For my journey to Hampi last night I got to the train station half an hour early, found my train on the screen and went to the stated platform where there was a train waiting. It was 20 minutes before it was due to depart but it starts in Bangalore and I assumed it must take a long time to fill up such a massive train as it was at least 300 m long - so long that you couldn't see either end from the middle. Just to double-check I asked at least 3 people if it was the Hampi train, they all said yes. I found my carriage and then my seat/bed, only to find someone sitting in it. A 5 minute discussion ensued which was joined by about 6 other people trying to help figure out what had happened. The matter was quickly settled when one of them pointed out that I was indeed in the correct carriage number and the correct seat... unfortunately I was on the wrong train!!!!!
We all rushed to the door and flung it open, only to see the dark countryside rolling past. Now I desperately needed to know where I was headed! I started asking around my 6 Indian helpers (or should that be hinderers?!). They were naming a region I hadn't heard of (not a good sign!) which turned out to be near Delhi - 36 hours away! For a few minutes I thought they had been saying it was non-stop and started planning how to safely jump from the train, or perhaps bribe the driver to stop! Fortunately no such drastic, Hollywood-esque action was needed as I found a man who spoke English excellently and he told me the next stop was one hour away and I'd have to get off there and take a bus 1 and a 1/2 hours back to Bangalore! Not overjoying news but better than hurling myself into the darkness from a speeding train!
I arrived safely back at a hotel at about 1.30 am (after seeing 2 rats in the street, yuk!) and have been to get a 50% refund on my unused train ticket today. Unfortunately the train was full up today so I've had to book a bus ticket for tonight. Its got air conditioning and reclining seats so shouldn't be too bad. I've also started to think it might be the safer option as (a) I can ask the driver when I get on where he's going! and (b) If I miss my stop by a few seconds I can shout at him to stop rather than ending up 50 miles away!
I've realised now my schoolboy error. If you ask an Indian person a question they don't understand or don't know the answer to, they will ALWAYS say 'yes'!!
Thursday 29 March 2007
Bangalore
Those who know their geography may already have realised that Bangalore is quite some way from the coast and my original route plan. After Allepey and a couple of days in Kochi I became a bit bored of wandering around and observing an average Indian town. Its probably the equivalent of a tourist visiting the UK and touring Luton, Milton Keynes and Wigan! I didn't really feel the need to visit another two or three towns like this as I had planned. Instead, I jumped on a cheap flight and headed inland to the bright lights of Bangalore for a couple of days of partying.
Bangalore is home to India's IT and technology industries so it's much more wealthy than anywhere in the rest of the country except maybe Mumbai. Consequently all the western luxuries can be found here, such as trendy bars, shopping malls, nice restaurants, etc. This westernisation has also caused the people here to become more liberal than elsewhere in India. For example, many of the women here wear western clothes, couples walk round arm-in-arm (public affection is usually frowned upon) and alcohol is readily available.
I've thoroughly enjoyed my time here. The holiday season was winding right down in Kerala so there sometimes wasn't very many people to engage with, but this is a crowded, major metropolis so I've had company from the moment I've walked into a bar each evening. Most of the people I've chatted to have been Europeans or North Americans working over here for short or sometimes long periods of time, and all of them seem to love coming here. The place has a bit of a buzz about it that only busy cities can muster.
The central area where I've stayed is called Mahatma Ghandi (usually shortened to MG) Road and it's like someone has dumped Picadilly Circus or Times Square in the middle of India. Everywhere I look there are neon lights, fast food places and people selling fake Rolex's or RayBans. All the nice bars are around this area and they really are quite happening places with loud music, sport on plasma TVs and stylish decor, and of course, all the wealthier Bangaloreans lounging about trying to look cool!
Its quite strange as although it is like a western city in almost every way, it also retains an Indian quirkiness (and sometimes absolute weirdness!). For example, it took me about 2 hours to buy a train ticket yesterday as the process is astonishingly over-complicated. Firstly you need to find the correct area for long distance train reservations; then you have to go and find your train number on a list on the wall; then you go to a machine (which there's only one of) and type in the date and number to check the availability; next there's a form to fill in which requires a totally unecessary amount of detail; then you take the form to a window where after reaching the front of a 45 minute queue a man checks the form and types every detail in to a computer and finally presents you with your ticket. I felt like a contestant on the crystal maze by the end of it.
