Extraordinary Experiences

The 2014 World Nomad Games

extraordinaryexperiences — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 09:45:00 GMT

A celebration of all things nomad. An analogue to the Olympics or FIFA World Cup. The greatest P.R. exercise in the history of Central Asia. The World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan was the object of much attention and even more fanciful descriptions in the weeks leading up to the opening ceremony of the event on September 9^th in the beach resort town of Cholpon-Ata, but from the moment traditionally dressed dancers took the stage and the Kyrgyz delegation marched into the Hippodrome stadium with President Almazbek Atambayev at the head it was clear that the week would be one full of color and excitement and more than a bit of national pride. For a competition billed as ‘an absolutely new format of tournament for ethnic sports’ the presence of teams from countries like Afghanistan, Mongolia, and Turkey was no surprise. Less expected were delegations from Brazil, South Africa, and the United States – though admittedly these were much smaller.

For many of the World Nomad Games sports competitions, spectators would have never even needed to stray from the Hippodrome Stadium. Befitting the mountain lifestyle of the traditional Kyrgyz nomad, almost half the games in the tournament involve horses in some fashion. The Alaman Baige horse races, pictured here, pitted over twenty young riders against one another in a long distance race around the oval track surrounding the Hippodrome’s central field. Kyrgyz riders took both first and third place, though not without some controversy: the delegation from Kazakhstan adamantly argued that their second-placed rider actually crossed the finish line before the winner. The first race of the day, a trotting competition known as Jorgo Salysh, was a lot more clear-cut as the Kyrgyz teams took all three top spots. With mountains to the north and Issyk Kol lake to the south, even the quiet moments between races were a sight to behold.

Internationally, Kok Boru is probably the most well-known of all the sports featured in the World Nomad Games. Though the Afghan name Buzkashi is much more common in the west (largely because of the popularity of the 2012 documentary film Buzkashi Boys), Kokpar and Kok Boru and Ulak Tartysh all refer to the same thing: two teams of horsemen galloping across an open field attempting to hurl the 45kg+ carcass of a headless goat into a large concrete cauldron. A game of Kok Boru tends to alternate between long periods of strategic posturing as one player from each team circles off to gain control of the goat, and then bursts of excitement as a rider grabs the goat and attempts to score before other riders can catch him. Not at all uncommon, however, is a stoppage of play when a rider has been thrown from his horse or because the pack has simply plowed straight into the crowds on the sidelines.

Official estimates from the Kyrgyz Ministry of Tourism put over 45,000 people at the weeklong event, with over 15,000 of those attempting to attend the opening ceremony in a stadium intended to seat less than half that number. Around 90% of spectators were from Kyrgyzstan itself, and the traditional Kyrgyz Kalpak hat was so ubiquitous that this number is easy to believe. In this photo, spectators sit on the front row waiting for a match of Kazakh Wrestling to start at the Rukh Ordo Cultural Complex. Part of the appeal for attendees was a government mandate that events for the World Nomad Games be free of admission for all. This extended not only to sport events, but also to fashion shows at Ruhk Ordo (a venue for which admission is normally charged) and screenings of the newly released film Kurmanjan Datka, based on the life of a legendary female chief from the south of Kyrgyzstan who came to power in the late 18th century.

In preparation for the World Nomad Games, over 150 yurt tents were assembled in the Semenovka National Park an hour to the east of Cholpon-Ata. This Ethno Village was created primarily to showcase Kyrgyz traditions, food, and culture. Fermented horse milk (kumyz) and boiled horsemeat with noodles (besh barmak), both staples of the nomad’s diet, were served throughout the camp. Life in the mountains is an essential part of the ongoing existence of nomads in Kyrgyzstan, with herders moving each summer to the jailoo (mountain pastures) where they can graze their flocks of sheep, cattle, and horses for the warmer months. While the Ethno Village at Semenovka only existed for a few days, the organizers did manage to pack in cooking competitions that offered a taste to all and enough song and dance that the entire jailoo was full of music. Each camp, hosted individually by each of the seven regions of the country, also demonstrated national traditions such as the “yurt raising ceremony” and the “ceremony of the arrival of the bride to the new house”.

The largest production on the jailoo was the theatrical performance of “The Show of Nomads”. Introduced by Vice Prime Minister Elvira Sarieva, the actors in traditional Kyrgyz costume presented over an hour of history and legend and music and more. Surrounded by mountains on all sides and narrated exclusively in the Kyrgyz language, one might be excused for thinking that time had somehow wound back to the era of local legends like Kurmanjan Datka or epic hero Manas. The only thing to break the show’s spell was the camera for Kyrgyz national television that broadcast the event around the world. The World Nomad Games were covered by media representatives not only from Central Asia, but from as far away as the US, UK, Russia, Sweden, and Turkey.

