Jo Herrings Adventures

On my 24th birthday I woke up at 4am on my brothers lounge floor and was bundled in a bus for my first adventure to Europe. I had been pondering how to collect souvenirs on my travels without the trinkets collecting dust on a shelf (who actually enjoys dusting folks....or is just that I worked in a china shop for 4 years?). My wondering was short lived when I met a couple who travelled the world collecting Christmas Decorations. Winning idea! So its now that time of year to bring out my travel trinkets and reminisce over years of travelling the world with friends and collecting a few along the way (friends & trinkets that is) . Don't get me wrong going to non-Christian countries results in rather peculiar decorations like my cane balls from Myanmar, Om Key ring from India and bullet from Sarajevo. But I guess what makes it more special is my travels have embraced a multi faith Christmas Tree.  That's right I've got a tree with a olive wood star from Bethlehem,

When I searched for Hens Night activities Bill Clinton was not really a name that came to mind, but Google had other ideas. As I searched using keys words like Burlesque and Pole Dancing it sent me to the Groupon site promoting Bill Clinton, keynote speaker at Entrepreneur 2012 . Now after 4 days at the conference seeing the focus on Internet Marketing makes me think their staff have an interesting use of the key words on Google Adwords. Shrugging aside the randomness of my discovery, I was delighted to spend a few days with The Hen at the Entrepreneur 2012 conference listening to Entrepreneurs from various sectors, making stupendous amounts of money that seemed rather soulless to this vagabond. The final day however was a Question Time format with a number of various business leaders and academics from across the UK to add value and a little bit of credibility to the conference. Discussion points included Diversity & Equality, Motivation & Inspiration. The Influence &

Pushing into Day 3 of the 4 day Entrepreneurs 2012 Conference and with security for the former leader of the free world there was again no schedule posted so I was playing roulette with attending Day 3 hoping for some insight into life and business, that might knock a cog in my thick noggin into place. Kate Hardcastle drew our attention to the heart of any business, Customer Service . Kate offered a compelling and interesting presentation to start the day about how we as consumers feel about our own personal experience with customer service. She slapped Richard Branson (without naming him directly merely showing images of red dressed flight attendants and other flight cues) for writing a book on Customer Service but disappointing her on several occasions. She told of pulling her daughter out of day care (something I can only imagine is a pretty big decision) after they failed to ask her how she felt in a survey instead asking positively geared questions. She talked about profe

The Entrepreneur 2012 Conference at Excel pushed onto Day 2 and after Day 1 I was starting to go a bit loopy. I hadn't sat and listened to anything so capitalist in years and it was starting to play on my vagrant mind. Burlesque with Bill Clinton was really all I had signed up for so all of this was a random side show I guess. Not to mention a Himalayan injury to my tail bone was starting to give me jip. Reading Hap Working the World between speakers To Kick off Day 2 the Conference MC  Raymond Aaron an accomplished author of both the Chicken Soup for the Soul and Dummies Guide To  franchises put it very simply by preaching " stop being in a sea of sameness " and that frankly  you are no one until you have a book . Just the 2 days before I had received a copy of my University friends first book " Hap Working the World ". Just being able to say Hap has written a book elevates peoples opinion of him. As I listened to Raymond talk of the most powerfu

I was surfing the internet trying to plan my friends hens party using search words like "hens party", "pole dancing", "girls night" and "burlesque" and Google directed me to a page titled "Bill Clinton". The associated page was for the infamous voucher company Groupon who were selling heavily discounted conference tickets where Mr Clinton was a keynote speaker for a mere £17.  I recognised the bargain and I with plenty of time on my hands at the moment, Dianne (the hen) and I signed up for the 4 day Entrepreneur 2012 conference at London's Excel. What simply seemed a  nice distraction from job hunting and the confines of my house, where the walls feel like they are closing in on me some days, would turn out to be the most emotionally stirring 4 days since I have been back in London.  On Day 1 we were whipped into a frenzy by a Motivational speaker Andy Harrington , a tale of rags to riches. Andy was once a Churchill Insura

