Pitches for Travel Articles
This is a writing sample from Scripted writer Kaya Lemaire
ROAD TRIPS: Sample Writing
Surviving the Ho Chi Minh Highway in Vietnam
You’re coming around a bend, loops that weave in between ancient limestone karsts dressed in rich foliage, when the sky opens up and you gaze down on the endless hills of green: you swear you’ve discovered Jurassic Park. Any minute a velociraptor will leap out of the past, in front of your 1996 Honda Win - a beast in and of itself.
But instead, you coast around another bend taking in the layers of bright green rice paddies nestled in between limestone towers that jut out of the earth. You’re aware of the collective suffering that’s etched in the soils and souls of this gorgeous country, but the peaceful scenery wouldn’t give anything away.
It’s been a week on the road from Saigon, going North on historical trails turned into tourist trips. You’re deep in the jungle on the Ho Chi Minh highway: a route that used to ferry supplies between Northern and Southern Vietnam during the war.
You grab pho for lunch, stop at the roadside cafes to swing in hammocks as you sip on ca phe sua da (ice coffee with condensed milk), and snap pictures of village kids waving as you fly past.
This road trip up Vietnam, a country that carries so much history, is full of lightness, joy, wonder, and perplexities. It’s truly a once in a lifetime, bucket list experience.
The Emerald Road through the Canadian rockies
This glowing gem of Canada (my home and native land 🇨🇦) is luscious, awe-inspiring, breathtaking, and everything in between. It’s one of the most scenic drives I’ve ever had the privilege of taking. It’s more commonly known as the Icefields Parkway.
There are a number of starting points and, frankly, you can take it any which way you like. The route we took started in Golden, BC. Yoho National park, nestled on the border of BC and AB, is the lesser known twin sis next to the famed Banff National Park. Equally stunning, this section of the road is part of the #1 Trans Canada highway. It connects with the #93 near Lake Louise — we're going North towards Jasper National Park on our emerald road.
The Icefield Parkway is… inexplicably stunning. But I’ll do my best.
You don’t even have to stop driving because every view point and vista is delivered in front of you, beside you, behind you — the Rockies are hugging the roadside and showing off their raw, rocky peaks for every eye to behold. You’ll want to take this one slow. Enjoy the pit stops, bring your hiking boots, a tent, and a sense of adventure. This is the Canadian outdoors at its finest.
Road tripping to Tattoo village: Buscalan, Philippines
The road from Baguio to Buscalan is one of windy hairpins, panoramic mountain views, sunset platforms, and feisty farm dogs. It’s a classically beautiful mountain road through rural Asian landscapes, with rich, historical pit stops a long the way.
Revel in the hanging coffins of Sagada, enjoy local specialities at family owned, rural cafes, and take in vistas at the Kanga rice terraces before you reach the tattoo village to carve the memories into your skin.
It starts to rain, incredibly hard. Pouring down. The road is a river, your eyes are a river, the rivers are dirt. We’re winding and twisting along a harsh cut in the mountainside, a road that was made by hands and tools - machines are used sparkly in these parts. The raw earth and green that reaches up to the sky beside us contrasts the plunging cliff, the imminent drop, to our right. I’ve never felt more alive as I do on a 125cc Honda Click.
And suddenly, we stop. A landslide: unfortunately quite common during the rainy season on Luzon. Luckily I made some new friends and (unluckily) was offered betel nut, a local speciality. Generally quite unpleasant and makes your mouth turn red, but it gives you a kind of ‘warm’ feeling. I’ve seen boys that couldn’t be older than 10 spitting globs of red saliva on the ground. Old ladies chew it, boy or girl, young or old, everyone chews it.
So we’re chewing and waiting while a couple of guys dig out enough of a path between undulating masses of dirt, and then just as quickly, we’re off. Speeding through the lush hills towards Buscalan: the famed village and home of Abu Wang Od — the matriarchal tattoo artist and local legend.
Written by:
Kaya Lemaire
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You need an engaging content writer and copywriter to help you get leads, fans, and sales. In 2+ years of conversion copywriting training Kaya has mastered the use of research to optimize copy and boost her client's marketing efforts. Who does she build connections for? Impact-driven brands that are helping humanity at scale. Kaya makes it a point to work with great people who are doing great things for the world. As an Anthropologist living abroad for 5+ years, on her own health journey, she has expertise in the sustainable travel and health & wellness niches.
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