I think the general weirdness of India stands out even more in Bangalore because its such a contrast to the surroundings which have sometimes made me forget where I am, but reading the local papers or watching the news quickly reminds me I'm not in Kansas anymore Toto. The paper today had a pretty graphic article about a recently captured murderer and necrophiliac. It detailed the mans sickening crimes, but not content with that, it then profiled 7 other high-profile necrophiliacs who had been arrested in the area over the years!!! A relaxing read over your cornflakes it definitely wasn't!
At the moment the papers also seem to use most of their pages to slate the Indian cricket team for their useless world cup performance. One player has already had his house smashed up and there will undoubtedly be more repurcussions now they're all back in India. I know exactly how they feel really, if I had Steve McClaren's address I think I'd probably be tempted to lob a brick through his window! He should be ashamed of himself and resign immediately for allowing a joke of a team like Andorra to keep a first half clean-sheet. The players aren't much better. Too many individuals and no team. It looks like I might be falling back on my Scottish ancestry for a team to support during next summers finals.
Oh well, all thoughts of footie and other such western things will probably be wiped from my mind over the next couple of days. Another reason I wanted to change my route is that everyone I spoke to recommended visiting Hampi. I'm leaving for there tonight on an overnight sleeper train. Hampi was the former capital of a thriving empire 500 years ago which is now in ruins. Now there are 49 sq km's of ruins to explore so I'm off to do my best Indiana Jones impression. Its a very popular stop with backpackers so should be a lot of fun.
Bangalore is home to India's IT and technology industries so it's much more wealthy than anywhere in the rest of the country except maybe Mumbai. Consequently all the western luxuries can be found here, such as trendy bars, shopping malls, nice restaurants, etc. This westernisation has also caused the people here to become more liberal than elsewhere in India. For example, many of the women here wear western clothes, couples walk round arm-in-arm (public affection is usually frowned upon) and alcohol is readily available.
I've thoroughly enjoyed my time here. The holiday season was winding right down in Kerala so there sometimes wasn't very many people to engage with, but this is a crowded, major metropolis so I've had company from the moment I've walked into a bar each evening. Most of the people I've chatted to have been Europeans or North Americans working over here for short or sometimes long periods of time, and all of them seem to love coming here. The place has a bit of a buzz about it that only busy cities can muster.
The central area where I've stayed is called Mahatma Ghandi (usually shortened to MG) Road and it's like someone has dumped Picadilly Circus or Times Square in the middle of India. Everywhere I look there are neon lights, fast food places and people selling fake Rolex's or RayBans. All the nice bars are around this area and they really are quite happening places with loud music, sport on plasma TVs and stylish decor, and of course, all the wealthier Bangaloreans lounging about trying to look cool!
Its quite strange as although it is like a western city in almost every way, it also retains an Indian quirkiness (and sometimes absolute weirdness!). For example, it took me about 2 hours to buy a train ticket yesterday as the process is astonishingly over-complicated. Firstly you need to find the correct area for long distance train reservations; then you have to go and find your train number on a list on the wall; then you go to a machine (which there's only one of) and type in the date and number to check the availability; next there's a form to fill in which requires a totally unecessary amount of detail; then you take the form to a window where after reaching the front of a 45 minute queue a man checks the form and types every detail in to a computer and finally presents you with your ticket. I felt like a contestant on the crystal maze by the end of it.
I think the general weirdness of India stands out even more in Bangalore because its such a contrast to the surroundings which have sometimes made me forget where I am, but reading the local papers or watching the news quickly reminds me I'm not in Kansas anymore Toto. The paper today had a pretty graphic article about a recently captured murderer and necrophiliac. It detailed the mans sickening crimes, but not content with that, it then profiled 7 other high-profile necrophiliacs who had been arrested in the area over the years!!! A relaxing read over your cornflakes it definitely wasn't!
At the moment the papers also seem to use most of their pages to slate the Indian cricket team for their useless world cup performance. One player has already had his house smashed up and there will undoubtedly be more repurcussions now they're all back in India. I know exactly how they feel really, if I had Steve McClaren's address I think I'd probably be tempted to lob a brick through his window! He should be ashamed of himself and resign immediately for allowing a joke of a team like Andorra to keep a first half clean-sheet. The players aren't much better. Too many individuals and no team. It looks like I might be falling back on my Scottish ancestry for a team to support during next summers finals.
Oh well, all thoughts of footie and other such western things will probably be wiped from my mind over the next couple of days. Another reason I wanted to change my route is that everyone I spoke to recommended visiting Hampi. I'm leaving for there tonight on an overnight sleeper train. Hampi was the former capital of a thriving empire 500 years ago which is now in ruins. Now there are 49 sq km's of ruins to explore so I'm off to do my best Indiana Jones impression. Its a very popular stop with backpackers so should be a lot of fun.
