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Published: February 6th 2007
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"I climbed a very high mountain"
and I thought I'd come and stand next to you and grin cheesily! Well, he did ask Sir Ranulph Fiennes for an autograph so... Oh... The weight of my backpack, or is it my 'independent travellers daysack'! And... I haven't even set off on my travels yet, but I've had sights and tastes from all around the world at 'Destinations' aka 'The Times Travel Show'!
The day started with an early alarm clock... I'm not used to those any more (I AM talking pre-7am, not 9am early)! A drive to Diss.. Not the largest of stations but very friendly staff... Including the small café/shop from which the most enticing aroma of bacon butties was emanating... I resisted and ate my banana sandwich (I’d known I wasn't going to get up early enough to eat cereal.. There's no point pretending!). Onto the train (on time!) with plans to relax with my latest (probably not THE latest Marian Keyes) but I got sidetracked by my other option of 'Is there a book in you?' by Alison Baverstock. An ex-publisher, I can see why she's in demand as an author of 14 books and part-time lecturer at Kingston - very well researched and written and very realistic (but not depressing) about options within the writing industry. If she has made you realise that writing is NOT for
So many choices...
Which aisle shall I go down next? you she sees that as a success. Me, on the other hand, I'm recognising many of the things I struggled with - and got through - with my PhD and see a whole load of positive pointers, although there's a lot of hard work ahead (including other career options still necessary!). I've not finished the book yet as I then got to the next part of the day! Have got a number of writing ideas scattered on an envelope however (including note to self, should carry a notebook for observations at all times)!
Arriving at Earls Court (having finally remembered my Oyster Card in London - well worth it - saves a fortune!), my first sight was the
Rough Guide stand at 25%!o(MISSING)ff… Should have waited! Main impression for the first 5 mins was 'oh no, it's all luxury holidays to Europe and where's the promised travel writers - no mention of them in the programme’! 15 minutes later - and I find the theatres for 'Meet the Expert'. I attended 3 sessions throughout the day, the first of which was on Travel Photography - largely focused on how to make money from it, which wasn’t my plan, but
Could you...
Sit in one of these for several weeks? It's an option! pointers are always useful. The second session was on 'Going Solo' - how to make the most of travelling on your own, with a lot on safety. I even managed to ask a question at this session - about avoiding the proud boast of many backpackers that they’ve not spoken to ‘anyone local’ for 6 months, with options for (safely) getting to know the local community on brief stays. The recommendation was to trust your instinct as you would in the UK. The final session I attended was with
Jake Meyer - the youngest Briton ever to scale Everest (2005 - that was his 7th and highest mountain to climb) A fascinating and enthusiastic presentation with a strong message to focus on what you want to achieve and go for it, but watch out for the dangers!
The talks were spread over time so I had good wander, picked up several travel magazines (and loads of brochures/leaflets/business cards... Despite my determination to be ruthless in what I picked up... Hence the heavy backpack... Oh well, it's all good practice!), was slightly overwhelmed by the choices (so many places to go/things to do)... Anyone for Iraq (that stand was quite quiet!)?! The plans crystallising in my brain are to go Canada/USA (how long/how many stops I don't know), the Inca Trail, Australia/New Zealand/Thailand/Eastern Europe. Might have to play around with RTW flight routes, possibly with some detour flights/overlands.
Yes, India, Nepal, China, Trans-Siberian Express, Africa and loads of other places are on my 'lifetime wishlist' but (as advised by several people) I am going with my strongest/longest-term choices, although I have challenged myself to look at new/unusual places. I'd rather visit fewer countries and find out more about them rather than scoot through every country at great expense, tiredness, having learnt not a great deal! Last stop was “Oi, Tudo Bem?”, the Brazil stand... 'been there, done that'... Well, not really… more a case of 'been there, seen a fraction of it'... Same as the UK really, although I've definitely upped my quotient of that in the past year or so!
A large part of the day was to find out about possibilities for travel writing (especially from a cultural analysis/people watching perspective), but this was not on a plate. I talked to some of the authors hanging around from Rough Guides and Bradt and their advice was, as expected, that it's a tough and competitive field, but if you’re enthusiastic and passionate about what you’re writing about, offering helpful and practical advice there are options. Warnings were that you are most likely to need to have a second job, and most publishers have a format to work within, offer fixed fees, although some do cover travel expenses. I am looking to build my writing portfolio as a part of this year, but a writer for Rough Guides noted that “no one's ever asked to look at my portfolio!” Picked up a couple of travellers magazines,
Wanderlust, and
Real Travel (no, they weren't freebies, but they looked interesting, and if you want to write for something, you've got to have some idea what they'll accept!)
I was particularly impressed with the friendliness and helpfulness of staff on the following stands (which I take to mean that their holidays should also be friendly/helpful!):
•
Pura Aventura (Jacqueline Hicks was v helpful)
•
Intrepid Travel (Offers a taster DVD)
•
GAP Adventures •
Inside Japan Tours •
Freedom Australia and New Zealand •
Skedaddle Trails (Native American Tours) •
Dragoman Overland •
Great Walks of the World •
New Orleans had a very friendly representative.
•
Reggae Reggae Sauce (The mild one was REALLY spicy, didn’t try the hot one after that!)
There were others, but these are the ones that stand out of an 8 hour marathon day!
It was noticeable that there was a lot on ethical and responsible tourism - enough to have their own area, so e.g.
Tourism Concern, are all things to be taken into account. I was impressed with
Natural Patches also, they offer Deet-free Insect Repellent Patches (look rather like Nicorette patches) which offer 36 hours of protection. I apparently have ‘juicy blood’, so I always get bitten a lot. I think they were about £13 for about 15 days, and the only thing you could possibly be allergic to in them is apparently the elastoplast.
Nomad Travel have quite a nice ‘travel manual’ (OK, so it’s a sales catalogue!) - giving good advice dependant upon your route… I’d also had some good advice from
Blacks in Manchester as to backpacks (yes, Erika, I know we spent 1.5 hours in there!).
Much more thinking to do, back on the train and on the way back I DID relax with my Marian Keyes book, although that meant a late night/lost morning as I can’t concentrate on anything else until I’ve finished those books!
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