humanity

If nothing else, travel opens your eyes to the colorful quilt that is humankind.

Christiania: City Within a City
Nestled in the center of Denmark, surrounded by an old brick wall covered in graffiti, is the free-town of Christiania. I was fascinated with its history- created in the 1970’s when a group of anarchists, artists, and hippies took over an old military base and proclaimed it separate from Denmark. With blatant disregard for Danish marijuana laws and building colors, it remains it's own thing to this day. I had to see Christiania for myself, so I went in the dead of winter, and walked all 85-acres of the walled city within the city. I’ll tell you the ins-and-outs of this little Freetown and the best place to grab some grub.
By Kelley Zherzhi3 years ago in Wander
Shared Resources
It would be strange to act as if the people passing by, weren't looking up at the sky wide-eyed with their mouths wide open, and the driver swerving to avoid wiping my trash can out. Somewhere deep down inside me, I hoped it was not a UFO hovering just above me with the Rays descending down toward me, to beam me up to the mothership. I could hear the propellers as they approached from my rear just above my head to the right. I was so thrown off by the looks on the faces of the teens along with the buzzing sound that I just stood there a moment before turning to see what caused the teen's reaction. Here it was, the moment I would get to see a real live UFO, and I was frozen in place looking awkwardly at a car full of teens about to spread the contents of my trashcan around to my neighbors. Just as I turned to see what had the attention of these teens so strong, a drone went buzzing over my head. I ducked just in time to avoid a fresh haircut. When I stood back up the car full of teens was turning the corner and the drone was circling back. For a moment I wanted to take off running, dive into the bushes, and peep out every so often until the coast was clear.
By Devine Writez3 years ago in Wander
Ghanians Practice The Same White Supremacy & Xenophobia Seen in the United States
In every car I'm a passenger in I have to battle myself and decide if I want my Ghanian friend to be stopped and harassed by the police or immigration. Perhaps I will sit in the back and pretend to be an Uber or Bolt customer. Even when it is a Bolt or Uber ride, they'll stop the driver if they don't see thier phone mounted on the dash.
By IwriteMywrongs3 years ago in Wander
High Mountain Ranger Cabin
We drove up the snowy, winding road towards the cozy A-frame cabin. It was the first time Missy and I went to the Airbnb ranger cabin on High Mountain. Our schedules aligned in this rare instance, and kiddo was with their grandparents. We thought that we would get some snowshoeing in, so we bought used snowshoes when I was getting the kiddo’s ice skates sharpened. Turns out, I suck at hand sharpening skates. Uncle Buck agreed to my poor craftsmanship and sent me to the sporting goods store. Uncle Buck also told us about this ranger cabin. Uncle Buck went on to claim how he invented how to sharpen hockey skates on Wayne Gretzsky’s skates back when he played minors in town. I laughed at him as I usually do. Could not help but wonder why he was sending me elsewhere to get the kid’s ice skates sharpened when he had personally sharpened the great ones.
By TJ Roddy3 years ago in Wander
Disneyland adds some extra magic in time for the holidays
Just in time for the magic of this year's holiday season, Disneyland in Anaheim, California has unveiled new dolls in wheelchairs on their "It's A Small World" attraction. It's quite fitting to do on a ride that is one of the few completely accessible rides at the park. The two new dolls exist first in the Latin American section and then again later in the final choir room where every nationality congregates to sing a holiday anthem together. It's about time for some obviously disabled representation on a ride that's supposed to represent every child and nation known to the world--even the fictional mermaids of Atlantica! Disability is something that exists world wide, experienced in every corner of the planet and it's long overdue to those of us who are disabled to be seen in such a way.
By Josey Pickering3 years ago in Wander
Traveling Makes Us Happier, Not Marriage
A single life without marriage can increase your life expectancy. I want to encourage you to spend the rest of your life traveling rather than getting married. Consequently, I suggest that you can live better and longer by traveling around the world for the rest of your own life. Here are the reasons:
By Vala Flynn3 years ago in Wander
A Trip to England (Part III)
There are moments in your life that cloud things; that make things seem so difficult to comprehend that you just do not deal with them in a way that would seem proper. I was given that photograph of my half-sister and kept it hidden in a drawer from any curious eyes in my house. I did not mention it or even hint at it until my mother confessed that she knew all about her and we both realized that two lies were living in the same house. As I think about that scene between us, I realize that I would not believe it if I had heard about it from a friend (not even the film studios of Hollywood could have imagined such things). But it was too real and made me more aware of what was true and what was imaginary. I paid more attention to the racist graffiti I saw on an embankment wall as we travelled to a cricket match (contrasted with a wheat field that appeared like liquid gold, it was startling to see an attitude so honest). I noted that fruit sold in the markets came from South Africa. This was during apartheid and I made a point of buying a t-shirt that recommended that one Boycott South African Goods. I then looked carefully around that neighbourhood. Cramped homes, grey weather, narrow and mugger-friendly lanes and walls, appalling programs on TV (comedy specials seemed to have to volume of the audience turned way up for the weakest jokes) and I have already commented on the food.
By Kendall Defoe 3 years ago in Wander
The Dark History of Nauru Island
A Sordid Tale of Human Exploitation and Greed In 1798, John Fearn became the first European to report sighting the Pacific Island of Nauru.
By Peeping_Soul3 years ago in Wander
I Kicked Napoleon Dynamite’s Ass in Las Vegas
In 2014 and 2015, my Bride and I took trips to Las Vegas. Back-to-back years. No, it wasn’t because we loved Las Vegas so much that we had to do it two years in a row. It was more of a “Somebody bailed out on our plans, I guess we get to go again, now.” type of thing.
By The Mouthy Renegade Writer3 years ago in Wander
The Fascinating Secrets of Mayong, the Black Magic Capital of India
Mayong Village Is Eerie There are eerie, creepy tales abounding this place. People vanishing in thin air, men turning into beasts, dolls and skeletons dripping with blood, and even wild animals getting tamed magically. Yes, while there is no clear evidence of all this having happened, but the people of Mayong claim that they have seen stranger things happening beyond the realm of logical human thinking.
By Peeping_Soul3 years ago in Wander
I'll Swap Seats With You
There's been a lot of discourse lately about flight etiquette and safety, particularly around assigned seating, and specifically about giving up your seat when another passenger requests it.
By Natasja Rose3 years ago in Wander
Am I a Jerk if I Don’t Like Hanoi?. Top Story - August 2022.
So I committed the ultimate travel sin. I admitted that I didn’t like a place. You’re not really supposed to do that. Especially not when it’s a place that everyone else seems to like. At the worst, you say something diplomatic like:
By Sh*t Happens - Lost Girl Travel3 years ago in Wander