Page one, Index, reason for the blog, and aspirations.

International Gypsy

"Hello" to whomever is reading this ramble of word's thoughts and musings. I will start be explaining why I am attempting this blog, and what I hope to achieve in the long term.

In my opinion I have been fortunate enough thus-far to have led an interesting and varied life,  having lived in Africa, India, the USA, Europe and S.E. Asia, visiting many other countries along the way, engaging with and enjoying new cultures and attempting to learn along the way, I do like this travelers quote: “Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind – and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.” – Mark Jenkins

 I guess with this quote in the back of my mind I have tried to travel, spending some 14 years of my adult life away from  England the small island I call home, like most travelers I started out as a voyeur, peering out the air-conditioned window at the world as it passed by, far to intimidated to stop and ask questions, and to naive to indulge within the culture. I hope I have learned a little along the way, I cite another quote this time from Benjamin Disrael "Like all great traveler's, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen" Now I certainly do not profess to be a great traveler, but I very much connect with Disrael's quote, and in order to combat that inner feeling I have decided to document some of what I see, I will use lots of references to my previous travels, try and make what I write reasonably entertaining and straightforward, and use it as a tool to capture my current and past memories. Over time I will write about most issues family, business, loves, and of course cars and try and make sense of what brought me to the place I am now happily in. I am just embarking on a reunion with India, and would like to give my humble opinion of the changes I feel have happened in 7 short years, its not an academic document, please feel free to comment and ask questions, although for the sake of clarity I may well embed those comments into the blog and remove your direct posts in time, as one day this may turn into my website, or god forbid a book, (the later I doubt) but we will see how it goes. The more readers and visitors the blog attracts the more compelled I may feel to stick at it! Although this is an invite only Blog which keeps my security good, and means I can rip apart certain NGO's. So please respect the privacy I ask for and don't copy and paste bits to other parts of the big world wide web ;-)

The Blog entries I will initially be writing and which should continually evolve are:

The drivers guide to India and all things transport.

Why Aid/NGO's/ and outside interventions will never work

Street life for the base of the pyramid and breadbasket of India.

Funny quips, anecdotes, signs and translations. 

I will send notifications when I add a few pages to any section, It goes without saying I am working on the transport and travel section first.