The Margaret River
Travel Muse asked the other day how we choose the destinations that we cover – and where we go to relax.
Funnily enough, someone said to us a couple of days ago that we should just go somewhere we’ve never been before and just relax and do nothing! But it’s actually the opposite. If we went somewhere new we’d be too excited to relax – the buzz of a new destination is too much. We’d be gathering information that we could turn into stories and taking lots of photos – that’s way better than a desk job, but it’s not relaxing. Right now we’re both exhausted and a little burnt out. So where would I go to relax?
Right now I could handle a beach shack somewhere reasonably remote, with some nice waves, a few good novels and no computers, one camera with one lens and a classical guitar. For about a month. It wouldn’t matter to me where it was, apart from the stipulation that I had to be able to get some nice wine and cooking supplies. It sounds a lot like the Margaret River area (see the photo), but it doesn’t have to be. I’ll settle for anything that meets the criteria! And it will still probably end up a story on How to really fade away: taking time off in the Margaret River. Or something like that.
Work: How do we choose where we go?
How we decide which places we cover basically comes from which destination we get a decent contract for a story/book and photography. Simple as that. We have some places that we love to go to and do that – Italy is definitely one of them, as is Thailand, and of course, anywhere in the Middle East. But it’s currently the contract that takes us there and the more familiar we are with a place, the easier it is to do the work – less intense research and more nuanced research. Many of the places that we do cover now we originally went to as a ‘real’ holiday when we both had great full-time jobs with plenty of time off and plenty of cash to spend.
However, one way we won’t get destination experience is to do journalists’ junkets. The stories generated are so bad that I can tell a junket story before I get to the end of the first paragraph. So while a lot of travel writers get destination experience by doing these, I call bullshit on that because I’ve seen the schedules they have – it’s as bad as what we call ‘contiki tours’ in Australia – with the contiki tour probably having the edge when it comes to maturity of behaviour!
There are a few places I wouldn’t do again or want to write about and photograph and both Lara and I are craving new places to visit – there is so much of Asia that we have not yet seen, for instance. I’d jump on a plane in a second if someone asked me to cover Vietnam or Korea and I’d love to go back to Japan. I’m having cravings for cultures far removed from what I’ve been shooting and writing about for the past few months. And it’s that restlessness that keeps me interested in what I’m doing.
But right now my dream would be the feeling of coming home to my beach shack after an early morning surf, still dripping wet and still a little out of breath, and making some scrambled eggs and a good coffee and then deciding whether I should spend the next couple of hours practicing guitar, working my way thought all the sections of a good weekend newspaper, or reading a book.
8 Comments
Have you been to the Philippines? It’s where I spent my childhood. There are 7,100+ islands begging to be explored…
That sounds like heaven… beach shack it is then! But where…
Jen, I would love to go to the Phillipines – it’s a destination that doesn’t get enough coverage in the mainstream travel press – you should pitch some stories to some magazines! What would your top 10 places in the Phillipines be? Where would we start and what should we see if we took, say, 2 weeks initially?
Hi L & T,
It would be great if you guys can hop over to the Philippines. Metro Manila is the gateway (mega)city, and it is chaotic and polluted, but it’s worth staying for all the ameneties (internet, supplies, access to consulates/embassies). Hmm…where to start?
Perhaps a good day trip from Manila is Sariaya in the province of Quezon about 2 hours away by car from Manila. Sariaya’s got these grand ancestral Spanish homes.
Another quick trip from Manila is Corregidor Island for its history — Spanish conquest and WW II Japanese vs. Americans/Filipinos.
Round the northern island:
Either a flight or road trip north through the Cagayan Valley is also recommendable. Go spelunking down Callao Caves, Cagayan Valley (near Tuguegarao) to see the chapel within the caves. Further north to Ilocos Norte province, there is a 300-year-old stone Baroque church called Paoay Church (UNESCO site). A little bit south to its neighbouring province, Ilocos Sur is the colonial city of Vigan, much like old Havana or Cartagena. Then circle back down to the tribal provinces of Ifugao and Benguet (the Cordillera Mountains) for the rice terraces–another UNESCO sight. Meeting the tribal Ifugao people might be of interest to you as well. Then perhaps you can relax in the cool, mountain city of Baguio, a former mining city, before heading back to Manila.
Sorry L & T — this is part 2:
Round the central islands:
If you favour beaches and beach shacks, this is for you.
You can reach Boracay island by commercial airline (lots of charter available), but you wont’ find your lone beach shack here. Commercialism has spread into a sorry state. I remember the 80′s and even early 90′s in the island when it was prisitine, undiscovered…it’s now like Phukhet or Koh Samui now, I heard. But no worries, the beaches in the island province of Palawan are still protected. In Palawan, Terry might be interested in a local delicacy called “bird’s nest” which we make into a soup. Bird nest gatherers risk their lives climbing the limestone carsts of Palawan for this delicacy. The big and small lagoon of Miniloc Island, Palawan are absolutely gorgeous–can go swimming, kayaking, snorkelling, and Scuba diving.
In Palawan alone, there are so many islands to visit…
Round the southern islands:
Cebu City is the Philippines’s second city and the unofficial capital of the south. Great base for travelling the south with abundance of elegant beach resorts and amenities.
I suggest a trip to the island province of Bohol to see the chocolate hills, as well as its many white sand beaches with endless sandbars.
The small island of Camiguin, close to Bohol, is another option.
Farther south from here, you’ll see a distinct change in culture and costumes as the Filipinos here are predominantly Muslims.
Just in case you’d like to see some images of the Philippines, Bobby Wong Jr. is a local photographer with a great pbase site.
I think you’d love it there. Food and local delicacies might be of interest also. Blood pudding stew, balot (baby chick eggs), sisig (fried pig’s ears, nose & cheeks–yum!) to name a few, but you will find 3 or 4 star American or European-style restaurants as well. See, I lived in the Philippines for 20 years and have barely scratched the surface…
Send me an email: fashion_jen@hotmail.com if you have any questions or if you need any contacts / hook-ups over there.
Jen, thanks for all of that — don’t worry, if we do get a gig in the Philippines, the scheduling queen (AKA Lara!) will be in touch. Not sure about the bird’s nest soup — once was enough — but the pork I can handle! I checked out Bobby Wong Jr’s stuff — besides his Philippines photos, his portraits are lovely.
Cheers,
T
Now I’m dying to hear your download on Margaret River. My husband has been talking about going there for a couple of years and I’m still looking for ways to impress him on our 20th anniversary. I’ve made 5 plans so far and all have blown up due to either money or timing or both. Great photo!
Travel Muse, quick Margaret River tips, just for you:
1. Stay somewhere with a great restaurant — there are a couple of good ones, most winery restaurants are only open for lunch and travelling at night = kangaroos ending up on your front seat via the windscreen.
2. Hire a car — you’ll need one to get around.
3. If you want to hit the water, note that it’s cold!
4. Margaret River town is not very exciting, it’s the region, hence the car.
Maybe Lara will do some posts on it?
Thanks! We live near Northern California’s wine country so a leisurely driving vacation split between long wine soaked lunches and quiet beaches (cold water is nothing new to us) sounds lovely. I appreciate your tips. Now I’m just hoping airfares to Australia stay low!