Crew from Halifax ship Mackay-Bennett recover Titanic victim
Before I went to Halifax for the Titanic 100 commemoration events, I didn’t get it. I didn’t really get the full impact of the loss of more than 1,500 people when the ship sank on April 15, 1912 after striking an iceberg about 600 kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland. I didn’t get that the crews of two Halifax-based cable ships, the Mackay-Bennett and the Minia, unhesitatingly made for the wreck site on April 17, two days later, after being contracted by the White Star company. I didn’t get that these men braved the cold, choppy waters of the North Atlantic to pull 302 dead bodies — one of them a 19-month-old baby — into small boats lowered from the cable ships for the purpose.
This photo, above, is now the enduring image for me of the epic disaster. It has replaced photographic images of the great steamship leaving Southampton and of Captain E.J. Smith standing on the bridge. It has replaced the drawing of the Wallace Hartley band playing on the deck as the ship sinks in my old Titanic book and computer generated images of the Titanic breaking in two before slipping beneath the waves. (more…)
Intrepid Travel campaign supports gender equalityIntrepid Travel has always been a leader in terms of promoting responsible travel and sustainability. However, I am particularly taken by one of their latest campaigns, called SAMA, which supports gender equality in developing nations by emphasizing education for girls. In my interview with Katy Rockett, Marketing & PR Specialist with Intrepid Travel Canada, she explains the project, the objectives and, most importantly how you can help.
SAMA means “equal” in Indonesian. As the main objective of the project is to support gender equality in developing countries, it was a natural fit. (more…)
30 days of yoga classes in TorontoI finished my 30-day Yoga Challenge at Lila Yoga Studio, Toronto, on Monday, March 19 — finished as I started, with a class by owner and yoga teacher Shelly Rowen. I am proud to say that I never missed a day. There were days I didn’t want to go — the sun was shining or I was tired or I just didn’t want to face myself — but I went, and I did the yoga class with those thoughts and feelings. Yoga is not about being a specific way; it is not about being perfect, or looking like the cover of a magazine, or feeling calm and compassionate at all times. At the ashram I go to in India, there’s a sign that says, “All life is yoga.” And that’s what I experienced during my 30-day Yoga Challenge.
For part 1, read: My 30-day Yoga Challenge
For part 2, read: Travelling within
For part 3, read: Journey of acceptance
To read about my last 10 days, and what I learned and gained from the experience… (more…)
Last fall I was on the Kickstarter website — thinking about running a fundraising campaign of my own — and I came across an appeal from three young filmmakers in the USA, Jim Goldblum, Adam Weber and Josh Cogan, who wanted to raise $40,000 to return to India to finish filming and editing a documentary about a magicians colony in Delhi, India that was about to disappear. The film is called Tomorrow we Disappear and this link will take you to the Kickstarter description. The slum area the magicians live in is going to be razed to make room for new buildings — hence the title.
I was intrigued by the project to make a documentary in India and also by the rewards they offered. Rewards are a key ingredient of a successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign. They need to be fun, valuable and manageable. These guys had great rewards at almost every pledge level, but I chose to make the $10 pledge and get a magic ring in return. (more…)
This was me about six years ago, after yoga teacher training. Photo by Christine Lynes.
Starting today, February 18, 2012, I am undertaking a 30-day yoga challenge: for the next 30 days, I will go to one yoga class a day at Lila Yoga Studio. I am giving myself this challenge because I have essentially spent most of the last three years sitting at my desk, and on my computer, working very hard to get my travel writing and travel blogging career off the ground. I have often worked 16-hour days, writing, organizing Toronto Travel Massive events, building social media relationships, pitching story ideas to online and print publications, trying to get sponsors for Breathedreamgo – all the myriad things it takes to build a successful career.
The toll it has taken on my physical health is a bit grim. Six years ago, in 2004-5, I trained to become a vinyasa yoga teacher, and by the end of the training I was in peak shape and I felt great. From then to now I feel I have aged 20 years: I feel heavy, stiff, out of shape and I’m worried about my spine and joints. Sitting is a killer, there is no doubt about it. So I am taking this yoga challenge to get my energy flowing and my body moving; to lose some weight; and to get back into my yoga practise.
Please follow my journey — which I will update weekly here on Breathedreamgo and more regularly on Twitter and the Breathedreamgo Facebook page.
The moment it hit me I was in India: mosque at Qutab Minar complex, Delhi 2005
It was six years ago today, December 6, 2005, that I landed in Delhi, India for the first time. It was Day One of my six-month odyssey; the start of my trip-of-a-lifetime; and the beginning of a new chapter in life, I hoped.
