Travel - Make a journey, typically of some length or abroad.

Dividing our lives into the time we work and the time we play is pretty close to being a social norm today no? We use that play time to do things we enjoy, although probably not nearly as much as we’d like if we’re honest. We also use that time for travel. We like to travel, infact we’re a generation of travellers aren’t we? No other generation has had access to as much of the world as we do, for as cheaply as we do. So we take that easy access, we pair it up with our play time and thus you have your annual holiday which forms the typical modern definition of travel.

Are we missing out on something though? Are we really only travelling when we take a break from our reality to escape to some far flung island retreat? If you look at the definition of travel above, it doesn’t entirely rely upon going abroad or any fixed time. In it’s purest form you could argue the definition of travel is simply the act of making a journey. The definition of travel itself doesn’t entirely rely upon going abroad or any fixed time, in it’s purest form, travel is simply the act of making a journey.

We are all on a journey, every day another chapter and it seems a shame that we allow most of that journey to pass us by. It’s tough, no doubt. Modern life can seem like a bit of a grind at a times, doing the same thing, over and over again for reasons that you’re not really sure matter. Travel offers an escape from that cycle, but lately I’ve been wondering if this escapism is actually healthy in the long term. Wouldn’t it be better to have no reason to escape in the first place?

I suppose all I’m really talking about is being able to live in the moment. It just strikes me that it seems easier to live in the moment whilst we are travelling. So maybe if we try and apply that travel mindset to our daily lives it would be a little easier to cultivate the ability to live in the moment.

It’s an interesting thought, I’m not sure it holds any answers but I’m going to play around with it a little bit with it and see how it turns out.

One of my main motivations for relocating from Australia to Europe was the opportunity to travel more frequently. Now that I’m settled in London, I can start looking forward to more travel in 2012. With that in mind, below are nine destinations or experiences that I’m eager to tackle in the new year.

Budapest, Hungary

Photo courtesy of Huzhead (via FlickR)

When I travelled to Europe in 2009, my original intent was to travel extensively through Eastern Europe. I’d visited Prague in 2006, loved it and thus was keen to widen my exposure to eastern European cultures. Fate intervened, as it often does and I saw very little of travel to Eastern Europe in 2009! Budapest has received rave reviews from fellow travels, so I figure it’s as good a place as any to revive my Eastern European aspirations.

Dresden, Germany

Photo courtesy of Marco_Broscheit (via Flickr)

I’ve travelled quite a lot throughout Germany but have never really delved into the former East Germany. Dresden has been high on my agenda since 2009 and I’m really looking forward to experiencing any cultural nuances that may remain from the former DDR. I’ve heard the river Elbe is quite a magnificent sight during the Summer months so perhaps a late August trip is on the cards.

Cinque Terre & Amalfi Coast, Italy

Photo courtesy of The Consortium (via FlickR)

I’m not wrapped with Italy to be honest. In 2006 I visited Rome, Florence, Venice, Turin and Milan and with the exception of Venice and Florence I wasn’t overly impressed. I was a different person in 2006 though, so I want to give Italy another chance. With what I’ve heard about the Amalfi Coast and the Cinque Terre, they are brilliant locations to get Italy back into my favourites list!

St.Petersburg, Russia

Photo courtesy of David Gordillo (via FlickR)

I mentioned earlier a fascination with Eastern European culture and you don’t get more East than the source itself, Russia. Whilst Moscow is certainly on my list, I’ve heard some great things about St.Petersburg. Top of the list is the State Hermitage museum which has a reputation of being one of the best art galleries in the world. Pretty decent location to sample Russia for the first time me thinks!

New York City, USA

Photo courtesy of Kyle McCluer (via FlickR)

New York City is the place I dreamt about as a kid. I was fascinated by the concept of a concrete jungle that never slept and have always considered it my favourite city in the world, without ever having visited it! The opportunity to turn the dream into reality is now realistic and I’m generally excited about the experiencing the real New York City in 2012. I’ve always fancied New Years in New York, so if I was a betting man, I’d place money on a late December 2012 trip!

Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Photo courtesy of Flydime (via FlickR)

In the months leading up to my trip in 2009, I kept on coming across stories about this ‘El Camino De Santiago’. The way it kept on coming up, was quite bizarre. It was appearing in my RSS feeds, it was appearing randomly in books I was reading. I considered it to be an omen that I must walk this famous pilgrimage route. To be honest I’m not sure I’ll manage the walk next year and I wont actually go to Santiago de Compostela unless I’ve left Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port via foot to get there!

Walk the banks of the river Nile in Egypt

Photo courtesy of Michael Gwyther-Jones (via FlickR)

There is something really quite powerful about great rivers. They are entwined with human history, serving as the life force for great cities and civilisations. The Nile is perhaps one of the best examples of this and as the world’s longest river I’ve always had a desire to walk along it’s banks. To walk in the footsteps of so much history would be something truly special and something I’d never forget.

See the Northern Lights in Finland

Photo courtesy of Erik-Jan Vens (via FlickR)

One of the great wonders of the natural world has to be the Northern Lights. Whenever I’ve seen footage of them, I’ve been struck by their pure beauty and natural wonderment. To experience this phenomena in the flesh would be simply amazing. I’m really quite curious as to what it would be like to actually see it. Is there any noise? How long does it last? Can you feel something special in the air? Many questions, only one way to find out the answers!

Trek into the Sahara Desert in Morocco

Photo courtesy of Jimmy Byrum (via FlickR)

Marrakech is arguably my all time favourite travel destination and it would be Marrakech where I’d start this journey. I had five days in Marrakech in 2009 and whilst seeing the Sahara was an option, I chose to hike in the Atlas Mountains instead. This time though I want to take a 3 day, 2 nights trek into the Sahara. Experiencing the Sahara has always appealed due it’s sheer vastness and ‘emptiness’. I really think it will provide an opportunity to get back in touch with not only my introspective self, but the natural world. I’m hoping the experience will allow me to learn more about myself and the world.

So it’s coming up to five months since I left Australia. Having only intended to leave the country for four weeks, it’s fair to say things have not gone as I originally planned! I spent the first four weeks travelling as planned, reconnecting with a passion for travel that will never fade. I think it was that rekindling, which brought about the desire to stay a little longer than planned.

Once I committed to the decision to stay and consequently ignored my flight home, I had an overwhelming feeling that I was on the right path. A path that whilst I knew wouldn’t be easy, would take me along an exciting journey if I trusted it. Not just any journey either, a journey that may just define who I am. Suffice to say, I had pretty lofty ambitions!

So several months into the journey, it’s time for a status check. Acclimatising to life in the UK, London in particular has been more challenging than I anticipated. I’ve had my fair share of frustrations in the last few months. From dodgy letting agents, to public transport to the quality of the food and just the general behavioural differences between people in Australia and people in the UK (Aussies tend to be much more direct, forthcoming and action orientated).

It’s certainly been a testing time, character building if you will, but I’ve battled through it and since finding a good apartment, things have been steadily improving to the point where I’m now enjoying myself and I’m feeling quite settled.

I think the key take away from the past few months has been to trust in the path. Despite all the frustrations and challenges that I was encountering, I always managed to maintain a positive disposition. I think I was able to do that, because above all else I believed that I was following the right path. That belief enabled me to view everything that was coming my way, as part of the journey which was to be enjoyed and experienced.

There was uncertainty, there was self doubt and I know that in the past that would have resulted in me trying to seize control, by rushing back to my comfort zone, just like I did in 2009 when I returned to Australia. This time though my belief in the path I was on proved the difference and I’m so glad I resisted my bad habits and have finally allowed myself to go with the flow and enjoy the journey.

Long may it continue!

Continuing on from my ‘Paris by Instagram’ post, it’s time to move to England and the lovely Chester.

Chester possesses some of the best examples of Roman architecture anywhere in England. The stand out Roman feature is probably the city wall, which completely encloses the city center. Walking along the top of the wall is an enjoyable stroll and gives you a great glimpse of Chester’s impressive Architecture and scenery. Inside the city walls, the stand out landmarks would have to be the famous Chester rows, but be sure to walk past the Cathedral as well!

