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market-sample-reports · 3 months

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Laptop Backpack Market Demand, Supply, Growth Factors, Latest Rising Trends and Forecast to 2031

The latest “ Laptop Backpack Market Forecast | Share and Size - 2021” report by The Insight Partners offers a detailed analysis of prime factors that impact the market growth such as key market players, current market developments, and pivotal trends. The report includes an in-depth study of key determinants of the global market including drivers, challenges, restraints, and upcoming opportunities.

This market report is ideal for businesses opting to enter or excel in the Laptop Backpack market. This strategic market forecast not only makes businesses aware of present market scenarios but also presents future market forecasts. These insights profoundly cover Laptop Backpack market size, share, growth, and projected revenue in the forecast duration.

The Laptop Backpack market report encompasses driving factors of the market coupled with prime obstacles and restraining factors that hamper the Laptop Backpack market growth. The report helps existing manufacturers and entry-level companies devise strategies to battle challenges and leverage lucrative opportunities to gain a foothold in the global market.

How is the Laptop Backpack Market Report Beneficial for Your Business?

Figure out the Laptop Backpack market dynamics altogether | 2021

Inspect and scrutinize the competitive scenario and the future Laptop Backpack market landscape with the help of different strictures including Porter's five forces.

Understand the impact of different government regulations throughout the global Laptop Backpack market and evaluate the market condition in the tough time.

Consider the portfolios of the protruding players functional in the market in consort with the thorough study of their products/services.

Have a compact idea of the highest revenue-generating segment with the help of a thorough Laptop Backpack market analysis by our seasoned research experts.

A cost-effective way to gain valuable insights into the Laptop Backpack market without the need to host an independent team of researchers at their own cost.

Laptop Backpack Market diagrams, pie charts, regional market share maps, inventory network examination, and import/trade subtleties help you pitch investors.

The Laptop Backpack market report offers an in-depth analysis of the various prime market players that are active in the market. Moreover, it provides their thorough financial analysis, business strategies, SWOT profile, business overview, and recently launched products & services. In addition, the report offers recent market developments such as market expansion, mergers & acquisitions, and partnerships & collaborations. The prime market players observed in the report are Companies Nike, Inc., Kensington Computer Products Group, Samsonite International S.A., WINPARD, The Targus Corporation, Adidas AG, Belkin International, Inc., Li-Ning Co., Ltd., Samsonite International S.A., Tumi Holdings, Inc.

On the Basis of Distribution Channel this market is categorized further into-

Hypermarkets and Supermarkets

Online Retail

Others

The report offers an in-depth study of every segment, which helps market players and stakeholders understand the fastest-growing segments with maximum Laptop Backpack market share and highest-grossing segments in the market.

The Laptop Backpack market is analyzed across the globe and highlights several factors that affect the performance of the market across the key regions –

North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico)

Europe (U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Central & Eastern Europe, CIS)

Asia Pacific (China, Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, India, Rest of Asia Pacific)

Latin America (Brazil, Rest of Latin America)

The Middle East and Africa (Turkey, GCC, Rest of the Middle East and Africa)

Rest of the World

The Laptop Backpack market research offers revenue forecasts for every year coupled with sales growth of the market. The forecasts are provided by skilled analysts and after an in-depth analysis of the Laptop Backpack market trends. These forecasts are essential for gaining investment insights into the prospects of any industry.

Author’s Bio:

Akash Khilare

Senior Market Research Expert at The Insight Partners

#Laptop Backpack

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ama2024 · 3 months

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https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/reports/22528-global-diaper-bags-market-1

Diaper Bags Market Study Navigating the Future Growth Outlook

Advance Market Analytics released a new market study on Global Diaper Bags Market Research report which presents a complete assessment of the Market and contains a future trend, current growth factors, attentive opinions, facts, and industry validated market data. The research study provides estimates for Global Diaper Bags Forecast till 2029*.

A diaper bag is also known as the nappy bag is a large bag with many pocket-like spaces that can carry all the necessary items needed by someone taking care of a baby. Diaper bags designed with easy carrying features and multiple storage pockets enable consumers to perform other ordinary tasks such as holding the baby, opening doors, shopping, and making payments.

Key Players included in the Research Coverage of Diaper Bags Market are:

Carter's (United States), Sanrio (Japan), Graco (United States), Tomy (United States), Storksak (United Kingdom), Trend Lab (United States), Arctic Zone (United States), Petunia Pickle Bottom (United States)

What's Trending in Market: Rising Popularity of Online Distribution Channels

Challenges: Lack of Awareness about Diaper Bags in the Rural Area of Emerging Countries

Opportunities: Growing Traveling Activities Among Families The rise in millennials with infants traveling more than once in a year as compared to any other demographic group on international and adventure trips

Market Growth Drivers: Growing Consumer Preference for Organized Utility Storage Facilities Rising Demand for Disposable Bag Owing To Hassle-Free Travel and Product Innovation With Respect To Design and Capacity Changing the Standard of Living and Rising Number of Working Women Population

The Global Diaper Bags Market segments and Market Data Break Down by Type (Messenger Bags, Tote Bags, Backpacks, Others), Application (Travel, Daily Use), Distribution Channel (Maternity & Childcare Store, Brand Store, Supermarket, Online, Others)

Get inside Scoop of the report, request for free sample @: https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/sample-report/22528-global-diaper-bags-market-1

To comprehend Global Diaper Bags market dynamics in the world mainly, the worldwide Diaper Bags market is analyzed across major global regions. AMA also provides customized specific regional and country-level reports for the following areas.

• North America: United States, Canada, and Mexico.

• South & Central America: Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Brazil.

• Middle East & Africa: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Turkey, Egypt and South Africa.

• Europe: United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands and Russia.

• Asia-Pacific: India, China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia.

#Diaper Bags Market Future

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theresearchblog · 1 year

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Birding Tourism and Bird Watching Market May See a Big Move | Major Giants Nattule, Responsible Travel, ecotourism-world, Junglelore

Advance Market Analytics published a new research publication on Global Birding Tourism and Bird Watching Market Insights, to 2027 with 232 pages and enriched with self-explained Tables and charts in presentable format. In the study, you will find new evolving Trends, Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities generated by targeting market-associated stakeholders. The growth of the Birding Tourism and Bird Watching market was mainly driven by the increasing R&D spending across the world.

Major players profiled in the study are:

India Bird Watching (India), Himalaya Birding (India), Hungarianbirdwatching.com (Hungary), eUttaranchal.com (India), Junglelore Pvt Ltd (India), Nattule (Spain), Tour My India Pvt (India), Responsible Travel (United Kingdom) and ecotourism-world (Finland)

Get Exclusive PDF Sample Copy of This Research @ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/sample-report/196903-global-birding-tourism-and-bird-watching-market#utm_source=DigitalJournalVinay

Scope of the Report of Birding Tourism and Bird Watching

Birdwatching tourism, also known as “avitourism,” is defined as travel with the primary goal of observing birds in their natural habitat. Birdwatching, also known as “birding,” is the practice of finding, observing, and identifying birds for educational and recreational purposes. It is closely related to nature and adventure tourism. As a result, many tour operators that provide birdwatching tourism also provide nature and adventure-based trips. In recent years, Indian tourism has greatly expanded its avitourism niche market, and some of the best bird watching vacation packages available anywhere in the world can be found there. India has over 1000 different bird species that can be seen across its many states and regions. Through private and governmental financial support, avitourism focuses on the positive contribution of conservation of very fragile ecosystems and protected areas; birdwatching companies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and ornithologists working in less-developed countries can promote ecotourism and conservation through guide-training programs.

