A rest is as good as a change

End of a rest

2007-03-21T23:05:00.000Z

I'm on holiday this week.

It's the first time I've had away from work since I returned from sabbatical in January and I can't believe how tired I am already. This time last year I was in New York, at the start of a wonderful couple of months adventure across the US and Canada. I spent my first full, jet-lagged day over there watching the St Patricks Day parade and celebrating all evening. Last Saturday, it was all I could do to drag myself out of bed in time for supper - and that was only because I had a visitor.

The main purpose of this week's break, then, is to catch up on much-needed sleep. It may seem like a waste of perfectly good holiday time after all the excitement of last year - but it's really what I crave right now. Of course, I'm also fitting in a bit of house and garden 'stuff', finally sorting through the last set of sabbatical photos (there are thousands!) and catching up with some of my Nottingham friends due to a large part of my week now being spent down in the capital.

The new role has me working away from home quite a bit at the moment - which has both plus and minus points as you'd expect. One of the huge plus points is that I love London - especially when I get to stay in central areas and have a walk to and from work which incorporates this sort of view:

The many minuses include long-hours (a bad habit I promised myself I'd break during the sabbatical but not helped by hotel living), travel time, missing a routine back at home - and, of course, not being able to spend as much time with my friends as I'd like...

Anyway - this wasn't supposed to be a whinge. It's really a post to wrap up the sabbatical blog (and shift my ugly-mug down the page a bit!). As I'm back at work and not planning any adventures in the near future (my bank manager would have serious words if I was) - this blog isn't really appropriate anymore. I have many grand plans to add to the archives - to fill in the gaps that I jotted down in journals but never found time to document online. I can't make any promises though. I will, however, definitely be uploading the photos into flickr as I've many new pics to publish but have a strange ocd requirement to upload them in chronological order. I'll probably announce each new set as they are sorted out - just in case there's a flickr* of interest.

So - it's not really goodbye - just au-revoir for now. Who knows, I may even start another blog one day (but don't hold your breath- it took long enough to get this one going and I haven't exactly been prolific for its duration!).

*so shoot me!

All good things

2006-12-31T15:38:00.000Z

Personally speaking - 2006? Not bad. Not bad at all.

Here's hoping for a peaceful and happy 2007 for you and yours.

Cheers!

Life can be cruel

2006-12-31T13:28:00.000Z

Just over one week to go until the fun stops and real life kicks in. This time next week I'll be experiencing that Sunday afternoon feeling again.

Can't say I've missed it.

I've finally started to upload some photos from the last 4 months into flickr. If you fancy seeing a bit of what I saw - follow the links below:

Tokyo

Scotland

Sarah Claus is coming to town...

2006-12-24T15:41:00.000Z

...Stevenage to be precise!

Mum and I are off to be pampered at my Aunt & Uncle's place for a couple of days (ok, ok - I'll do the washing up as long as Uncle Ern is armed with a tea towel...).

It's been a busy couple of weeks since I returned from my adventures - just like it is for most people at this time of year. It has been lovely to see everyone again but it was slightly poor planning on my part to arrive in the middle of the Christmas season. In a strangely masochistic way though, I'm quite enjoying the change in weather conditions.
(Got to see the positives in everything when it's 't minus less than two weeks' until the return to work and real life again)

Merry Christmas!

Good Night Vietnam

2006-11-29T01:59:00.000Z

I'm in Thailand - Samui to be precise. I've decided to end my trip to Asia (give or take a couple of extra days in Hong Kong next week) with a week in one place. No need to pack and unpack the bags more than once and nothing more strenuous to do than pick up a book or a pen and reflect on a fantastic year.

Once I've returned I'll still have more month to go before the Sabbatical is over but that's going to be spent at home; getting ready for Christmas; catching up with family and friends; editing the photographs (heavily); and - ultimately - mentally preparing myself for work.

While I get my thoughts together - here are a few snaps from Vietnam:

Missed Saigon

2006-11-22T11:02:00.000Z

I've just spent an hour writing a post all about my Vietnam experiences so far....then the hotel had a short powercut (prelude to another evening's thunder and lightning storm, I expect. With no rain if it's like last night). Again - I'm being beaten by technology (or the lack of it) - my mobile phone appears to have been set to send and receive only every 5th message and, yet again, a number of websites are blocked (including blogspot). I know - it's really not a bad thing, but it's very rare that I actually find time to sit and write anything (Helen was having a nap).

Still - too late now, we've got birthday* drinks, dinner and CAKE (one of Hoi An's specialties is its patisseries) waiting so the stories will, yet again, have to be put on ice.

*did I mention it was....? Oh? Right.

N...n..n.. nineteen

2006-11-18T03:38:00.000Z

Free internet isn't all it's cracked up to be y'know.

There's generally a time limit and a queue of anxious people watching your every move. Not the best conditions in which to organise flights and hotels for a country which does not yet use convenient online booking systems (how quickly we get used to technology) - and is, this weekend, hosting a huge APEC gathering (including one Mr George W, I believe); which means that our original plan of starting in Hanoi was scuppered by unavailability of hotels (or reluctance by hotels to book in anyone not involved in the conference). I swear these world leaders are following me around the globe - there was a China/Africa summit going on in Beijing whilst we were there.

Anyway - the above is also a preamble to another excuse/apology for the lack of information about our trip to China. Every minute I've spent on the internet this week has been used to book/negotiate/plead with hoteliers in Vietnam - and, ahem, a following trip to Thailand for which I've changed my homecoming date (now the 7th Dec).

We're leaving for Vietnam this afternoon - starting in Ho Chi Minh then travelling up the coast through Mui Ne, Hoi An and Hue with a final night in Hanoi before we return next Sunday - then back over to Koh Samui on the Monday!

nb - for anyone who is interested (and concerned about my relative silence on the subject...) - I'll be spending my birthday in Hoi An. That's next Wednesday, the 22nd - for anyone who doesn't know/has conveniently forgotten/has tried to ignore my hints.

Censorship?

2006-11-04T02:25:00.000Z

I'm sitting at a computer terminal in Beijing airport, waiting for my flight to Xi'an.

Thanks for the comments on the previous post - I'd respond beneath them but 'blogspot' appears to be a sensitive site (at least - that's the assumption I'm making as any attempt to access mine - or other people's blogs ends with a page full of Chinese characters and 'blogspot' highlighted in the centre of the page).