Particularly popular with the assembled crowd were demonstrations of national games like Salbuurun (eagle hunting) and Tyin Enmei. In the first, trained eagles are released to capture prey like doves, rabbits, and even wolves. While the presence of a huge audience at Semenovka necessitated that captive prey be used in these exhibitions, under normal circumstances these birds have enough training to go out on their own and find prey from the wild. Tyin Enmei, pictured here, challenges riders to collect a single coin from the field while mounted on the back of a galloping horse. Both events require great skill and quite a lot of practice, but the performers at Semenovka were nearly flawless in execution. Though put on as cultural displays rather than within the sporting competitions of the World Nomad Games, events like these and At Chabysh (horse racing) still seemed to fire up quite a competitive spirit.

The official competitive horse racing, meanwhile, wrapped up on the final day of the World Nomad Games with Kynan Chabysh. A race for horses of any breed up to three years old, the event saw both first and second place awarded to competitors from Kazakhstan. The first place rider, competing on his birthday, no doubt had quite a lot to celebrate! While all three of the horse racing events (Alaman Baige , Jorgo Salysh, and Kynan Chabysh) were fairly similar, they were distinguished by distance, speed, and the age of both horse and rider. These competitions are held fairly often in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia more broadly, where horse riding is such an integral part of the traditional culture.

The other main World Nomad Games venue for sporting events, the Rukh Ordo Cultural Complex, also hosted ongoing competitions throughout the tournament. Pictured here, spectators gather around a preliminary match of Kyrgyz Kyrosh. The three Wrestling styles in the tournament (Kyrgyz Wrestling, Kazakh Wrestling, and Belt Wrestling) drew the most international competitors and not coincidentally saw the most medals awarded to foreign athletes. In addition to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, who dominated throughout the Nomad Games, other countries to win medals in wrestling competitions across the various styles and weight classes included Turkmenistan and Tajikistan (both of which won gold medals) as well as Mongolia, Russia, and Uzbekistan (one silver for Mongolia, and numerous bronze medals for all three nations). With strong wrestling cultures in all of these states, it should come as no surprise that these events were quite competitive.

While Alysh (Belt Wrestling) stipulates that the athletes must keep their hands on each others’ belts at all times, Kyrgyz Kyrosh and Kazakh Kyrosh (the latter pictured here) are more freestyle. Kazakh wrestlers have a long history of dominating wrestling competitions, and regularly place in events around the world. Their training program has attracted international athletes since Soviet times, and to this day Russian wrestlers still go to Kazakhstan to develop their skills. These sports also seem to be a crowd favorite, with visitors lining up each morning outside the Rukh Ordo venue to be the first to enter and take a prime seat on the ground just beside the wrestling mats.

While the majority of the sporting events at the World Nomad Games showcased physical strength, two lesser-known competitions focused on mental prowess. Toguz Korgool (literally ‘nine stones’ or ‘nine sheep droppings’) forces players to make quick calculations to determine the optimal strategy to take opponents’ game pieces. Distributing the contents of one hole into each consecutive space on the board, a player whose turn ends with the last stone landing on the oppositions’ side into a hole with an even number of pieces collects all of those pieces into their own treasury. The player with the most stones in his or her treasury at the end of the game is the winner. A number of Western sportsmen from France, Germany, and the United States competed in this event and while none won medals the American team did place fifth overall. As with many of the World Nomad Games sports, the Kazakh and Kyrgyz teams dominated Toguz Korgool. Pictured here, two Kyrgyz competitors face off while a referee observes.

Players of the game of Ordo (meaning ‘center’) use a tompoy (horse knuckle bone) to knock thirty small alchik (goat or sheep knuckles) out of a chalked circle that serves as the field of play. Ordo is commonly seen throughout rural areas of Kyrgyzstan, and an abbreviated version can usually be found on Bishkek’s central square on major holidays. While Kyrgyz teams won first and second place in Ordo, third went to Tajikistan. The location of the matches, on a small bit of elevated land in the rear of the Rukh Ordo complex that extended out into Issyk-Kol Lake, was perhaps the most beautiful sites of any of the competitions held under the aegis of the World Nomad Games.