Saturday 24 March 2007
Varkala / Kollam / Allepey / Kochi
I stayed in Varkala another 4 nights as I loved it so much. Everything was so easy there, plus I spent a lot of time in the evenings with Noel and Hannah, the couple I mentioned in the last post. Once or twice we stumbled back at around 3am, which is very, very late here. The restaurants don't really close until the last people leave, so those times involved us sitting in almost complete darkness with only a candle for light, while the staff slept on tables at the back! I can't imagine the staff in The Salisbury being quite so accomodating somehow!
I left Varkala early yesterday morning for Kollam to get on a boat trip through 50 miles of Kerala's famous backwaters to Allepey. I was somewhat aprehensive about the 8 hour journey as I could imagine myself becoming a bit bored, plus the previous night had been one of those described above! The aprehension deepened when I clapped eyes on the slightly dilpadated 'cruise boat' and it's rows of plastic patio chairs for seating, and really sunk into an abyss when the first whiff of the backwater water hit my nostrils. And I do mean 'hit' because the reek nearly knocked me over!
We chugged away on time by Indian standards - only 10 minutes late, and gradually my worries evaporated. After a few hundred yards we had left the stinking dock area and the journey from then on was a delight. We crossed large lakes with a welcome breeze and went through narrow winding channels where village life was going on all around us. There were big chinese-style fishing nets and little fishing boats, hired house-boats cruising and tiny settlements on even tinier strips of land with women washing clothes, teenagers swimming and kids running along the bank shouting "give me one pen please!" to us. We stopped for lunch and tea (NB. to all you northerners that's - the brown stuff in the cup, not an evening meal!) with a fried banana, and a lovely, peaceful day went by almost too quickly.
We docked in Allepey around 6.50 pm and I headed for a place to stay I'd read about in my guidebook. It was a bit ropey really but clean enough and the people who ran it were friendly. I had a quick look round the town that evening, but it too looked a bit ropey and there was a conspicuous gap where the 'things to do' section usually is in the guidebook! I thought I may as well move on the next day so (after a rickshaw/train/rickshaw/ferry/rickshaw journey) as I write this I'm sitting on the island of Fort Kochi, part of the town of Kochi which is one of Kerala's biggest.
I left Varkala early yesterday morning for Kollam to get on a boat trip through 50 miles of Kerala's famous backwaters to Allepey. I was somewhat aprehensive about the 8 hour journey as I could imagine myself becoming a bit bored, plus the previous night had been one of those described above! The aprehension deepened when I clapped eyes on the slightly dilpadated 'cruise boat' and it's rows of plastic patio chairs for seating, and really sunk into an abyss when the first whiff of the backwater water hit my nostrils. And I do mean 'hit' because the reek nearly knocked me over!
We chugged away on time by Indian standards - only 10 minutes late, and gradually my worries evaporated. After a few hundred yards we had left the stinking dock area and the journey from then on was a delight. We crossed large lakes with a welcome breeze and went through narrow winding channels where village life was going on all around us. There were big chinese-style fishing nets and little fishing boats, hired house-boats cruising and tiny settlements on even tinier strips of land with women washing clothes, teenagers swimming and kids running along the bank shouting "give me one pen please!" to us. We stopped for lunch and tea (NB. to all you northerners that's - the brown stuff in the cup, not an evening meal!) with a fried banana, and a lovely, peaceful day went by almost too quickly.
We docked in Allepey around 6.50 pm and I headed for a place to stay I'd read about in my guidebook. It was a bit ropey really but clean enough and the people who ran it were friendly. I had a quick look round the town that evening, but it too looked a bit ropey and there was a conspicuous gap where the 'things to do' section usually is in the guidebook! I thought I may as well move on the next day so (after a rickshaw/train/rickshaw/ferry/rickshaw journey) as I write this I'm sitting on the island of Fort Kochi, part of the town of Kochi which is one of Kerala's biggest.
Monday 19 March 2007
Varkala
I arrived in Varkala yesterday, and I like it here a lot more than kovalam already. The location itself is quite dramatic, all the buildings line the cliff top, with the beach sitting 250 feet or so below. The place is also a backpacker hub rather than a package tour destination like kovalam.