Overall Chester is a great day out, so if you’re in or around the North West of England be sure to make the time to drop in and check it out. Well, lets get on with the photos! Here are ten of my favourites:

1. A beautiful little alley, on the outskirts of the city center

2. Entering the city center through the Eastgate. The Eastgate Clock is apparently the most photographed clock in England outside of Big Ben!

3. Magnificent Roman City Walls. So well preserved!

4. The Old Dee Bridge over the River Dee. One of the most Beautiful bridges I've ever seen!

5. The Queen's School. Another fine example of Architecture!

6. Chester Cathedral

7. A lovely little alleyway. So much character!

8. The Chester Rows. A quite unique shopping experience.

9. Another shot of the rows. Here you can see the unique multi level feature of the rows

10. Fancy a beer from what was probably the oldest pub in Chester?

Have you been to Chester? Do you have any photos or experiences to share? Well please share, I’d love to hear and see your experiences! If you like my photos please follow me on Instagram (adamaxon) or FlickR (statto7)

Living and working in England has always been something I’ve wanted to do. Infact, it’s fair to say it’s been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. It’s had a pretty large impact on my life as well. Over the last few years, regardless of what I found myself doing back in Australia, dropping everything and coming over to England was always in the back of my mind. It’s made it quite difficult to every really fully commit to anything.

So it’s now almost four weeks in to having finally realised that “dream”, what am I feeling?

Well first I’d like to acknowledge that I completely understand that it’s far too early to definitively categorise the experience of living in England after just three weeks. Especially given that I’ve been staying in what is effectively temporary accommodation with family. But hey, this is a blog post after all and blog posts are all about an expression of how we are feeling at a given moment so I’m going to let rip!

The most appropriate word to describe my first four weeks of living and working in England would have to be “underwhelming”. The reality of living in England day to day has certainly shattered a vast number of ill informed pre conceptions I had coming in. As I’ve begun the process of acclimatising, I’ve been experiencing my fair share of frustrations. As an example, let’s take the dubious quality of fresh meat from the local supermarkets. I love to cook and I place great importance on having quality ingredients to cook with….. Well let’s just say that it’s been quite a battle to satisfy that requirement.

The truth is though, these frustrations have actually demonstrated something that I never really expected. Access to quality meat it seems was something I took for granted back in Australia. That’s a sentiment which is coming up pretty regularly. Indeed I’m starting to realise that I took a lot of things in Australia for granted. By doing so I clearly failed to appreciate them for what they were worth.

I suppose I could let this get me down a tad, but I’m far from disheartened. Infact I’ve actually found it to be extremely liberating. I feel that over the last few weeks, I’ve been progressively able to let go of the unrealistic expectations of  a dream, that if I’m honest have been holding me back for quite some time.

Don’t take it the wrong way, I’ve got no intentions to get back on a plane to Australia tomorrow. Infact if anything, I think it’s actually going to make it a lot easier to enjoy the experience of living in England. After only three weeks, I’ve obviously only just touched the surface. There is so much more to explore in this country, not to mention I’ve got the rest of Europe on my door step! By letting go of these harmful pre-existing expectations about what things should be like, I’m now free to experience things for what they actually are. For mine, that’s a much better way to approach things!

The other benefit of course is that when the time does come to go back to Australia, I will be able to do so fully committed to the idea rather than having part of me always desiring that unrealistic and unfounded dream.

So whilst the first four weeks may not have been what I was expecting, I’m still convinced that I’m on the right path. I’m learning so much, both positive and negative and that’s really all you can ask for. My next big challenge now is finding a suitable flat in London!

For those who haven’t heard of it, Instagram is a quite nifty camera app for your iPhone, that’s building in popularity. It’s got two noteworthy features which goes some way to explaining it’s popularity, the first is filters. Instagram allows you apply a variety of different filters to your shots, which give your shots a unique and stylised feel. It’s second key feature is sharing. Instagram is fully social. You can follow your friends photos, liking and commenting on what they produce and you can also share directly to other social sites like facebook and twitter.

I’ve been using Instagram for just over three months and have thoroughly enjoyed it. So when it came time to coming over to Europe for a third time I was faced with a choice. Do I bring my bulky Canon 350 DSLR or do I stick with the iPhone 4 and Instagram? Obviously the iPhone 4 has it’s limitations as a Camera, but it was these limitations that I thought could bring out some creativity, especially with Instagram. So I left the Canon at home and have been taking a Instagram snaps all over Europe!