For foreign tourists and journalists watching the World Nomad Games, one of the biggest surprises was Er Enish (Horse Wrestling). Riders put on an amazing display of both strength and horsemanship as they faced off and attempt to drag their opponents from horseback to the ground. At times even the horses themselves seemed to pick up the spirit of the fight, rearing and biting every bit as aggressively as the riders themselves were grappling. One of the most entertaining teams, the delegation from Afghanistan, was also the center of a major controversy during the final rounds of Horse Wrestling. After a referee whipped (whether intentionally or accidently was impossible to verify) one of the top Afghan wrestlers during an attempt to break up a match that had left the boundaries of the playing area, the entire Afghan team stormed off the field and out of the Hippodrome. The Kyrgyz went on to win gold and silver in both weight classes, while the Kazakh teams earned two bronze medals.

Even after the Games were over, there was still one more major event to finish off the First-Ever World Nomad Games. The Closing Ceremony featured artists from Turkey, the United States, Kazakhstan, and of course Kyrgyzstan. With R&B, Electronica, Folk Music, and quite a lot of Kyrgyz flags the tournament ended just as impressively as it opened. Though it is not yet clear whether the World Nomad Games will actually become an annual event (and who would host the next iteration of the tournament, were it to be held next year), the fact that the idea was developed as a collaboration between the governments of Turkey, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan points to one of these three continuing the tradition.

Overall the teams from Kyrgyzstan dominated the World Nomad Games, winning 55 of the 109 medals awarded in total. As host nation the Kyrgyz were allowed to enter two teams in each competition, which accounts for some of their dominance. There was also mutterings between other competitors that though Kyrgyzstan provided horses for most of the countries competing in equestrian events they gave first choice to the Kyrgyz teams and only allowed other sides to choose from the mounts that were left. Among the rest of nations competing the Kazakhs won the most medals (28), with the other countries all far behind: Turkmenistan (6), Tajikistan (4), Mongolia (7), Russia (5), and Uzbekistan (4). Along with medals, cash prizes were awarded for the top teams in each event. The largest, for Kok Boru, amounted to three million Kyrgyz Som (over $55,000 USD) and one million Som (over $18,000) for the first and second place teams [both from Kyrgyzstan] and half a million Som (over $9,000) to the third place team from Russia’s Altai region.

About the Author

Stephen Lioy is a photographer and travel writer from Louisiana who is currently based in the Central Asian city of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. In between exploring the mountains of the country or trying to track down snow leopards, Stephen is also the Editor in Chief of a small regional magazine in Bishkek. To see more photos and updates from Central Asia and beyond follow him on Instagram, Facebook, Google+ or Twitter.

Greenland: Hiking on Top of the World

extraordinaryexperiences — Thu, 6 Mar 2014 09:50:00 GMT

Greenland is an incredible country. It is cold, harsh and extreme. But for those who brave these conditions, it provides an unparalleled experience to be one with nature in its very raw and real form. Hiking on a blanket of Greenland’s white, 80% of the country’s cover, solid water, was an experience that gives me the chills each time I think of it, an adventure quite unlike any other I had had.

It’s not just white

By my fourth day in Greenland, I was in love with the country’s remarkable land contours that spread for miles in various shades of green and brown, occasionally intercepted by stretches of white spilling over dun mountains in the distance, blending with the sky. The patterns made the landscape so gorgeous that Eric the Red was probably right in naming it Greenland as opposed to another theory of the nomenclature being a misnomer meant only to entice settlers. Either ways, I was hooked.

Land and Ice. Divine.

To experience the ‘other’ side of this Green, (and something without which our Greenlandic adventure would never have been complete) the National Geographic Crew, Jason Edwards and I decided to hike our way across rolling hills to the edge of a Glacier. The first leg of the trip was extremely tiring, across grass that stretch for miles, soft like heather and perfect for rolling on, but one, which made walking a tough enterprise.

At the end of the first leg of the hike, when I saw the view, a gorgeous lake harbored by a glacier, I was filled with awe! This was definitely a treasure worth sweating for, (and sweat we did despite the negative temperatures brought a notch further down by howling winds) And, as if in reward for the sweaty tired treasure seekers, the country offered Red Garnets embedded in its tiny rocks loosely strewn around the hill.

If you look closely at this photograph, you might notice my friend Simon, a tiny blob of yellow here, digging at a rock for souvenirs.

Across Boulders we hike

Moving on further, we circumnavigated the lake, the second stretch of our hike and it started to snow. The path was laden with loose sand, stones, and boulders ready to leap off; each step demanded careful attention. A wrong footing on a slack rock, (right after I took this one) and I had my first tumble rolling few feet below as soft snowflakes fell from above.

