When I booked the tickets for Secret Cinema's screening of Back to the Future, I covered my eyes. I didn't look at the ticket confirmation on the screen that confirmed I would be paying a whopping £100 for two tickets, plus booking fee, I simple looked between my fingers for the button that said 'confirm … Continue reading I go back in time
As an aspiring writer, every year I try to take on the momentous task that is NaNoWriMo. If you are unfamiliar with this phenomenon, it is an annual slog by writers across the globe to write a whopping 50,000 words in just one month. Twice I had previously taken on this challenge, and twice I … Continue reading I hit the open road
My friends and I were all in Junior school when the Harry Potter books first came out, so we all remember the year we turned 11 and didn't receive our Hogwarts letter. Tears were shed. Fortunately, thirteen years later, those clever people at Warner Bros. have found a way for us poor muggles to go … Continue reading I become a wizard
This is only my second Bright Side blog post, but already I've had a couple of days where staying upbeat has been something of a challenge. With that in mind, the second thing I've decided to write about is one the biggest challenges I've set myself so far. I took on a fear, and I … Continue reading I took on a fear, and won
Welcome to my very first happy post. So I recently became single, moved to a brand new city and started a new job. Well not all that recently actually, about five months ago, but in that time I've had a lot of opportunities to pursue things that make me happy, and I'm going to document … Continue reading I meet my favourite author
Our first experience of a bus for a while was not a promising experience and did not make me eager to leave the Vietnamese train lines and head into Cambodia. We waited 45 minutes for our booked bus, only for a minivan to turn up and take us 200 yards down the road before chucking … Continue reading Phnom Penh – a dark past
I clung to the back of the moped as the tiny Vietnamese lady threw it over ruts in the road. She was about half my size and I thought if I held on to her she might topple off. Theo was back at the tourist office about a mile ot two back and I was, … Continue reading Phu Quoc – the four S’s
Saigon is what you'd get if you took the commercial and tourist-friendly vast metropolis that is Bangkok and crossed it with the Vietnamese motorbike chaos of Hanoi, and then the two exploded. It's like any big city I suppose, chain brands and busy backstreets. Like a lot of Asian cities it's got that shiny modern front but it's … Continue reading Saigon – Into the Dark
Our train ran right along by the coast. When the trees parted you could see the cliff dropping straight down beside the tracks. The sea crashed against the rocks at the bottom then stretched out for miles. Da Nang was a large, busy city with lots of trendy clothes shops and restaurants. Naturally it was … Continue reading Hoi An – Floating Lanterns and Occupied Beaches
Our first contact with Hue wasn't a great success. Tired and sweaty from the train we stumbled out on to the busy streets. I got us lost, we got hassled by touts, Theo almost threw up and there wasn't an empty taxi in sight. Things picked up later after we had recovered and in the … Continue reading Hue – Royals, Riches and…Rengiss?
Emma Pocklington 