The Global Birding Tourism and Bird Watching Market segments and Market Data Break Down are illuminated below:

by Type of Bird (Seagulls, Terns, Ducks, Pelicans, Sparrow), Category (Casual Birding, Enthusiastic Birding, Hardcore Birding), Types of Bird Watchers (Binocular Birders, Camera Birders, Regional Birders, E-birders, Raptor birders), Birdwatching Equipment (Smartphone Telephoto Lenses, Camera Backpack, All-Weather Field Notebook, Water Wiggler, Trail Camera, Night Vision Monocular)

Market Opportunities:

Increase Of Nature-Based Television Programs

Rapid Urbanization And Government Participation Is Creating Another Opportunity For The Market

Market Drivers:

Growing Number Of Biographies About Bird Life

Number Of Bird Watchers And Their Increasing Interest In The Profession Across The Global

What can be explored with the Birding Tourism and Bird Watching Market Study?

Gain Market Understanding

Identify Growth Opportunities

Analyze and Measure the Global Birding Tourism and Bird Watching Market by Identifying Investment across various Industry Verticals

Understand the Trends that will drive Future Changes in Birding Tourism and Bird Watching

Understand the Competitive Scenarios

Track Right Markets

Identify the Right Verticals

Region Included are: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Oceania, South America, Middle East & Africa

Country Level Break-Up: United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, South Africa, Nigeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Germany, United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Turkey, Russia, France, Poland, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, India, Australia and New Zealand etc.

Have Any Questions Regarding Global Birding Tourism and Bird Watching Market Report, Ask Our Experts@ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/enquiry-before-buy/196903-global-birding-tourism-and-bird-watching-market#utm_source=DigitalJournalVinay

Strategic Points Covered in Table of Content of Global Birding Tourism and Bird Watching Market:

Chapter 1: Introduction, market driving force product Objective of Study and Research Scope the Birding Tourism and Bird Watching market

Chapter 2: Exclusive Summary the basic information of the Birding Tourism and Bird Watching Market.

Chapter 3: Displaying the Market Dynamics- Drivers, Trends and Challenges & Opportunities of the Birding Tourism and Bird Watching

Chapter 4: Presenting the Birding Tourism and Bird Watching Market Factor Analysis, Porters Five Forces, Supply/Value Chain, PESTEL analysis, Market Entropy, Patent/Trademark Analysis.

Chapter 5: Displaying the by Type, End User and Region/Country 2016-2021

Chapter 6: Evaluating the leading manufacturers of the Birding Tourism and Bird Watching market which consists of its Competitive Landscape, Peer Group Analysis, BCG Matrix & Company Profile

Chapter 7: To evaluate the market by segments, by countries and by Manufacturers/Company with revenue share and sales by key countries in these various regions (2022-2027)

Chapter 8 & 9: Displaying the Appendix, Methodology and Data Source

Finally, Birding Tourism and Bird Watching Market is a valuable source of guidance for individuals and companies.

Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/buy-now?format=1&report=196903#utm_source=DigitalJournalVinay

Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager)

AMA Research & Media LLP

Unit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJ

New Jersey USA 08837

#Birding Tourism and Bird Watching market analysis #Birding Tourism and Bird Watching Market forecast #Birding Tourism and Bird Watching Market growth #Birding Tourism and Bird Watching Market Opportunity #Birding Tourism and Bird Watching Market share #Birding Tourism and Bird Watching Market trends

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lizardtracks · 2 years

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Continue this way…

Methodist Camp was built ten years before I was born. When I became aware of it in 2015 it had—somehow—survived the 2011 Horseshoe 2 Fire**, changed hands, and become Pine Canyon Youth Camp. In 2020 it vanished, torn down—I presume—by the Forest Service. I, for one, was not sad to see it go. I’ll explain.

Christian youth camps were no doubt a great idea in the aftermath of WWII. And Methodist Camp occupied one of the choice spots in the Chiricahuas. I can only imagine how great it must have been to spend a summer fortnight there. The main center was a two-story building. There were nearly a dozen cabins in a half-mile stretch. There was an amphitheater. Pine Canyon Creek flowed all summer long. A short hiking trail followed a ridge flank to Cathedral Rocks. Longer hikes ranging throughout the Chiricahuas were possible. It is a prime spot to see deer, bear, coatimundi, turkey, and squirrel. It is a prime bird habitat with everything from Stellar’s jays to copper-tailed trogons. At some point utilities were added and Methodist Camp had piped water, electricity, and phone lines.

By the turn of the century though youth camps had run their course. Not that kids can’t benefit from running loose and feral through the woods. The problem is getting them to do it. Even Christian youth, though more accustomed to taking adult direction, probably bulked at the idea of being cloistered away in Timbuktu. So when I first saw (what was now) Pine Canyon Youth Camp it looked like a relic taking up space. I mean it was situated on perfect camping spots. So when it vanished in 2020 I was ready to make it a 2021 destination.

Nature had other ideas. Down here in the basins, our monsoon storms can be eye-opening. In the mountains they can be terrifying. Still, despite following a mountain stream for more than nine miles, Forest Service Route 357 remained intact for generations. The flooding resulting from the Horseshoe 2 fire roughed it up a bit. But most was still passable in two-wheel drive with moderate clearance. And the quarter-mile stretch to Pine Canyon Camp remained in easy Subaru territory. So the 2021 storms must have been legendary. North past Hoovey Canyon, 357 became a jeep trail. Even the bit to Pine Canyon Camp got churned to high-clearance 4WD. That was still doable. But 2022 must have been Noachian! For all practical purposes, 357 no longer exists. And the creek bed along former Pine Canyon Camp is nothing more than an alluvial fan. Boulders, scoured from the mountains above, block any path to the old camp. And to those perfect campsites.

So taking up a weekend residence at Pine Canyon Camp will never be possible. (Unless we backpack in.) Even the 120 yards of road to our old reliable site may not be passable next year. One spot is mostly chewed away—with an eight-foot drop into the creek bed. It was narrow enough when we arrived. Then some dumbass in a monster truck knocked out another chunk. He had to dig away the opposite embankment to get out.

And if the narrow spot crumbles? There may be one spot left. At the right time of year, early enough in the week, we might be able to nab it. I’d like to. Camping in that area has become an annual tradition. So I like the sign above. Methodist Camp must have had a trail through the woods with The Stations of the Cross. At intervals is the direction “Continue this way”. Somehow the Forest Service missed this, or ignored it, when they disappeared Pine Canyon Youth Camp. Maybe they left it there for me to discover. Whatever the reason, it spoke to me. I have learned to love that little spot in the Chiricahuas. I want to go back. I want to continue this way.

**The Horseshoe 2 Fire started May 11, 2011. It started on the east side of the Chiricahuas. Within a week it had spread completely across the range burning nearly a quarter of a million acres. The wooden buildings of Methodist Camp somehow survived that and the subsequent flooding.

