Dear Diana,
You know how I always told you I would like to go to Ireland some day? Well, I’ve been to Ireland!! It was really beautiful here with a very diverse landscape. I was there with our mutual friend Rachid. We had hired a car and had been driving around for some time, but driving these roads proved very challenging, especially for Rachid. Since I did’t have a drivers license Rachid had been driving the car on the small, winding and busy roads. With two hedges on either side of the road and cars coming from the opposite direction it was hard passing them at all, but imagine them coming at you with twice the speed you are driving. It scared the hell out of me, seeing those cars coming at us while everything about driving on the left side felt wrong to me.
I think that Rachid must have been deaf at the end of our holiday...
Thursday, 9 April 2009
Postcard 2: Indian roads
Hello Rachid,
From the time you have told me you were planning to go to India, I have been afraid something bad might happen to you. You are now gone for two months and I haven’t heard the slightest. I hope you are well and are enjoying yourself.
Apart from this chitchat I also want to warn you one more time. I have just read a article about someone taking a bus from Goa to Bombay. He could have taken the plane or train, but they were out, so he had the choice between bus and hovercraft. By hovercraft was far more expensive, so he took the bus like you would do. He wished after the trip by bus he had not.
He paid eight dollar instead of 5,50 to have air conditioning which did not work. When out of Goa, the bus drove along a ‘highway’ which was barely a normal tarmac road. Single lane each way and when another bus or truck had to pass the bus in opposite direction, it had to be done very carefully.
In villages along the way this got even worse. The speed went down to walking speed, because of all the other people and animals who wanted to use the road. They made sure the driver had to drive very carefully and even at night there were people on the road The bus was hot and swerving every way as the driver avoided other road users. A good night sleep was not an option.
After leaving behind the lowlands, the bus headed into the mountains. Now the real ‘exciting’ part begins. The drivers manoeuvres the bus up and down the mountain roads in the pitch black night while avoiding upcoming busses and cars. To make matters worse the bus drivers going to Bombay raced each other, passing each other on those narrow roads. I must say that the bus driver switched with his co-driver half way past the night, but still.
The bus could have gone over the edge of the mountain road or hit an upcoming vehicle every few minutes. Of course it did not or I would not be telling you this story, but the danger on this bus trip was very real! You would say that THIS IS the proof that India is not dangerous, but please watch out for bad food, sharks, bad people in general and busses.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Your worried friend Mark
From the time you have told me you were planning to go to India, I have been afraid something bad might happen to you. You are now gone for two months and I haven’t heard the slightest. I hope you are well and are enjoying yourself.
Apart from this chitchat I also want to warn you one more time. I have just read a article about someone taking a bus from Goa to Bombay. He could have taken the plane or train, but they were out, so he had the choice between bus and hovercraft. By hovercraft was far more expensive, so he took the bus like you would do. He wished after the trip by bus he had not.
He paid eight dollar instead of 5,50 to have air conditioning which did not work. When out of Goa, the bus drove along a ‘highway’ which was barely a normal tarmac road. Single lane each way and when another bus or truck had to pass the bus in opposite direction, it had to be done very carefully.
In villages along the way this got even worse. The speed went down to walking speed, because of all the other people and animals who wanted to use the road. They made sure the driver had to drive very carefully and even at night there were people on the road The bus was hot and swerving every way as the driver avoided other road users. A good night sleep was not an option.
After leaving behind the lowlands, the bus headed into the mountains. Now the real ‘exciting’ part begins. The drivers manoeuvres the bus up and down the mountain roads in the pitch black night while avoiding upcoming busses and cars. To make matters worse the bus drivers going to Bombay raced each other, passing each other on those narrow roads. I must say that the bus driver switched with his co-driver half way past the night, but still.
The bus could have gone over the edge of the mountain road or hit an upcoming vehicle every few minutes. Of course it did not or I would not be telling you this story, but the danger on this bus trip was very real! You would say that THIS IS the proof that India is not dangerous, but please watch out for bad food, sharks, bad people in general and busses.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Your worried friend Mark
Postcard 1: To be honest or not to be
Dear Youssef,
I have just read this article which tells you what kind of rules to obey when writing a travel story. The article begins with telling how travel writing is in essence journalism except that it looks more at the places that you visit rather than events that occur. Doing this will also make you the narrator and the person from whom everything is perceived. You can of course tell about people you meet, but don’t wander of to far.
Travel writing is something that is unique, it says. It isn’t comparable to anything else. A travel story is a story in which real events take place, just like journalism. Yet the former has to be more. It must look at certain beautiful details the traveller sees and admires, but there is one thing which is the most important part.
According to this article a travel writer has to be able to tell vividly about remarkable events, sensations and emotion. When this is not present in a travel article, then it’s not alive, it is just one more tourist guide. A travel article has to recreate the right atmosphere in which the traveller found himself in. In doing this, the reader will be engaged in this journey, together with the traveller.
So after this explanation to travel writing, we now know that travel writers have to know how to put emotions and unique moments on the go to paper, but they should have mastered the delicate art of storytelling without going over the top. By this the article means that the emotions have to be genuine and the truth. If not, the reader will know this and the article is lost, so to speak.
When writing a travel story, make sure you know about what things you are going to tell, use tricks to pull the reader along, but don’t ever make things up. Be honest about everything, but do this in a special way, make the reader eager to know more so that he does not loose attention.
The article is a good read and when you should have to make a travel story of your one, remember these rules: Capture the special thoughts at just the right moment, make it a grand adventure but most importantly, be honest about it.
I have just read this article which tells you what kind of rules to obey when writing a travel story. The article begins with telling how travel writing is in essence journalism except that it looks more at the places that you visit rather than events that occur. Doing this will also make you the narrator and the person from whom everything is perceived. You can of course tell about people you meet, but don’t wander of to far.
Travel writing is something that is unique, it says. It isn’t comparable to anything else. A travel story is a story in which real events take place, just like journalism. Yet the former has to be more. It must look at certain beautiful details the traveller sees and admires, but there is one thing which is the most important part.
According to this article a travel writer has to be able to tell vividly about remarkable events, sensations and emotion. When this is not present in a travel article, then it’s not alive, it is just one more tourist guide. A travel article has to recreate the right atmosphere in which the traveller found himself in. In doing this, the reader will be engaged in this journey, together with the traveller.
So after this explanation to travel writing, we now know that travel writers have to know how to put emotions and unique moments on the go to paper, but they should have mastered the delicate art of storytelling without going over the top. By this the article means that the emotions have to be genuine and the truth. If not, the reader will know this and the article is lost, so to speak.
When writing a travel story, make sure you know about what things you are going to tell, use tricks to pull the reader along, but don’t ever make things up. Be honest about everything, but do this in a special way, make the reader eager to know more so that he does not loose attention.
The article is a good read and when you should have to make a travel story of your one, remember these rules: Capture the special thoughts at just the right moment, make it a grand adventure but most importantly, be honest about it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