On how to preserve a Snowflake

Before this trip, a friend of mine who had never seen snow before had asked me to preserve a snowflake for him, probably presuming that it snows in Greenland all the time. Now it doesn’t, but absolutely does more often than at many other places (and this was Autumn). Without glass plates and other assorted paraphernalia required in making his wish true, I knew I had little chance. But, when we took a moment’s breather and this one sole flake came and rested on my camera strap, I preserved it my way.

Like a solid cloud

From a distance, the vast stretches of whites of the polar ice cap gave a sense of softness. I wanted to jump on to them, from an imaginary pedestal, wanting to roll on in its indulgent blanket. A want I had always equated up till now with clouds each time I looked out of an airplane window.

Its sharp up close

Up close the softness felt false, it looked a menacing affair of sharp cuts around the edges turned blue from the algae that grows between its folds, making me want to reconsider my wish.

In a six heeled fashion

Up till this stretch, we had been hiking for hours and our ‘actual hike’ had not even begun. To get on with it, our guide and friend, Adam, laid out crampons and hiking sticks for us. Strapping on these tiny six pointed heels under my shoe was a tricky affair involving a little dance in balance with each foot.

Braving a Crevasse

As we hiked on the polar ice cap, I was teeming with adrenaline and apprehension in almost equal measures. The path was laden with deep crevasses. Crossing each meant manipulating my mind’s primeval resistance with bravery. A little foolhardiness or one wrong move and falling into one, little rescue.

It’s all white

With no reference for scale, and nothing but unbounded sweeps of ice, gauging distance was tough and every stretch looked relatively conquerable but, in theory. In reality, each step was a struggle and meant checking each landing for its solidness. When I managed to reach our ‘tiny’ summit, I was ecstatic, on top of the world!

Like a Cowboy on Ice

Walking back, especially downslope meant walking like a cowboy, bending knees, taking each step deliberately slow and in style. Layered like a wooly mammoth, I tried, trotting like a cowboy, without a cowboy’s élan, struggling to balance, settling instead for the clumsy finesse of an ice warrior as bad weather started to droop in.

When one adventure ends, another begins

At the end of the polar ice cap hike, I was greeted back with silt and massive moraines deposited over years, a stark contrast of black to the whites of the ice before. It was an anticlimax limbo where I rested for a moment, took off my gear and breathed in the great adventure as I lunged up to begin my hike back. With whites of the polar ice cap etched in my heart, I felt good as I raced back along Tundra tracks, accepting challenge from bad weather gods, and promising to be back, someday, for more.

About the Author

Divya Agrawal joined National Geographic photographer, Jason Edwards, on assignment in Greenland as the winner of the World Nomads 2013 Travel Photography Scholarship. Read more about Divya's Greenland adventures here.

Want to see more stunning photos from Greenland? Check out the rest of Divya's images.

Travel. Learn. Create.

For all of you aspiring creatives, check out our Scholarships page for the latest opportunities, tips, advice and interviews with industry professionals in the fields of photography, travel writing and filmmaking.

And if you're lucky enough to be mentored by one of our industry professionals, it could kick start your career!

Photographing the Last Reindeer Herders

extraordinaryexperiences — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 11:10:00 GMT

The Sami, indigenous people of northern Scandinavia, Finland and Russia, still mange their herds of semi-domesticated reindeer. Although some of the methods have changed (helicopters and quad bikes are not uncommon), much is still done in the manner of their ancestors. That is particularly true when it is time to separate and mark the new calves, and I had the great privilege of being able to partake – and document – the annual round-up near Nikkaluokta, Swedish Lapland; an area now under threat from foreign mining operations.

Not his lucky day: the reindeer selected for slaughter are caught by rope before being separated from the rest of the animals

After several hours of 5000 reindeer constantly moving about, the air was thick with dust

A young calf, having been caught by rope, has its ear marked by a member of its owner’s family

Five thousand reindeer were rounded up into the larger enclosure, a job that involved more several dozen Sami of all ages

About the Author

Marcus Westberg is an award-winning photographer and a regular contributor to Africa Geographic, NationalGeographic.com, Vagabond and Huffington Post. View more of his work on his website and on Facebook.

Giving a little back

We believe there is a moral obligation to give a little back to the communities in which we travel. The Footprints Network was founded by WorldNomads.com as an online philanthropy project to do just that.

How does it work? When you purchase a policy with us, you can choose an active project and add on your donation.

