prayer flags and big dreams in the mountains

When Steph and I went to the Everest region of Nepal in 2011, we had anticipated to trek to Everest Basecamp in order to raise donations for WWF Tiger Conservation. Instead however, we found ourselves at 4000m being lead to the Golden Jubilee of Sir Edmund Hillary's first school in the region where children from schools all over Nepal performed cultural dances and songs, along with traditional Sherpa and Tibetan Buddhist ceremonies. We met incredibly inspiring people who had been dedicating their lives to creating change in poor areas of Nepal. It was incredibly heart warming and humbling.

After returning from the 3-week trip I found it very difficult to go back to my life in Sydney. Something had been stirred in me. Perhaps I missed the quiet of the mountains. Before I had chance to realise what was happening, my boyfriend and I had broken up, I'd moved out and was asking myself some big questions about what it was I truly wanted. I was positive. Full of enthusiasm and trying new things; recipes, experiences, cycling my bike around Sydney and getting on with my job. But I realised that the taste for travel had left its mark and my spirit wanted some more adventures. It took one late night conversation with my good friend and notorious optimist Fern to convince myself to leave my job, surrender my stuff, pack some bags and book flights to all the places I had wanted to visit for so long. It was pretty courageous and I get moments of "WTF Jess", however, I have the wonderful experiences that are a great reminder of how happy one can be with perceivably so little and adventure certainly ensures life is lived as fully as possible. From my perspective I do feel that society has created an illusion that 'money' can equate to happiness, abundance or even love. Not in my world. Gratitude, acceptance and giving have become a much more powerful currency of kindness and incredibly magical.

"But there's no doubt, either, that my most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and medical clinics. That has given me more satisfaction than a footprint on a mountain." 
- Sir Edmund Hillary

The Dream Flag project really inspired me to consider what good we can all do, even through the smallest of actions. Children from all around the world are asked what their dreams are and they illustrate these on to beautifully crafted flags and blown in the wind, as do the prayer flags on the mountains of Nepal. What do children want? Peace and love in the world. Steph and I were really fortunate to meet the founder Jeffery and learn of how the project has enriched and connected the lives of children from around the world with their dreams. I hope they all come true. This little video is a wee tribute to the project and my wonderful co-pilot Steph Reynard.

“The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest good intention.” ~Oscar Wilde

technology assisted balance in the daily grind

My old desk.

So, as someone who’s mind can fly as high in to the realms of imagination as it can ground in the land of rationality; I recently found myself taking a break from the world of work to explore life’s mysteries and fulfil some dreams. A wonderful adventure, but equally personal and rather distant at times from the modernity of the masses I can relate to the most in the daily grind.

Of course traveling affords a sense of freedom in terms of space and time that when engaged in the land of three weeks holiday per year can seem incredibly alien and adventurous. That said; I would never discredit the work I did in the past. I loved the challenge of working in advertising, especially my last job for Razor & Joy with my clients SBS, Nike and the Sydney Opera House. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t stressful at times.

Put multiple personalities in a building, with time restraints, budgets and demands and there is always going to be a backlash of pressure one has to face at some point, especially in the advertising industry that requires an average of 20% overtime in order to ensure agency growth. It is in our nature to share burdens and if someone can’t handle the pressure, it can be projected on to those that can and hence, ensuring one has boundaries and knows how to deal with the stress-heads is important. Personally I found headphones and tea breaks a Godsend!

Being away from that world has allowed me to reflect on life in the city and appreciate the technologies that also gave my spirit some reprieve in the intensity of adland.

Meditation Oasis

This is a cool free podcast that I would listen to in the evenings to help me return to the present and stop the mind from its ‘blah blah blah’ after a tough day in the office. Mary Maddox has a rather lovely voice that after a few Zen like moments has one feeling peaceful and present and out of the ‘to do list’.

Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock App

I must admit, waking up to an alarm feels incredibly unnatural now I haven’t had one for so long. It’s much more natural to be awoken by sunlight, however, the reality is that we often don’t have such luxury. Tracking sleep with the Sleep Cycle iPhone App however is incredibly beneficial for keeping track of rest.