This blog has taken a real turn. So regular readers of my adventures may find this post is not for you...but it is the story of my life and my promise a couple of days ago to journal my existential crisis is something I think is part of my journey....feel free to turn off. Today was a real dark cloud of a day. I've never thought depression could be something I would experience as I have a positive disposition. But I can't shake the tears today and a complete lack of focus. I took to a Oprah interview with Anthony Robbins which was full of revelations to give me my first smile at 7pm. When some turn to religion I have turned to modern self assessment to grow. Not least to describe this as my Winter. And with spring being my favourite season I guess my incentive is now there. Storm in Koh Lanta, Thailand I had been looking out to sea all day and didn't know this dark cloud was coming....just like today. I've created a Need for Peace list (I made this up this isn

This blog is almost solely about my love of my friend Haps book and how it has made me feel a little more normal than I did last week. If you haven't heard of my dear friend Hap let me introduce him to you....Mark Cameron aka Hap was a hung over dreadlocked student when I met him in my hall of residence in my first year at University and over the coming 3 years we would work together on almost every group assignment I had in my Marketing major, usually with a girl nicknamed Dogs making for a cherished bond in my life. In my last year of university Hap called around to my flat having graduated the year before to have a cuppa on my balcony overlooking the city of Dunedin. He told me of his mission to live and work on all the continents before he was 30. At 21 that seemed a fair plan, so the next day he headed off to Korea to get the ball rolling. Over subsequent years Hap made his way around the world working and backpacking and falling out of trees - see Hap and I were part of th

The thing I have struggled with the most since I was 21 is realising I don't have a singular passion. At 21 I met a charming Californian surfer who was travelling my fair country with a guitar and in his real life he was an aerospace engineer. I was bowled over by his passion. And it set me on a constant questioning of passion which haunts me today. It seems like such a simple question but to me it baffles me.  Tipping myself over to make sense of myself (and having the best time ever!) See I love an endless amount of things. And in the notion of exploring this existential crisis I am having I want to explore them....so bear with me please.  There is my sewing machine; something I love to have for practical indulgence, its useful, creative and makes me feel a sense of mechanical connection like I used to enjoy in my teenage years at the kitchen table (or on my side projects out in the garage with hammers and nails). My love of art and all things painted, architecture,

I've spent the past week in a massive room at the Excel centre in East London listening to some of the Western Worlds rich entrepreneurs followed by a day of leaders from the world of business in Politics including the former President of the Free World Bill Clinton. These people had come together for the Entrepreneur 2012 conference and I found myself there after seeing a Groupon voucher for £17 while looking a a pole dancing lesson (you can see why my search linked to Bill Clinton obviously). Over the week I heard from Entrepreneurs whipping us into a frenzy selling their talking tour techniques, their middle man tactics, access to Brand leaders with book publishing rights, step by step guides to make money on the internet and the business acumen of the mega rich. I came away from the first two days in a deluded state that could only be described as an Existential crisis. I seriously thought this was for the people of yoga retreats and NGO do gooders and the Life Refugees you

Not many people talk about the readjustment into "normal life" that you have to endure after travel. Probably because most travellers come back desperate for a pay cheque and follow the path that leads them to income. I have a few extra pennies in the bank to give me the opportunity to get the "right job" (sometimes quote marks are required I am sorry!). And in my journey to get this illusive job I am finding that its like a damn roller coaster. I could throw in life in corporate life to make tailored dresses, I could go back to the BlackHole I left a year ago which sucked my will to live and left me heartbroken or I could walk the long lonely road to the career I can see is a good fit with my experience.  Everyday I am troubled with the what next and as my Christmas deadline comes glaringly into sight I learn more about myself. How I want to learn more about Myanmar and the confining state that has captured my heart. How I question if living in London is t

I'm now in the fidgeting disillusioning part of travel where you feel a little unsure of the what comes next? See I have stopped "travelling" and have settled back into my old flat, back to familiarity. Or so I thought. See we hosted the Olympics in my neighbourhood so the area is "regenerated". Don't get me wrong my timing couldn't have been better. I missed much of the reconstruction, road works and delays leading up to the world coming to the neighbourhood. "Regeneration" generally means suddenly white middle class folk think that they should live here. I am white and by New Zealand standards middle class but have always loved living in London where my people don't. So coming back to my flat after a year to be surrounded by hipsters instead of burkas (I live in the East End where it may as well be Bangladesh). So the familiarity is well on the way out...and  my sister moved out, so I now share with an Italian chocolatier - so the ha