Video: Raw & Real in Chandni Chowk

extraordinaryexperiences — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 02:17:00 GMT

Spending a day in New Delhi's oldest marketplace feels more like a lifetime. Worn, weathered, and enriched with hundreds of years of active trade and commerce, it's like stepping onto a movie set, where everything seems almost too fantastical to be real. Need a goat? About time for that haircut and shave? Fresh new whites for the colorful madness of Holi? How about "new" tires for your rickshaw? You'll find it here.

Glancing up, I saw a thousand serpent-like cables and wires dangling from every edifice, like empty clotheslines connecting itself to a thousand others like it. It's a "sharing society" when your neighbor merely "borrows" it from you by rigging his to yours.

Passing innumerable options of street food carts and side walk eateries, I couldn't resist the urge to stop in for a quick taste of what the locals were cooking up. Now, a note to the reader: I had lived an intensely squeamish month while backpacking the jungles of Thailand a few years back, and it took me a while to recover. So picking up a chapati off the food carts of India, took a lot of, well, guts. And I am SO glad I did.

Out of all the wonderfully orchestrated chaos that is Chandni Chowk, my favorite souvenir was intangible: it was to lose myself in its ancient and intricate alleyways, my senses tantalized by a million and one exotic spices and aromas, as clouds of people and incense breezed by me. It was Life. Unfolding daily. Welcome to Chandni Chowk.

- Andre Bolourchi

Related articles:

Inside India: Celebrating Holi & Avoiding Delhi Belly

A Taste of India - Southern Indian Specialties

On Thin Ice: How I Saved My Sherpa

About WorldNomads.com

WorldNomads.com keeps you travelling safely. Whether you’re off for a long weekend, looking for the ultimate adventure or living the nomadic dream, you’ll stay safe with Travel Insurance you can buy online, anytime, and the latest travel safety advice. Learn how to flirt in over 25 languages with our free language guides and have an experience of a lifetime on a travel scholarship. We'll also help you share your journey with a free travel blog, get answers from other nomads to all of your travel questions (try the new 'Ask A Nomad' iPad app) and donate to a local community development project through our Footprints program.

WorldNomads.com - an essential part of every adventurous traveller's journey.

Travel Namibia - Sandboarding in Swakopmund

extraordinaryexperiences — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 03:38:00 GMT

The Challenge

They say that you should do one thing each day that scares you. I couldn’t agree more. Or as I like to say, if not scares you, challenges you.

I love putting myself out of my comfort zone. Often. I find that each time I do, I discover something new about myself. You take a further peek into understanding what you’re actually capable of. The barriers of your comfort zone get pushed out to catch up to your new newly conquered challenge. You grow and now have a new benchmark. You also discover that you can actually do something you never thought you really could and survive in one piece (well sought of one piece). Going sand boarding in Namibia was one of those experiences for me.

You see, although a free spirit who thrives on adventure, I’ve haven’t learnt to surf or snowboard and I’ve only been skiing once (as someone who gets chilblains in moderate Sydney winters, I’m not a huge fan of the cold). So I was really excited about the challenge of sand boarding under the hot Namibian sun over Namibia’s famous sand dunes. It was even more exciting as I had the coolest Namibian champion sand boarders giving me my introductory lesson. They were just like the team from the movie ‘Cool Runnings’ except that they were from Namibia (not Jamaica) and they conquered sand dunes, not bobsled tracks.

Finding my Feet

After a short lesson from the team I got to testing out my new skills on some of the smaller dunes. We all thought that the small dunes are where my challenge would start and also where it would end. But to my surprise and everyone else’s, I actually had balance! Who knew? It was also to everyone’s disappointment I didn’t actually fall and experience the true meaning of the word “Sand-which”… yet!

After conquering the first few dunes, I was completely buzzing, my adrenalin had kicked in. I was exhilarated and having the time of my life. With each bigger dune, I wanted to push further. I was fired up and I wanted to feel that kind of fear that makes you scream so much that you lose your voice and makes your heart beat so hard it feels like its going to jump out of your chest. The kind of fear that makes you feel incredibly alive. That fear you seem to experience so much more when you’re a kid. By now the smaller dunes felt like an awesome warm up, I wanted a bigger buzz.

The Big One

When we first arrived at the dunes we trekked past a HUGE dune called “Big Mamma”. It was ridiculously steep, I mean really ridiculously steep. Big Mamma collected speeds of 80km. On arrival I said there was NO WAY I would attempt to conquer Big Mamma. Especially because the boarders said this wasn’t a dune for beginners. Putting myself into that position and danger, at this stage, seemed pretty stupid. But somehow in my excitement, my adrenalin and my hunger for feeling that kind of fear, I found myself at the peak of Big Mamma ready to take her on and far out she was big!