We'll be boarding our flight soon so no time to go into detail about our trips to see the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Hutongs and, of course 'The Wall' (it's Great!). Nor can I give justice to how entertaining it is to try and take a taxi across the city (which is absolutely huge) when the driver understands neither English, written Chinese nor our pathetic attempts at spoken Chinese. How we made it to see Chinese acrobats in action, I'll never know - I'm pretty certain my hand gestures looked more like a dying elephant than a graceful gymnast.

Six nights in Hong Kong

2006-10-29T09:36:00.000Z

It's a Buddha, and it's big.

I've had a busy start to the Asian half of my trip.

I'm staying with a good friend, Helen, who has been living here for 18 months and another good friend, Sue has flown out from the UK to join us. Sue and I will be spending 10 days in China from Tuesday and, after another week in Hong Kong, Helen and I will be off to Vietnam.

I'm already exhausted! We've all had a lot of catching up to do, and Helen is very keen for us to experience her lifestyle here in HK. That has, so far, consisted of three nights out until 1am, 3am and 5.30am respectively - along with a late night when I first arrived and bored Helen silly with my Aussie tales.

Inbetween socialising, we've somehow managed to fit in a few of the sights and travelled on every mode of transport available to us here (apart from the famous Star Ferry). I particularly enjoyed our trip to the Big Buddha on Lantau Island. In order to get to the top viewing gallery (a couple of levels of a mural inside the platform and a whole metre of space to stand on and look up at a very large foot), you are required to buy a meal ticket to be used at the local monastery. Despite the fact that the 'free' view from a couple of levels down was rather better (in terms of looking up at his-bronzeness), the meal ticket worked out at around five pounds - so it hardly broke the bank and I was intrigued to see what our vegetarian hosts would serve up. We had a very entertaining hour eating very healthy - but exceedingly bland - dishes. The most interesting of which was the soup, which looked and tasted like dishwater. Further entertainment was provided by watching the reaction of the other unsuspecting tourists around us as this soup was delivered to their tables first - and seemingly the sole course.

Rather than returning via the bus and ferry we'd used to get to Lantau - we walked down the road to Ngong Ping village to catch the new cable car over the hill to Tung Chung, where we took the MTR (Hong Kong's underground) back to Hong Kong Island. If Alton Towers had a Chinese section - then Ngong Ping village is exactly how they would do it! It's a new development consisting of restaurants, tea shops, a couple of 'experiences' (Monkey Theatre and 'walking with Buddha') and the 700th 7-11 store in Hong Kong! Of course (as seems to be the norm in most countries I've visited this year) - there's also a Starbucks (in tasteful Chinese Architecture).

We've also travelled by tram up to the Peak (the tallest point on Hong Kong Island), which offers stunning views of the surrounding areas - when the sky is clear. We could see Hong Kong Island and the shores of Kowloon across the bay, but not much more. We've also wandered around the Central district, where we were very amused to be filmed by an Asian tourist. He was really very brazen about it - but looked quite shocked when I waved at the camera. This seems to be the norm over here - despite a large number of westerners living in Hong Kong, when you wander into a more local Chinese district you do become a bit of a celebrity.

Last night was a huge night out for Halloween - hence the 5.30am bedtime. The Lan Kwai Fong district is a few streets filled with bars and restaurants (apparently all franchised from the same person). It has a similar atmosphere to holidaying in the Med in terms of cheesy music, crowded streets and lots of partying - but without the more ugly side of our tourism (lairy, hammered Brits, in particular). Not somewhere I could go every night but I let down my 'cool' veneer (!) and sang along to hits of the 80s with ghosts, 'Scream' phantoms, witches and red-devils (to name the more appropriate Halloween costumes on display).

Anyway - although internet access is free in public areas (an excellent idea) - this is the first and possibly last time I'll be on for a while. It's strange but very pleasant to suddenly find myself in the company of other people while I'm travelling about. I'm being terribly anti-social spending an hour online - and I know that Helen is keen to make sure we see as much as possible of the place while we're here. Which is absolutely right.

I hope all's well, wherever you are?

Another Day in Paradise*

2006-10-24T05:03:00.000+01:00

It's my last day in Australia today.

As I had a bit of internet admin to do, I thought I'd post a couple of pics of my recent trip down the East coast while I'm online.

The first is Whitehaven beach on Whitsunday Island. Just one of a few islands we visited on my short sailing trip.

We had a paddle in the water down there - cooing at the baby tiger sharks which swam around our feet. They're not so cute when fully grown!

Apparently, the sailing trip which immediately preceded ours had gale-force winds and rain for the entire journey. We were far more fortunate - barely any wind (meaning our sailing experiences consisted of us helping to hoist sails - look up at them flapping about in a mild breeze for 15 minutes - and then lower the same sails again) - and lots of sunshine, which made snorkelling for a couple of hours at a time bearable. Oh, and I finally saw a stingray whilst snorkelling around Lamgford reef (that will be the last mention of them - I promise!)

I travelled overnight from Airlie Beach (3 hours after getting off the sailing boat) down to Hervey Bay, where I spent the next day whale-watching (mother and calf pods of Humpback whales) then travelled over to Fraser Island for a couple of days. It's the largest sand island in the world - a factor which couldn't be lost on us as we hiked up a 1km sandblow (effectively a sand dune - and one of the smaller ones!)

By the time we reached the top (in the midday heat) - this looked like a desert mirage:

The speck in the middle of that lake is me. Anyone seen Lake Placid?

And finally... anyone with a nervous disposition should turn away now.

I know I promised not to post a photo of the stinger suit, but this made me laugh(I think it's supposed to minimise the impact of a sting, not scare the lethal gelatinoids away)

Any comments referring to a gimp mask will be treated with the contempt deserved when ones mother reads ones blog

Next stop Hong Kong.

*Yes. My travelling earworms for SwissToni's blog will be truly awful

Shhh!

2006-10-20T12:51:00.000+01:00

It's all gone quiet over here...

Internet access has been slightly restricted over the past week or so (they don't provide a terminal on sailing trips, yet).