I’d like to share these snaps through the blog, so without further ado I’ll kick things off with my most recent trip. A weekend jaunt to Paris. Here is Paris by Instagram!

1. A Parisian View

2. Snails for Dinner

3. Sacre Coeur

4. The Moulin Rouge

5. The Eiffel Tower

6. Looking across the River Seine to the Louvre

7. The Eiffel Tower from the River Seine

8. La Grande Arche de la Défense. An alternative French Arch!

So that was my quick Instagram account of a weekend jaunt to Paris. I hope you enjoyed the view!

If you want to check out more about Instagram I recommend you hit up their website: http://instagr.am/ or jump straight in and download it from the app store. My username on Instagram is adamaxon so be sure to follow me and I’ll follow in return!

Au Revoir!

It’s been ten months since my last post, so I’m excited to announce that I’ll once again be blogging on Illuminated Traveller! The last six weeks have been pretty amazing. What started as a quick four week holiday in Europe has now evolved into, at the very least a ten month stay.

After deciding to skip my return flight back to Australia two weeks ago things have developed at quite a rapid pace. Unexpectedly I’ve already managed to find a job, which I start tomorrow and I’ve now started looking for apartments in London. So within the blink of an eye a pretty long term ambition of living and working in Europe now seems to be reality!

It’s been slightly surreal experience and has been a great lesson in letting go and just going with the flow. More on that in a later post though! For now, though lets talk about Illuminated Traveller.

Through this blog I’m going to endeavor to share my experience in becoming a Londoner. With the current civil unrest plaguing England’s capital I think this is really an interesting time to find out what it is to be a Londoner in today’s uncertain world. In addition I’ll also share all of my travels whilst being based in London. Suffice to say I intend to make the most of having Europe on my door step!

So it’s a welcome back to Illuminated Traveller, I’m really looking forward to sharing and connecting once more.

Thanks,
Adam

I’ve just spent thirty minutes trying to work out how I could sufficiently “pad” the advice that I want to give to ensure that it could be considered an actual “article”. I got to about 50 words before realising that none of it was actually relevant to the advice itself and I was just falling prey to the rule of conformity that a blog post “should” be a certain length. (Note: Is it irony that this statement, denouncing padding was longer than my padding?)

The reality I think is that good advice is good advice, and doesn’t need any padding! So without further ado here is my one sure fire tip to enrich any travel experience.

“From the start to the end of your travels, completely disconnect from the world. Go off the grid, no phone, no email, no social media. Just yourself and the raw experience.”

I tried “going off the grid” as my mate calls it for the first time in New Zealand last month and it totally enriched my experience. To demonstrate, let me give you a quick comparison between my NZ trip and my European trip.

When I went to Europe, I was checking my work email several times a day for about a month. It was force of habit, even though I was on LWOP and wouldn’t be receiving any emails! On reflection the time I spent staying “connected” could have been used much better exploring my new environments!

Contrast that to my time in New Zealand and my new “off the grid” approach. From day one I was distraction free,  able to soak up my surroundings and really settle into the travel lifestyle from the beginning. This was especially important for this trip as it was only nine days. I didn’t have time to be stuck in the events of my life back home. By going off the grid, nine days of travelling felt like two months and the experiences I had were so much richer and vibrant as I was totally immersed in them!

So next time you take a trip, I highly recommend you go off the grid and see what happens! I’m betting that like me you’ll find your experience will be that much richer!

Have you a similar experience of travelling “off the grid”? Did it enrich your experiences or perhaps it had a negative effect? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

You know that great feeling you get when something completely exceeds your expectations? Well two days after returning from New Zealand and I’m totally awash by that feeling. Whether you’re after adrenaline fueled activities; breathtaking natural scenery; the company of fellow travellers or exciting nightlife New Zealand has you covered! It’s an absolutely wonderful country and I’m amazed at how much I enjoyed my short stay!

