The Wonderful Beaches of Oz

There are many things I miss about Australia (the high wages, awesome wildlife and Vegemite, to name a few) but none more so than its glorious shores. With 25,760 kilometres of coastline, this country-island-continent has no shortage of beautiful beaches perfect for swimming, snorkelling and watching the sun go down. I'm still amazed by just how many exquisite beaches I came across during my time down under, especially since I only made it to four out of Australia's eight states!

These were some of my favourite beaches around New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland:

Bondi Beach, NSW

Ventnor Beach, VIC

Killarney Beach, VIC

Adder Rock, QLD

Manly Beach, NSW

12 Apostles, VIC

Cowes Beach, VIC

Freshwater Beach, NSW

Wineglass Bay, TAS

Shelley Beach, NSW

Myall Beach, QLD

Albert Park Beach, VIC

VTT

One of the main reasons I love traveling so much is that you're constantly pushed outside of your comfort zone and given the chance to try things that, oftentimes, scare the crap out of you.

This was the case when I learned to scuba dive in Thailand, drove a motorbike in Vietnam and moved to Australia to meet up with a guy I barely knew (but who later became my boyfriend). 

Speaking of said guy (whose name is Ben, for anyone who doesn’t know) one of his favourite sports (and something that scares the bejesus out of me) is mountain biking. I didn't know too much about it before I met him but I’ve since learned it's not so much rolling lazily down a hill as it is racing down bumpy, narrow and steep dirt paths at breakneck speeds (mostly while standing up on the bike; there's not too much actual sitting involved). Since it's something that borderline terrifies me, plus is a big part of Ben's life, I knew I had to give it a go here in the French Alps (where is it called 'VTT', or 'velo tout terrain').

So much harder than it looks!

Ben in his element

Great views from the chairlift

Me giving it my all

Exhausted by the end of the day

It was definitely strenuous, I fell more than once (or twice...) and was absolutely caked in mud by the end of the day but it was also exhilarating and challenging in the best way possible. I was well outside of my comfort zone but, as is usually the case when I find myself there, I enjoyed every minute.

Mountain Sound

Although I lived and studied in France for a year, I never made it to the one of the most talked about destinations in the world: The Alps. But then I went traveling in Asia, met a British guy and nearly two years later found myself on holiday with his family at their apartment in Les Saisies, a small town in the heart of the French Alps (which are every bit as beautiful as I had hoped they would be). It's funny how life works out sometimes. 

View from the apartment

Mont Blanc in the distance

Home sweet alpine home

The nearby town of Beaufort

Huge wheel of Beaufort fromage!

Lake Annecy

Just Beautiful

Many of you reading this may remember that nearly two years ago, I spent some time teaching English in Cambodia. While I was there I learned a lot about the country and the host of difficulties that it faces, many of which stem from three decades of war. One problem in particular that has been ongoing since the 1960s is that of landmines, incredibly destructive pieces of ordinance that have been buried all around the country and continue to maim and kill hundreds of Cambodians every year. 

Today, Cambodia has a population of over 14 million people, 40,000 of whom are amputees. Although this is one of the highest ratios in the world, landmine victims receive little to no government support and as a result have extreme difficulty finding work and earning a livelihood, with many resorting to living on the streets and begging. Bel, a Khmer man who is landmine victim himself, understands first-hand just how challenging finding a job can be, and that's why he is working hard to change that.

I met Bel when I was volunteering in Siem Reap back in 2012. He is the founder of KILT, The Khmer Independent Life Team. Founded in 2009, this local NGO is working to provide training and employment opportunities for those impacted by disabilities and/or poverty. Bel employs a handful of Khmer people, some of whom are disabled, and has trained them well in the art of jewellery making. The jewellery is then sold at local hotels and markets. 

The money they make goes towards supporting the KILT homestead, which provides shelter and care for not only Bel and his wife/child but also for his group of adult employees and 17 children (there were 13 when I was there in 2012 but they have since welcomed a few more!) Some of these children are orphans, several have disabilities and many have parents that live in the countryside and simply cannot afford to care for them and send them to school. Bel ensures that every child attends government school (where they learn subjects like math and science) but also recruits volunteers at KILT who teach the children English when they're not at school (I did most of my volunteering with another organization but spent some time at KILT as well).