Natural Light Clock

This light clock with a bulb that gets brighter and brighter as the time gets closer to wake up time makes the morning that much more natural.

Coffee Machine

The drug of action and productivity; addictive, buzzy and fashionable. Society was incredibly industrious introducing such a great drug for ensuring performance in the world of grind. Personally the morning ritual of making my own coffee was a little gift to myself and had my being prepared to work.

Nike Plus

Exercise was something that helped me keep in shape and have time for myself. Running along the beach in the evenings and having the proverbial ‘your kicking ass’ embedded in to my jogging soundtrack whilst keeping track of my routes and progress provided a great incentive to keep going. Nike+ is a great motivating app to keep you fit.

Jeremy the bicycle

Jeremy is a beautiful companion. Rather than investing in a Vespa or getting two buses to work, I found Jeremy from Tokyo Bikes a great companion to take me through the city, connecting me with nature as I cycled through the parks everyday on my commute to work.

40 Days Bikram (Hot) Yoga

My yogi friend would argue that ‘this is not yoga’ due to its modernity and progressive copy-written dialogue. Personally though doing back bends in a hot room was one of the most healing experiences. My ‘over a laptop’ posture loosened, my strength increased, I shed spontaneous tears and the buzzy feelings in the ‘deadman’s pose’ were incredible. In a fast paced world, where we want instant results and have been conditioned to be competitive, this yoga really appeals to that of the ambitious. Of course having a good teacher is important and makes a huge difference but I thoroughly recommend the 40-day challenge. My friend's called it "crack yoga" as I admittedly found it to be an incredibly important part of my balanced lifestyle.

Nutrition and detoxes

Working in advertising can have one susceptible to indulgences; tasty meals at fancy restaurants with clients and lots of alcohol in the office fridge for Friday shenanigans are common place; but in excess pretty terrible for the body. Having a break from addictive behaviours and watching these habits was a really important way for me to find balance in my life and ensure that my consumption was more conscious and detaching myself from the entanglements of addiction. I saw a nutritionist and had my diet fixed up.

Giving

Living the comfortable life in a world where many more don’t have such a privilege really encouraged me to be more giving. This is a personal philosophy that I have found really vital to feeling more whole and aware as an individual. Besides the natural endorphins that giving provides, I do subscribe to the power of selfless giving; whether donating clothes to a charity shop, sharing home grown herbs, making donations or activities that support the local community all help ensure that I am aware and humbly grateful for the luxuries life has afforded me.

Notes from The Universe

Daily emails from The Universe are a wonderful way of keeping one motivated, inspired and focused on one’s aims in life. Sometimes a few words of wisdom in the inbox can be the perfect reminder of what it is one’s seeking in life and striving towards those goals.

Dear Future Me

Send yourself an email in the future. It's a little schizophrenic but a really important way of reconnecting oneself with aspirations and inspirations in a time moving faster and faster. It amused me a year on to randomly receive an email from myself on the road and realise that I was on the trajectory I had been craving.

Vipassana

Apparently the ‘black belt of meditation’, Vipassana is a meditation practice that is solely experiential (i.e. practical, not fluffy visualization stuff but felt within the confines of the body) and it is amazing for focusing the mind and releasing the bullshit. It is a challenge and very intense. This is one of the hardest endurances for me; practicing sitting still for 11 hours a day, staying silent and with 4am starts for 10 consecutive days. There are Vipassana centres around the world and they operate on a donation basis. Despite struggling through them, I have found the benefits far outweigh the sacrifice of 10 days meditation.

Photography; Holga

Jeremy (my bike) and I enjoyed some wonderful tours down the leafy streets of Sydney. Photography is incredible for expanding perception, capturing beauty and seeing the stories the world shares whilst being creative. I loved the analogue journey from snap to print with Holga.

Plants at the desk

We are human beings, despite living in concrete jungles; we need nature in our lives because we are very much a part of it. I'd go as far saying we are it. Having plants at my desk had me embracing my inner Earth Mother and feeling more connected with nature.

Not taking life seriously(!!!)

