GoNOMAD Writer Profiles
Lucy Corne: A Stubborn Case of Itchy Feet
Lucy Corne first appeared on GoNOMAD with an article on the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. Then she reported from Limpopo, South Africa on "How to Feed a Teenage Hippo." Then it was back to Korea for an article about helping to clean up an oil spill, and finally to Japan for her "Beginner's Guide to Sumo Wrestling," complete with videos.
Here is her travel biography, which we feel exemplifies the intrepid spirit of a true NOMAD:
"After graduating with a degree in journalism in 2000, Lucy has been nursing a stubborn case of itchy feet. Using freelance writing and EFL teaching as a means to get around, she has suffered with diarrhea and fallen off horses on every continent bar Antarctica.
After living in the Canary Islands for four years she wrote two guidebooks unveiling the forgotten side of the archipelago before heading to Africa to cross the continent in a truck.
Five months later, having cowered from gorillas in the DRC, jumped out of a plane over the Namib Desert and survived her first organized travel experience, she scored a contract to single-handedly write a guidebook on South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.
The next year took her to some of the most remote spots in the country, including Welkom, one of the most boring places on earth, and Kenhardt, one of the most welcoming.
On finishing the book she moved to rural South Korea for a year, where she taught English to teenage boys and lived a life of semi-celebrity as one of four non-Koreans in town.
Lucy is now embarking on an epic Asian journey, starting with a volunteering stint in Northern India and ending in the most enigmatic nation on earth – North Korea.
En route she plans to overcome her fear of riding animals by climbing on an elephant, overcome her fear of mountain roads by braving Nepali buses, overcome her fear of claws by volunteering with pandas and finish up rooting for her native Britain in the Beijing Olympics."
The Bastakiya district in Dubai |
In Search of the Real Dubai
The first thing that struck me when I arrived in Dubai was how utterly friendly the people were.
Rather than the unsmiling and slightly intimidating officer who usually presides over passport control, we were greeted with a grin and a welcoming chat while being stamped into the UAE’s tourist hub.
I was further amazed that evening when, hailing a taxi to take us to dinner, the driver announced that the traffic was too heavy, a cab would be too pricey and recommended that we head to a restaurant within walking distance.
We were astounded at his honesty but a little disappointed since in the absence of any Emirati food we’d hoped to eat in the only Arabian restaurant listed in our guidebook.
This was the second thing I noticed about Dubai – the strange lack of anything Emirati. Every restaurant offers either Indian or Lebanese cuisine, the streets are lined with British or American stores, and when you look around you start to notice that even the people don’t hail from this part of the world... Read More
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Feeding Lucy, the teenage hippo |
Feeding a Teenage Hippo
I’ve never been terribly fond of animals. It’s not that I don’t like looking at them; I just have an innate fear of anything with more legs than I have. So imagine my surprise when one sticky afternoon on the border of the Kruger National Park I found myself with my hand in a hippo’s mouth.
Of course, South Africa is well known as a safari destination, and opportunities to get up close with fierce creatures present themselves often. I’d already stood on the sidelines while friends petted lion cubs, stroked cheetahs and rode elephants.
Then a modest sign at the side of the road jumped out and grabbed my attention. Having explored the less-than-engaging town of Hoedspruit we were searching for some way to kill time, so a notice inviting us to meet, pet and feed an actual hippo was a welcome diversion to say the least.
By the time our bottom-of-the-range hire car had navigated the dirt road leading to the hippo’s home, I was starting to have second thoughts. How could it be safe? I’d heard the stories, as I’m sure you have – it’s an oft-quoted fact that hippos kill more people than any other mammal in Africa... Read More
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A sumo wrestling match |
A Beginner's Guide to Sumo Wrestling
Witnessing something like sumo is always going to be a thrill. It’s weird and unique, you’ve seen it on TV and it seems to epitomize the culture of a nation.
But in truth if you don’t really understand what’s going on, sumo wrestling can soon become pretty dull. The pomp and ceremony takes up around 90 per cent of the day, with some of the bouts being so short you can easily miss them if your mind wanders for a moment.
Once the novelty of actually being at a real sumo tournament wore off, I felt the need to get a little clued up so that I could really enjoy the last few bouts of the day – the crucial ones featuring the yokozuna.
Having read up a little, I felt a new respect for a sport that I had previously considered somewhat ridiculous. For those that hold a similar opinion, or are simply bewildered by the whole flesh baring, thigh slapping event, here’s a total beginner’s guide to the art-cum-sport that is so revered in the Land of the Rising Sun...Read More
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The author and her friends suit up for a day of
cleaning. |
Korea: Pitching In to Clean Up An Oil Spill
South Korea has been my home for almost a year and although the Taean Haean National Park is a mere two hours from my house, I’d never got around to visiting.
I can’t tell you how sad I was that the first time I saw these quiet, secluded beaches (a rarity in small, overpopulated Korea) the entire region had been destroyed by South Korea’s largest ever oil spill.
Disaster struck in early December when a South Korean barge hit a Hong Kong ‘supertanker,’ causing it to send almost three million gallons of crude oil gushing into the ocean seven miles off shore.
The spill affected an eleven-mile stretch of the coast, much of which falls into one of Korea’s few marine National Parks... Read More
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A sentry station along the DMZ |
Peering over the Fence: Korea's Demilitarized Zone
If there were any truth to the adage ‘Good fences make good neighbors,’ then North and South Korea would regularly be borrowing each other’s lawnmowers and lending cups of sugar. Fences don’t get any better than this – a heavily fortified strip of land 150 miles (241km) long and 2 and a half miles (4km) wide, ironically titled the DMZ (demilitarized zone).
But despite the recent hoo-hah over a one-off passenger train crossing the border, there is little sign that relations are thawing between the two nations. The border remains closed and the only contact, if you could call it that, are the opposing soldiers who eyeball each other across the boundary line.
Our trip to the DMZ starts in a small auditorium just inside the restricted area. The lights dim and the angelic face of a young girl fills the screen, tears streaming down her cheeks as she absent-mindedly runs her fingers along the barbed wire fence that separates her beloved land... Read More
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