To add to the craziness of this experience, I wasn’t taking on Big Mamma dune with any ‘real’ gear per-se. The team handed me a thin wooden sheet which had some slippery wax smeared underneath it. Yep, here I was, face down, lying on my stomach on a thin wooden sheet smeared with slippery wax, tilted over the edge of Big Mamma dune, in Namibia, headfirst. In retrospect, it looked like a serious accident waiting to happen.

As I pushed myself over the edge, I was petrified. I was so scared, but I wanted to do it. I wanted the challenge and now I had it. As I started flying down the dune, I was screaming so hard that it felt like my voice box was going to pop out! As I continued to drop, it felt like it was going forever. Cutting through the wind, sand hitting my face I had to close my eyes from fear until it was over because this ride seemed to have no end. It was the exact same feeling of when you’re on a roller coaster, losing your mind but loving it at the same time. However, on this ride there was no belt or safety bar, so anything could happen.

Wipeout!

Flying down Big Mamma dune at 80km with my eyes shut I didn’t see the flat base of the dune approaching. Not that anyone told me what to do when I did. The next thing I knew, with intense speed and the echo of my excited fearful screams, as my body hit into the flat base of the dune, my head smashed against the wooden sheet and the hard floor beneath it. I smashed my chin painfully hard. But I didn’t stop. I just kept gliding over the sand, going and going. I could hear what was the echo of my screams of exhilaration and fear become the echo of my painful moans.

I could then hear the crew calling out asking if I was OK as they ran over. I had to take a moment to breathe it all in before I could respond. I could hear the sound of the wind and see the open space of the dunes, it was so tranquil. I touched my face, my chin was swelling and throbbing but I wasn’t bleeding. I rolled over and looked back at the dune I just conquered. It was huge, even bigger than what I realised. I was so exhilarated and excited and proud of myself, I couldn’t believe what I just did. I never saw myself as someone who could do that sort of extreme and risky sport. I didn’t know I had that in me. Once I had conquered Big Mamma, I also realised how much worse things could have gone! Broken teeth, a broken neck or something even worse.

But I didn’t give myself the chance to think of those risks in the excitement and the euphoric energy before taking on the dune, because the risk isn’t what adventure is about. It’s the thrill, the excitement, the journey, the unknown and the discoveries you make along the way. My literal double chin that had swollen to the size of a small ball was a token of conquering Big Mamma. It ignited a hunger in me to do more extreme sports like it. A wise man once said, “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.” On that day I’m so glad I was both of those things. And its my intention to do my best to keep it that way.

- Sussan Mourad

Want to watch more of Sussan's adventures in Namibia?

Becoming Himba: From Traveller to Tribal Woman

About WorldNomads.com

WorldNomads.com - an essential part of every adventurous traveller's journey.

Becoming Himba: From Traveller to Tribal Woman

extraordinaryexperiences — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 15:53:00 GMT

Earlier this year, Sussan Mourad travelled to Namibia with the World Nomads film crew to explore Namibia. This is her story...

My experience of meeting the beautiful people of the nomadic Namibian Himba Tribe definitely was one of the most extraordinary, awe-inspiring and out of this world experiences I have ever had.

Before meeting the Himba I was so excited about the experience but also a little nervous. You see, thinking about meeting a nomadic Namibian tribe is one thing. However, travelling for hours by small plane into the depths of Namibia, walking into a Himba village and then asking the Tribe's Chief for permission to enter is something altogether different when you're actually doing it! But it’s for these moments we travel and on which I thrive.

In my mind I thought that I would arrive to the Himba village super-charged and celebrating, as naturally I’m a pretty high-energy person. Although part of me was feeling this on the inside, I was completely out of my comfort zone when walking into the village and feeling like such an outsider when coming up close to this striking group of people. All of a sudden I felt the need to be more observant and attentive going into such an unfamiliar environment.

It was then I met an unforgettable woman I called the 'Mamma' of the tribe who was the Chief's oldest and first wife. The power of our energy, warmth, eye contact and smiles created a bridge through our barriers as I managed to build a strong connection with Mamma through body language. In turn she opened her heart and tribe for the incredible transformation and tribal experience that followed.