Everyone loves a good awards ceremony at the end of an epic journey. So in preparation for all these questions I have come up with the following to sate your appetite. Photos are on FB as usual. Favourites of The Big Adventure Sight -  seeing trees growing out of temples was cool at Angkor Wat but what was jaw dropping was seeing the curl of cloud of the back of Mount Everest. The top of the world really is awesome. Cuteness – seeing a little boy in nappies playing in a huge bowl of rice in a Laos market City – Sarajevo. It’s a beautiful city with a heart breaking recent past. The food, the people, the sunshine, the environment, the religion and the peacefulness Trek – Everest Base Camp – could it really be any other. Pinnacle of a Lifetime in more ways than one. Moment –   being at Eden Park when my All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup and reaching Base Camp of Mt Everest share the tops of my list Funniest Moment - having my bum pinched by a tribal Burmese girl and

Passing time while travelled usually contains a few books that will never see time spent on my bookshelf as I pass them on to the next eligible backpacker with a book to exchange. Here are a list of my favourites…..from book shops and café shelves, shared, returned and recycled. The Secret Letters of the Monk who sold his Ferrari, Robin Sharma – a great read when you are looking for something more in life. I will be giving this as a gift to many of my old colleagues! Q&A,   Vikas Swarup - known by millions across the world as the “Slum Dog Millionare” – this has to be the loosest basing of a book to movie I have read. The premise of the Who Wants to be a Millionaire and the fact they thought he cheated match but I don’t think a single question matches….oh hold on maybe the one of the Taj Mahal. Definitely read the book. It’s a fantastic piece of modern Indian literature. And I met a few of characters in Agra that reminded me of him! One Day, David Nicholls , Funnily e

Traveling solo lets you dwell on a few reasons it BRILLIANT and FRUSTRATING to Travel Solo. Every time I went out to eat I was asked " Is it just you? ". " it is especially me" was always my answer.When you travel every individual gets something different out of the experience. For me travelling alone allowed me to embrace all aspects of my personality from art galleries and history to walking for miles and taking photos of all things great and small. These highlights shaped my experience and might help with planning or understanding that travelling solo is a whirlwind. THE HARDEST PART IS THE FIRST STEP - when people ask me about travelling alone the hardest part I found was my first flight out of New Zealand 7 years ago. Sitting in the departure lounge, on my own, with all the people I love and home being behind a glass wall. I even called my sister and asked " is this what it really is all about?, hours of waiting around ". But then someone sat n

Its the annual celebation of the day of my birth today   and it casts me back to all past years and what I was doing then. Not least the birthday celebrations of The Big Adventure. See its been 14 months since I left my job in London, packed up my bag and set off for Eastern Europe, Australia and finally home to Gore, New Zealand to be with my family a year ago. With my niece Sophie and cake baker nephew Joshua on my 30th helping blow out the many candles I celebrated the eve of my 30th with cups of tea with one of my mates from primary school, then some wine at the local with my girlfriends from school, And the big day (with a head feeling a year older!) with family and friends gathering from far and wide for lunch and birthday cake before we set off for the Rugby World Cup match between Argentina v Romania. I felt like the happiest girl in the world. What has come to pass in the year since then has been supreme. The stuff that life should be full of. This blog has told

Because I have written my blog in chronological order I have updated a few gaps whilst I am procrastinating from job hunting! Hope you enjoy the stories as much I have enjoyed the experiences and if you have any questions or comments I welcome them..... India  - I had a few items to catch up on so here goes Mumbai/Bombay  -  Hello Mumbai! Bye Bye Bombay! Chandigarh, Punjab -  A Modernist Experiment 60 years on Taj Mahal, Agra  -  Taj Mahal Unvisited Thailand - I have not writen anything for my time in Thailand because my dear Mum says "if you can't say something nice so nothing at all" but here is a great cooking school I attended in Koh Chang of the South East Coast I am desperately trying to write about  Myanmar  for my friend Matthias. Promise its coming, I just need to put some final research into it my dear x I am working on some overview items for you too....joys of having some spare time on my hands "between job" Sensual Overload in Ind