All's well and I've had some amazing experiences - just no time to write about them at the moment. I've got to get back to my hostel room to unload the accumulation of sand which is taking my bag over the weight limit for my flight to Sydney tomorrow.

Uluru

2006-10-12T12:39:00.000+01:00

I had planned on posting a set of photos to describe the last couple of weeks but the pc I've been allocated in this internet cafe won't read my photo dvd (lucky for you!). So - I'm reduced to a photo and video I uploaded last night, both are from my time in the red centre. The photo is Kata Tjuta (previously known as 'The Olgas') - and some idiot tourist wearing a very fetching flynet. A demonstration of how red the place appears when the sun is high in the sky (and normal people wouldn't be undertaking an uphill hike):

The video is a little slice of the experience to be had at Uluru (known for a while as Ayers Rock) when the sun decides to give way to a massive hailstorm at sunset (as I mentioned here):

I'm going sailing tomorrow on this little beauty. (I've packed my travel sickness pills - and apparently am obliged to wear a 'stinger suit' if I decide to go snorkelling. It's very early in the jellyfish season up here (I wasn't required to wear one up in Cairns)- and this delightful apparel protects swimmers from the (really very nasty and potentially lethal) sting of the box jellyfish. Dont worry - I won't be scaring anyone with photographic proof of that (the suit, I mean. I hope I don't get close enough to photograph a stinger!).

Cape Tribulation

2006-10-11T06:32:00.000+01:00

Only time to share a photo from my trip to FNQ (far north Queensland) for now.
It's not an unusual observation for Australia, but they certainly like their creatures extra deadly over here.

Ulp!

Stingrays successfully avoided

2006-10-07T10:48:00.000+01:00

In fact, no sign of any rays at all on my snorkelling trip at the Great Barrier Reef today. Saw a lot of strange & colourful fish, and a lot of coral but nothing on the long list of scary biting or stinging creatures which inhabit this island and the waters around it. I'm mildly disappointed - but it's easy to feel like that now. Now that I'm back on steady, solid ground. I suspect I'd have had some sort of snorkel/sea water swallowing disaster had I actually encountered any of those beasts.

I'm staying up in the Cairns area for a few days - a trip to Cape Tribulation tomorrow to see the rainforest etc. - before I start to make my way down the coast (a few very long coach journeys coming up - as I'm staying in hostels at the moment I thought I'd immerse myself in the backpacker experience!).

Uluru was fascinating. Red desert, red rocks and red hot heat. Apparently it was around 40 degrees when my tour group to Kata Tjuta (previously known as the Olgas) decided to go for a walk through the Valley of the Winds. Possibly one of the most uncomfortable experiences I've ever had - but I did it - and the sunset over those gravelly sandstone mounds was pretty spectacular.

Sunset over Uluru the following day was equally spectacular, but for different reasons. I was standing at the furthest point from the bus that I could be at that time (trying to get the great photos of both Uluru and Kata Tjuta that the viewpoint promised) when an almighty hailstorm let loose. I got soaked to the bone. To be fair - we had seen this storm making its way over the desert- it's just one of the most unlikely sights I've ever seen (especially the rainbow over Uluru) - and really didn't expect it to last for as long as it did! I have some video footage, and a few photos (of probably very dubious quality) but I won't be able to get them online for a few days.

Yulara was not so fascinating - it's the purpose built resort just outside the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, which anyone who doesn't want to stay at Alice Springs is pretty much forced to stay at. One company owns the whole resort and provides differing grades of accommodation and food establishments at slightly differing prices (expensive to ridiculously expensive). Once I'd seen the two major rock formations & spent some time at the very interesting Cultural Centre (run by - and about - the local Anangu people), I was pleased to be getting away . Cairns is incredibly cheap and cheerful (a little bit Blackpool-esque) - and exactly what my bank account needs at this stage of the trip!

Catch ya later, Sydney

2006-10-02T14:21:00.000+01:00

It's not the best photo - but look - I was 'ere!

Sydney has been great - a gorgeous city and first impressions helped enormously by the fabulous weather (mid 20s with a sea breeze for most of the week). I didn't make it back to Manly for that walk, but did take in a pretty good substitute (I believe) in the coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee beach. It has been a holiday long weekend here and the beaches were pretty busy.

Whilst wandering around the rest of the city I've also walked across the harbour bridge (no - not via the bridge climb, my fear of heights was kicked into gear just by looking up at the nutters in their fancy climbing suits) ambled around the Rocks (where the first white settlers lived) and visited the aquarium with its underwater tunnels (stingrays get rather large don't they).

I'm flying to Uluru tomorrow morning to spend a couple of nights/mornings marvelling at some red rocks - and then it's up to Cairns to see those stingrays in their natural habitat (don't worry, Mum, I don't plan on getting as close as Aussie hero, Steve Irwin).

Haunting notes, pizzicato strings

2006-09-29T15:17:00.000+01:00

Serendipity.

I've just seen the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra perform at the Sydney Opera House! Ok - I was sitting on the steps outside, with 5,000 other cheapskates - but the setting couldn't be faulted and we had a special 'impromptu' performance from a few members of the orchestra and the conductor, Valery Gergiev, came out and said a few words. All this because I happened to be walking through the Botanic Gardens as they were setting up the port-a-loos for the event!

I deduced that they, along with the 100m-long queue along the quay at 5.30pm, were not the norm for an Opera House performance so asked the nearest queueing couple what was going on. John and Norma told me that the demand for tickets to see this gig had been so high that the Opera House decided to lay on a special night for those who couldn't get into the auditorium. As I had no other plans for the evening, I joined them. The concert was superb (Mozart's 36th Symphony and Tchaikovsky's 5th, if you're curious), John and Norma's travel advice priceless and the lift back to my accommodation an unexpected bonus.

A very good day indeed.

Travelling in a fried out combie...

2006-09-28T11:12:00.000+01:00

...well, an air-conditioned bus.

I don't imagine I'll learn from this (I've done it before and swore then that I wouldn't put myself through it again) but in an effort to see the Blue Mountains (very picturesque area about 2 hours drive from Sydney) the easy way - and in a short space of time - I booked myself on a tour today.

