Jo Skinner
Hey so after a long hard summer of, well, hanging out, I actually got it together enough to do what I'd been talking about for a year or so... and booked a one way ticket to paradise. Well, maybe not paradise, but Sri Lanka for a couple of months and then on to Australia... so watch this space for updates, you kno, like me becomming a pro surfer and maybe saving the world a little bit, and stuff...Hobo Jo
Travel Blog Posts
Having the Time of My Life When I Felt Like a Free-Falling Tree.
Published: January 29th 2007Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney » Bondi Beach
January 29th 2007
Prologue Looking back at ones life it is possible, indeed common, to recollect personal history in terms of periods - life-periods - that are defined and marked by significant events, by distinct feelings and predominating thoughts. Since arriving in Oz over a month ago I have been waiting for an appropriate point to write this blog entry, as up until now this time has arisen after a certain life-period has elapsed. Conveniently, about once every 2 weeks, I have been able to relay said life-period with an ounce of retrospective clarity. Certainly my time in Australia so far has been marked by some significant events and wonderful people: Firstly, I went on a Surfari before Christmas for 5 days of surfing and camping in national parks and met some really cool and generous people. Then over ... read more
Toilet Bowls and Pot Holes
Published: December 11th 2006Asia » Sri Lanka » Southern Province » Yala NP
December 11th 2006
We got sick. We got sick from eating chicken liver pate on the first night Andy arrived in one of the nicest restaurants in Colombo. We didn’t spend much time in places that don’t begin with a U and end in an A and the time we did spend in places that don’t begin with a U and end in an A was pretty much reduced to studying toilet bowls and floor tiles. There were some exceptional toilet bowls and floor tiles. The ones at Kandalama, the most renowned of Geoffrey Bawa’s hotels and the place I had been looking forward to visiting since before my trip really stood out a treat. He has an eye for bathroom chic like no other. It is the most amazing place to be sick. It is set into a ... read more
Madame Mezriche, I Feel Your Pain.
Published: November 18th 2006Asia » Sri Lanka » Southern Province » Unawatuna
November 16th 2006
One sister saving the world is pretty good going, right? I mean two in one family, racking up all that positive karma, that would just be kinda greedy... So, after three days (yes three whole days!) of giving it a go, I think I'll be gracious, step aside, and leave it to the expert. Selflessness, it seems, just isn't my forte. But hell, at least I gave it a bash; I organised three one day digital photography workshops at a post-tsunami community centre in a small coastal village called Mirissa. It was a learning experience. And yes, I mean for me, not for them. So to give you the rundown… I got in touch with this centre via an Italian NGO who had been running training courses there. I appeared on the scene just as they ... read more
Finding Myself Back in Unawatuna
Published: November 2nd 2006Asia » Sri Lanka » Central Province » Kandy
November 2nd 2006
O.K, so I lied. I’m not in Kandy. I’m back in Unawatuna. But you know, I did’nt find myself in the hills (unless you count the fat girl inside me, who was trying to get out)… and other than looking for yourself and eating, there wasn't all that much to do. Having said that, Kandy is a truly beautiful town. After a couple of not so great guest houses I found a Room with a View. Perched up on a hillside, and with a wall of windows, the curtains redundant, I’d open my eyes at 5 am dreamily looking down to the Temple of the Tooth, the early morning sun reflecting on a glistening lake, and the tree covered misty hills rising up on the other side of the valley. Accompanying this was a soundtrack of ... read more
October 13th 2006
Phew, I've finally left Unawatuna. That place really sucks you in, and just doesn't spit you out. I ended up staying in that crazy room for over a week. But seeing as it took the owner 5 years before he decided it was time to see the rest of Sri Lanka, I reckon I did quite well leaving when I did. Thankfully now I'm on my way to Kandy, the capital of the hill country, to see a man about a dog (a woman about a job) thus avoiding staying in Unawatuna for my entire trip... This week has gone really fast and it feels like loads has happened. It hasn't really. But the pace of life there is so slow drinking an Arak with sprite feels like an accomplishment. So yeah, I've been accomplishing a ... read more
October 6th 2006
Wow, it’s been a week now since I first set off…and so far I’ve had some big ups and downs. I arrived into Colombo on Friday morning, and went straight to the guest house where Jess (my sister) is staying…on the way having the first of many conversations with Sri Lankans, in this case the taxi driver, about their corrupt government, under whom the poor are getting poorer, and whose strategy of dealing with the Tamil/Sinhalese conflict has (as you may well have heard) resulted in the end of the cease fire the previous government had secured... It's really sad, and a little scary - a bomb was found yesterday in Colombo, and 11 Muslim men were killed in the East a couple of weeks ago… But for me, other than occasionally noticing an armed-police presence, ... read more
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