All posts filed under: Volunteer

night sky australia

Finding My Love For Astrophotography And Stargazing In Australia

Published by Dev

As I grabbed myself in the middle of a pitch-dark forest with nothing but a cosmic diffusion of blackness spread all around and looked above, the sky glittered at a distance. It felt like a fairy tale with a million stars twinkling in my eyes. I couldn’t recall when did I last saw something as beautiful and surreal. They say that the Southern Hemisphere holds all the good stuff, with most of the largest and brightest galaxies visible directly through a naked-eye. I couldn’t agree more. Here the central parts of the Milky Way are always directly over your head, stretching from one end of the horizon to the other, like an open, brilliant bruise. As the night grew darker, and any sort of artificial light disappeared, the many diffused nebulas and a hazy Milky Way took over the reality, giving an unbelievably strong bright light, casting dramatic shadows of anything and everything that stood tall on the ground. At about 3-hour drive, in the east of Perth, The Space Place Observatory (the place I …

From Horse Riding To Learning The German Way Of Life

Published by Dev

It has always been my dream to ride a horse, slowly galloping away into the sunset. But the fact is… I never got a chance. Neither to pursue my dream, nor fantasies. The last time I felt horseback, I was in Darjeeling, some half-a-lifetime ago, under the scrutiny of my parents. And I vaguely remember (well, there are pictures to prove) that I cried the entire time. But then later in life, I happened to grow up with pets around me, and growing up as an animal lover, horses became my biggest fascination. So while planning for my two-month backpacking trip through central and eastern Europe, earlier in 2017, I happened to find an amazing volunteer opportunity work-exchange network called WorldPackers. The deal was, I had to help a family run their horse-farm in a small village, some 120 km Northwest of Frankfurt. [Also Read: Travelling The World As A Volunteer] So, after about 10 days of backpacking in Zurich, Stuttgart and Frankfurt (and falling in major love with German Beer), I made my way to Ballhausens household in Mörz, near Koblenz, and their horse-farm, that was …

How To Travel The World Without Spending Too Much Money

Published by Dev

Recently, while backpacking in Europe and Australia, I tried a unique way of travelling on a budget by volunteering (in return of free accommodation and food) using a website called WorldPackers — a work/exchange volunteer program, with projects from all over the world. The drill is… as a volunteer, you work for your host for a few hours every day and in return, you get to eat and stay for free. WorldPackers is perfect for those who want to stay at a certain place for a long time in return of doing some work for them and availing free hospitality. But there is more to it than just staying for free. I found volunteering is a better way of travelling because you get to stay with your host like a family member (particularly if you attend someone as an au-pair) and by doing so you get a chance to learn about their culture and the pace more closely. My volunteer experience in Rome and Germany (the first time I experienced WorldPackers) showed me a local way of life. …

My Workaway Experience In Rome

Published by Dev

First things first: I was not sponsored to review workaway, which you may otherwise feel once you start reading this blogpost, but what can I do if my volunteering-stay turned out to be so great. Moreover, the fact that I had a great volunteering experience and that I encourage the idea of Workaway-ing, are not linked. In case you’re wondering what’s workaway… Workaway.info is a website where you can find volunteer positions in tourism, agriculture or as an au-pair anywhere in the world, and where potential hosts can hire you. You start by creating an account. All you have to do is sign-up, pay the fee for one year ($29 for a single person, $38 for a couple or two friends), and create a profile. Once it’s done, you can start contacting businesses or local hosts based on countries, cities, and/or type of work. The general gist in each location is that you get a room and board in exchange for 5 hours work a day. [Also Read: How Volunteering Helps Travel The World Without Any Money] The only problem is, however, you never know what kind …