I'm exhausted! Not for any good reason either - we did a bit of walking about in the mountains themselves, but nothing particularly strenuous. No, it was the fact that I had to be ready for pick-up at 7am* this morning in order to have the pleasure of being ferried around Sydney in the rush-hour traffic, picking up other hapless tourists from their hotels. At 9.30am, we picked up the last group just about next door to a train station I could have reached in 15 minutes from my accommodation. All I want to do now is sleep - and it's only flippin' 8.30pm.

Think I'll blame the jet-lag...

*yes - I am going to struggle when I have to go back to work in January.

Deja vu

2006-09-26T08:12:00.000+01:00

G'day!

Today's stunning observation: Sydney really is a lot like Vancouver - but back-to-front.

Not a lot to tell yet. Arrived here safely on Monday morning after a sleep-free flight from Tokyo (having a row of seats to oneself does not necessarily make for a more restful journey). Since then I've done a fair bit of catching up on the ZZZs missed, along with a trip up the Sydney Tower (had to do my usual trick of getting my bearings via the medium of vertigo), a walk around the city centre and circular quay and a trip on the ferry to Manly (which is the cheap way to do a harbour cruise!). I like Manly - it's got a relaxed feeling to it and a great coffee shop in Beanrush (I stumbled upon it before I'd read that the Lonely Planet recommends it), which I'll be revisiting after I've done the Spit to Manly walk sometime in the next few days - when the weather's a bit less gloomy.

My accommodation is far more down-to-earth than Tokyo (no fancy seat-warming toilets here) but it's a friendly place and close to the train station for trips to the Blue Mountains etc.

My last day in Tokyo was fun - I toured the subway system again (even venturing onto a different line this time) and got some great photos of the Harajuku kids in Tokyo (they get together on the weekend and dress as kind of gothic barbie dolls) but have so far been unable to transfer them onto the internet - however, while having a little search around the internet for an example of what I saw, I came across this on flickr (have a nosey if you like very sweet stories).

Right - time to catch the ferry back to Sydney (more photo ops of the harbour bridge/opera house panorama).

Senses working overtime

2006-09-23T10:28:00.000+01:00

Konichiwa!

As I travelled into Tokyo from Narita airport yesterday, I was overwhelmed with the fear that I wouldn't be able to navigate any further than the safe_zone of the couple of blocks around my hotel. It could just have been a symptom of the jet-lag - I've coped on my own in foreign cities before - but there's something additionally daunting about seeing signs written in a language that doesn't contain any characters vaguely resembling our alphabet.

Fortunately, the greater fear of not making the most of my short weekend here won over and I brazenly strode out of the hotel this morning - in entirely the wrong direction for the subway and amused the concierge by returning 10 minutes later to ask for the help he had offered when I walked out of the door the first time. Anyway - I needn't have been so worried, the subway has signs in English (apart from the ones telling you that the exit the guidebook had instructed you to use is closed. I now know the Asakusa station intimately - and recommend exit 3 as a useful alternative to exit 1 if trying to visit the Senso-Ji temple) - and, when on the train, each station is announced before you get there - also in English.

It's actually good fun trying to work out what the Japanese signs mean - at the aforementioned Senso-Ji temple - I whiled away half an hour watching the locals pay some money to shake a tin from which they then pulled a stick with a number on. This number related to a draw containing a slip of paper telling their fortune. A fortune cookie without the calories, if you like. I eventually had a go myself - I apparently had "Regular Fortune: One's fortune are not decided yet." I say 'had' because I then copied what I'd seen the majority of people doing and tied the paper around a bar nearby. I've now read that this has the effect of negating the fortune if you didn't like it (my kind of religion - speaking of which, it's nice to find 'The teachings of Buddha' sitting alongside the Gideons bible in the hotel room). I also joined in with wafting smoke from a cauldron onto myself (it apparently has health-giving properties) - the only change I've noticed so far is that I smell like I've been standing next to a bonfire all day; my jet-lag headache shows no sign of disappearing.

I'm currently sitting in an internet cafe in Shibuya (at the other end of the Ginza line - when I said it was easy to negotiate the transport, I haven't actually had to change subway lines yet!). This area is like Piccadilly circus on acid - overloaded with shops piled on top of one another (literally - this cafe is on the 7th floor), hoards of people, flashing neon signs and piped Japanese pop music. It's mad - but I love it! It's a really good job that my rucksack is packed full to bursting as there's so much kitsch nonsense I would happily bring back to add to the clutter I already have.

Time for me to go back to the hotel for a quick nap before I take on the Lost-in-Translation style bar on the 40th floor (I'm treating myself - my accommodation in Sydney is backpacker-style). Hope I can work out how to use my space-age toilet this time. It took me half an hour of pressing dozens of buttons in a different order only to discover a regular flush handle hidden behind the electronic gizmo. I managed to turn the seat-warmer on though, which heated up the entire bathroom a treat (a useful gadget if you're in Siberian climes; not so great when it's 26 degrees plus outside and the air conditioning only seems to work during the daytime).

Sayonara

2006-09-18T23:41:00.001+01:00

It seems odd to be saying goodbye when there has been so little activity on this blog since my last big trip. However, it's more of an au-revoir than a final statement. I won't make any promises, nor excuses for my lack of updates during the summer but I hope to be on here a few times over the next couple of months...

I'm going away again.

On Thursday I fly to Tokyo for the weekend; then onto Sydney for a week or so before a 4 week Australian round-trip via Uluru and Cairns. At the end of October I'll be in Hong Kong staying with my pal, Helen, before heading off with another friend, Sue, to China for a couple of weeks. Before I return to the UK - Helen and I plan to spend a week in Vietnam - interspersed with more time in HK. Home just after my birthday and before Christmas!

Phew!

One month after I return form this jaunt, I'm due to return to work. A depressing thought and one which I'll try to put to one side for now. I've got two months of exciting new experiences to enjoy first - provided, that is, that the Japanese don't send me home when my stinking cold forces me to blow my nose in a public place. An incredibly disgusting and rude gesture - so the guidebooks lead me to believe. Better stock up on the lemsip!

Kölsch

2006-06-30T11:27:00.000+01:00

I've been to Cologne.

No - I haven't been there for nearly two months - just the 4 days. But, as Nick has very kindly written up his account of our mini World Cup experience, I thought I'd provide links here and here to what he had to say (I did contribute - the photos and videos are mine...). I also feel the need to confirm that yes, I'm still alive; yes, I've been eating my greens; and yes, I'll be trying to catch up with some blogging in the very near future.

