Chiiz Volume 05 : Travel Photography | Page 27

Kids, Nepal Canon PowerShot G7-X 9mm F/1.8 1/15s ISO6400 Humayun Tomb, New Delhi, India Canon EOS 700D 18mm F/9 1/40s ISO160 Osaka Canon EOS 700D 45mm F/9 1/250s ISO100 Diaries Worth Keeping Franca Marquardt I always knew that I wanted to travel the world and see how other people live their lives. I wanted to see the incredible nature, taste authentic foreign food and go on as many adventures as I could. My school life was pretty uneventful, so I soon discovered that I get bored very easily and that routine was abhorrent to me. So after I graduated from high school last summer, I decided to take a year off before starting university to finally do everything I ever wanted to do, with nothing to hold me back. However, I had to save up some money first and to that end, I worked at a bakery for four months. Even though the work got tough sometimes, the feeling of accomplishment that I got after earning my own money was worth it. I intended to use my salary to make my dreams come true. So this January, I finally packed my bags and took off on a flight to New Delhi. I spent five days in the capital city of India, which was very overwhelming at first but it prepared me really well for what was yet to come. After a lot of research, I decided to spend the first six weeks of my trip living at a farm in Nepal. I wanted to see a life that was completely different from the life I was living at home, while learning more about the third world countries and how we can help the people there. With that view, I volunteered for a project called “Her Farm” which is the 58 Vol 5 only farm in the country that’s entirely owned and operated by women. The farm is also home to homeless children and mentally challenged women. There I learnt a lot about the hardships of being a woman in Nepal and seeing these women fighting for a better future was invigorating and empowering. I made friends with some women there and we spent a lot of time talking about how different and yet familiar our lives are. I discovered that despite everything, we face similar problems that girls our age do- about love, going to universities, meeting parents' expectations and so on. I also really loved working with the children and taking lots of pictures with them. It was amazing to see how everyone was interested in my camera and how they gradually started taking pictures themselves. They have a few cameras at the farm and I hope they will continue with clicking photographs. It is important for Nepalese women to be in the media and to share their stories. After quite a long stay at the farm, it was time for me to explore other places in Nepal. I traveled by bus to Kathmandu, visited the Chitwan National Park and then went to Pokhara. It, being my first time as a solo traveller, I was naturally apprehensive, but all that disappeared when I met some amazing people at the places I visited and stayed in. It was interesting to know their stories and why they ventured out of their homes to travel the world. I especially remember this one, a retired man from Switzerland who sold his house and is now riding through Asia on his motorbike. It was exhilarating to see the spirit of life in these people, something a lot of people lack back home. The month of April brought me to the city of Bangkok where I met my friend, Carly. We spent a few days exploring Bangkok and then took the overnight train to Koh Samui. My love for big cities grew even more with Bangkok and its incredible food, street markets, and its vibrant nightlife. After roaming around the bustling city, the islands were nothing short of a traveller's dream come true as we spent our last days in Thailand swimming and relaxing on the hot sun-kissed beaches. Following Robert Frost's advice on taking the road less travelled, I had decided to visit the places that weren't frequented by tourists. This decision led me to book a tour through Sumatra, the northern part of Indonesia. We went from Medan to Padang, passing through big cities, lush tropical rainforests and lonely islands. It was thrilling to see the places that nobody has ever hea