Pictures like the ones we have on our phones are digital objects which take a snapshot of memories typically in the past. You can’t take a picture of something in the future, can you? Now that’s not exactly the dictionary meaning, but it’s at least how I would describe it. The actual oxford dictionary is a drawing, painting, or photography of someone or something.
Pictures can also be in mental formats in the brain which are neither tactile nor digital. They don’t have to be in the past either.
Whenever I look at pictures, it opens up a whirlwind of emotions, occasionally scents, but more specifically, memories. In this article, I decided to share a few pictures that I have taken over the years of my travels. It will give you an insight into what you, as the observer, are seeing.
Alles goed?
Where do I start from this *takes a deep breath*. This picture is my first ever solo travel journey, in Amsterdam the Netherlands. It was my second day in the city, and “Lockz,” my hostel roommate from Australia, went to see one of his friends who lived on the other side of the town. The Netherlands is a lovely city surrounded by canals and loads of bikes. Typically in the past, I shied away from taking pictures of myself, but I remember asking Lockz to snap one, so I could mark the day.
What sort of combo is this?
Watermelon and pasta? Yeah, I had the same thought. You see Lockz and Tomaso, two of my roommates, in this picture. Before this trip, I’d never been to a hostel, and I had quite a few misconceptions of how it would look and if I would even be safe there. I soon realized I would have some of the best moments of any solo trip by interacting with hostel people who were just as curious and open as me. The cafe owner was a Dutch/Morrocan national who embraced us and recommended the watermelon and pasta. He also pointed out a few good spots that sell that green stuff (wink).
Street Art photo
Do you know the difference between street art and graffiti? Neither did I until I took this photo. Street art is mainly image-based art, usually commissioned, whereas graffiti is mainly word-based and mislabeled as vandalism by many.
About an hour before I took this photo, a random group and I were on a street art/graffiti walking tour in Berlin, Germany. The tour guide was an Australian guy (obviously) who lived in Berlin for over ten years.
I wrote “obviously” because regardless of where you are traveling, you most certainly will come across two groups of people, Australians, and Germans. The tour guide invited us for a drink in a local bar after and on the way there, I stopped to take this picture. The words stuck with me, and funnily enough, I gave a slight laugh while capturing the quote.
“At the end of a smile there’s a laugh and a 1/2”
Welcome to NYC
This photo probably might not seem like much because it’s just a takeaway meal on a step. However, this meal was given to me by the bodega store owner in New York City after I told him about my story.
*Movie scene flashback* Ok, so for readers who don’t know, I lost my wallet with all my cards in it on my first ever solo trip to the USA. Yeah, I know it sucked! The worst thing about it was the time difference, and I couldn’t get money sent over from the UK as the western unions had closed.
Side note: The Western Union exchange rate was daylight robbery. It was pretty much £1 = 1$. I soon began to lose hope as I was already running late for the concert, without a dollar to my name, in NYC, of all places, I was lost for words. That was until Patrick, my Airbnb host, came to the rescue. He took me to the nearest ATM and gave me $100 to use. That was my saving grace, and I couldn’t thank him enough.
That changed my whole mood, and once dressed up to head to the big apple, I stopped by to get something to eat in a local bodega in Brooklyn. After chatting with Hernandez, the store owner, and telling him my story of why I came alone and what had just happened, as I dug in my pocket to pay, he stopped me and said, “I got you brother, welcome to Brooklyn.” That me realize that even though things can seem bad, there is always a way out of any situation. I put my meal on the step and took a photo just before I ate it, and that meal is what you see here.
One in a million chance
This photo is probably the luckiest photo I’ve ever taken to date. Hence the title one in a million chance. Why, you ask? On this special year, this particular team, on this rare week and even luckier day, was when the Toronto Raptors celebrated winning the NBA championship for the first time in NBA history! Yep, history folks. I’d say the luckiest bit was it just so happened to coincide with one week in the whole year that my former company flew me out for our yearly team meet-up.
I remember the struggle trying to book hotels just a few days after Kwahi Leonard took that gracious shot. That shot was something straight out of a Hollywood movie. You got to see it for yourself.
This particular day was a Monday, and having arrived a few days before taking the photo, the whole of Canada and especially Toronto had this unique buzz to it. Signboards were everywhere, raptor shirts for sale, and almost every advert on TV excited about the upcoming parade.
I remember being in the office at work, and my manager said, “What are you doing? Go for the parade with the team they’re getting ready”. We waited in the middle of the street for what felt like an eternity waiting for the parade bus to pass.
Eventually, after about two hours the parade came, and the whole area erupted. Chants of “Let’s go Raptors!” echoed through the streets like a titan. I was so close to the bus and the players I could almost touch it. I soaked it all in but quickly whipped out my phone and captured a snippet of the extraordinary moment.