No - really.

...surprisingly, I still had that grin on my face at the end of the match - despite the best (or worst) efforts of the players to remove it.

Clutter!

2006-05-10T16:27:00.000+01:00

Ok, perhaps 2 weeks of inactivity is a little long without some sort of explanation.

I’m home! Although I haven’t been here constantly for the past fortnight, it would probably appear – to the casual observer at least – that I have no excuse not to spend at least a little of my time writing about some of my adventures….

I have started putting finger to keyboard but at the moment my top priority is getting my house into some sort of order – most immediately because I’m about to have some major work done on my central heating system. Anyone who knows me well is aware that I have hoarding ‘issues’ – and am also very guilty of procrastination. I imagine a psychological assessment or a visit from the Life Laundry woman would probably link the two. What this means for fun pursuits (like trying to write, paint, sorting through photos or remembering how to play the piano for example – never mind travelling again) is that I’m forcing myself to wait until I’m on the home straight before I can start to ‘play’ again…. I’m hoping that I can make this a matter of weeks rather than months.
...the bedside table is probably the least embarrassing example of what I've got to sort through

It’s not stopping me from going out and catching up with my friends, though (they are what’s keeping me sane) - nor from heading off to Dublin on Friday to see Take That! on their reunion tour. I’d make a comment about regressing to my childhood – but the embarrassing thing is that I wasn’t a child when they were about the first time round…still, at least I’m getting a mini bit of travelling in and I’ve never been to Dublin!

Leaving Today

2006-04-24T06:54:00.000+01:00

It’s more than a week since I confirmed that the large furry creatures hadn’t got me and I now find myself needing to pass on reassurances once again. This time all limbs are (just about) intact following my trip to Sun Peaks, and only my camera sustained any injuries whilst gallivanting in the snow atop Grouse Mountain.

Sun Peaks dons sunglasses to cope with the stranger in town

I’ve got the end of holiday blues, and am finding it difficult to find the energy to write about anything though there are lots of tales to be told. I don’t want to sound as if I’m not looking forward to seeing everyone back at home – of course I am. However, I could quite easily extend my stay in North America by weeks, if not months. There are so many things I didn't have time to see or do that I want to go around and repeat the trip – and I want to spend a summer living in downtown Vancouver again (only this time without the cockroaches, 6 room-mates in our one-bedroom apartment, 5.30am start at work and general lack of cash – but that’s a whole other story from a long time ago...).

Alas, my flight ticket is for tomorrow evening and I have plans for a big May spring cleanup at my poor, neglected house so the day-dreaming will have to stay just that...

For the time-being anyway.

Maybe I’ll even find time to document all my North American adventures over the next month (I have no doubt that it will be more interesting than the chores I'll be procrastinating over). In the meantime – Au revoir, Vancouver.

The aptly named Sunset Beach

Bears

2006-04-13T19:47:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Dav for his concern, but neither I nor my laptop have been eaten by bears.

I'm alive and well and packing my bag again in Tsawwassen (south of Vancouver) - I've even done a mini update (see below). In a couple of hours I'm being whisked off to Sun Peaks ski resort for the weekend so further updates about Jasper and the second leg of my train journey will have to wait (if indeed they materialise at all - see Tanzania and Central America updates!).

Happy Easter!

Toronto to Jasper

2006-04-12T18:08:00.000+01:00

Back end of a train at Sioux Lookout (pop 3,100)

From the moment I was mistaken as one of a large British tour group boarding the train to Jasper, I knew I’d have a problem having any ‘me’ time on the train. I had thought that I’d have a lot of time for introspection and would possibly be rather bored at times during the 2 ½ day journey. No chance.

For this stage of the journey I upgraded my railpass to first-class travel (on advice from people who had been there before. Thanks Harold!). The upgrade bought me a bedroom and inclusive meals (as opposed to a reclining seat and the ability to purchase light meals and snacks from the Dining Car).

Serves me right for ridiculing my huge hotel rooms in Montreal and Toronto

The train was prime people-watching and people-meeting territory and I met some real characters. Each mealtime brought a new group of people to chat to (and at! I’ve got the Sabbatical explanation off to a tee now). When not in the dining car I could be found in one of the ‘dome cars’, where a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside was available – if the windows were clean and paintball-free (a bored soul in Saskatchewan was an excellent shot):

A couple of real characters enjoying the view (stop giggling, Rob)

Obviously Canada is huge – and travelling this way gives a great feel for just how huge – but I was surprised at how glad I was to see flat prairie-land after a day of the very picturesque trees, snow and frozen lakes of northern Ontario. I had been warned that the Prairies would be the most monotonous piece of scenery, but we passed through a lot of Manitoba and Saskatchewan in the dark – so really had no time to be bored of flat land before we were back in tree-lined country on the run up to the Rockies.

Yet again, I’ve taken hundreds of photos – most of them pretty terrible quality due to being taken from a moving vehicle a number of seconds after the particular beautiful sight had been passed. I also have far too many versions of the clichéd train curving around the side of a lake shot:
one of a series of 200 clichéd shots

Psshtecuff, Pssshtecuff...

2006-04-06T05:18:00.000+01:00

Well, that's officially one quarter of my Sabbatical year behind me.

To celebrate the fact that I still have nine months to go, I'm going to spend two and a half days on a train from Toronto to Jasper, in the Canadian Rockies.
Who knows - it could look like this

I've had a busy week since I spotted the random skier on Mont Royal. After a couple more great days in Montreal, I headed over to Grand Island, Buffalo to spend a long weekend with one of my oldest friends, Heidi, and her lovely family:

Yesterday Marek, Heidi's husband, drove me up to Toronto in a thinly veiled excuse to visit the local Polish neighbourhood - particularly Benna's deli. They do a mean sausage (so mean, it's still repeating on me now). Today, I had planned on having a wander around the city - to reacquaint myself with the place. However, once the wet snow started to fall, I wussed out and popped to the theatre to catch a matinee of the World Premiere performance of the Lord of the Rings musical. I dont care what the critics have said - I loved the books, I loved the films...and I loved this production. I was captivated for (what felt like) a short three and a half hours.
Unleash the schoolbus

This evening, Sabbatical trips collided when I went to visit Dorothy, who I met on my trip to Tanzania. She treated me to a gourmet meal of home cooked fresh lobster and champagne, and we reminisced about the holiday (and I finally found someone who didn't tire of the unedited version of my holiday snaps!)
Dorothy's roomate, Lily

So, that's a very quick catch-up - what have you been up to?