I have to say I'm a pretty rubbish traveller so far, my main crime being that I took an air-conditioned taxi the 70km from kovalam to here! It cost Rs 1400 which is about 15 pounds, which is really quite a lot of money in india and not in the spirit of 'roughing it' at all. Oh well, I'm going to get a cab to my next destination as its only about 5-10 km away, but after that I'm going to resolve to use trains and buses for the bulky parts of my journey. Anway I can't very well get a taxi up the entire 1000 mile coastline.... hmmm can I?!
Before departing for Varkala I'd read in the lonely planet about a great bamboo hut complex to stay at. I asked the taxi driver to drop me there, and he said "yes, yes, I know it, took your friend there". We arrived at a couple of shabby looking, two-storeyed bamboo huts that didn't exactly look like beautiful lush surroundings promised in the guide. I had a quick look round and came to the conclusion I had clearly been taken to the place which offers the taxi driver the best commission rather than the desired destination, so I walked off to find it for myself. I soon did, and it really was lovely. I approached the reception and asked for a hut and was told none were available that night, but if I stayed in their hotel at the back then I could have one the next day. As I'm planning on staying 3 or 4 nights I agreed and got a pretty nice hotel room for a decent price.
I headed out for some lovely sea food and then discovered a bar that was showing the Arsenal v Everton game. Well, actually I say 'discovered' like I just happened across it, but in reality I'd walked up and down the clifftop 3 times before I managed to hunt one down! I was joined by a nice couple from London. The girl lived in Wood Green and the bloke used to work in Old St so we had a bit in common, and they were also staying in the same place as me. We necked a few beers and talked footie, London, India etc etc and had a good night (only slightly ruined by AJ's last minute winner for the lucky scousers!!)
Next day I rocked up to the reception desk asking for my promised hut, only to be met by blank looks and to be told no huts were available, there were roof problems, blah, blah, blah. I stormed off in a huff, just wishing that people in India would stop lying to me and trying to rip me off just for 5 bloody minutes! India really can be infuriating sometimes, as everyone wants your money and many people have no problem lying or harassing you to get it. On the other hand it's also amazing and the negatives and annoyances are far outweighed by the positives.
In my rage at being denied my bamboo hut experience I stormed straight back to my room to check out immediately because I wasn't going to give them anymore money for another night. BUT then, just as I was unlocking my door on the first floor, I glanced over and saw there was similar bamboo hut village next door. Not quite as nice but the huts looked pretty similar. I popped over and managed to get a hut sorted immediately for much less money. Result! Finally!
I'll be spending a few more days here on the beach before heading to Kollam from where I'll be heading out to see Kerala's famous backwaters for a day.
I have to say I'm a pretty rubbish traveller so far, my main crime being that I took an air-conditioned taxi the 70km from kovalam to here! It cost Rs 1400 which is about 15 pounds, which is really quite a lot of money in india and not in the spirit of 'roughing it' at all. Oh well, I'm going to get a cab to my next destination as its only about 5-10 km away, but after that I'm going to resolve to use trains and buses for the bulky parts of my journey. Anway I can't very well get a taxi up the entire 1000 mile coastline.... hmmm can I?!
Before departing for Varkala I'd read in the lonely planet about a great bamboo hut complex to stay at. I asked the taxi driver to drop me there, and he said "yes, yes, I know it, took your friend there". We arrived at a couple of shabby looking, two-storeyed bamboo huts that didn't exactly look like beautiful lush surroundings promised in the guide. I had a quick look round and came to the conclusion I had clearly been taken to the place which offers the taxi driver the best commission rather than the desired destination, so I walked off to find it for myself. I soon did, and it really was lovely. I approached the reception and asked for a hut and was told none were available that night, but if I stayed in their hotel at the back then I could have one the next day. As I'm planning on staying 3 or 4 nights I agreed and got a pretty nice hotel room for a decent price.
I headed out for some lovely sea food and then discovered a bar that was showing the Arsenal v Everton game. Well, actually I say 'discovered' like I just happened across it, but in reality I'd walked up and down the clifftop 3 times before I managed to hunt one down! I was joined by a nice couple from London. The girl lived in Wood Green and the bloke used to work in Old St so we had a bit in common, and they were also staying in the same place as me. We necked a few beers and talked footie, London, India etc etc and had a good night (only slightly ruined by AJ's last minute winner for the lucky scousers!!)
Next day I rocked up to the reception desk asking for my promised hut, only to be met by blank looks and to be told no huts were available, there were roof problems, blah, blah, blah. I stormed off in a huff, just wishing that people in India would stop lying to me and trying to rip me off just for 5 bloody minutes! India really can be infuriating sometimes, as everyone wants your money and many people have no problem lying or harassing you to get it. On the other hand it's also amazing and the negatives and annoyances are far outweighed by the positives.