#chiricahua #mountains #hiking #christian youth

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timezonejunkies-blog · 6 years

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After 5 days in Mardin with food poisining and a heatwave we make our way north, towards the Black Sea. We'd been warned that this part of Turkey (East Turkey) can be dangerous to travel through, but is that really true? Unfortunately we get picked up by a real sleeze ball who temporarily puts us off hitchhiking but with the help of some really amazing and generous drivers and a lovely Kurdish family in Bingöl, we manage to hold it together all the 820 kilometres to the Black Sea where our lovely Turkish family from series 1 awaits us.

If you would like support us on our crazy adventures and keep us on the road, please head over to our Patreon page to find out how you can help! Thanks 😀😀

https://www.patreon.com/timezonejunkies

DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW US ON:

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shaunstoffer · 3 years

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My Turkey Bucket List

Day 1 in Istanbul, Turkey (10/8/21): -BiTaksi is the Uber of Turkey.-An Istanbulkart card is essential for all public transportation: the tram, bus, metro, and ferry. You need to activate it with your HES code. Your HES code is the number they give you when you register to enter the country.-I don’t care what religion you are, the mosques here, inside and out, are magical. I feel like I’m in…

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#Alanya #Backpacking #Istanbul #Middle East #Turkey

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travelguidesworld · 3 years

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Travel Guide

One of the daily rituals I often find myself doing, especially during an epidemic when traveling is off-the-table for the nonce , is to go to several of my favorite adventure and backpacking blogs and skim abreast of travel stories, plan my future trips, and lose myself within the world of travel where anything is feasible .

I wont to breathe travel before the pandemic hit. during a good year, i might be traveling to over 10 countries, spending a minimum of 2 weeks in each country, and spending months exploring all the interesting things this world has got to offer.

1. Nomadic Matt

Nomadic Matt adventure and backpacking blog

Nomadic Matt is that the OG backpacking blog and one among the primary travel blogs I even have ever discovered. Matt may be a backpacker through and thru and he has been backpacking round the world for the last 11 years while sharing tips and tricks on the way to travel the planet cheaply on his blog.

He also writes plenty about his life as a nomad within the past 10 years, sharing thoughts, life lessons, and lots of more travel-related topics. Nomadic Matt is one among the primary backpacking blogs i might visit whenever i would like a fast shot of inspiration to plan my future trips.

2. Goats On The Road

Goats On the Road adventure and backpacking blog

Goats On The Road is another of my favorite travel blogs. I followed them way back once they were writing about Central Asia and their travel guides had helped me tremendously in completing my journey in Central Asia.

3. The Broke Backpacker

The Broke Backpacker adventure and backpacking blog

The Broke Backpacker is perhaps one among the most important backpacking resources you'll determine there. With over 2,000 articles dedicated to helping budget travelers and backpackers travel the planet , Will, the founding father of The Broke Backpacker has created something incredible here.

On The Broke Backpacker you'll find super detailed backpacking resources on the way to travel cheap, far and wide. Will and his team tend to specialise in true adventure countries like Pakistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan although there’s also many first time backpacker resources on there too plus detailed gear guides if you’re looking to equip yourself for an enormous adventure.

4. Against The Compass

Against The Compass adventure and backpacking blog

Against the Compass is one among my favorite adventure and backpacking blogs that I often visit if i would like to go to unusual places like Iraqi Kurdistan or Syria. The blog is concentrated on providing useful and actionable information for those folks who are a touch weird and need to go to non-typical destinations like Syria, Iraq, and Iran, etc.

Joan, a travel blogger from Spain, has visited some really incredible places that one can only dream of like Syria and Iraq, and supported his real-life experiences, he has written a number of the foremost comprehensive travel guides that are literally attainable and anyone can follow, which is what i prefer most about Against the Compass.

His travel guides are extremely detailed and have helped me tremendously in planning my trip to places like Azerbaijan and if you're trying to find a travel guide to assist you visit unusual places, you'll never fail with Against the Compass.

5. Lost With Purpose

Lost With Purpose adventure and backpacking blog

Lost With Purpose is another great travel blog that focuses on providing detailed information about unusual travel destinations like Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan that you simply can follow.

Alex is a superb backpacker and an excellent writer and once you put that 2 qualities together, you regularly get interesting travel stories to read like her adventure and mishap on the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan, which jogged my memory of my time within the Pamir where I experienced my first symptoms of hypoxia .

Her articles are a mix between useful information and interesting travel stories while also raising awareness on many issues traveling as a solo woman poses also as standing firm and staying faithful what she believes during which isn't very easy to return by nowadays with all the main target going towards getting the very best number of likes possible and going viral.

If you're trying to find an excellent adventure blog with interesting stories in interesting places otherwise you are trying to find guidance on the way to travel the planet as a solo female traveler, Lost With Purpose is that the place to be.

6. Nomadasaurus

Nomadasaurus adventure and backpacking blog

Nomadasaurus is Australia's top adventure blog travel by a marriage , Lesh and Jazza, and that they and their team are writing comprehensive travel guides from over 100 different countries and every one seven continents since 2013.

On Nomadasaurus, you'll find plenty of extremely detailed travel guides you'll choose between to assist you propose your next trip. once I run out of ideas of places to go to , i will be able to often continue Nomadadsaurus and just flick through their travel guides, trying to find ideas.

They have done a good share of incredible adventures within the past 10+ years of traveling from Thailand to Turkey by land to hitchhiking around Mongolia for 7 days. If you're trying to find an excellent adventure blog to seem for brand spanking new ideas on adventurous places to go to , make certain to drop in Nomadasaurus.

7. Laidback Trip

Laidback Trip adventure and backpacking blog

I saw the Laidback Trip adventure blog a short time ago once I was trying to find information on New Zealand and once I read their in-depth itinerary for brand spanking new Zealand for the primary time, it had me interested by all the hikes I didn't do the last time i used to be within the country. One thing led to a different and that i am now an enormous fan of their extremely well-written hiking and adventure content.

Laidback Trip is travel by an adventurous couple, Lucie & Martin, and their blog is usually focused on hiking and nature-related content which i really like . they need many well-written hiking guides for South America and New Zealand and it's one among the primary blogs i might visit if i'm getting to continue a hiking trip somewhere.

If you're trying to find an adventure blog with an excellent collection of in-depth hiking guides and delightful photography for your next journey, make certain to drop in Laidback Trip and check their content out.

8. Stingy Nomads

Stingy Nomads adventure and backpacking blog

Stingy Nomads is another adventure blog I often flick through for ideas once I want to plan a hiking trip somewhere. The travel blog is travel by a few , Campbell and Alya, and that they are themselves avid hikers that wish to tackle long-distance treks across the planet while sharing useful information for us to plan our own hiking trips.

They even completed the spiritual Camino de Santiago long-distance trek, which may be a modern-day pilgrimage trail that traverses from Portugal to France through Spain and Stingy Nomads has one among the foremost comprehensive collections of travel guides to assist you complete the trek which are some things I even have always wanted to try to to .

They even have plenty of hiking guides for places like Patagonia which I heavily relied on once I was hiking round the wonderful region. the journey blog may be a great resource for those of you who just like the outdoors and luxuriate in hiking and if you're getting to do some hiking in Europe or South America, make certain to flick through all the hiking guides over at Stingy Nomads to assist make your trip possible.

9. Wander Lush

Wander Lush adventure and backpacking blog

Wander Lush is a superb travel blog travel by Emily, an adventurer from Australia who made the wonderful city of Tbilisi, Georgia her home. The blog is, you guessed it, focused on the Caucasus region which consists of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, and every one the gorgeous belongings you can do there.

