My name is Zach Louw and I was born into this world sharing the womb with my twin brother Abe, in a small town called Macclesfield in the UK. I’m currently studying Economics, Applied Statistics and Marketing in arguably the most beautiful city in the world: Cape Town, South Africa. The travelling bug bit me after I spent 6 months studying Mandarin at Tsinghua University in Beijing where I spent time in the forbidden city, horseback riding in the inner Mongolian grasslands, spending the night on the great wall of China and News Years eve parties in massive abandoned grain silo’s. Those 6 months really opened my eyes up to how diverse cultures can be. I left Beijing with a strong hunger to read more pages from the world’s book. I was drawn to Asia because it’s cheaper and in my mind wilder than Europe. I chose India in Asia because of its rich cultural diversity. I knew that India would be tough travelling and I didn’t want a typical holiday. I wanted an experience that was enriched through its hardships.
Read MoreEXPLORING SENEGAL WITH LAYLAH AMATULLAH BARRAYN
My name is Laylah Amatullah Barrayn, I am a portrait and documentary photographer; I’ve been dedicated to this work for about 18 years, creating my first series at age 17. What I love the most about travel is how intensely present I feel when I’m away from home. Being in the ‘now’ is such an incredibly peaceful feeling. Much of my recent travels have been around photo projects; I really love learning on-the-ground, through the process of engaging and experience. Initially I headed to Dakar to study abroad. I thought it would be a fantastic idea and it certainly proved to be a more powerful experience that I could have imagined. I was able to learn so much about the political and social environment in West Africa before colonial times. I learned so much about the Senegambian region, the Fouta and Sahel and historical figures like Lat Jor and Umar Tall. It was incredible.
Read MoreADVENTURING THROUGH AFRICA WITH KEVIN PERRY
I'm Kevin Perry, 52 years, grew up in Portland, Oregon, but now living in Seattle. I’ve had the urge to see the world and travel as long as I remember. As a child, we were too poor to do anything more than camping trips to the Oregon coast, but I was determined to get out and about as soon as possible, so when I turned eighteen I took the money I’d been saving for college my entire childhood, and jumped on a Greyhound bus to Miami instead, with the hope of crewing on a sailboat in the Caribbean. That particular dream didn’t work out, but I had an adventurous winter in Miami Beach (working for a mafia-owned hotel, there are stories, but this isn’t the venue), and then spent three months riding a bicycle across the country back to Portland the following summer. I managed several long trips over the next few years as I worked first through college and then with street kids in Seattle, until about 15 years ago when I took a more corporate job. Taking on a 9-5 job could have killed my chances for taking the long trips that I enjoy so much, but I was extremely lucky in that my coworkers and managers have loved to travel vicariously through me. Together we have conspired for me to be able to take 6-7 weeks off every winter for the last 15 years; which is long enough to go pretty much anywhere in the world.
Read MoreSIMEULUE, INDONESIA BY PARKER HILTON
I’m Parker Hilton, a photographer from the lovely little nook of Sea Bright, New Jersey. At this very moment, I’m in Salinas, Ecuador finishing up a six-month drive from Montana to South America as part of a project called Vanajeros. When on the road, I wrote and photographed along with three of my closest friends. When you factor in all the planning and prep work, that project has been my job for the last year. Travel had always been something that seemed unattainable when I was in college. I never studied abroad or got too far out there because it seemed expensive and—scary. But eventually that fear evolved into curiosity in a pretty organic way. When I graduated in 2012, I started using my camera as a tool to move and to help continue moving: I could document my experiences, but also gain an “in” to otherwise inaccessible experiences. Using a camera respectfully has the power to open certain doors that let you speak with locals and hear their stories. I love that. Back in school, one of my professors and I were talking about traveling with a camera, and he told me to (A) not be stupid and (B) make respect a priority. Traveling with a camera can be a really amazing experience if you respect the people you’re photographing. Learning how to ask for a photo and say “thank you” in their language can go a long way, and Simeulue was no different.
Read MoreTHAILAND BY ZAINAB N.M.
My name is Zainab, and I am a major lover of life, photography and travel. I presently reside in Canada, where I recently graduated University and work at a Childcare Centre. My Nigerian roots constantly shape parts of my life, but I enjoy learning about all types of cultures. Although I love photography, I’m nowhere near a professional photographer with a professional camera. I’m just an amateur photographer that loves to capture images. To me, photographs have an immutable power, immortalizing people, places and moments; which is what I aim to do through my photography. Travel intrigues me because it is simply an opportunity to experience one planet through the eyes of many. My love of travel stemmed from my mother’s love of travel. We often tease her that she has the restless gene, because she always wants to be somewhere, and someplace different. She began to travel later on in her life because during her youth, she worked incredibly hard to build her career. But from a young age, she dreamed of walking the streets of Paris, or simply cruising on a ship on the Mediterranean Sea. She had big travel dreams, and to her, the best way she knew how to travel was with her children.
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