We all have our own way of experiencing and learning from life. I’ve found that not taking anything too seriously just as vital as pursuing the joys in life. Sometimes the world of business can be ‘serious’. There can be business suits, conference calls and a sense that lives depend on results (especially with Account Directors hovering over your desk). But realising that life is essentially for living and remembering that you don’t know when your last day might be is a fine reminder to embrace and endure every moment of work you do. In India they would say "work is worship" and I find truth in that. Its a pleasure to work and be productive. The word "occupation" comes from the idea that one might "occupy their mind". Remember that and calm down...

the creative chaos of buenos aires

I love Buenos Aires. It is a city with so much character and charm. The architecture has that sense of renaissance by virtue of its Italian-Spanish heritage and its skies create the perfect backdrop of pinks and blues in the Argentinean capital.

I spent two months living in Buenos Aires and it taught me a little more about the world we live in; its relentless change and mankind’s resistance and participation within it.

The week I arrived there had been an intense and unusual heat wave, which coincided with the garbage collectors strike. The city literally stank as the streets were lined with humming garbage. One of the many strikes that the leftist country has been facing; creating a constant sense of uncertainty as impromptu strikes had buses and trains out of operation while roads would be blocked by activists.

I found the chaos a rather intense one to witness. There were floods, a ship container fire of toxic consequences and a sense of constant change as scaffoldings and street work lined the uneven and unkept pavements that had the unaware constantly tripping. That and the dog poop.

I explained to a cab driver one night how interesting and powerful I found the city and its chaos while he expressed his frustration at its madness. I suppose its easy to admire something when you're visit is fleeting.

Men kiss each other

Knowing how to greet another is a rather interesting one. It’s cultural. While I love a hug and a kiss with friends, I also recognize that a ‘hands together in prayer’ with multiple bows of respect in Japan is more appropriate and likewise a couple of pecks bonjour in France; the standard. This has been one of the strangest things I’ve had to adapt to from culture to culture. Seeing men kiss one another on each cheek as a way of greeting is awesomely unsexist and has a sense of equality about it I liked.

Passion in the streets

The latins are incredibly passionate and openly so when it comes to relationships. In the UK we’re rather prude when it comes to displaying and expressing affection whereas the Argentinian would give another a big smacker in the middle of the street. It’s romantic and open.

Ice cream and wine

Two of life’s vices that Buenos Aires has plenty of. Whether it’s a tasty red from Mendoza or a delicious dulce de leche icecream, Buenos Aires can tickle the taste buds of a bit of naughty but nice behaviour.

Graffiti

Something I didn’t get chance to participate in but am eager to another time is the graffiti movement that’s taking place in Buenos Aires. A loophole in the law means that artists have the freedom to express themselves beautifully and provocatively on the streets of BA.

All in all the city was incredibly inspiring. It challenged me as a traveler who’d spent a lot of time in nature namely trekking mountains and it was a world from anywhere I’d been before however, Buenos Aires has a charm about it that I love. Its real. Its in a flux. Its chaos. But perhaps that’s what makes it so special.

If ever one needs to escape it, I personally found the yoga retreat on the outskirts quite the zen hit.

I studied to be a qualified TEFL teacher while in Buenos Aires. The school I was at was brilliant, in a building design based on Dante's Divine Comedy and I fully recommend it (the teachers were fabulous!). For more info go here.

enjoyment of language

Steven Fry is a bit of a hero of mine. I love his take on language and I have recently found language to be one of the biggest challenges when it comes to communication especially across borders.

The English language is wonderfully coloured with idioms and phrases that to some would not make sense.  I heard an old lady in the charity shop yesterday say "this is wicked" as she admired some royal paraphernalia and I wondered whether deep down she genuinely thought the royal family as wicked as witches or as awesome as the word awesome.

Personally I have found myself saying "no offence" when really there's no such thing in the context to be taken. Likewise I'll unconsciously say something that makes perfect sense to the English speaker but is a complete oxymoron to one who has merely studied the subject as a second language. Evidently saying precisely what you mean can come across as somewhat unpoetic and dull at times.