When I was planning my journey within the Caucasus, her blog have helped me tremendously in planning and discovering cool things to try to to there. Wander Lush also has content from less-trodden places just like the Balkans, the center East, and more for you to get .

If you're trying to find unusual places with few tourists to go to for your next trip, there's no better place to start out planning your journey than on the Wander Lush travel blog.

10. Journey Era

Journey Era adventure and backpacking blog

Last but not least is Journey Era, an adventure blog travel by a young Australian adventurer, Jackson Grove who spends years traveling the planet , hiking mountains, jumping off cliffs, and participating altogether kinds of extreme activities.

His photography skill is additionally exceptional and his passion for hiking often takes him to a number of the foremost beautiful places within the world. In his blog, you'll find several hiking guides from round the world but my favorites are all the hiking guides he shared for Switzerland and Indonesia.

I spent my justifiable share of your time hiking around Switzerland but after rummaging through all the hiking guides on Journey Era, i noticed I barely scratch the surface here and that i can't wait to travel back to Switzerland, follow his guide, and hike some more.

If you're trying to find an excellent adventure blog to plan your hiking trip, most notably, Switzerland and Indonesia, don't forget to drop in Journey Era and flick through his hiking guide collection of ideas.

And there you've got it, the ten best adventure and backpacking blogs you ought to follow. What does one consider the list? Did you recognize any of those adventure and backpacking blogs? Did I miss any blog from the list? don't hesitate to let me know within the comments below.

Further Reading For Inspiration

Looking for more articles to assist inspire you to travel more? Here may be a collection of articles you would possibly like:

Hiking to the Everest Base Camp is one among the foremost memorable epic moments of my life. Here's a long-read piece about my experiences hiking the Everest Base Camp: On My thanks to Everest Base Camp.

Ever wonder what it's wish to travel the planet on a third-world passport? Check out: Traveling the planet On a 3rd World Passport.

Are you currently planning a visit round the world and are trying to find cheap countries to visit? Here are the ten Cheapest Countries to go to within the World.

Traveling in Europe are often cheap, really cheap. These are the 8 Cheap European Countries to go to .

Looking for the foremost beautiful travel blogs to follow? Here are the 20 Most Beautiful Travel Blogs to Follow.

For adventurers and backpackers out there, here are the 8 Best Places to go to After COVID-19.

I truly believe we'd like more Asian representatives within the English-speaking travel blogging industry, especially for blogs about Asia. Here are the highest 10 Kick-Ass Asian Travel Bloggers To Follow.

Did you recognize that you simply can travel without leaving your couch? Here are the 8 Great Travel Books you ought to Read.

For the simplest travel videos to inspire you to travel even further, here are the 20 Most Creative Travel Videos of All Time.

If you're trying to find travel vloggers to follow on Youtube that are not cringeworthy, check out: 10 Best Travel Vloggers to Follow On Youtube.

The best thanks to improve your photography skills is to find out from the simplest . Here are the ten Best Photography Youtube Channels to Follow.

A photo is worth thousand words. Here are the 25 Most Beautiful Travel Photos I Ever Took From round the World.

Ever wonder what it's wish to be a travel blogger during COVID-19? Check out: Being A Travel Blogger During COVID-19 - what's It Like?

Stuck reception and unsure what to do? Here are the ten Best Things to try to to once you Are Bored in Lockdown.

Wondering where you ought to follow COVID? Here are the 8 Best Places to go to After COVID-19.

#travel guide #travel usa

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confrontthefamiliar · 4 years

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full moon eclipse in gemini (Fresno, CA)

This summer I sat on my brother-in-law’s parents’ boat on Lake Clementine and listened to them talk about the hypocrisies of the various liberal, progressive, and democratic movements. I added my own deconstruction of these stances, in order to demonstrate my understanding and sympathy of their thought process and to connect on a mutual approach towards politics. In another setting, I listened to friends talk about their disgust at the republican red and white that seemed to encroach upon Sacramento in the form of masklessness and Trump support. I questioned their thought process because I didn’t understand it and I’m way harder on them and I thought it would help me understand. I thought the disgust seemed misplaced, seemed like it dripped without historical consciousness, without class consideration. No one I know personally these days talks about geopolitics, class consciousness or history- but my best friend sends me great recs. But then she scolds me for thinking my new friend is cool for writing in someone else on the ballot instead of choosing between two clowns.

Yet another proxy war starts in the middle east, where we were, and I find myself black listed at airports. For every flight I take, TSA takes apart everything in my backpack, looks through my computer, my phone, my papers, and my journal. An agent tells me it could have been something I googled but I figure it’s because I was in Turkey. It happens to Cristian too. We couldn’t both have googled the same thing, right?

A friend of Cristian’s tells us the republican party is becoming obsolete. This surprises me as we all just watched the election churn out nearly 50/50 results. And anyways I’ve heard the exact same thing about the democratic party. I fantasize about a world without either parties and with no stock market.

At the airport I hear a janitor ask the girl taking our temperatures why she only checks temperatures for Frontier Airlines. Because Frontier wants it that way, she says, sending me into a spiral of cringing, anxious awe at the power of yet another faceless, all-consuming entity. I shiver, thinking of all the faceless entities I’ve endured, even hundreds just that day. I appreciate people who can focus on immediate needs like free healthcare, student debt erasure, and rent moratoriums. To them, perhaps the big picture is irrelevant, another faceless entity.

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travel689-blog · 5 years

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Middle east trip

Home to culture and traditions that go back millenniums, the middle east is a destination underdog growing in popularity among travelers, adventurists, and naturally: history buffs, who love the fusion of religion, art, ancient tradition, and modern way of life. A storied land that can be both sere and fertile, the middle east and north africa exist within a tangle of cultures, religions and empires, both ancient and modern. We also offer a range of tours that explore each of these countries individually as well as an exciting selection of tours that cover the best of all three or in combination, as listed below.

All of our middle eastern journeys are supported by well-maintained private vehicles, which means we can be flexible with our start times and stop off points. To date, defense counsel has declined to respond." epstein's lawyers claimed that he carried the passport in order to avoid detection as an "An affluent member of the jewish faith" during his middle east travels.

The assorted travel across these three countries include ancient unesco world heritage sites, expansive volcanic mountain ranges, fascinating desert cultures, modern bustling cities and market places all with a strong thread of faith and religion. With world expeditions you can enjoy rich bedouin culture while hiking in jordan's striking wadi rum, cruise oman's musandam region or discover iran's extensive history, all with the experienced crew and quality inclusions that travellers are accustomed to.

When traveling in many middle eastern countries you should be conscious about their dress codes. The best and safest countries for backpackers are turkey , jordan , israel , united arab emirates (this is where dubai is), cyprus and parts of iran and lebanon (always check the latest government advice before booking anything).

It was our purpose to come here, to have a clear message to all of the countries that we're interested in peace in the middle east, with israel; to go to damascus and say to president assad the same message that president bush has for him. Ibrahim has over 10 years experience in leading hiking, cultural, bird watching and biblical groups throughout jordan and enjoys sharing his country with visitors.

