my travel journal: christchurch, new zealand

I fell in love with this nice little town called Christchurch. The center was very small and yet you could find everything you need. The park was bustling with people. There were kids running around while musicians played at the corner. Food stalls scattered around the area and the smell of fish and chips aroused my appetite. There is a huge crowd on one side watching an interesting game of giant chess pieces .

The street is lined up with poles where colorful flowers hung and the cute little tourist train would come by every now and then across this charming and quaint city.

On a nice sunny day in this small town, I was amazed at how people lay around this historical monument half naked to get some tan. I guess you don't only do that in beaches. That's what I call resourcefulness.

Borderless

Since I was a kid I dreamed about travelling the world - to see places, meet and understand people and to experience the different sounds and smells of all these unfamiliar territories. I was lucky to have a little taste of the world by working for 2 years on a cruise ship. It was a tough life being away from home, but I survived because of our beautiful ports of call. I’ve been to South America, Antarctica and all the way to Europe and Asia. I grabbed every opportunity to go out in each port and say hello to the whole new world that awaits me beyond the gangway. Even when tired, I’d go out whenever I have a few hours of spare time.

It’s a breath of fresh air every time. The first thing I would do to go to the nearest local restaurant and order their native delicacies. Oh how satisfying it was to feast on the real ramen in Aomori or the baklava in Istanbul.

There’s nothing quite like the lessons of travel.
All the things I learned while travelling seem to have taught me as much things as my years and years of going to school.

I took thousands of pictures and I plan to take more. I dream of putting up a gallery of all my travel photos someday, and share the beautiful sights and inspire other people to go out there and do the same. Travelling changes the life of a person. It opened my eyes and allowed me to understand individuals and nations. It made me appreciate the good things about a country and learn from the bad. It changed my attitude towards life.

Travelling helps you become a man or woman of culture.
And the experience is simply priceless.

After my modest travel experiences onboard ships I got more keen on seeing the rest of the world. I knew that being in a town or city for a few hours only showed me the tip of the iceberg, therefore I want to go back and stay longer, without the worry of being left behind by the ship or being late for my shift.
I want to savour everything there is.
I want to know how it is to be a real traveller - free and borderless.