Apparently the "Philosophy of language is concerned with four central problems: the nature of meaning, language use, language cognition, and the relationship between language and reality." via Wikipedia. Something worth considering when we start spieling our words. Words in which I believe have power and are worth minding.

a yogi escape in buenos aires

Friedrich Tolentino Sungà Cortez-Romero from Karma Yoga

Buenos Aires is an incredibly artistic, historic and classical city. The aliveness of a city that converges the renaissance of Italy, Spain with a dash of France with the hot latin spirit of South American culture has created a hot pot of chaos in Argentina's capital.

While chaos can be the perfect backdrop for fascinating experiences amongst the riots, gratified walls and charming architecture of the latin city, I certainly felt that my feet were losing their grip as I tripped on the broken pavements where one must play 'dodge the doo doo' while hopping over random garbage dumps and the cracked pavements. A novelty to a city that seems to be constantly under construction despite the marvellous buildings that sing to the charm of old-gothic-not-changing-anytime-soon.

And when I need to ground myself in my life, I seem to find myself drawn to the tranquility one can find on the yoga mat - thankfully the Eco Yoga Park on the outskirts of the city was the zen hit my soul was searching for.

The Eco retreat is one that offers visitors the opportunity to perform service through work on the farm. We would wake at dawn and get in to the garden planting and picking vegetables. There would be wonderful meditations in the white temple that echoed as we played percussion or passed wind in an awkward hatha yoga posture. All the food was sourced from the land; natural, organic, vegan and tasty while the company was delightful as the group would sit together or make a secret dash to the ice cream maker in the farm across the field nearby (you didn't hear that from me).

Mum and I spent 8 days of wonder-love zen enjoying great farming, food, company, movies and meditations amongst the stunning backdrop of Argentinian agriculture and skyline. If the opportunity comes along; I fully recommend it. "There's more pleasure in giving than receiving" an Indian cabbie once said to me, this retreat certainly gave us the opportunity to realise it.

little suns crossing the atlantic

My favourite product/brand at the moment has got to be Little Sun. Little Sun is a beautiful innovation that uses the natural energy of sunlight where electricity is not available or reliable. Little Sun is an innovative way to get clean, affordable light to the 1.6 billion people worldwide without access to the electrical grid. I have been traveling with Little Sun and had the opportunity to deliver a number of their lights to a very humble and kind family in the Himalayas of India.

My travels recently found me crossing the Atlantic and as part of that experience the Little Sun light was an incredible friend to have on board during the night watches. A sustainable light that could recharge in the day and be a glow for the darkness that ensued as the sunset on the ocean. Thank you Little Sun for being such an incredible work of art. I hope more of the sailing community embrace solar powered lighting.

going all in on plan A

Glastonbury Festival

I am back in the UK and it is amazing to be in a place where I grew up, with friends I played up with, in cities I've seen with a rekindled appreciation for her buildings (is that a sign of age?) and with weather that makes the countryside glow. England is such a lovely place in the summer sunshine especially when we do well at sports. No wonder Australia is so good at sport. So the whole country is high on Vitamin D like junkies in a medstore, with beers, pimms, picnics and cheers. There are music festivals and bike rides and there's the great realisation that some things stay the same despite an economic downturn, war and a country that's not had a proper dose of sun for years or at least professes not to have (source: my Facebook feed) the country knows how to be merry. If we can't whinge about the weather in England, what can we whinge about?

I didn't 'plan' on being back in the UK. In fact I had to cancel a flight from Antigua to Venezuela after Chavez decided to pop his clogs and the country became too unstable for this explorer. I was only a little bit tempted by guerrilla journalism tweeting the resistance, however, reading an email from my Venezuelan mother titled "Change your flight" and having the opportunity to work on an Atlantic crossing as a galley chef came along and I felt called to the challenge and prospect of seeing my family again while braving some stomach turns at sea.

Dad in Croyde; bike rides, tea, scones & chatter

Being back in the UK however, brought up some interesting ponderings. I thank my Dad and his rational, groundedness however they sparked thoughts of "So what are your plans NOW?" and "So will you stay and get a job?" etc. etc. All rather sensible questions to ask someone who has been on the road mostly perceivably unemployed for quite a duration now while tentatively veering close to the 'corporate dropout' category unintentionally.