From cairo to the cape and beyond, gus' travels have taken her to the roof of africa (kilimanjaro), the ‘big 5' in south africa, tanzania's annual migration, botswana's okavango delta, rwanda's mountain gorillas, namibia, zanzibar's beaches, majestic victoria falls, morocco, turkey, iran, uzbekistan, turkmenistan, oman and jordan. Visit to israel's ministry of foreign affairs and a meeting with diplomatic officials, who will address the following issues: relations between israel and the international community; the middle east and the iranian nuclear program; the importance of the media and its impact on the conflict.

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jonathaniketem · 5 years

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Coming to Terms

I was the last to introduce myself at my table, comprising four desks facing each other. World cultures—my very first class as a middle schooler. I couldn’t have been more excited. Our teacher sat in the front of the room just surveying her surroundings; her pearly, white smile was about as bright as the hot Texas sun. I still remember Ms. Juarez getting up herself, flattening out the creases from her outfit like she usually does once she got up and and introduction herself. Right after she spoke a few words and while the crowd gasped in excitement, I stared at my table, aghast. “You guys will make a presentation about your own culture by the end of the year, it only seems fair as this is a world cultures class,” she smiled as she always did while stating something that felt similar to a death sentence. How was I to complete something I had so much trouble accepting?

Now let’s turn back in time—back to when I was nine years old meeting some of my closest friends for the first time. I came across a group of kids my age range playing soccer right in front of my house on the street. I was too shy to come out and just ask if they would let me play with them; with the knowledge I’ve amassed now I know children are much easier to congregate with peers than adults who may be a bit pretentious to ever allow anyone foreign join their clique. I only walked away from the screen gate concealing my gazing presence for a bottle of water when I heard a thump against the familiar sound of something hitting the plastic exterior of a car. I ran outside yelling at those rowdy individuals who dared to hit my father’s sedan. They did what kids knew best and ran for their lives, and as a kid myself, I ran after them. We ran and ran until the sun went down only for all of us to collapse from exhaustion. We laughed about how stupid this all was while apologizing for hitting my dad’s car. My summer as a nine year old then on was me going out and having fun with the new kids I met. I started to grow bonds with them and create memories hoping nothing would throw a wrench into the fun I was having. Sadly it’s always those who try to escape bad luck who end up chasing its tail. One day all my new friends came to our friend Tobias’s home for a game day. The environment was much different than it was in my house: R&B music playing in the house, friends of Tobias’s dad in the backyard having a barbecue, and a marathon playing of a show I had never heard of before called Martin. I must have been very tense as Tobias noticed and tried to calm my nerves, and if Tobias noticed my other friends did too. They must’ve realized I wasn’t feeling like my regular self, all from being in a different setting. “Hey why do you look like you’re out of place? You’re Black too, aren’t you?” The question I always felt uneasy about. I stood there and stared at everyone unable to say a thing for awhile. To this day my present self could never understand why I agreed that I was such instead of the truth, but the lie was played and it had to be kept up or my image would’ve been ruined.

I am an African American, an American citizen who just so happens to have African roots. This is what I have finally accepted myself to be ethnically. Though it was never easy for me to accept as a youth. I have parents from the Eastern horn of Africa, born and raised in the country Eritrea. They sadly had to leave their homes to escape the war for Eritrean independence from Ethiopia, later meeting each other in Houston. They were proud of their Eritrean ethnicity, yet they gave birth to and raised a son who was ashamed of who he was. I was surrounded by people who identified as what the average person would imagine to be the Black American. I was constantly seeing myself as fitting into this group without also being apart of my own group. I didn’t have the knowledge to be able to be apart of both the African American community while also being proud of my roots as an Eritrean youth. I saw it as wanting to be able to accommodate myself into this community I was around so long that being a bit different would only make me feel segregated deep within, so my only solution was to lie about who I was. I’ve been questioned continuously as I differed visually from the peers I so wanted to be apart of, the loose curly hair, my bulging eyes, and complexion that made it seem I was from the Middle East. Because other people have continuously made assumptions about my race, I have found myself frequently discouraged. Discouraged to the point that lies flowed smoothly out my mouth like water surging from a faucet. Embarrassment followed me no matter who asked the question I dreaded: “Hey what are you? Are you Black?”, and no matter how many times I was asked my lies never failed to put me at ease.

A thing about lies I’ve come to realize—they may start out as little white lies, but the constant repetition of a lie breathes life into the lie. The lie starts to become its own entity, an entity I despised but kept molding with the eccentric tales I formed that would’ve put a seasoned politician in awe of what the mind of a youth could conjure in fabrication. My lies started with only a few peers; later, newer mouths would ask the same questions with familiar ones standing close by; my lies couldn't change there or I would be a liar. The lies began to form an identity—latching on to my person like the backpack I so proudly carried through the hallways of the school I spread my lies, instead the lies were a burden to my conscience. The typical person would try to fix something weighing heavily on their mind, but the lies were an addiction that sadly started to rope in others that weren’t supposed to be involved. Since my sister, two years my junior, started to attend my school I’d tell her to start lying about our identities. She could never figure out why it was such a big deal to me, but I started at her just as drug addicts stare at their loved ones asking for a bit of cash to get high one last time. Looking back it was quite repulsive doing something so crude to the innocent minded. I was her source of wisdom as her older sibling, yet I tried to bring her into the darkness I created out of disregard for myself trying to fit in with the groups of people I just happened to want to be a part of. Another thing about lies that I often hear and can confirm for myself are that they most likely will always catch up with their creators no matter how hard they try. As children get to meet others outside their family, they start to bringing them into the homes they were raised in and subsequently meet the ones who did the raising. For the liar I had become I could not believe I made the simple mistake of leaving my parents alone with friends to talk—the same parents who love to represent and share their information about their homeland. To hear one of the many customers you’ve sold your lies to ask what an Eritrea is feels probably about as painful as getting shot in the heart. I was truly grateful the attention span of my peers was about as long as a toddler’s who still hadn’t formed object permanence yet. There needed to be a remedy for the troubles I was causing myself, some soul searching before I was completely branded as a liar and someone who couldn’t come to terms with who they were. Surprisingly, all it took was a summer trip and a bit of contemplation about life to get myself on the right track.

Summer before the start of the nerve-wracking middle school experience, a family trip was presented to the June-born siblings as a gift. I didn’t know how to feel about going to Eritrea to see and experience the environments my parents grew up in. The trip was for the entirety of the summer, coming back only two days before the school year was about to start. We would be taking the German airlines Lufthansa stopping in Frankfurt, Germany and Istanbul, Turkey for gas and once again taking off until we landed in the capital of Eritrea: Asmara. Summer is the perfect opportunity for friends to make a few more memories before they went to different schools and possibly losing contact with each other. It hurt my child heart to know that I couldn’t go out and have fun, but instead I had to go to the place I tried my best to hide the existence of. The constant questions of why I wouldn’t be home got my creative process running, my solution being that I told everyone we would be visiting family in Europe. My lie wasn’t completely far-fetched though; my mother and father both had brothers located in Sweden and Norway, so coming up with this I felt proud of what I conjured up. The trip there wasn’t an easy journey: our first flight cancellation due to the 2011 eruption of the Nabro volcano, TSA possibly giving White House security a run for their money, and the long flight hours accompanied by the sounds of my sister heaving up her airline meals every moment of turbulence. I couldn’t have been happier once I had both feet on the motionless earth. Finally stepping out of the airport, I stood by the entrance waiting on my mother to get her bearings. Hand stretched out tugging at my luggage, I watched in awe at the deep lavender masterpiece in the sky the sun had left once it set ready to rise once again from where I came from. “Not bad,” I thought quietly to myself, “I guess I’m home.”