In my rage at being denied my bamboo hut experience I stormed straight back to my room to check out immediately because I wasn't going to give them anymore money for another night. BUT then, just as I was unlocking my door on the first floor, I glanced over and saw there was similar bamboo hut village next door. Not quite as nice but the huts looked pretty similar. I popped over and managed to get a hut sorted immediately for much less money. Result! Finally!
I'll be spending a few more days here on the beach before heading to Kollam from where I'll be heading out to see Kerala's famous backwaters for a day.
Thursday 15 March 2007
Mumbai - Trivandrum - Kovalam
Well it's started, there's no turning back now! I landed in India on Tuesday in Mumbai. The Virgin flight was really good, the plane was 3/4 empty so I had a couple of seats to myself, and could have had a whole row of 3 if i'd moved into it quicker. Oh well, next time I'll be more ruthless.
My flight down south was the next morning so I had already booked a hotel near the airport for my quick stopover. The car journey from the airport quickly reacquainted me with Indian driving, but I was too tired to be as scared for my life as I perhaps should have been! Got to my hotel only to find the power was out so I was sent to another one, fortunately it looked marginally better than my original hotel so I didn't mind. I got a couple of hours sleep and headed out to find a cash machine (it's illegal to take Rupees in or out of India). The area was a slum, really, really poor and I felt a bit intimidated at first being the only foreigner or tourist visible, but I soon realised no one was taking a blind bit of notice of me. I got back to the hotel and went to get some dinner washed down with my new regular tipple, the trusty Kingfisher Beer and ended up watching some of the Windies v Pakistan world cup cricket with the waiters.
Next morning I caught my flight without incident. Flew Jet Airways which I think is supposed to be India's equivalent to EasyJet, however it's much, much better! The cabin crew do not stop serving the passengers throughout the whole flight. Its only a 2 hour flight but in that time you get water, then juice, then a meal (tandoori chicken and rice dumplings followed by chocolate fudge cake, all served on real china dishes and eaten with real metal cutlery!), then a coffee/tea, then more juice, then more water. Anyway, you get the gist, it was good.
I arrived at Trivandrum which is the capital of the state of Kerala. On the plane I decided I was going to head down to Kovalam first, which is a beach side resort type town. I asked the tourist information desk for details of the town and met a Canadian guy called Deepa (he has an Indian dad) doing the same thing. We decided to share a taxi and got talking on the way over, he seemed OK so we decided to split a room too. We managed to get a room in this big old colonial looking place for Rs 800 between us (about 5 pounds each). We dropped off our stuff and went out to explore the little town, there's not a lot to see really except for a couple of nice beaches. We were staying near the main beach which is called Lighthouse Beach, for reasons that will become obvious from the pics below. Its quite touristy here, with a little European style promenade running behind the beach. However its still tiny and quiet by western standards - and its supposed to be Kerala's biggest and busiest resort! I'm looking forward to finding some really cool, untouched places if this is the busiest.
It's my first whole day in Kerala and I've just spent it lazing around (start as I mean to go I suppose!). We went out for a few beers and some seafood last night (I had crab) but being a North American lightweight Deepa hardly managed any beers! He's also been chucking up regularly since 3 am thanks to the dodgy fish he ate and has hardly been able to move the whole day without puking. Nice! He's heading north tomorrow but I think I'm going to stay another day or maybe even two here to soak up the sun a bit more. We changed rooms today to one thats only Rs 500 between us. I've heard about quite a few now that are even less so I'm on a mission to find one for about Rs 150 (less than 2 pounds).
Anyway, it's too hot to sit in an internet cafe any longer (34 degrees according to the bbc weather, rising to 36 midweek!) so this is your man in India signing off :)
My flight down south was the next morning so I had already booked a hotel near the airport for my quick stopover. The car journey from the airport quickly reacquainted me with Indian driving, but I was too tired to be as scared for my life as I perhaps should have been! Got to my hotel only to find the power was out so I was sent to another one, fortunately it looked marginally better than my original hotel so I didn't mind. I got a couple of hours sleep and headed out to find a cash machine (it's illegal to take Rupees in or out of India). The area was a slum, really, really poor and I felt a bit intimidated at first being the only foreigner or tourist visible, but I soon realised no one was taking a blind bit of notice of me. I got back to the hotel and went to get some dinner washed down with my new regular tipple, the trusty Kingfisher Beer and ended up watching some of the Windies v Pakistan world cup cricket with the waiters.