After Mamma taught me about the significance of the red ochre and fat ointment that the Himba women smear on their skin and their traditional dress, I eagerly asked Mamma if the tribe’s women would transform me into a Himba woman for the day. Before I knew it I was in a cow dung hut with a Himba woman smearing Himba ointment onto my skin and adorning me in ornate jewelry and animal hides. As a self-confessed ‘dress-ups’ enthusiast, this took my passion for costume to a whole new level. As the Himba woman started to remove her own pieces of jewelry to place them on me, it was a really powerful moment where I felt grateful and blessed. I knew that I had been let into something that was really special and sacred.

Emerging from the hut completely transformed, Mamma and the other women were amazed at my transformation and seemed to be enjoying the experience almost as much as I was. They were smiling, laughing and nodding in approval. I was so honoured that they allowed me to have such a special experience. At this point I felt so immersed in the Himba culture. The barriers of language and our cultures seemed to no longer exist. I couldn’t believe what was happening. I stepped right into a world that I read about from a distance and now I was actually part of it, even if just for an afternoon.

At that point a group of the tribe's women took me amongst them and spontaneously started to sing and dance. I can still distinctly remember their voices and the sounds they were making, sounds my ears had never heard before... the way they were stamping their feet as I tried to copy and follow... the way they moved their bodies and used their outfits as they danced. This is a moment and experience I will never forget and is by far one of the most extraordinary experiences I have ever had in my life! That day, singing, dancing, being immersed into this nomadic tribal culture, the Himba took me to a place I couldn't have even dreamed of. I was so lost in the moment...the best kind of lost. It was magic.

*Note: Being invited into a Himba village and being dressed like a Himba woman is not a common occurance in Namibia and certainly is not a tourist attraction.

Want to see more of Sussan's experience with the Himba tribe in Namibia? Check out her beautiful photo essay on Fotopedia.

About WorldNomads.com

WorldNomads.com - an essential part of every adventurous traveller's journey.

Travel Brazil - Rio Football Fever

extraordinaryexperiences — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 14:53:00 GMT

Gooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!

I've waited 40 years of my life to stand in a football arena in Rio, arms outstretched, with thousands of local supporters going beserk around me to scream that!

The moment was well worth the wait.

One cannot travel to Rio without experiencing Brazil's number one passion, football. There's a saying that my father often used to describe Rugby Union, "Rugby is not a matter of life and death son, it's far more important than that!". For just about every Brazilian this rings true for football. It's such an important part of the cultural psyche that to undervalue it, would be akin to renouncing your Brazilian heritage.

I might not be Brazilian by birth, but having grown up playing 'soccer', as we call it down under, I have a complete appreciation of the skill of the game and Brazil has produced some of the finest players the world has ever seen. Careca, Clodoaldo, Garrincha, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and perhaps the greatest player of all time, Pele. So how could I pass up the opportunity to go and watch some of Brazil's next generation of stars, particularly with the 2014 Football World Cup just around the corner.

This was a chance to witness two of the fiercest of rival Rio teams, Fluminense vs Vasco. In a stadium that holds roughly 40,000 there might have been 15,000 present at this game. It was after all a practice match and during carnival, which is rare event as we were told by the Vasco supporters we were sitting with. It might as well have been full capacity because the noise these fans made was incredible. I've been to packed Australian stadiums that hold 80,000 and this crowd made them sound like a theatre audience at My Fair Lady.

To be honest, I spent more time watching the crowd than I did the game. Every wayward tackle, every missed attempt at goal was met by roars of disbelief as if en masse the supporters from each club were told that Carnaval was to be replaced by a knitting convention. I dont speak Portuguese, but I know when someones mother is being referred to inappropriately, and for those that do speak it and can lip read, you'll pick up all manner of not so niceties in this video.

However this is football, this is passion personified and this is an experience that everyone who steps foot in this beautiful country should embarce. You don't need to love the game, you just need be someone who appreciates life, lived at full volume.

Looking for more info on Rio or Carnaval?

Get some local intel - If you have any questions about travelling to Rio, feel free to hit up our Ask A Nomad community here or check out Triptrotters.

Concerned about safety in Brazil? - Check out our travel safety articles on how to stay safe when travelling to Brazil and stay covered with our travel insurance.

Looking to book for local festivals and events? - Check out Be A Local , they were great in getting us tickets to the football.

Thinking about where to stay in Rio? - We had fantastic assistance from the crew at AirBnB who helped set us up with an excellent pad.

Looking to give back when you travel? - Check out International Volunteer HQ , who have some great projects running on the ground in Brazil.

About the Brazil team

Chris Noble is the General Manager of WorldNomads.com and will forever be grateful for the opportunity to have witnessed football at its finest and may just change his name to Nobleinho (if he could play, which he cant).