Asmara is the capital of Eritrea as well as my parent’s birth place. There are many ethnic groups living in Eritrea; my family is a part of the largest group in Eritrea called Tigrayan due to the language we speak: Tigrinya. Because of my delayed learning of English and natural tendency for Tigrinya as a child, my father decided to withhold my learning of the letters my parents grew up with called Ge'ez. They decided the 26 letter alphabet worshiped by this new country they settled in was much more important than millennia of history and culture. Though I regret their decision now I never cared much for it back then, especially during our trip when I had two translators by my side. The air there was very cool, which never made much sense to me until my parents explained how we were many feet above sea level, basically living on top of a mountain. Walking to our grandmother’s house from when the taxi dropped us off, we were headed to where would be staying for the entirety of our trip. I saw that everyone was walking, reminding me much of the climate of New York from various videos and photos I have seen. People walked and talked mostly in Tigrinya and to my surprise English as well. Asmara is much more advanced when it came to popular culture and what was big in societal trends as the capital of this country compared to the more rural cities my great grandparents and so on came from. My father thought it would be best to walk the rest of the way while my mother took the taxi back to her childhood home preparing for our arrival. We walked the streets taking detours walking past the many food stalls and shops out in the open, like shopping at a bazaar. The stained homes and buildings from the sun and style to the colorful, but bleached architecture made it feel like I was vacationing in one of the South American countries. I couldn’t believe what beauty Africa had housed.

Living in Asmara for just less than three months I started to see what it felt like being more than just American. It wasn’t as big of a difference as I thought, especially not from the rumors about Africa that I heard back in America. Of Course as popular as Asmara was, it couldn’t be used as a standard when comparing all of Africa, as if comparing a mansion to low-income housing provided by the government for struggling individuals. Things like famine, poverty, and horrible living conditions existed, but I was living as lavish as I could in my grandmother’s home. I was woken up to this sad reality when we traveled to my great grandparents village of Maiha, which also served as my grandfather’s burial place. My grandfather died before I could ever meet him two years from when we left to come to Asmara—another reason that warranted this trip. The trip there was suffocating; the advent of the air conditioner seemed to not have reached east of Africa just yet as the bus ride there was unpleasant. The whole ride we were leaving the cool mountains and entering sea level, and humidity was coming at full force that summer. At our stop we walked to Maiha, my mother’s family village where she hugged, kissed, and introduced us to our family. Maiha was a desert from what I perceived it as, almost no vegetation anywhere with everyone’s skin clinging tightly to bone where muscle should’ve been missing. I couldn’t fathom how people could be living here, but these were also my roots. We walked to an area that presented itself as a miniature version of a cemetery I remember once seeing as I joked around with my siblings, holding our breaths until my father drove past it. My father pointed out my late grandfather with his image on a tombstone, I quickly noticed the resemblance he had with my cousin that was back in Asmara. My mother and her sisters circled around his final resting place as their sounds of sorrow hit my eardrums, their wails had hints of grief and sorrow I couldn’t help but feel regrettably sad my mother felt this way. Something in that moment made me think life was fleeting, it wasn’t very normal for a child so young to be thinking about such things. Our journey back to Asmara was filled with reminiscent stories of young girls and their time with their father. A grandfather who would spoiled his grandson every minute he spent with him would’ve been joyful to experience, but loved ones are taken before these moments can even be recorded. I learned that my grandfather had an avid love for language, housing the ability for speaking many languages during his life. It was something about that fact that resonated within me even though at the time it seemed to be just one of the many accomplishments he had under his belt. Once we made it back I remember sighing loudly that we were back home, which made me question my word use at the moment. I was finally comfortable enough to call the place my mother grew up in home, and I wasn’t at all ashamed by it. This new found respect I had garnished upon myself seemed to keep me on a high. In the coming weeks of traveling around the country and enjoying the cuisine, to my surprise was a lot of pasta and pizza, only added to my enjoyment for my summer. I later learned there was more Italian influence in Eritrea than I knew back from when Italy used to control this little country. From words such as eyeglasses and car borrowed from Italian to the architecture and food, Eritreans used their suppressors identity and incorporated it into their own. The love for the language and learning more words in Tigrinya took new heights when I decided it was time I learned the alphabet from my uncle who was a school teacher. It was no easy feat, but the dedication I had for this task was marvelous and quite miraculous looking back. By my age at the time, my brain had most likely already made its last connections with neurons in the language department, cutting its ties with neurons that most likely would’ve made learning these symbols a lot faster. Though with my effort, my plastic brain must have given me a chance to redeem myself from my ignorance as before I knew it I could read small segments from the local newspaper like an infant reading the big text from a picture book. The applause I received from family members in the room during my recital was very heartening and exciting as I showed off my new trick unbeknownst to my audience.

Before I knew it my first year as a middle schooler was only a few days, just under two weeks. The sorrowful goodbyes and hugs hurt my little heart. I made ties and bonds with people I never knew existed until three months ago and I never wanted to leave. The environment there was very free and fun and I couldn’t fathom coming back to America. The smiles I once had plastered on my face now masterfully painted to express an aghast look. If someone said this was the same happy little boy enjoying his life in eastern Africa, they would’ve been taken as a joke. Ms. Juarez’s words still rang in my ears and my trip playing in my head over and over. Before I knew it the bell rang signaling us to our next class before I could over think how I felt my life was over. The whole school day consisted of trying to distract my foreboding thoughts with the workload I was piling up on my first day, yet I still couldn’t get world cultures to stop taking over my thoughts. This kept on up until I finally made it home after a tiring day of school. I had to come up with something soon as I laid in my best going through every decision I could’ve made about a school project possibly changing my outlook on many things. My thoughts raced back and forth when I suddenly remembered all the fun I had during our trip and remembering the times I struggled learning a new alphabet for the sake of trying to please family who passed on before I even got to meet him. Though I broke my promise of continuously practicing my Ge’ez I couldn’t help but smile at myself struggling to get better at something I had put my mind to. This trip couldn’t have been scheduled at a better time, a time when something as important as a cultural showcase was announced just after my return. I was finally more accepting of something I despised for so long even though I wasn’t going to change over night I was taking the necessary steps and that's reason enough. I hopped off my bed and ran downstairs to my father reading his newspaper at the dining table as usual. I remember him looking up waiting for me to tell him whatever it was I had to tell him, but nothing wanted to come out. I couldn’t just close up now after I finally told myself it was time for a change. I started to hate myself even more for making such a topic embarrassing for myself in the first place when I should’ve embraced it like other Eritreans I knew. This was my time to finally leave my cocoon of hate and emerge as not a full fledged Eritrean just yet, but however far baby steps would take me for the meantime. I took a breath in and out and before I knew out came the words “dad I need help with a project at school.”