However I realised I also made a promise to myself when I began this trip to continue until 'money runs out'.
Such a brazen and irresponsible statement in hindsight, however, thankfully my pension is in Australian Superannuation Funds which means its a minefield to retrieve.

And so despite a conditioned part of me wanting to settle, get back on my bike and go back in to a 'career', I have decided to go "ALL IN ON PLAN A" inspired by Mastin Kipp from the Daily Love.

I have however managed to inspire my family to realise that they deserve more space from the comfort zone or stresses of life. We all do. The novelty of a plastic beach-bed and swimming pool eventually wears out and we are lucky to live in a time when the world can be so small and visit places where people long for rain and the heat can be too much. Arguably perks to globalisation.

May the force be with you. (Bath Spa)

Even though the future-oriented, organisational time constraints of British society does trigger a few "oh shit should I just get a job?" moments and England is very much a home for me, I'm going to carry on these explorations, photography, writings and bouts of stomach shifts... There are still a few dreams in the pipeline, dollars in the savings account and passion for adventure in the soul.

So with a new found passion for architecture I will keep enjoying life on the road living out a bag and crapping myself every now and then to the Universe's sense of humour.

being an explorer


It is the small hours of the morning and the sun is coming up over the misty fog that lines the hills surrounding the stone circle at Glastonbury Festival. Having completed some dance shapes at a very random backstage party full of transvestites, I have found myself sitting amongst the masses with a glittery 70's Stevey Nicks blue sequin dress and a drawn on moustache. I suppose that is pretty standard for Glasto especially after seeing the Rolling Stones rock the socks off everyone as the headline act and playing drinking games with red wine. Not recommended.

cross-dress party stage

I get chatting, as you do, and a lady asks me "So what do you do for a living?". A question I get asked a lot and struggle to answer in a conventional way. So I bite the bullet, I decide to finally make the proclamation.
"I am an explorer" I reply with the straightest face possible while sporting a pencil lined moustache.
The lovely lady laughs a while; "An explorer!?" she turns to a friend of hers. A blonde lady in her 30's who for the sake of it I will call Jane. "Jane, I just asked this girl what she does for a living and she says she's an explorer!" More laughs are shared.
"So what does it take to be an explorer Jess?" says Jane inquisitively in a somewhat patronising tone.

Blimey. They think I am joking and pretending to be Wizardora or something...or perhaps that I am on acid traversing a different dimension.

Nevertheless I go on.
"Firstly, I would say it takes courage. Courage to stop whatever normal world you are in and step out of your comfort zone. Courage to be alone in wild places where bears might attack you (in hindsight I really should have done an impression of the bear scare techniques I practiced while trekking in India) or as a woman, where you may feel very uncomfortable and stared at. Courage to keep going sometimes too when you start to miss people or feel the madness ensue after multiple culture shocks.

Secondly, you need to be stupidly curious. Curiosity is fundamental to keeping you going and exploring more places and learning new things. To keep asking why... (dramatic pause for deep thought).

And I think lastly, you have got to be open-minded. Being open-minded to the various realities that people are living in and points of view people hold so that you can adapt appropriately and be compassionate to people different perspectives." - there is no way I spoke so eloquently in the early hours that morning... but the sentiment remains. These are pretty essential in hindsight, along with foolish tendencies and deep breaths through office lit, rushed, shoes off and no liquids airports. I am updating my passport soon and am going to get an eye scanner one. I was not so happy when I learned this. "Next thing I'll have a chip embedded in my arm" I joked to which someone responded "yeah but the cues are shorter!". If only my housemates didn't graffiti "Imigrant" and "Jess is Gay" in my passport 7 years ago.

After my little job explanation I asked Jane what it was she did for a living.
"I'm a planner, a marketing strategist." she replied.
"Oh, that's funny..." and kinda weird "I used to be one of those..." well I guess it's pretty much the same thing but with a very broad market, nothing to sell and a lot less worrying.


Being an explorer is a cool job title though and given I purchased a £2 felt festival hat from the local charity shop that resembles that of Indiana Jones; I seemingly qualify. Of course every explorer needs a good hat that works at music festivals AND weddings for a couple of bob.

If you decide to become an explorer, check out my magical tips for solo travellers and remember to keep a journal / blog / take photos.