Wandering Desk
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Hi, my name's Neil Bennion. I'm a writer from England and this is my author blog Wandering Desk. Whilst writing is my main thing, I also do a bunch of other things besides, like voice acting, public speaking and flicking bits of paper about. I was the host of TEDxWroclaw for a while, and I've also done a TEDx talk of my own.I write ooks, articles, emails, to-do lists,..
Wandering Desk
4y ago
This week, my friend Alexander Woolley joins me to discuss Ukraine, and in particular the historic Black Sea port of Odessa.
We cover various topics, including:
Is it 'Ukraine' or ‘The Ukraine’ and the whole ‘correcting people on how they pronounce a country’ thing.
On being squashed between other countries (see also: Poland)
The wonderful city of Odessa
The Potemkin stairs (or are they steps?)
Going to the opera / theatre (including tips)
Speaking the language – or not (and indeed which one?)
Ukrainian food and restaurants
Sleeper train travel in Ukraine ..read more
Wandering Desk
4y ago
In this episode I share my experience of learning to ride a motorbike (well, scooter) on the mean streets of Bali. Well okay, not exactly mean, but pretty freaking hectic for sure.
I talk about:
- The 4 big reasons I was avoiding riding a scooter - What prompted me to just go for it - The learning process - The speed pact I made with myself - Filling up with petrol - The infamous Canggu shortcut - Riding in the rain - The single most amazing place I visited - Insurance, driving licenses and other necessities - My tips for people thinking of doing the same ..read more
Wandering Desk
4y ago
In this episode I talk to Johnny Parsons from England who, together with his family, emigrated from their adopted home of Yorkshire to the Peruvian capital of Lima.
We talk about:
Why they left the UK and moved to Peru
Adapting to Lima
Travelling solo versus travelling as a family
Teaching English as a Foreign Language
His daily commute
The incident that made him think twice about biking round Lima
What he does in his spare time
Peruvian food - and the need to tread carefully when talking about other nations' food
Pies
Johnny's tips for families thinking about emigrating ..read more
Wandering Desk
4y ago
In this episode I talk about my recent time in that most instagrammable of places - the Indonesian island (province, even) of Bali.
I'll be talking about: The message I send to the future me every winter ... Why Bali ... First impressions of Ubud ... What can make it so hard to acclimatise ... The hipster-surfer town of Canggu ... Bali as a vegan paradise ... The chain of islands that made my own trip worth it ... How Bali is dealing with the problem of washed-up plastic ... Tips for your own trip to Bali ..read more
Wandering Desk
4y ago
In this, the first episode, I talk about how I left the comfortable corporate life behind to go on a life-changing trip, and how this changed things for good, whether I liked it or not.
We cover a lot of ground, including:
The epicness of your first big trip ... the personal growth that comes from travel ... reverse culture shock and re-acclimatising back home ... how travel expands your mind beyond its elastic limit (and how this is both a blessing and a curse) ... meeting people on the road ... stagnancy and losing your mojo ... the need to be part of a community ... adapting to c ..read more
Wandering Desk
5y ago
This week, my friend Alexander Woolley joins me to discuss Ukraine, and in particular the historic Black Sea port of Odessa. We cover various topics, including: Is it 'Ukraine' or ‘The Ukraine’ and the whole ‘correcting people on how they pronounce a country’ thing. On being squashed between other countries (see also: Poland) The wonderful city of Odessa The Potemkin stairs (or are they steps?) Going to the opera / theatre (including tips) Speaking the language – or not (and indeed which one?) Ukrainian food and restaurants Sleeper train travel in Ukraine ..read more
Wandering Desk
5y ago
In this episode I share my experience of learning to ride a motorbike (well, scooter) on the mean streets of Bali. Well okay, not exactly mean, but pretty freaking hectic for sure. I talk about: - The 4 big reasons I was avoiding riding a scooter - What prompted me to just go for it - The learning process - The speed pact I made with myself - Filling up with petrol - The infamous Canggu shortcut - Riding in the rain - The single most amazing place I visited - Insurance, driving licenses and other necessities - My tips for people thinking of doing the same ..read more
Wandering Desk
5y ago
In this episode I talk to Johnny Parsons from England who, together with his family, emigrated from their adopted home of Yorkshire to the Peruvian capital of Lima. We talk about: Why they left the UK and moved to Peru Adapting to Lima Travelling solo versus travelling as a family Teaching English as a Foreign Language His daily commute The incident that made him think twice about biking round Lima What he does in his spare time Peruvian food - and the need to tread carefully when talking about other nations' food Pies Johnny's tips for families thinking about emigrating ..read more
Wandering Desk
5y ago
In this episode I talk about my recent time in that most instagrammable of places - the Indonesian island (province, even) of Bali. I'll be talking about: The message I send to the future me every winter ... Why Bali ... First impressions of Ubud ... What can make it so hard to acclimatise ... The hipster-surfer town of Canggu ... Bali as a vegan paradise ... The chain of islands that made my own trip worth it ... How Bali is dealing with the problem of washed-up plastic ... Tips for your own trip to Bali ..read more
Wandering Desk
5y ago
In this, the first episode, I talk about how I left the comfortable corporate life behind to go on a life-changing trip, and how this changed things for good, whether I liked it or not. We cover a lot of ground, including: The epicness of your first big trip ... the personal growth that comes from travel ... reverse culture shock and re-acclimatising back home ... how travel expands your mind beyond its elastic limit (and how this is both a blessing and a curse) ... meeting people on the road ... stagnancy and losing your mojo ... the need to be part of a community ... adapting to cultures ab ..read more