fact or fiction

Is it a fact or merely fiction? Fact or Fiction explores travel myths to help you avoid making that wrong turn.

5 Mystical Facts About Scotland
I’ve recently become intrigued with ancient folklore of the Scottish Highlands and how these stories have lasted so long throughout the ages. What piece of truth began these tales that have been told, some for over 1,000 years? How is a story like that even created? How has it survived through changing culture and technology yet, still capture the imagination of its listeners? Let’s find out.
By Vicky DiMichele5 years ago in Wander
Facts About Mount Fuji
Did you know that there are over 100 active volcanos In Japan? Did you also know that Mount fuji is the biggest volcano in Japan? With Mount Fuji reaching up to 12,380 feet (3,776) meters. Well, Mount Fuji is not just a volcano. It is Japan's symbol. The mountain is the symbol of Japan because it contributes to Japan’s physical culture, and spiritual geography. Climbing Mount Fuji is an act of pilgrimage for followers of that faith.
By Kaitlyn Morgan5 years ago in Wander
Bangalore - A walk Up a Side Street
In 2005, my work sent me to Bangalore in India, to provide training to our colleagues. While there I wrote a series of stories about my experiences and about an expat living in India. This is one of them.
By Alex Williams5 years ago in Wander
Little Island
A giant gush of wind bangs against the Angel’s Apprentice, toppling over a container of \bright red apples. The ship is notorious for being able to drown a million ships a minute, but alas a fight against men could never prepare her for Mother Nature’s wrath. The crew stumbles around the ship, making a futile effort to keep her standing, praying that they would not sink to the deepest depths of the ocean. Maria tries to collect at least some of the fallen supply carts. She trips over various stolen goods in an attempt to salvage some of their food. She knows that if even one of them makes it out alive, they would need nourishment, so she goes to save the apples first. A wave suddenly surges towards the ship stopping her in her tracks as she is thrown overboard.
By Eva5 years ago in Wander
Wake up, Lavender!
The sun was high, and the seagulls soared through the air without a care in the world. “The sand feels so amazing on my toes”, the woman thought, “like cozy socks, and the breeze from the ocean is so warm. As she indulged in that moment of bliss her lips parted, “mmm, it’s almost erotic. I should sit and take it all in, I wish I had a blanket. No matter.” She finds a spot on the beach and sits, then lays on her back and rests her hands on the point between her sunflower yellow bikini top and bottom. “Oh my goodness, I could stay here forever.”
By Shereese N5 years ago in Wander
Hard Choices
I let a coin decide my fate this morning. Tossing it in the air willing it to land on the side that would make my life even a little bit brighter. Heads or tails, one of these faces would tell me to either put my two week’s notice in at work or eat shit and continue my miserable life as an office worker. I graduated college 3 years ago and I swear I’ve been living the same day ever since, I wake up each day with less motivation than the last. The work day passes with my eyes burned from too much screen time and my back tight from being stationary for eight hours a day. I work to survive, yet it is work that makes me no longer care to live at all.
By Jada Murray5 years ago in Wander
The Book Of Fate
I am Mariah Schualy, I am just an ordinary girl or so I was. I am a new yorker. I have always dreamed of being the most famous jewelry designer in the world. I have no car, and a studio apartment is what I call home. I work as a waitress saving every little bit I can to achieve my dream. In order to build my career I need money to start. One day on my shortcut in the alleyway something unusual caught my eye. It was a book with a blank black cover. When I opened it to the first page all it wrote “fate”. It was a book that could lead you to your dreams and desires by letting you know what path to choose for the best outcome for your life. Each event will be a new page telling you your 10 choices at the time that will change your life drastically. The back of each page tells you what will happen if you pick a path. Out of curiosity I flipped to the next page and it wrote 10 options and told me to choose. 1- skip work go home leave book, 2- turn back take long route with book, 3- put book down go to work, 4-keep book go to work, 5-keep book go left, 6-keep book go right, 7-keep book go straight stop and wait, 8-bring book home and research, 9- drop book and run to public place, 10-die. I looked at my options most ended with death or disability. My best option would be to keep the book. Option 2, option 8, and option 7. I have to go to work If I don't, I won't make enough to pay my rent. So I guess I will keep the book and take the long route to work. If I do this I will just make and avoid getting fired. I will also avoid being hit by a speeding car passing through a red light. *CRASH*. So it was right. If I continued like I was going to I would have gotten hit. The book is right and I should listen. Every event huh, so I guess I’ll find out when the next event is.