Milford Sound, New Zealand

Our journey started in Auckland and would end down south in Queenstown. I was travelled with two mates, Ozgur and Aung.  I felt time was going to be against us as we only had nine days! Looking back it’s amazing what you can covered in just nine days, even more amazing is how nine days can feel like two months when you just lose yourself in the experiences around you!

Eglinton Valley, New Zealand

The bulk of the trip was spent in Rotorua, Wellington, Milford Sound and Queenstown, but we also made stop overs in Taupo, Picton and Christchurch whilst making our way South. Despite the tight timelines, we still managed to experience a truckload of awesome things including:

• Zorbing @ Rotorua
• Maori Experience @ Rotorua
• Bungy Jumping @ Taupo
• An A-League game @ Wellington
• Cultured Nightlife @ Wellington
• A Ferry Crossing between Wellington & Picton
• A ride on the Transcoastal from Picton to Christchurch
• Some of the world’s best driving between Wanaka & Queenstown
• Riding an awesome 7 seater Bicycle @ Te Anau
• Nature at it’s finest @ Milford Sound
• The Dart River @ Glenorchy
• Fantastic backpacker culture & nightlife @ Queenstown

To top it all off, we met a heap of awesome fellow travellers along the way. Making each experience that much richer and further cementing my belief that the people you meet play a big role in your opinion off a destination!

The Remarkables, Queenstown

Personally the trip was a real reminder about what I love so much about travelling. The combination of experiencing new things and meeting like minded people seems to make travel my perfect tonic. Nowhere else do I feel more like Adam, than on the road!

Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing my awesome experiences from New Zealand; Valuable tips I learnt along the way and last but not least some of the photos that I took! (With just over 2000 photos to sort there are bound to be some good ones among them!)

So stay tuned for much more New Zealand feature articles on Illuminated Traveller over the coming month!

What a hectic couple of months it’s been! Work has been going absolutely bonkers with 14 hour days a regular occurrence. Still amongst the madness I’ve been able to schedule a bit of travel, even if I haven’t been able to schedule time to write about it!

My last post alluded to my trip to Brisbane and I’m pleased to report it was a very enjoyable experience. Brisbane was totally not what I expected. For some reason I had expected a city stuck in the 90′s, instead I found it to be vibrant and full of positive energy. The city feels a lot more open than Melbourne and it uses this to it’s advantage with lots of open spaces, full of cafe’s and bars.

Brisbane often gets a bit of stick down south for being a little uncultured. However I found plenty of culture at  the Art’s precinct on Brisbane’s Southbank. Now admittedly I arrived during the Brisbane Festival so maybe I got lucky, but there seemed to be a pretty full calendar of events for the rest of the year as well.

The other big plus for Brissie is obviously the weather. When I left Avalon Airport in Melbourne it was 11 degrees. When I arrived in Brisbane it was already up to 23 degrees! Brisbane has an average high temperature of 26.5 degrees Celsius, so you’re going to experience warmer weather for almost the entire year, something the likes of Melbourne and Sydney can only dream about!

My time in Brisbane was short, but rewarding. It shattered the pre-conceptions I had about the city and I definitely want to spend more time there in the future to get to know the place even more!

Speaking of the future, I leave for New Zealand tomorrow morning. I’ve got a week and half to spend so once again it’s a short trip, but that is the life of a traveller who has to work full time I guess! Auckland – Rotorua – Wellington – Queenstown – Milford Sound – Christchurch is a hectic schedule, one which I usually avoid! Not since 2006 have I travelled in such a fashion, will be interesting to see how I enjoy it!

Regardless of the tight schedule I’m really looking forward to the trip! I’ve never been to New Zealand, so that feeling of the unknown is back in play. I’ll be going off the grid with no laptop and only emergency mobile phone usage so no reports whilst travelling although I’m taking my trusty moleskine along with me, so I’ll be making a lot of notes on my adventures! Hopefully this will result in plenty of posts when I get back

Looking even further into the future, I purchased a Subaru Outback this week in anticipation of lots of Road Trips around Australia in the future. With the decision to go back and study Psychology I’ve committed myself to being in Australia for at least two years, so I figure it’s time to explore what really makes Australia, Australia. It’s natural beauty! More to come on this one but I’m calling it now, 2011 will be the Year of the Road Trip!

See you when I return from New Zealand!