Canada, eh

2006-03-29T17:40:00.000+01:00

So, yesterday I went for a stroll up Mont Royal (a hill in the middle of the city, which apparently gave Montreal its name). Most other people were out jogging or walking dogs, apart from this guy...

Sure. There's still snow on the ground - but not that much!

One step forward, two steps back

2006-03-28T15:26:00.000+01:00

Morning!

I'm in Montreal now. Last night, whilst lolling around in my ridiculously large hotel room, I finally got around to uploading a few photos from Central America. They can be found here, if you're interested in that sort of thing.

No time for an in-depth Boston update, there's a beautiful blue sky outside and a new city to explore.

A ridiculously large hotel room, yesterday

I love New York!

2006-03-24T15:19:00.000Z

It has been a great week.

I’m currently having an enforced rest – on the train from New York to Boston. They have power sockets by the seat so I’m taking a moment to jot down some thoughts inbetween watching my ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ dvd, sifting through my digital photos and gazing out of the window (no power socket required).

One of the advantages of having visited here recently (last October) was that I didn’t feel like I had to rush around the sights and could spend some time just soaking up the atmosphere – and catching up with my friend, Vinay.

We spent the weekend lazing around – first in Williamsburg (a low-rise, relaxed – I think the blanket description is 'Boho’ - area) then on the Upper West side and Central Park, not far from Vin’s apartment. I loved Williamsburg – we spent an afternoon in a coffee shop, reading the previous weekend’s UK papers (Vinay) and eavesdropping on the interesting clientele (me). Several coffees (and hours) later we moved onto a warehouse-sized Thai restaurant called ‘Sea’ (apparently used as the setting for ‘Raw’ in Sex and the City) and finished our day in an arts-space bar called ‘Galapagos’.
Vinay pictured without Art-space glasses and hat

Spent a very entertaining night there watching some diva belly dancers and then listening to an excellent (slightly anglophilic) dj mixing up Mylo, James Brown, Fischerspooner and Pulp - amongst other great artists, which the Brooklyn lager has wiped from my memory.

I’ve walked miles and miles around the city – in fact, on one day, I enjoyed walking over the Brooklyn Bridge so much that I turned around and went back again. Mind you – as impressive as the financial district of Manhattan is – I preferred the look of Brooklyn Heights and decided to return for a closer peek.

Someone not actually walking at all, on the Brooklyn Bridge

A small corner of Brooklyn Heights

I’ve seen a few films, my favourite – and a very powerful film - was ‘V for Vendetta’, which was showing at the local Imax screen.

..and being advertised at Times Square.

I must have loved it as the dodgy English accents didn’t even bother me. I won’t review it as this person and this person have done a much better job than I could manage (don’t click on these if you haven’t yet seen the film). We also saw a free preview of ‘Inside Man’. Not a bad film, which was a good job as we were kept waiting outside the cinema for more than an hour (it’s been bitterly cold this week) – while the press dawdled their way in, had to sit on the third row (cricked neck, anyone?) – and then found out that it was opening in a couple of days time anyway (so the opportunity to gloat was short-lived).

Anyway – the train is pulling into Boston and I’m looking forward to crashing out at my hotel and getting over my tired and emotional state after a late last night at the Baggot Inn in Greenwich village. Uuurgh.

(a slightly dodgy connection on my hotel’s ‘complimentary high-speed internet access’ prevented me from posting this when I arrived last night. Feeling refreshed and invigorated this morning and looking forward to having a tourist-y day, followed by a night out with an ex-colleague, Paul and his wife Emily.)

Where did you get that hat?

2006-03-18T14:21:00.000Z

Yesterday, I went to see the New York St. Patrick's Day parade.

According to Mayor Bloomberg - everyone in New York is a litle bit Irish. Judging by the overspill from the numerous Irish (and non-Irish) bars around the place, I think the city was taking this statement to heart. We spent the evening at Modern instead - and yes, my head (and purse) hurt this morning.

Terminally bored

2006-03-16T13:05:00.000Z

Urgh.

I've been up since 4.30am this morning: travelled first by taxi, then bus and am now wedged in (what is now) my own little corner of Terminal 4 at Heathrow slowly sipping a cup of increasingly cold coffee. I still can't check-in for another 2 hours (bless the National Express timetable).

Still, the morning hasn't been completely without incident. I've been propositioned and invited to go and stay in Jamaica by my neighbour on the bus, who expressed surprise that I would be going anywhere else (although the offer was tempting, the proposition was a little disturbing and I successfully feigned sleep - which was tricky whilst listening to Bill Bailey on my iPod - to avoid the awkward exchange of contact details at Terminal 3).

Only another 13 hours until I'm in the Big Apple.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Busy Bee

2006-03-12T00:54:00.000Z

Hello

This blogging lark is tricky to keep on top of, isn't it.

I am back. In fact, I've been back from Central America for nearly two weeks. However, I've spent that time unpacking; washing clothes; going through my mail; catching up with family; waiting for clothes to dry; seeing friends; washing more clothes; packing clothes again; jetting off to the Netherlands for a long weekend; contracting a cold (at least the stomach issues had cleared up by then); unpacking again; washing the latest set of dirty clothes (along with the ones for which there was no room on the drier last week); having a couple of vacant days whilst wiped out by the cold; seeing friends; going through more mail; catching up with family; drying clothes again; inventing new places to hang clothes to dry as time is running out; buying new luggage (with wheels this time) and making plans for the next trip....

...which is this Thursday!

I've whittled the Central America photos down to a few highlights and even have a few from Holland (in addition to the ones posted by my friend, Nick, here and here) but will probably not find time to post them on flickr until I'm at my next destination. In the meantime - here is a pic of yours truly sitting on the steps of a Mayan pyramid (the Pyramid of the Lost World at Tikal, to be specific):

...and the sun hat also travelled to Guatemala.