Many children's homes in Siem Reap are terribly corrupt (I even wrote a blog about it) but this is just not the case with KILT. Tourists are not permitted to come in and just start playing with the kids, as is the case with many children's homes; the children there are raised in a family environment and feel sibling-like bonds with one another (you'd honestly never know they hadn't all been raised together since birth); the children do not have to 'earn' their keep in any way... simply put, Bel has the best interests of the kids at heart which, sadly, is not always the case.

But here's the thing: During Siem Reap's 'high season' (October-April) the city experiences a huge influx of tourists taking advantage of the dry weather. The rest of the year is considered to be the 'low season' when, due to heavy rains, there are far fewer tourists. While KILT is able to sell a lot of jewellery in the high season, they tend to struggle a bit in the low season. 

That is the main reason I'm writing this blog: when I visited Cambodia in May of this year, I paid Bel and everyone at KILT a visit. Being that it's the low season I made a (very small) donation to KILT but promised Bel I would write a blog to create a little awareness about the amazing work he's doing. He's apparently having some bank account troubles and is currently unable to receive online donations (though I will be posting another blog with information on how to donate as soon as this issue is resolved) but in the meantime I just wanted to spread the word about an NGO that in my opinion is incredibly worthwhile. 'Bel' actually means 'beautiful' in French and to me, that's exactly what the jewellery Bel makes and the work he does is - beautiful.

Some photos of KILT on my most recent visit there in May

* I apologize for the embarrassingly low quality photos, I arrived at KILT sans camera (not so smart) and at dusk, which made for pretty rubbish photos on my iPhone *

Bottles turned into plant holders - so resourceful! 

Part of the art studio at KILT

Open space where the kids play

The kitchen

Games with the kids at sunset

A group of incredible kids!

To learn more about...

- My visit to an active landmine field, click here 
- The Khmer Independent Life Team (KILT), click here

- Bel and the great work he does, click here

- Volunteer opportunities at KILT, click here (or contact me!)

Photo Blog: Cool Stuff on the Street in Hamburg

Hamburg-ers

This past weekend I took the short hour and a half flight it takes to get from Manchester to Hamburg, Germany. The primary reason for going was to see some good friends of mine, so I hand't done too much research about the city itself ahead of time and didn't know what to expect. Although I didn't find Hamburg to be overly exciting from a tourist perspective, I thought the city to be immensely unique with plenty of attractive qualities.

My friends and I explored many different parts of the city but my favourite hands-down was the Sternschanze area, which is where our rented flat was located. It's a vibrant, trendy neighbourhood filled with young people and lined with cafes and boutiques. Hamburg isn't really somewhere I could ever envision myself living but if I were to move there for some reason, I would definitely want to live in Sternschanze. 

Sternschanze

Central Park Beach Bar

One building you can't miss in the area is the Rote Flora, a renowned derelict building that has been occupied (somewhat controversially) for over 20 years. Groups of people could be seen hanging out or drinking there at any time of the day. I don't know how I would feel if such a place existed in my own backyard but as a tourist I thought it added a lot of character to the area.

Rote Flora 

Another quirky thing about Hamburg was that it was littered with old-fashioned photo booths. Unless they're for taking official passport photos, you rarely find these in Vancouver anymore; I don't think I'd taken a photo in one since I was a young teenager. 

Of course my friends and I couldn't resist taking a photo!

Hamburg also had plenty of funky (albeit a tad random) street art. Unusual as it might have been, to me it suited Hamburg's personality perfectly.

Overall I thought Hamburg was (for a lack of a better word) a cool city filled with very cool people (called Hamburgers of course!) It didn't strike me as a fascinating destination for tourists, especially when compared with history-rich Berlin but more as a place to be appreciated for its originality and liveability; in those respects I think Hamburg was indeed a wonderful city.