Vietnam

Two amazing weeks travelling up Vietnam from south to north. I started and ended my journey in two typically crazy Asian cities: Hoi An and Hanoi. But the real Vietnam, the one that makes you want to go back and soak up a bit more of the culture, is the towns that lie between the two cities. Even the busiest towns have a feeling of calm bustle about them. There is a definite sense this is a developing country, everyone has their own little plan for a brighter future, but there are no signs of leaving behind their traditions in the face of development; as the cliche would have you believe. Vietnam is exactly what you expect from South East Asia, and one over on Thailand for having a smaller tourism industry.  

Singapore

Strong contender for the most glamorous place on Earth. Not the best place for a backpacker to meet people or save money, but certainly a civil place to get through jet lag.

Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Bali

It's been a long time since my last post. A lot has happened, perhaps the most exciting was my first time travelling. With my 60 litre backpack on, an empty SD card in my camera, and a tearful mother at Heathrow, I ventured out on my own. Most people can't believe I went alone. Even on the plane on my way to Asia I was warned against travelling alone: "cause you're a woman, it's too dangerous". Shame that this is the way we are taught to live. I wasn't alone really, I was on 14 strong backpacking tours some of the time and traveled with a friend at one point. I was only "alone" alone for 12 days (Singapore and Bali). Funnily enough I learnt the most about myself in those days, as the cliche goes.

Radio Gaga

It's funny how you graduate and spend months looking for work and worthwhile experiences, then suddenly everything comes along at once. I am now working at Imperial, where I did my Masters, on media for a project that tells stories about the future of technology. This unexpectedly includes being involved in producing videos for the project, which is about as fun as science communication gets for a geek like me - today I spent the day interviewing an academic at a recycling plant in West London. I shall post some videos when they are all polished and pretty.

I did a two week placement at Whistledown Productions mainly working on Radio 4's wonderfully journalistic Feedback. I'm hoping to make some BBC radio magic with them mentoring me.

Last but oh-so not least, I recently completed a Live Radio project at the Roundhouse. It was about making live magazine radio shows for young people; imagine Radio 1 at its absolute best. This the area of radio I have had near to no experience of making but listen to all the time, so it was truly eye opening and exciting. The project culminated in 4 radio shows about Roundhouse's Rising Festival weekend which showcased new musical talent. 

This is a package I produced about the amazing artist Ophelia:

And here is the show I co-presented (eek):

Rising 360 Episode 3 - ft Wildebeats, GAPS, Mariam The Believer by Rising 360 on Mixcloud

Listen to the other 3 shows here.