So. Where am I off to? Well, I fly out to New York and then have just over 5 weeks to travel across to Vancouver before I head back home. I'm staying with Vinay - a friend from University - whilst in NYC and my very good friends Margaret, Alan, Alison and John when I get to Vancouver. Inbetween times the schedule is pretty flexible but I hope to take in Boston, Montreal, Toronto and the Canadian Rockies...

I'm really looking forward to having a bit of 'me time' on this trip. The trips I've been on so far (with the exception of Holland) have had really packed schedules, which means I've seen and done an awful lot in a relatively short period of time but it hasn't left a lot of time for reflection. Even when I'm at home, I feel like I'm rushing around - and I know that I haven't managed to see everyone that I'd like to, or just to catch up with the normal day to day stuff of life...

I'm going to spend May in the UK.

Floating

2006-02-21T02:13:00.000Z

- Floating from travel sickness because I´ve spent the best part of a day on a coach.

- Floating because I still haven´t managed to eat a proper meal for nearly 4 days.

- Floating because my accommodation tonight looks like this:

The Catamaran Island Hotel

Antigua (former capital of Guatemala) was another beautiful city, nestled amongst the mountains - and some active volcanoes. A bit of a tourist haven and crawling with language students - though if I decided to do an immersion course in Spanish - I think I could just about drag myself over here for a couple of months.

We left there pretty early this morning and drove out to Rio Dulce via the capital, Guatemala City, at rush-hour (not a pleasant looking place with some serious slums in the rift valley running through it) and stopped at some more Mayan ruins at Quirigua. No challenging steps this time - but some of the largest stelae in the Mayan world (and a lot of sun and biting insects).

I´m playing on the internet in our hotel while my fellow travellers have some dinner. I´ve played it safe with a bit of bread and some rehydration salts, as we´ve got a boat trip out to the coast in the morning - and I don´t want to miss another precious sight-seeing day (it´s not like I´m about to waste away!).

Right - I´m off to stare at the stars and listen to the waves glugging around my cabin. It´s a tough life.

Montezuma

2006-02-19T17:21:00.000Z

Apparently he was an Aztec Emperor from 1502 - 1520.
I´ve no idea what sort of a man he was - pretty evil if he deserves to be attributed to the symptoms I´ve experienced over the past couple of days.

I´m in Guatemala now - and the little I´ve seen of it so far has been lovely. We´re probably being spoilt by only going to the most picturesque sights, but it has a good feel to it.

More later, when I´ve had a chance to experience the place without having to dash to the nearest conveniences every 5 minutes!

Hola!

2006-02-15T20:38:00.000Z

...from San Cristobal de las Casas.

We´re currently about 2100m above sea level - when it´s sunny it´s roasting, but once the sun disappears over the Mexican hills the temperature drops dramatically.

Anyone who was jealous of my trip to sunnier climes will be pleased to hear that so far we´ve had fog, rain, gales (ok - a strong sea breeze) and I had a near frost-bitten nose this morning, but that´s more to do with the altitude here than inclement weather.

I arrived in Merida on Saturday night in a typically jet-lagged state (not helped by the 6th form Valentines bash which raged on all night at the Gatwick hotel I´d hoped would provide a nice restful start to my holiday). Gatwick itself was also pretty nightmarish - absolutely packed. It´s easy to forget about half-term holiday dates when you don´t have children!

We´ve covered more than 600km over the past few days - with stops at fascinating Mayan ruins (Uxmal and Palenque) and impressive waterfalls (Agua Azul and Misol-Ha) to break the travelling time. The ruins in particular were fantastic - Palenque is my favourite so far. I probably enjoyed it more because I actually went up some of the pyramids this time. My stupid fear of heights got the better of me at Uxmal - considering pyramids feature pretty heavily in this trip it was better to fight my better judgment and go for it. Turns out the climbing isn´t a problem. Pride has so far stopped me from descending on my backside but I´ve been told that Tikal will be steeper...(promise I´ll get a photo).

It´s nice to be in one place for a couple of nights. We managed to have a relaxed night out last night (knowing we wouldn´t need to set off somewhere at 6.30am!) and spent Valentines Day at "Emiliano´s Moustache" - and sank a good number of tequila-based cocktails until the wee hours.

Anyway - I´d best be off. We´re visiting a Mayan village in an hour or so and I´ve finally had enough of the choice of music at this internet cafe (they´re currently playing ´the Eye of the Tiger´)...and the guy in the booth next door has started surfing for porn. Lovely.

Adios!

Truffle Shuffleathon

2006-02-11T13:00:00.000Z

I’ve hidden this review away to avoid confusing any members of my family, who occasionally browse this site looking for my latest virtual postcard. For context, my cd wasn’t actually sent via tardis - I am actually writing this on (and around!) 8th July 2006.

Just in case there is anyone reading this who has not come here via my friend, Swiss Toni's site – a quick explanation:

A number of Swiss Toni’s readers recently made a cd of 12 songs that meant a lot to them and perhaps conveyed an element of their personality. ST then drew names from a hat and your cd was sent off for review by someone you had probably never met.

I was genuinely excited when the padded envelope dropped through my letterbox. ST had hinted earlier on in the week that I’d got a ‘good one’ (I dread to think what consoling words he had for Ka – the recipient of my cd) – and he wasn’t wrong.

Del had clearly put a lot of effort into the cover:
Is that you, Del?.

1. Junkie XL – Zerotonine
Hmm - it's got strings, it's got a good beat - but it doesn't quite gel for me. I've only encountered Junkie XL on his remix of Elvis' Little less conversation and from his calibre I should like him...but this one feels a bit bland. The singing also sounds like the guy from the Psychedelic Furs and I now can't get Pretty in Pink out of my head.

2. Jackie Wilson – (Your love keeps lifting me) Higher and Higher
Aaah - happy, happy song and infinitely better than Reet Petite, which enjoyed a renaissance in the 80s. With the cancellation of Top of the Pops being recent news, I now can't shake the picture of Dexy's Midnight Runners performing Jackie Wilson said in front of a huge photo of rotund Scottish darts player, Jockey Wilson.

3. Electric Light Orchestra – Strange Magic
One of my all time favourite albums (and embarrassing secrets) is Out of the Blue by ELO. So the inclusion of ELO is a pleasant surprise – not my favourite track but pretty good for a lazy Sunday afternoon (or Saturday afternoon in the case of the first day I listened to this shuffleathon).

