuring spirit!

For rules and regulations, and how to enter the Outpost KEEN Great Canadian

One-Day Adventure contest log onto

outpostmagazine.com

2:25 / 4:00

CC

Supported by: NGPOINT LO

-ADVENTURES ECO

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24/05/2013 5:26:51 PM

Prague My Week in

Story and Photos by

Chris Mitchell

Once the throne of Bohemian kings and more than a thousand years old, this central Czech city shines in time

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The stunningly Gothic Church of Our Lady before Týn located in the heart of Prague

Iconic Prague Castle, also on this issue's cover of Outpost

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HOSTELLING INTERNATIONAL CANADA

BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALBERTA REGIONS

BACKPACKER BUZZ

How to Be a Travel Writer

Continuing our series from our favourite travel writers and bloggers, Fiona Scott, a.k.a “Babe with a Backpack” shares useful tips on how to become a travel writer.

Usually when people find out that I’m a travel writer, they make a big fuss. They “oooh” and “aaah” and ask if I bring my laptop to the beach. They go on and on about what a dream job it must be, to have everything paid for as I’m guided around the globe. What most people don’t think about are the hours in transit, the hours searching for WiFi to meet an editorial deadline, and the bank account balance that has a few digits within it—but never enough to opt for First Class. Yes, it is a dream job as my experiences from country to country are irreplaceable—but it’s a hard slog of a job.

I didn’t study to be a travel writer, nor did I seek the profession.

But as an active traveller with a love for writing, it all seemed to fall into place, and I dedicated my time to making my mark within an industry teeming with new writers every day.

So where do you start? It’s actually blaringly obvious, but a lot of wannabe writers do seem to forget the basics.

Step One: You’ve Got to Write Content!

Talking the talk and romancing the places you’ve seen and experienced is irrelevant if you don’t have any written material. Keeping a notebook with you and taking notes can create enough content to fuel an article. When note-taking ask yourself the same questions in every new environment you write about. Think about details that create a picture, details that inspire readers to experience more of your story.

Describing your senses is an automatic catch for most readers as they can recreate your surroundings in their mind.

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What does it smell like? Salty ocean air, rich woody forests or smoggy congested streets?

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What colours do you instantly see around you? Stormy skies above, a cherry-red store awning or a sea of honking yellow taxis?

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Is it incredibly loud, or eerily quiet?

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Is the seat sticky to touch—does the sand leave a dusty residue on your hands?

Forming a daily routine of detailed writing is the best step to creating a portfolio. And it leads you to the next step in becoming a travel writer.

Step Two: Polish Your Writing Style and Find Your Niche

When you open up the travel section of a newspaper these days, the variation in articles is incredibly diverse. For myself, I found the niche of being a single female traveller on a tight budget most appropriate. And guess what? I’m a single female traveller on a tight budget! Sticking with what you know will authenticate your words.

Finding your own writing style will also separate you from the cookie cutter writers out there who simply supply information. It’s still important to provide the basic facts about travel, as logistics are a main component in building any itinerary.

But doing this with a smile in your writing will have readers seeking your material specifically. With the generic travel www.outpostmagazine.com

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HOSTELLING INTERNATIONAL CANADA

BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALBERTA REGIONS

Work your way around the world

Auckland

Writing and photos

by Ceri Jones-Chong

Mount Cook

As Canadians we are a lucky bunch. First off, we live in this awesome country; secondly, we are Canadian!

And thirdly, we have the chance to legally live and work in many countries around the world, thanks to the bilateral agreements that have been set up by our government. For many young adults, living like a local on the other side of the world is a dream come true. I am one of those young adults who jumped at the chance to take this trip of a lifetime.

I decided that I would spend a year working and living in New Zealand. It was a great experience, totally different than if I had just gone there travelling. Living and working in a country and doing the daily grind does open your eyes more to a country’s traditions, customs and lifestyle. You also really get to mix with the locals, much more than you would just travelling.

I found the transition into Kiwi life quite easy. Probably one of the hardest decisions I had to make was where I would base myself in NZ—with so many amazing places to choose from it was not an easy decision. After much contemplating I decided that I would like to call Auckland my home for the JULY/AUGUST • 2013

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Ceri and Ian at the All Blacks

next 12 months. I was looking for a more career-focused job, and it seemed that Auckland had quite a few on offer.

When I first arrived in the city I stayed at a long-stay hostel, which was an excellent base and a great way to make friends. I found a job in about five weeks, which I suppose is quite a long time, but I was being pretty picky. If I was looking for more casual work I would have found one a bit quicker.

After five weeks at the hostel, two friends and I moved into a house right next to the beach on the North Shore. I have to say that this was really one of the highlights of my NZ experience. Being so close to the beach was such a luxury.

I would head down there after a long day at work and catch the last few hours of sunshine, or just jump in the ocean for a swim. This was the life, the Kiwi way of life. If I was travelling I would never have experienced this—yeah, I would have hung out on the beach and gone swimming, but it was the fact I was doing this after work, like all New Zealanders do, that really made the experience better. www.outpostmagazine.com

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.com

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