Our Story Contest - Announcing the Winners!

Recently our First International Travel Story Contest Concluded, and it was a great success. We had hundreds of stories submitted from contests participants from all over the world, and many of them were simply amazing. It took many hours to go through all the stories, but we are very proud to announce the winners.

The top stories impressed with their emphasis on learning and broadening our minds and an interest in cross-cultural connections. Some even had a philanthropic element to them, which illustrates that travel is not only able to open our minds, it can also open our hearts.

And, we have already started work on our Second Story Contest: this contest will be part of my "Celebrate Toronto"project, a special tribute to my chosen home town and will be entitled "Why I love Toronto". So get ready, sharpen your pens and start thinking about story ideas. An announcement will be made once this contest will be launched in the New Year.

So, without further ado, let me present to you the top stories of our First International Story Contest.

Our Grand Prize Winner
The Prize: A Two-Week Sailing Adventure for Two through the Greek Islands
Sponsored by G.A.P Adventures

Submitted by Colleen O'Brien from Calgary, Alberta:
"Wonderful Ambulance Adventure"
(Destination: Guatemala)

Our First Prize Winner
The Prize: A Week in a Fully Equipped Vacation Suite in one of many locations around the globe
Sponsored by Textronics Communications

Submitted by Laura Dunham from New York City, USA:
"A Day and a Year"
(Destination: Sri Lanka)

Our Second Prize Winner
The Prize: A Weekend Getaway to Toronto, complete with museum visits, an amphibian city tour and a tour of Toronto's famous St. Lawrence Market
Sponsored by Bonnevue Manor B&B, the Royal Ontario Museum, Bruce Bell Tours and the Toronto Hippo Bus Company

Submitted by Tom Grundy from West Midlands, United Kingdom:
"Travels in Uganda"
(Destination: Uganda)

Our Third Prize Winner
The Prize: A C$150 merchandise gift certificate
Sponsored by the Mountain Equipment Coop

Submitted by Andrea Gourgy from Toronto, Canada:
"Cuban Drumming Master"
(Destination: Cuba)

Honourable Mentions:
The Prize: Magazine subscriptions sponsored by Outpost Magazine, Verge Magazine and Plenty Magazine

Submitted by Derek McIver, Randolph, USA
"11M " (Destination: Spain)

Submitted by J.F. Gump, Kings Mills, Ohio, USA
"A Fiction Novelist's Travelogue" (Destination: Hanoi, Vietnam)

Submitted by Karen Doyle,Cape Town, South Africa
"A Forgotten People" (Destination: South Africa)

Submitted by Jonathon Shacat, Front Royal, USA
"A Trip Back" (Destination: Gabon, Africa)

Submitted by Danny Hizon, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
"A Visit to Auschwitz" (Destination: Oswiecim, Poland)

Submitted by Linda J. Converse, Redding, USA
"Adventure Outer Hebrides" (Destination: United Kingdom)

Submitted by Wayne Haymer, Toronto, Canada
"An Elat Adventure" (Destination: Elat, Israel)

Submitted by Yen  Ling  Chen, Kedah, Malaysia
"Autumn in Adelaide" (Destination: Adelaide, Australia)

Submitted by
"Beach Brother" (Destination: California, USA)

Submitted by Linda Handiak, Montreal, Canada
"Beating Scissors into Ploughsares" (Destination: France)

Submitted by Rianna Scipio
"California Home Exchange" (Destination: California, USA)

Submitted by Amelia Rose Newcomer-Leas, Bloomington, USA
"Confessions of a Tortilla Thief" (Destination: Mexico)

Submitted by Anne Ake
"Down Home With Jimmy' (Destination, Bangkok, Thailand)

Submitted by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen, Bowen Island, Canada
"Dreams Take Flight" (Destination: Israel)

Submitted by Sarah Friend, Brookline, USA
"Fixing a Broken Arm" (Destination: Malawi, Africa)

Submitted by Frank KP Chow, Toronto, Canada
"Found in Saba" (Destination: Saba, Caribbean)

Submitted by Adrianne Aron
"Freesia Means Trust" (Destination: Malaysia)

Submitted by Elizabeth Noble, Harwich, USA
"From Beirut to Basra" (Destination: Lebanon, Syria, Iraq)

Submitted by Derek McIver
"Giving Can Be Dangerous" (Destination: India)

Submitted by Tom Grundy, West Midlands, England
"Hitchhiking to Morocco" (Destination: Morocco)

Submitted by Sylvia Charles
"I Can Hardly Believe It" (Destination: China)

Submitted by Nichole M. Martinson, Tübingen, Germany
"Ich Spreche Kein Deutsch" (Destination: Germany)

Submitted by Tom Grundy, West Midlands, England
"India 2003" (Destination: India)

Submitted by Anne Swannell, Victoria, Canada
"Jumping from a Train" (Destination: Germany)

Submitted by Helen Booth, Calgary, Canada
"Land of Morning Calm" (Destination: Korea)

Submitted by Stephanie Schultz
"Lessons from an Expat" (Destination: Hungary)

Submitted by Elizabeth Rogge, Washington, USA
"Living in Holland" (Destination: Netherlands)

Submitted by Andrea Gourgy, Toronto, Canada
"Love Affair with Tango" (Destination: Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Submitted by Willesha
"Memories of Australia" (Destination: Australia)

Submitted by Rose-Marie Lohnes, Bridgewater, Canada
"Mizque - World of Contradictions" (Destination: Bolivia)

Submitted by Patricia Gaudet, Okotoks, Canada
"Naked, with Strangers" (Destination: Japan)

Submitted by Mike Hagino, Toronto, Canada
"Northern Exposure" (Destination: Northern Ontario, Canada)

Submitted by Angela Kilby, Kanata, Canada
"Not Just Tourists" (Destination: Cuba)

Submitted by Gina Brown, Dartmouth, Canada
"Postcards from Arctic Floe" (Destination: Nunavut, Canada)

Submitted by Lynne Christen, Mary Esther, USA
"Pueblo Ingles" (Destination: Madrid, Spain)

Submitted by Laurie Gough, Guelph, Canada
"Roaring through the Jungle" (Destination: Sumatra)

Submittee by Cindy Patten, Nanaimo, Canada
"Rotten Leg Village" (Destination: China)

Submitted by Suzanne Scanlon, Istanbul, Turkey
"The Dolmus" (Destination: Istanbul, Turkey)

Submitted by Allison Maher, Aylesford, Canada 
"The French Promise" (Destination: Paris, France)

Submitted by Cindy Patten, Nanaimo, Canada
"The Real Sri Lanka" (Destination: Sri Lanka)

Submitted by Manuela Anne-Marie Pop, Toms River, USA
"The Sky-Clad Jain Monks" (Destination: India)

Submitted by Gila Tal, Beit Shemesh, Israel
"Tied Up in Noughts" (Destination: Johannesburg, South Africa)

Submitted by Christine Lang, Vancouver, Canada
"Tsunami Survivor Story" (Destination: Phuket, Thailand)

Submitted by Johanne Auerbock, Burlingame, USA
"Vietnam Honeymoon" (Destination: Vietnam)