I’m terribly pleased to announce that Handcarry Only is now a contributor to CNN Travel, arguably one of the web’s leading authorities on travel and leisure. But mostly, I’m just chuffed that Handcarry Only gets to be seen by even more people around the world.
A few months ago, as part of my African adventure, I ventured in the fabled Okavango Delta in Botswana in a creaky wooden dugout canoe, ploughing through the seemingly never ending sea of reeds and spotting some hippos (which are a lot more dangerous than their somewhat friendly appearances might betray!) along the way. It was definitely one off the bucket list for me and an unforgettable experience.
Read the rest of my Okavango writeup on CNN Travel.
The makoro, or traditional wooden dugout canoe glides silently across the water in the Okavango Delta
A poler pilots the makoro, with a cargo of tourists. The tourist dollar is an important source of revenue for the locals.
Apart from occasionally getting whipped in the face by the reeds, it was a most relaxing way to travel.
The polers of the Okavango Delta
Check out the other posts and photos from my time in Africa
I left my job as an advertising Creative Director in August 2012 to travel Africa and South America for a year with my wife, documenting these beautiful places with my Fuji X-Pro1. View the rest of my RTW adventures on Handcarry Only and follow me on my journey by subscribing/following/bookmarking.
Handcarry Only has been featured on Cyclelove! Check out some of the bike related photos I’ve snapped throughout my Round-the-World jaunt as well as James Greig’s other lovely 2-wheeled wonders!
On Cyclelove:
The difference could not be more stark, after 2 months of being surrounded largely by nature, mountains, forests, the ocean, deserts and mostly small towns, I find myself thrust into the third largest city on the planet, São Paulo. Where there was the silence of the night, occasionally punctuated by animal sounds, now police sirens and the low mechanical drone of twenty four hour traffic are omnipresent. Where there used to be mile after mile of arid bush, now people fill every square inch of available space, all going about their separate chores. This was supposed to be familiar territory for me, having grown up in Singapore and living in London, but someone, it seems strangely alien, perhaps what the prodigal son might have felt when he first arrived home, a sort of reverse culture shock perhaps.
I know my mind will switch modes to accomodate The City but for now, the African bush is a temptress in my head.
The largest city of the largest country in South America
A contemplative moment in the city
I left my job as an advertising Creative Director in August 2012 to travel Africa and South America for a year with my wife, documenting these beautiful places with my Fuji X-Pro1. View the rest of my RTW adventures on Handcarry Only and follow me on my journey by subscribing/following/bookmarking.
An oasis in Botswana’s harsh and arid Kalahari Desert, the Okavango Delta is one of the largest inland deltas in the world. Originating in Angolan highlands as the Cubango River before it flows into Namibia as the Kuvango River and eventually ending up in Botswana as the Okavango River, it breaks up into a huge labyrinth of channels, lagoons and islands, forming the Okavango Delta, a haven for wildlife seeking water and respite from the Kalahari. The water from the Delta never flows into any river or sea, and 95% of it is eventually lost to evaporation.
We spent 3 days bush camping in the Okavango Delta, a definite challenge for a ‘soft’ city boy. There was no running water, no electricity and basically, no facilities of any kind. The bush toilet was a hole in the ground with a spade to scoop some dirt in. We could not use any soap or detergent for fear of contaminating the pristine environment so our swims in the Delta served both to cool us off from the unrelenting heat and to act as sort of a bath. Food was cooked on a wood fire, which was also our primary source of light in the evenings. In short, life was pretty basic.
African sunsets are always a magical moment
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Children Always Win
There are cures for ‘growing up too fast’. You can temporarily make a child bite their tongue in fear, you can let the rain make their drought of happiness very apprent but we are always children - you cannot steal childhood.
You cannot whisk it away like a toy. You can teach them to forget but that just means you have the power to gently nudge them to remember.
These children had a fierce kind of bedtime monster, they prayed constantly out of a habit that gave them a sense of having to wash their hands clean. But when the hot water hit them as they bathed, they wanted to stay in a little longer to finish the final battle brother’s football and Mr. Soap the evil bubbler.
When they were dried and fed they couldn’t sit still from all the toy dinosaurs they wanted to compare with one another. When they stepped outside in the dimming sunlight, they teased and taunted and broke into song and dance. A relaxed happy sway led by the rhythm of the air that escaped between their hands. The air that escaped their hands - don’t you see. It’s a subtle power in being a child.
Given warm baths, shelter and nutrition, it doesn’t matter what horrors rampaged, children always win.
Conversations by the Window Seatis an ongoing creative collaboration between Adrian Seah and Romila Barryman, with photos and writing themed around a common love of travel and discovery.
View other Conversations by the Window Seat or read more of Romila’s writing at her blog Daydreamsonlooseleafpaper
