Travelling in your early 20s versus travelling in your late 20s

Then                                                              Now

Returning to Argentina six years after my original trip has given me a great opportunity to compare the differences between travelling in my early 20s and again in my late 20s. Some of the changes are due to circumstances, while others concern my preferences. Either way, it is quite interesting to take a look at what has changed.

Less time

With a steady job I don't have the ability to just take off for three months like I did in 2009. Instead, I had two weeks annual leave, including travel time, which meant limiting myself to a small section of northern Argentina, Iguazu and Uruguay. Six years ago I went all the way down to Ushuaia and weaved my way back up between Argentina and Chile.

This was a very different kind of trip, but my travel companion Tania and I were pleased with the route we decided to take. This was essentially a loop, starting and ending in Buenos Aires, but taking in some key sites along the way. Iguazu was as amazing as I remembered and the Uruguayan cities of Montevideo and Colonia del Sacramento offered a relaxed contrast to the freneticism of Buenos Aires.

Notes at an antiques market in Montevideo

More money

The aforementioned job means I have a little bit more cash to spend than the bare basics I could justify back then. In my early 20s I just wanted to get away, even if I couldn't really afford it. As I draw closer to the big 3-0, however, I find myself requiring a few extra creature comforts. They came in a number of forms.

Cama instead of semi cama

Argentina is a vast country and the need for overnight bus journeys is inevitable. Back in 2009 I would only ever pay for semi cama seats, whereas this time I was more inclined to go for the whole cama experience and lie back flat. With only 11 nights in South America and three of these used to cover some lengthy distances, a cama seat offered a better opportunity to get some sleep and make the most of the time available.

Our palace accommodation in San Telmo

Airbnb over Couchsurfing

I have really loved my Couchsurfing experiences and believe that Airbnb is a relative of the movement. It means a little bit more comfort and guarantee, but with the same ethos. A more grown-up version for a more grown-up me. This trip was my first one with Airbnb and it went well. We especially enjoyed staying in a palace in the San Telmo district of Buenos Aires.

Digital over SLR

It pains me to say it, but a digital camera is more convenient than my faithful Olympus SLR that I have dragged on many of my trips. I am still in love with my old manual camera, but it is not best suited for blog posts and tweets, which meant I left it at home. I'm sure my previous travel companions would agree that digital photography is quicker, but I still love the romance of travelling with my SLR and listening to the satisfying 'clunk' it makes when taking pictures. One day I will adventure with it again.

The joys of shooting with a proper camera

Cuba 2005 (Photo by Emma Duckworth)

A friend of mine sent me a link recently to an article entitled 100 years of the Leica camera. What immediately struck me was how many of the most iconic images of the 20th century were shot using this compact device. From the photo of a young Vietnamese girl fleeing naked from a napalm attack to the world-famous kiss between a sailor and a nurse at the end of World War Two - all were taken on a Leica.

I have to admit to being a bit of a camera nut - I tend to use a digital on many occasions these days for ease, but my heart truly belongs to my manual Olympus OM1-N. And the truth of the matter is it has accompanied me on many trips and taken some fantastic photos.

On a number of occasions my travel companions would complain of the time it takes to set up, but it is worth it for the results. And nothing compares to the sheer joy of hearing that satisfying clunk that tells you that you have taken a photo - none of these insipid noises that are added to digital cameras in the 21st century - a proper solid, definite clunk.

My SLR belongs to something of a camera dynasty, as my dad travelled from Manchester to Nigeria overland in the 1970s with an Olympus OM1. It never let him down - from hitchhiking across the Sahara in a date lorry to living off a huge bag of cheese in France. So the logical step was to furnish his two daughters will similar models on their 17th birthdays, which he did.

I have continued that trend and bought an OM1 for my boyfriend before he set off for South America on his epic four and a half month journey. We now have two large bags full of undeveloped films - around 50 in total - and every so often one or the other of us will dip a hand in each and take two films to be developed.

This is something of a pot luck, as my bag of films includes pictures taken in destinations as diverse as Turkey, Ushuaia and Spain. We then sit and look at the two sets of photos together. There was once a funny incidence in which we assumed a film of Iguazu Falls belonged to my other half, until halfway through the pictures a photo of me appeared - I had done my own South American voyage a few years earlier!

Display at the Camera Museum in Penang

So imagine my delight when exploring the streets of Penang on a recent trip to Malaysia, as I stumbled across a camera museum. What is more, one of the display cases held a very similar model to mine inside it. I know I shoot with a digital a lot these days, but I never intend to give up using my manual SLR all together, as I believe consigning it to a museum would be a crying shame.

The Penang Camera Museum is a great place to visit, with lots of different models on display and a fantastic collection of vintage flashbulbs. It is not just appealing to the camera aficionado, however, with some brilliant interactive exhibits and models explaining how various photographic techniques have been developed over the years. Stepping inside a giant pinhole camera was particularly fun and if a member of your party goes outside, you can see how they appear to be upside down.

Quote on the wall of the museum