The lights were off and seats were rearranged so that everyone was facing the front of the room. The student right before me alphabetically decided to make a powerpoint slide about what being Mexican American meant to him. I wasn’t listening closely, only paying attention in little bits before I would stare out the window watching the trees waving hello in the wind. Time kept ticking and I knew soon the 10-minute interval for our presentation would start over again for the next student. My heart ticked in rhythm with the second hand on my watch and I realized my heart seemed to go faster and faster, a heart attack was all I could think of which only sped up my heart beat and didn’t make the situation any better. As I took deep breaths to calm myself I heard the class start to clap, my time was up. I wasn’t going to let 10 minutes ruin my life, this was going to be nothing but a simple speech to a bunch of people I met during my sixth grade year. I got up with the most confidence I had in awhile once I heard my name, tri-fold board in my right hand, a garment worn by women from Eritrea and Ethiopia in my left hand, and a traditional drum given to me by my late grandmother on my father’s side slung across my shoulder. I stood in front of my audience with my presentation set up, like I was at a science fair nervous to explain my booth. I took a deep breath, yet this time it wasn’t going to be used to spew lies any longer. I was standing my ground against all my demons ready to release myself all by giving a presentation. To many it may have looked like a child talking to his school friends about how he grew up, but to me it was a life changing moment. In that moment as if all at once my lies seemed to disappear into thin air relieving the stress I made for myself all those years; I was finally ready. “Hello my name is Jonathan,” I smiled a nervous, toothy grin, “and this is my presentation on what it means to be Eritrean.”

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Afterword

My thoughts were built selfishly upon self-love that was never present. I owned information that many peers I share my skin color with would never get to know. I couldn’t accept something that many could try to search for after it was stolen from them centuries ago, but I was ignorant to that fact. I was ignorant to the culture I was blessed to have information about and in my selfishness pretend to have no such knowledge. I am thankful for this gift many of my brothers and sister will never get to know: another language, another culture, another home. I care for my roots ever greater now since I’ve learned the significance of where I came from. I am African American with known roots from Africa. I am able to speak my African tongue. I am proud to say my heritage lies in another continent. I am me.

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cherryfloyd-blog · 5 years

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Thank you @galabitch for tagging me!!

Nickname: pipey, piper, boo, turkey, Tay

Zodiac: Virgo 😎

Height: 5’5

Ethnicity: Caucasian/ European

Last book i read: I am Ozzy

Last movie i watched: The Prodigy

Last thing i googled: Lilac flowers (geez im so soft 🙄)

Favorite musician: Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, Electric Light Orchestra, Rush, Cheap Trick, Black Sabbath, Marilyn manson, Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie, The Beach Boys, list goes on forever ....

Song stuck in my head: nothing really atm cause im listening to music lol

Do i get asks: like 5-15 a day. Depends

Following: 200 ish, give or take

Lucky number: 8

What i'm wearing: Star Wars shirt, booty shorts, fuzzy black slipper/boots

Dream job: author or therapist OR something in the music industry

Dream trip: Greece / backpacking through Europe

Favorite food: tacos, French onion soup, croissants, Donairs, anything East Indian or spicy

Play any instruments?: learning guitar right now

Languages: English lol

Favorite songs: Jenny Wren by Paul McCartney is one of my favourite songs

Random fact: I have third degree burns on a good portion of both my thighs and it’s a gnarly scar but I love it

Describe yourself in aesthetic things: 90% black clothing, piercings, tattoos, black nail polish, nature, described as having a vampire aesthetic with a hippie personality

I tag anyone who sees this and wants to talk about themselves for 20 mins

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kootenaygoon · 6 years

Photo

Somebody who isn’t there

by Will Johnson

This story was originally published in OCW Magazine

The walls of our tent throbbed like the wet insides of a womb. Rain hammered against the thin fabric. Huddled with me in the darkness, Cat squished a pinch of salvia into a black pipe. She was a shadow, a warm wetness pressed against me. The wind outside sounded supernatural. We were on the top of a mountain just outside Dawson City, nearing midnight.

Cat rustled around in her jacket for a lighter. “I’ll meet you at the ocean,” she said. Our song.

Cat wore a damp hooded sweatshirt and a woolly toque, her dirty jeans bunched up on her mud-speckled hiking boots. She lay in my lap with her head against my chest and inhaled deeply. The smoke licked out of her wet mouth. She coughed hard, passed me the pipe.

I thumbed the lighter and felt smoke fill my lungs. Lightning spots erupted in my vision. With an exhalation I sank into my sleeping bag and let the pipe fall to the moist floor.

Cat began to squirm. She interlocked her fingers with mine. She tossed her head from one side to the next and made gasping, croaking, whistling noises. Her body trembled.

I didn’t feel anything.

“Cat,” I said. “Cat, I don’t think it worked.”

She couldn’t hear me. She writhed up until her damp cheek pressed against my neck.

“Cat, I don’t feel it,” I said.

With her sweaty hands squeezed tight in mine, I realized I couldn’t reach her. At least for the next few moments, she was gone. I could smell her scalp, her neck, her skin. I could feel her hands and hold her against me but she simply wasn’t there.

***

I’ve collected so many stories about Cat it’s hard to keep track of them all. Spend enough time with me and you’ll hear me repeat the same ones over and over again. I perfect my timing with each recounting. I add and drop details. I streamline the narrative.

It started at a hostel in the Yukon, when she sunk down across the dining room table from me and introduced herself. I was tinkering away on my computer, having just finished my first day as the summer intern for the Whitehorse Star.

We had a quick chemistry. I liked the way she languidly sprawled her arms out on the table. She swore loudly. Her upper lip curled high up over her teeth when she smiled. She made me feel like an exotic animal, like being a writer was the most peculiar thing she’d ever heard of. When I asked her why she left Powell River, she laughed.

“In that town, you either get knocked up or you get out,” she said.

I wrote down her words in my little black journal. In school I’d learned how to identify pertinent quotes. When she told me she had run away from her ex-boyfriend, I was already filling in the gaps of her back-story. I had come to the Yukon expecting some sort of spiritual retreat. Cat seemed dissatisfied in all the ways I wanted to be. We walked along the Yukon River as the last sheets of ice slowly sagged into the water.

Cat wore baggy sweaters and toques that hung low over her eyes. We were watching the current from the riverside hiking trail when she told me that she was gay. She’d been with guys in the past, but now she was only interested in girls.

“Girls are easy,” she said. “I don’t like all the bullshit.”

This was just another reason to be intrigued by her. It gave my story colour. I could come home at the end of the summer and tell my friends I’d fallen in love with a lesbian. But she seemed to think I was the exciting one. She asked about my life at the University of Victoria. I delivered carefully rehearsed monologues about drunken fights, about my friends from home, about girls I had dated.

We went to the pool together. We spent half an hour lazing in the shallow end. Beads of water trickled down her forehead, collected in her eyebrows.

“Just so you know, I’m not going to fuck you,” she said.

She smiled at me, then stood up and headed for the change rooms.

***

Sometimes I worry that I’m just a dancing bear. Before I met Cat, it had been years since I’d had a girlfriend. I felt incapable of making real human connections. I was insecure about my round belly, my reasonably normal upbringing, my comfortable lifestyle. I wanted to be complicated.

Cat was lying naked on my stomach when I told her this. “I kind of like your big belly,” she said. “I like that you’re a dancing bear.”

I’d come back to the hostel half drunk a week earlier. We made out on her bed, pawed at each other playfully. I unclasped her bra, but she insisted on keeping her jeans firmly in place. It wasn’t until I passed out that she slinked out of them. I woke up to find her groping around inside my boxer shorts.

She was filling in for the hostel manager the next night, and was staying in the private upstairs bedroom. Down the hall were rows of bunk beds full of sleeping travellers. We worried that our creaking would disturb their sleep. We switched from one position to the next, always stopping when the bed started to buck and bang.