On my first morning in India, I stepped out into the warm December sunshine of my friends’ big, white, marble terrace in South Delhi and felt I had landed in heaven. It was warm, I was surrounded by a loving family and I was finally in India — a place I had dreamed of since childhood, but never thought I would ever see. I felt an immediate affinity with India; it was like going “home.” But I had absolutely no idea where the next six months would lead, what would happen, or what I would get out of the experience. (more…)
Mick, Mariellen, Katy at Intrepid Travel, Toronto Travel Massive meetup, photo by Natalie Taylor
Thanks to everyone who donated to the fundraising project for Deepalaya through The Intrepid Foundation. Due to the generosity of friends, family, acquaintances and complete strangers, I was able to raise $1,272.00 for The Intrepid Foundation, which supports Deepalaya, a program that houses and educates street kids in Delhi. The Intrepid Foundation is matching the amount raised, which means that $2,544.00 will be going to Deepalaya. To read more about the contest, read Donate and win. To read about the winners, read more. (more…)
Remember this?Back in the day, we carried a thick, cardboard, wax-coated box around with us as we went from door to door, trick-or-treating, on Hallowe’en night. It was the UNICEF box, and we expected each household to contribute to our collection by inserting coins through the top. As the box filled and became heavier, the sound of the coins landing became more satisfying. Thunk! instead of ch-ch-ingle. And when we got home and spilled pennies, nickels, dimes and the occasional quarter onto the floor, we enjoyed adding it all up to see our final tally for UNICEF. My mother, who was truly a Great Soul, taught us about UNICEF’s worldwide mission to help children in need, and about the importance of giving, and made the whole exercise both fun and meaningful.
In this day and age, as the world becomes smaller and the gap between rich and poor wider, giving is more important than ever. And now, UNICEF Canada is asking people to donate online and fill up UNICEF’s virtual orange Hallowe’en box. It’s easy and takes just a minute or two! If you are in Canada, simply visit unicef.ca/oct31 to make your gift today. You can also join the UNICEF Facebook page. Each and every gift will help purchase educational supplies – pencils, workbooks, textbooks and other resources so children can have the chance to learn and build a brighter future. (more…)
Fires on the Ganges by Andrew Adams of Katha Images
By October 26, 2011 I am hoping to raise $2,000 for the fundraising project for Deepalaya through The Intrepid Foundation. For every $10 you donate, I will enter your name into a draw. So, for example, if you donate $50, you get five ballots. I will put all ballots in a hat and draw randomly. But the more ballots you have in the hat, the more chances you have to win!
To read more about this fundraising project, please read my post Help the street kids of Delhi — and send me to India. And see below for more information about Intrepid Travel and Deepalaya.
Here’s where you can donate online. And here are the prizes, below — there are 17 prizes so you have a great chance of winning! (more…)
And girls all over the world, too. I’m participating in The Girl Effect blogger challenge — which is about raising awareness of the challenges girls face around the world. In India, my area of specialty, girls are often not educated; there are far more illiterate girls than boys; and girls are often forced into marriage. Yet, girls (and women) hold the key to an improved life for their families and communities. It has been proven that educated girls bring a lot more wealth and a higher standard of living and health into their communities.
All over India I have met beautiful girls and powerful women. It’s so obvious to me they are the future. But we need to consciously change the world to make sure they get the opportunities they deserve.
Currently, I am fundraising for The Intrepid Foundation for Deepalaya, a project in Delhi that helps street kids. Deepalaya is building a hostel for girls. If I win the fundraising drive, I will buy a school kit for every person who donates and deliver them personally to the girls. Read this blog, Help the street kids of India, and please donate! You can donate directly here on the Intrepid for Deepalaya page.
For every $10 you donate you will entered in a draw to win great prizes like a stay at the grand Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto, a framed print by photographer Andrew Adams of Katha Images., tickets to see Bharati at the SONY Centre in Toronto and an autographed copy of the Weight of Silence: The Invisible Children of India by Shelley Seale.
Join The Girl Effect by publishing a post the week of October 4-11: here’s the instructions and more information. Then, link to this page. And watch the video, below to find out from a young woman in India what it means to support education for girls. (more…)
On the morning of April 14 approximately 10 million people streamed into the sacred town of Haridwar in north India to bathe in the Ganga on the most auspicious day during the 2010 Kumbh Mela. I was one of them. Find out how I found myself alone, and at home, at the world’s largest spiritual gathering.
In Varanasi, where the veil between life and death seems very thin, a boat ride on the river can become a journey to the other side. Come along with me on a boat ride on the Ganges River in India’s oldest, holiest city and pierce the veil.
The Ganges / Ganga River is the Mother of India. The River speaks in many voices as she travels from the high Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. At the source, her song is joyous, full of the the jubilance of youth, the rush of fresh mountain streams, the sincere chanting of pilgrims and the excitement of the onward journey.