Next morning I caught my flight without incident. Flew Jet Airways which I think is supposed to be India's equivalent to EasyJet, however it's much, much better! The cabin crew do not stop serving the passengers throughout the whole flight. Its only a 2 hour flight but in that time you get water, then juice, then a meal (tandoori chicken and rice dumplings followed by chocolate fudge cake, all served on real china dishes and eaten with real metal cutlery!), then a coffee/tea, then more juice, then more water. Anyway, you get the gist, it was good.
I arrived at Trivandrum which is the capital of the state of Kerala. On the plane I decided I was going to head down to Kovalam first, which is a beach side resort type town. I asked the tourist information desk for details of the town and met a Canadian guy called Deepa (he has an Indian dad) doing the same thing. We decided to share a taxi and got talking on the way over, he seemed OK so we decided to split a room too. We managed to get a room in this big old colonial looking place for Rs 800 between us (about 5 pounds each). We dropped off our stuff and went out to explore the little town, there's not a lot to see really except for a couple of nice beaches. We were staying near the main beach which is called Lighthouse Beach, for reasons that will become obvious from the pics below. Its quite touristy here, with a little European style promenade running behind the beach. However its still tiny and quiet by western standards - and its supposed to be Kerala's biggest and busiest resort! I'm looking forward to finding some really cool, untouched places if this is the busiest.
It's my first whole day in Kerala and I've just spent it lazing around (start as I mean to go I suppose!). We went out for a few beers and some seafood last night (I had crab) but being a North American lightweight Deepa hardly managed any beers! He's also been chucking up regularly since 3 am thanks to the dodgy fish he ate and has hardly been able to move the whole day without puking. Nice! He's heading north tomorrow but I think I'm going to stay another day or maybe even two here to soak up the sun a bit more. We changed rooms today to one thats only Rs 500 between us. I've heard about quite a few now that are even less so I'm on a mission to find one for about Rs 150 (less than 2 pounds).
Anyway, it's too hot to sit in an internet cafe any longer (34 degrees according to the bbc weather, rising to 36 midweek!) so this is your man in India signing off :)
Thursday 8 March 2007
Welcome to my blog
Hello and welcome to my blog. This inaugural post is going to follow the same formula as all those original superhero movies released over the last few years - it'll give you the background to who I am, and how I've come to be 'Scott on the Road', rather than just plain old, mild-mannered Scott. This'll allow me to jump straight into the action in future.
OK, so who am I? Well as you've probably grasped, my name is Scott. I'm 27 years old, a graduate, and my main hobbies are football, travelling and poker, and of course 'socialising' as we all put on our CV's in lieu of 'going out and getting twatted with my mates'. Until five weeks ago I lived with my girlfriend in North London and worked in marketing for a charity in Old Street.
However, all this was about to change. On one dingy day in February I became both redundant and single. Although it was a sad day I decided I had to turn those two negatives into a big positive (pls forgive the Ricky Lake speak, this isn't going to be a self help blog honest!) and give in to the call of the wanderlust.
I have a one-way ticket to Mumbai leaving on Monday 12th March, and another plane ticket from there to Trivandrum in Kerala, south India. I have made no arrangements but I plan to go overland back up to Mumbai and fly from there to Bangkok to do an overland trip around Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. After that I'm heading to South Korea to teach English with a couple of friends for a year. After that, who knows. Just like Jack Kerouac, I'm going On The Road.
OK, so who am I? Well as you've probably grasped, my name is Scott. I'm 27 years old, a graduate, and my main hobbies are football, travelling and poker, and of course 'socialising' as we all put on our CV's in lieu of 'going out and getting twatted with my mates'. Until five weeks ago I lived with my girlfriend in North London and worked in marketing for a charity in Old Street.
However, all this was about to change. On one dingy day in February I became both redundant and single. Although it was a sad day I decided I had to turn those two negatives into a big positive (pls forgive the Ricky Lake speak, this isn't going to be a self help blog honest!) and give in to the call of the wanderlust.
I have a one-way ticket to Mumbai leaving on Monday 12th March, and another plane ticket from there to Trivandrum in Kerala, south India. I have made no arrangements but I plan to go overland back up to Mumbai and fly from there to Bangkok to do an overland trip around Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. After that I'm heading to South Korea to teach English with a couple of friends for a year. After that, who knows. Just like Jack Kerouac, I'm going On The Road.
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