“Let’s just do it on the fucking floor,” she said.

The next morning the hostel manager showed up while we were still in bed and Cat was fired.

I found an apartment in town and Cat stayed with me. We sank into a comfortable routine. Each morning the ethereal Yukon sunlight would overwhelm my bedroom and I would slip out from underneath the covers. I was surprised by how quickly I became accustomed to waking up beside someone. When she wasn’t there I would swoop my arm under the blankets, disappointed to feel nothing but sheets.

***

Cat had mentioned her past relationship with Sean briefly, but he seemed like a footnote in her narrative. I felt like nothing could disturb our Northern refuge. But one day in June he tossed some clothes into a backpack and bought a plane ticket to Whitehorse.

When Cat heard, she couldn’t tell anyone what was going on. Instead she sprinted to her bike and took off. I chased after her. After about ten minutes of biking in circles, Sean called her name from down the sidewalk. Her head whipped in his direction.

“Turn around, Will. Please, just go,” she yelled.

She tossed her bike to the ground and ran to his arms. I watched them kiss. It was a sickeningly perfect moment.

Sean was an easy villain. He was brawny, bearded and dumb. He worked as a bartender and had simple interests, according to Cat. He liked drinking, fucking and playing pool. They had lived together for months and he cheated on her multiple times.

“Girls just can’t say no to him,” she told me. “He could have anyone. The only reason he wants me is because he can’t have me.”

I hated competing with him. He had grown up in Powell River and knew stories about Cat I would probably never hear. He teased her and poked her in the ribs. She glanced guiltily in my direction whenever she laughed.

“Why do I have to choose a life?” she asked me.

She started smoking. She stopped sleeping. When I asked her if she loved him, she nodded sadly. She wondered aloud what would happen if he stayed.

She took Sean back to the airport a little more than two weeks after he arrived. I could hardly believe my luck. I couldn’t wait until we could both forget that he ever came. This was just an unfortunate chapter in our story. But the first time I went to kiss her, she turned away.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

The rest of the summer Cat had a quiet torment behind her eyes. She holed up in an apartment on the outskirts of town. She smothered pieces of paper in charcoal rainbows and drug-induced paint soup. By the end of August we were both miserable. I dropped her off on the side of the Alaska Highway. She planned to hitchhike back to Vancouver.

I saw her stick up her thumb in my rearview mirror as I drove away.

***

I started writing our story when I got back to UVic in September. I published a column about her in the student newspaper and got a piece published in a literary journal. Cat had become an almost mythical character in my mind—a tortured, mysterious loner. I loved her contradictions, loved the way I could never quite reach her. Somehow the more fucked up she was, the more I liked her.

She came to visit me in Victoria before she left to travel overseas. It felt strange to see her in a new setting. She ambled up to me on campus, and it was like meeting someone who had wandered out of a dream.

My friends had already heard all the stories. There was the time we went swimming in a frozen lake. Or the time we jumped of a cliff in Miles Canyon. One of my favourites was the time she asked me to shave her head. They listened, amused, as I constructed my tragic love story.

Cat called me from the airport the day she left for Europe. “I’ll send you an e-mail when I get there, dancing bear,” she said.

My friends all thought our relationship was dysfunctional, but I convinced myself I didn’t have a choice. I was stuck being in love with her. Sometimes I hoped I’d meet someone else, but most of the time I was comfortable getting random e-mails and postcards. I told a friend how I felt once.

“Sometimes it’s easier to love someone who isn’t there,” she said.

***

Sometimes I wonder if I invented Cat. When I look at pictures of her, she looks hopelessly ordinary. She has innocent blue eyes, soft blond hair. She looks like about twenty different girls from my high school.

But I’ve seen her jump off bridges into roiling rivers. She once lay topless in my lap for an hour in the middle of a public park. She’s worked in a carpet museum in Turkey and an elephant sanctuary in Thailand. She’s five years younger than me, yet she’s managed to work her way through nearly twenty countries in Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. She sends me postcards from Lebanon, Georgia, Vietnam. Sometimes there are only a few swords scribbled on them. Other times she scrawls intricate labyrinthine doodles. I often wonder if I love her just because I want to be her.

Every time I haven’t seen her for a while, I’m a little startled to discover that she’s human. I’m surprised by how familiar she feels. I recognize her musk, the ways her fingers hang loosely in mine. The first time she returned from a trip overseas, I was waiting at the Vancouver Airport. She loped out of the terminal with a relieved smile and an overloaded backpack. She smelled like incense and smoke. She tasted like someplace far away. In my car we sat with our foreheads together, trembling. I dragged my bottom lips over hers.

“Hey you,” she said. “Been a while.”

***

I have a picture of Cat in my scrapbook. I took it on an August afternoon. She’s dancing on a small beach in Brentwood Bay. The sun glints off the water. Her nose and chest are sunburned and freckled. She smiles like she just told a naughty joke, her head swept up in triumph. Beads of ocean water dribble down from her tiny breasts to her taut stomach. Her nipples have small barbells through them. Her pubic hair is soft fuzz.

We drove along the Patricia Bay Highway on my scooter that day. She sang at the top of her lungs, her voice lost in the wind rushing by our helmets.

“’Tis a gift to be simple, ‘tis a gift to be free, ‘tis a gift to come down where we ought to be, and when we find ourselves in the place just right, we’ll be in the valley of love and delight,” she sang. It’s an old hymn she loves.

Days like this make me want to hang on to her.

***

Cat and I planned a vacation together during my reading break. Things had been going well since she’d gotten back from her second trip, and I was getting used to her phone calls from Powell River. She showed up in Victoria, only to inexplicably break down in bed beside me late that night.

“I can’t explain,” she said. “Not everyone can talk like you can.”

I convinced her to come to Tofino as planned, and we spent a day driving up island. She sat backwards in the passenger seat, carefully rolling a joint. We got stoned in Duncan and listened to music until we got to Ucluelet. She rested her hand lightly in mine.

I was excited to introduce her to my friends. But when we went out for sushi she just pushed a spicy scallop roll around on her plate. She carefully dissected it and ate it with her fingers.

“I’m going home,” she told me. “You can drive me or I can hitch.”

She hated that my friends were so interested in her; that they already knew so much about her life. She didn’t feel like she deserved the attention.

“You’ve built me up so much I can never live up to it,” she said. “I can’t fucking deal with it.”

I agreed to drive her to Port Alberni. On the way I stopped at North Chesterman Beach. We looked out at the grey ocean. Surfers paddled lazily a few hundred feet out. They bobbed in and out of sight. Cat sat on a beach log, her hood up around her face.

We started arguing on the side of the road when we got to town. She wrenched the door of my car open, snatched her backpack and hurried down the sidewalk. I threw the car in park and ran after her.

“Listen, let’s just forget this. Okay? I’m not mad, let’s not say goodbye like this. Please?” I said. “It was a shitty trip. We’ll get over it, okay? I love you.”

It was the middle of the afternoon and the sidewalk was crowded. Cat didn’t slow her pace. I glanced around, saw people parking their cars in front of Safeway and coming out of 7-11 with coffee. Cars swished by. My narrative was falling apart.

“I don’t want this. Why do you even bother with me?” she said, pausing for a moment to spit her words at me.

“Not everything is a fucking story, Will.”

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