Monthly Archives: November 2018

Our Travels: The Gambia

Here at World Words, we don’t simply sit at our desks and conjure up ideas of far-flung places. We actually go and visit them. At any one time you’ll find our travel writers exploring pretty much every corner of the world. And when we do return to our desks, we love to share the tales of our adventures with the readers of the World Words blog.

That’s why we created the Our Travels blog series. So far, we have covered everywhere from Vancouver Island in Canada to Orccha in India, from Guatemala to Dubai. This month, it is the turn of editor-in-chief Joe – whose many previous pieces include Oman, Belarus and Iceland – to recall his most recent trip to the Republic of The Gambia.

From incredible wildlife resorts to truly unspoilt beaches, here’s his take on an extraordinary West African nation…

P1180388-2

Joe outside his safari tent, with views of one of the Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Project islands.

Continue reading

Travel Content and Cultural Sensitivity: How Should You Depict Other Cultures?

After returning from a trip, travellers are usually consumed by an overwhelming desire to tell everyone about the amazing experience they have had. This is what a travel writer is paid to do in the most eloquent way possible. However, it can also be the hardest part to master when it comes to depicting and representing other cultures.

Cultural sensitivity should be paramount when writing travel content, but it is often sorely overlooked. Mariellen Ward of the Breathedreamgo travel blog has discussed the dangers of cultural imperialism (or the belief that your way of life is better) in travel writing, while photographer Bani Amor has criticised colonialism in travel literature.

When writing about location, ethnicity and society, there are certain to be complicated politics that come into play. Although there’s no one-size-fits-all phrasebook to help travel writers avoid all controversy in their content, there are helpful tricks for traversing this complicated terrain. Scroll down to read the advice of the World Words team.

hands-600497_1280 Continue reading