This film was directed, shot and edited as part of our Brazil series by the very talented nomad Brian Rapsey.

About WorldNomads.com

WorldNomads.com - an essential part of every adventurous traveller's journey.

Photos: Logo

extraordinaryexperiences — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 11:19:00 GMT

Rio - The Heart of Carnaval

extraordinaryexperiences — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 10:56:00 GMT

In February of 2013, I jumped on a plane with my talented cameraman/director Brian Rapsey and headed off to Rio for Carnaval. We were there mentoring the winners of the 2013 Travel Film Scholarship and ourselves looking to capture what the essense of Carnaval is.

The highlight of the trip would be the opportunity to dance with the crowds in the Sambadromo as Rio's finest Samba Schools compete to be the crowned annual winners. We were blessed to be chaperoned by the wonderful Carolina Martins, who works for AirBnB in Brazil. No event like this can be best experienced without the insight of a local.

We went on the Monday night to watch 6 of the top 12 schools perform as part of the Special Groups section. Schools steeped in history such as São Clemente, Mangueira, Beija-Flor, Grande Rio, Imperatriz and Vila Isabel were going to dance, drum and wow the crowds down the 700 m stretch of the Marquês de Sapucaí street. The street was converted into a permanent parade ground in 1984, with bleachers built on either side for the 90,000 spectators, by the renowned Brazilian architect, Oscar Niemeyer. It is something to behold!

The design is somewhat of a paradox however. Samba schools are traditionally associated with a particular neighborhood, often favelas, where roughly 20% of Rio's 6.3 million inhabitants live. They are the communities that spend countless hours designing some of the most spectacular costumes and floats you will ever see. They are also the poorest. So the design of this arena, with the cheapest seats set 100 metres back from the main strip, almost seems to punish those who have spent the most amount working to create the spectacle before us.

Socio-politcial observations aside, I spent the majority of the six hours looking on in jaw-dropped awe. Not just at the sheer beauty of the schools, the musical talent that makes you feel that every cell of your body is Sambafied (not a word but I dont care), but just how much of a competition this event is. This is not just a beauty parade. This is the culmination of hundreds if not thousands of hours of practice, where for 1 hour and 27 minutes, each school has to move in precise uniformity, conveying everything from speed, harmony and plot. Each section of the school from Singer, through to the batteries and Old-Guard need to work as one as judges positioned along the 700 metres meticulously watch and measure the schools performance.

I can barely hold a rythm for 5 minutes. So imagine the sheer exhaustion of each Samba School as they finish their parade. It was a regular occurence throughout the night to see performers carried off on stretchers and into ambulances having giving every ounce of energy to their performance. I was exhausted just watching it.

Dont get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The Beija-Flor school had me in the aisles doing my apallingly void of rythm 'Australian Samba' and loving every minute of being swept away by the music. However, I felt somewhat disconnected.

Is it because I'm not Brazilian? Was it because we were seated at the end of arena, only able to see the action on the big screens and what rolled out the end in front of us?

I think to be honest it was like most people who come to an event like this. I was deperately jealous of not being in it, or at least closer to the action. If my week attending Carnaval had taught me one thing, it was that there is no substitute for being on the ground, in the action, soaking up every morsel that this fabulous city and its people have to offer.

It didn't have to wait long for this experience and as you'll see in the video, I found my grassroots Samba School moment.

I found the heart of Carnaval, in the heart of Rio, the Rocinha favela.

Looking for more info on Rio or Carnaval?

Get some local intel - If you have any questions about travelling to Rio, feel free to hit up our Ask A Nomad community here or check out Triptrotters.

Concerned about safety in Brazil? - Check out our travel safety articles on how to stay safe when travelling to Brazil and stay covered with our travel insurance.

Looking to book for local festivals and events? - Check out Be A Local , they were great in getting us tickets to Carnaval.

Thinking about where to stay in Rio? - We had fantastic assistance from the crew at AirBnB who helped set us up with an excellent pad.

Looking to give back when you travel? - Check out International Volunteer HQ , who have some great projects running on the ground in Brazil.

About the Brazil team

Chris Noble is the General Manager of WorldNomads.com and will forever be indebted to the World Nomads of Rio that shared their knowledge and passion over the Carnaval period. He has a renewed love of Samba music and still dances as if his feet were held apart by a broom handle.

This film was directed, shot and edited as part of our Brazil series by the very talented nomad Brian Rapsey.

About WorldNomads.com

WorldNomads.com - an essential part of every adventurous traveller's journey.