4. The Go! Team – Ladyflash
The first thing that springs to mind is 'Soccer AM' and the crossbar challenge (for which this was looped as background music for quite a while before it found success in the British charts upon re-release) which is a shame because this is a gorgeous little pop song with a 60s twist. I've tried (and failed) to see The Go! Team several times. Maybe next tour....

5. Wire - Outdoor Miner
I was under the impression that Wire were a bit more punky than this but this particular track reminds me of the fairly standard indie stuff that was being churned out when I was at university in the early 90s. It's ok. Just ok.

6. Glen Campbell – Wichita Lineman
Beautiful. One of those songs I know by osmosis (parents who listened to Radio 2 throughout my childhood) rather than actually owning anything by him. Really love this.

7. Massive Attack and Mos Def – I Against I
Just when you're sitting down to relax and read the Sunday papers, along comes something which is more appropriate for the early hours of Sunday morning. I love Massive Attack - and chose one of their more obvious tracks for my own cd. I'm pretty sure I haven't come across this track before but it's pretty typical stuff - a nice dirty bass and a nodding beat - thumbs up!

8. Teenage Fanclub – Sparky’s Dream
Don't know how Teenage Fanclub passed me by, but they did. This is a really good, solid indie-pop-guitar song with nice harmonies (always a sucker for a good harmony). I like it - and intend to investigate their work a bit further....

9. Aphex twin – Avril 14th
When I saw this track was coming next I was a bit apprehensive. On first listen I spent the whole 2 minutes of this track expecting something discordant to happen...it didn't. On second listen I could relax and give it my full attention - and it's a sweet little piano track with echoes of Eric Satie. I've never quite got on with Aphex twin and I'm not sure this track will encourage me to listen to more of his work but I'm a piano fan - and this is a pretty little tune for the i-Pod.

10. Jon Brion – Strings that tie to you
I've never heard of this guy - on first listen it's a sweet song but nothing special. Bit of investigation turns out he produced my beloved Rufus Wainwright’s eponymous first album (mildly embarrassed not to know this – there was a time when I would notice these things - along with knowing the lyrics, running order etc. My Smash Hits years!). It also has a slidey guitar, which I can't quite get past. Sorry.

11. Blur – Sing
One of the few tracks I already own – on Leisure. Sparse lyrics and a hypnotic, repetitive background. Not my favourite song but one of their better early tracks. Reminds me of University for many reasons.

12. Stevie Wonder – I Believe (When I fall in love it will be forever)
What a beautiful way to end the cd. Not a song I was familiar with, but one which has jumped firmly into my top 20 (I've been playing it repeatedly since last week!)

Bonus track!
..only that wasn't quite the end. Yes, 29.55 minutes into the final track and a short, plinky piano tune. After the Aphex Twin track I suspected it could have been one of his but the tune sounds familiar (a bit like the Jon Brion track - and if it is then I prefer this interlude). Del has so far evaded my questions regarding the identity of this track – I’m prepared to be embarrassed for not knowing

Phew!
After complaining bitterly to Swiss Toni about having to limit the number of tracks to 12 (that was so hard - and if I made the cd again today it wouldn't contain exactly the same tracklist) - I'm now rather grateful from the reviewer's perspective! At least this proves that my childhood dream of working at Smash Hits would never have happened.

So - the overall verdict: Definitely a keeper – in fact, the whole cd has been transferred onto my i-Pod and has become the soundtrack to my long weekend in London (quite fitting, as I believe this is Del’s stomping ground). I didn’t immediately love every track – but I’ve always been a fan of the mixtape and love to be introduced to new tunes.What does the cd tell me about Del? He's a bit of a soppy, hopeful romantic with an ear for a good tune and an extremely eclectic record collection. A man who isn't afraid to show some love for most genres.

So thanks Del – I’ll be keeping tabs on your site for future podcasts (the current one is already sitting on my laptop patiently waiting for me to get this review done so I can turn my attentions elsewhere); thanks ST for bringing the idea over to your ‘gang’ – and all your administrative effort; and thanks Yoko for such a top idea.

When do we get to play again?

Testing testing...

2006-02-10T12:15:00.000Z

Just seeing whether I can post a photo in here...

* * * * * * * * * *

Late edit:

Evidently I can.

Blogger broke down on me mid-test so I didn't get the chance to remove this before any eagle-eyed younger relatives were able to spot it. Now, you have the privilege of seeing a picture of yours-truly splashing about in the Indian Ocean at Nungwi on the island of Zanzibar. In all probability I won't get a chance to properly update on the antics of my first couple of weeks off work..
(in summary: couple of excellent 'leaving dos'; continuing to try and extricate myself from work; feeling completely lost without the routine of going to the office every day and finding myself wallowing in bed at midday; snapping out of this in shame after a good friend pointed out that I'd become institutionalised; packing (and unpacking and packing for about 5 days) for my first trip....)

Nor will I have time to write a 'proper' account of the wonderful trip to Tanzania, which also had the wonderful effect of forcing me to finally let go of work....
(no summary this time - I'll try to write that 'proper' account at some point. In the meantime, there are more photos on 'flickr', which can be accessed by the little set of photo tiles that should appear on the bottom right of the blog.

Right. Now for 'La Ruta Maya'.... adiós por dos semanas....

Time flies...

2006-02-08T16:14:00.000Z

Ok. At least I know what date the Sabbatical was agreed on.

I suppose there wasn't really a lot to write about during November and December as work was just slightly busy, there was a spot of Christmas socialising to do...and a rather large proportion of gigs to go to.

That's all way back in the past though - and the reason I set this blog up was to try and find a way to record what I do with my time away from work - and to give family and friends an easy way to keep track of where I've got to.

I've failed miserably so far - so I'm going to attempt to have a quick catch up on the past month's events (I can't believe 1/12 of this year is already behind me) - and try to work out how to upload photos to this thing before I set off on my next adventure outside of the UK.

More later....

Yes!

2005-11-12T08:00:00.000Z

I got it!
The man from HR - he said yes!
From the 6th January 2006, I shall be free to spend a year of my life exactly how I wish.
I'm off for a lie down.