Story Archives - Page 9 of 21

Sober, Single and Saucy

I woke up on the 1st of January this year in a double bed spooning two of my friends in their dad’s apartment in a small town just out of Sydney. I’d spent New Year’s Eve doing the coffee table dance competition with my top four Myspace friends after the COVID restriction hammer was dropped…

ByLucy SmallMay 20, 2021

Japan Story

The Curious Case of the White Man’s Dick

My capsule hotel had bigger beds and cheaper rates than anything else in the area, but it didn’t have walls around its showers. So as I stood in the steam of the sento – the communal bath shared by guests – realising what the next week would have in store, I started to believe that…

ByEugene YangMay 12, 2021

Australia Story

All You Need is Love: What It’s Like to Live in a Van With Your Fiancé

"I need to buy some bin bags to shit in or there'll be an explosion in the night," said my fiancé of one month, roughly three-and-a-half minutes after we’d packed our life's possessions (and dreams) into our little commuter van. This suddenly brought to my simple mind a question. Do you really know the person…

ByCassandra ClarkMay 10, 2021

Australia Story

Michael the (Snake) Charmer: a Month in a Nimbin Commune

When I arrived at his dilapidated treehouse, I complimented Michael on the taxidermy snake he had draped on his kitchen window sill. I found comfort in its lifelessness, its alien body, the intricacy of its scales. Michael, slowly dragging on his cigarette and puffing out dragon-like smoke, crossed one thin leg over the other as…

ByTawney BevilacquaApril 12, 2021

Story

I Was Exploited on National Television by Channel 7

We smiled and thrashed around in the pool because they told us to. We yelled out "Schoolies!" with our drinks in the air because they told us to. When asked if we were 18 -- without having to produce ID -- most of my friends lied and drunkenly signed contracts forfeiting our rights because they…

ByAlysha CozensApril 6, 2021

Story

How to Scam Wal-Mart For Free Camping Gear

This is a tale of how five young boys took on the corporate giants, putting the no-questions-asked refund policy of Wal-Mart to the ultimate test. Could the purchased items survive a three-day festival in the middle of the desert and be returned for a full reimbursement? There was only one way to find out. Preparing…

ByBilly HatfieldMarch 18, 2021

Story

A Piranha in Laos

I will never forget the screams of those floating Germans. There I was, belly up on a scorching tube, drifting down the guts of the Mekong River, when a tiny fish decided to take the toe of a Deutschland-hailing backpacker. And by take, I mean bite the fuck off. As I attempted, in vain, to…

ByTayla GentleMarch 18, 2021

Story

Crossing New South Wales on Two Wheels and Calf Muscles

“Where’ve you come from and where’re you goin’?” asks Gary as he lashes our steeds, Baxter and Reidy McSqueak, to the roof of the boat. He seems a little disappointed at the answer -- that we’re only one day into a trip from Newcastle back home to Brisbane. “Took a Brazilian bloke and his bike…

ByQuinten DolMarch 1, 2021

Story

Smoking Saved My Life

“Fuck this stupid ass machine.” My feet sloppily kicked a rusty old Marlboro cigarette dispenser as I muttered under beer-drenched breath. By then, I had been consumed by joyous Latin salsa for hours — a far cry from the longing acoustic Fado that soundtracked Lisbon by day. Between pumping live brass, liquid flowing hips and…

ByMatt ThorleyFebruary 23, 2021

Germany Story

Grace, If You’re Reading This, You Owe Us a Fucking Beer

“Prost!” Our steins clunk; beer spills over the side and splashes onto my cheap 50-euro dirndl -- but I’m too sloppy to notice. It’s Oktoberfest in Munich and I’m about 12 steins and three cheese kranskies deep. Katie’s already lived up to our bogan reputation by spewing into her apron. At least she caught it,…

ByAnnie CaugheyFebruary 7, 2021

Australia Story

Beyond the Claddings: A Commune in the City

Young families are plentiful. Kids play on bikes and tradies dash about. Seemingly everybody has a dog. The area is much like a maze, but you finally arrive at the outer rim of a newly built housing development site. Look outwards, and behind you are individuals living simple lives in their simple homes, unaware that…

ByTom SchulteJanuary 28, 2021

Australia Story

The Grand Escape

"Farkkk. Well, there go our winter holiday plans.” As Gladys announced the NSW-Victorian border closure, I felt my heart sink. It wasn’t unexpected, just another shitty trick in the shocking magic show that has been 2020. I closed my eyes. The spark of hope that had been a planned roadtrip during an otherwise dreary year…

ByPippa SalmonJanuary 23, 2021