Oh, what a journey it has been – many amazing things have happened since we first published our inaugural issue last year. Like a proud parent, I am thrilled to say that OutThere/Travel is now an ‘award-winning’ magazine, having recently picked up a PPA Independent Publishers’ Award (the ‘Oscars’ of the publishing industry) for ‘Launch of the Year’. But, accolades aside, it’s the actual, physical journeys we’ve made that have been amazing – sometimes to the furthest reaches of the world, but also to places closer to home that were just waiting to be discovered. The icing on the cake (or prinsesstårta, khanom ba bin, tiramisu, or baklava) has been the inspirational people that we’ve met along the way – together, they form part of our wonderful and special global community. Their passion for a place, and contribution to its culture, truly enriches the experiences and lives of those like us who visit. We’re so honoured to share their stories.

In this, our bumper issue to inspire next year’s adventures, we journey to Bali, Indonesia: a spiritual island that is a feast for the eyes and the soul. Yes, there’s a lot that is geared towards mass-tourism, but for every yin there’s a yang, and Bali’s ‘other side’ is creative and arty, historical yet future-looking, deeply cultural yet accepting of new influences, ethereal yet attainable; and it abounds in breathtaking natural beauty. With OutThere as your guide, you’ll have an entirely different perspective from those who visit just for the beaches and hedonistic nightlife.

Since we launched, so many of you have written in, hungry for our viewpoints on your own hometowns and favourite destinations. We took the time to listen and expanded all our sections to reflect your requests. Our Topography section features travelogues from Croatia, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Slovenia, Tasmania and Vancouver. All this, plus essays and travel photography from our Journeymen (and women); not to mention our take on the best timepieces and luggage in our feature, ‘Keep Time and Carry On’. As always, our Benchmark section brings you truly exceptional travel experiences and our Basecamp section features our favourite global hotels.

We do hope you enjoy this issue – we really couldn’t do it without you and are thankful for your support and feedback. We want OutThere/Travel to be something that we can all share in and be a part of, so please keep the suggestions coming for the next issue. In the meantime, you’ll find more stories at www.outtheremagazine.com – the internet is such a wonderful tool in bringing us all closer together. The world may be getting smaller, but, thank goodness, there’s still so much of it to explore.

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