By glamergirl9898 drea5 years ago in Wander
Hawaii's Secret Star Maps
I wrote this fictitious story in travel diary fashion, about Hawaiian star grids, Australia’s aborigine dream tracks (songlines), and Polynesia’s expert Pacific navigators who are genius at sailing amongst 8,222 Pacific Islands, navigating with wave refraction patterns.
By Rosie Cytherea5 years ago in Wander
Lost & Found
It’s not uncommon for things to come up missing. The average person loses something every other week. Wallets, keys, phone, purse… Nothing is out of the ordinary to be lost, but what if what was lost can never be found. What do you do then? Buy another of that item? I would suppose but not everything carries the same value as that once lost thing. What if it carried sentimental value or was a prized heirloom from your family? Buying another would be out of the question and the only thing you can do is find it!
By Phantom-llumas 5 years ago in Wander
Sedona
Ordinarily, Tobias would have never considered going east of 38th Street. In his 21 years in the city, he had only crossed that boundary a handful of times and even then, only out of necessity and usually for work. He had been in a bit of a slump lately and wanted to do something different, so at the suggestion of a friend, he decided to celebrate his birthday with a visit to Entheos Book Store on 42nd.
By Cosmos Mariner5 years ago in Wander
One Little Piece of Paper
Life is a game of chess. Some win, others lose. As I watch the days go by and listen as the grandfather clock ticks second by second, I am hypnotized and enter a different realm. As I enter this unknown territory, I realize that I am hardly myself. I no longer feel these heavy emotions that weigh me down like I have bricks tied to my ankles and I have been tossed into the deepest lake on the tiny earth we call home. It is bizarre to think that we are so tiny and there is so much more to the universe than us.
By Alexis Faddis5 years ago in Wander
Quiet Decisions
Muffled chirping tethers my conscience to a random awakening. Flummoxed on a molded grout lined restroom floor with a little black book I found hidden inside the wall, behind a loose fitted subway tile, I pat dry my saliva from the books pages. Reading it’s secrets with no name attached lead me to tuck the book into my back pocket as if it were mine. “What the hell? How did I end up asleep on the floor?”, I said, questioning my coffee barely sipped on, “Did she drug me”? At the sink hoping to wash away this perplexed sensation, a migraine whirled in without warning. Migraine to disorientation, I struggle to release the words “what is that sound”, as it thickens. It’s the chirping of European Starlings, amplifying just beyond those four walls as if I were in a portable hearing everything around. The sound shakes me to a cringe while I hold my head, spread my fingers through my hair and pull as I form a fetal stance to the trill of the Starlings, pounding in like a doctor in the 1960’s, performing a psychological demonstration with drills to the skull for behavioral corrections. I shout “AHHHHH!”, within the coffee shops claustrophobic restroom and jolt toward my escape by twisting the iron doorknob. Then shot silence with a high pitched ring similar to a audiometer. Nothing but a white balance coated my vision with a congeal breeze congruent to steps on Cornelia Street, New York City. The pigment-less bright slowly strained, in the most unforgettable fashion. Each dye orchestrated beauty as composed in the black book. There was a Norwegian pine scent, soft rainfall, distant lush forrest green, and serrated foothills layered in snow. Before me lied an icy dirt road illuminated in hues by a predominate pink flamingo sky where a trickling river by lavender, and an ominous mist near a lonely house rested at the river bend. In a far-reached field surrounding me on all sides, I take a couple of steps forward. Slightly flabbergasted, I double take back at the restroom and jokingly murmur “I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore”, as if someone were around to tune in. There was an oddly positive significance being there, felicity caved in as I begin to follow the road.
By Le'Jon Gonzalez 5 years ago in Wander