Big Brother's Little Brother

Second cities are curious things, they tend not to have the hustle and bustle of the country's first city. The do no not have the brash amitious fine young things constantly trying to impress you, nor the people who have really made it (or already had it) flaunting themselves. They do have fewer fine monuments and are generally overlooked in the next "showcase" spending round. They dont have the glamour, or the pretty things chasing the brash fine things. They do have a charm all of their own, the people are self assured, they are cultured but without the arrogance that comes with it. They are comfortable in their own skins. They appreciate they wealth of their surroundings more and use it to satifying effect. I've always had the most fun in these places. Small enough to be friendly, big enough to have everything. Manchester and Chicago being two great examples. Noone thinks of either when then they think of the UK or USA but they have been the major breeding ground for their respective cultures.

So too with Melbourne, nothing to really see, when you've see one new highrise city youve seen them all. Nothing to really take pictures of. Few will think of Federation Square when think of Australia It's the people that are amazing. Its full of little cafe's and bistros, a place filled with foodies and boho types not out of place in Camden. Its populated by the fiercly proud, my cousin already has a voilent reaction when Sydney is mentioned. If only she was so passionate about the weather. My brief visit was curtailed by how cold and rainy it was so no visits to the local beach for me just lots of trips to beautiful independent restaurants, bakeries and coffee houses especially on Brunswick Street. the centre has great independent food shops, boutiques and lovely alleyways with public graffiti and cafes. It was wonderful seeing old friends here, Prashant is now a father to a 3 month boy and Uttara my proud Melbournite cousin is moving back to India to live in Pune. All in brief but excellent trip
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The onwards to Sydney; the Big Brother and home to about a quarter of all Australians. A land of high rises, tall office blocks and nature at your doorstep. the botanic gardens in the centre of the city have bats living in the trees. There are small bays all around an secluded beaches. Inland less than an hour away are the Blue Mountains. My first day was a walk though the Botanic Gardens then a hike round the bay's coast to the Harbour bridge. The Sydney bridge climb takes you to the top of the structure letting you see the views at sunset (though of course you have to pay for the photographs). The second day started late with a ferry ride to Manly beach, Here I was reminded never to judge people. There was an elderly lady virtually giving a tour as we sailed, saying she used to own half the coast, hmmm grandiose ideas? Nope, her gradfather really did own half the coast and she really was someone now running a refugee charity and an active politician. At least thats what her business cards said!

Well Manly is like Bondi but nicer! Very much a second beach, the whole area is at the opening of Sydney Bay where there is a 10k hike round the coast from the beach to The Spit, here you can walk through almost untamed bushland, subtropical fauna, beautiful secluded beaches, even the occasional foot long lizard doesn't waver your hand from wanting to sign those immigration documents. A missed ferry was more than made up for by catching the sunset ferry back to Circular Quay. Wonderful deep orange silhouetting the city.

It was also my first and last half day of being a vegetarian, what began as a day going to the local markets and eating a "sugar banana", locally grown produce then on ferry I was told about the Noodle Festival in Hyde Park. Well so much for good intentions . Massive crouds eating drinking, dragon dancing drum rolling, and the huge amounts of food. Squid, octopus, prawn, Dim Sum, Indian, noodles, I went to bed a happy man!

Tomorrow begins the 14 day tour of the East Coast.

Sleep.Eat.Work.Shop.Eat.Shop.Eat

When you ask someone what there is to do in Singapore they scratch their heads, think for a little while, first they say shop, then after thinking for a little longer they say eat. This is a city of four million tucked at the edge of Malaysia almost all new. It has two main pastimes apart from working. Shopping seems to be national obsession; in one day alone I found myself in five separate malls. Even the hotel has a mall attached. They each have their own cheap but amazing food halls; on my first day here I had five separate meals. My own excuse is that I was soaking up the atmosphere...and the calories. There is massive mixture of cuisine; a hybrid of Chinese, Indian, Western and Malay. Bizarre but surprisingly tasty were rice burgers and pizzas where the bread was replaced by sticky rice.

It seems that there are even specialised malls. I was taken to a place I like to call “Nerdvana”, seven floors of tech shops, each floor with twenty to thirty outlets. In one I bought a newly released Canon for around two thirds the UK price (ended up buying the G11). I have a new dealer.

Mornings began with Kaya Toast or a McDonalds coffee to take advantage of their free WiFi, then an early morning walk for 3 or 4 miles to take the place in before the crowds began. on the second day my afternon was taken up by two people whom I had worked with. They had moved back a couple of years ago and it was great seeing them. They were the main reason for my five separate meals, I hope they don't mind taking the balme. they both seem to have progressed well with harder work but also a better reward both financially and professionally. Habeeb is now a local consultant and Lynette is expecting her second child, congratulations to both of you.

When I wrote on the way here that that the place was a pandemonium of cultures I did start to wonder where that was. It certainly wasn’t there upon arrival. The streets were clean, people reserved, indeed for most of the morning the place was deserted which for early riser tourists is a little disconcerting. Even Chinatown with its orange orbs and (Indian) street traders was pretty pooped under the midday sun. All that changed in Little India, the Diwali lights were up a month early and people were pouring through the streets, all Indian faces with a smattering of tourists; all this only 500 metres from my clean staid business district hotel. It even had the obligatory dedicated mall. People shouted, people bustled, the camera in my hand went crazy trying to find someone or something to focus on. Here people were sitting on the fields, jaywalking, shouting and pressing up against you. In short just like India. And just as I began to scratch the surface....

Next stop Melbourne....

Day Zero

As I write this, I'm on the BA11 shooting through vast expanses of night to the so called Lion City. Everything I’ve read about Singapore is that it’s a mishmash of cultures; a pandemonium of tastes smells and sounds. A most unlikely place of old marshland previously populated by tigers now taken over by imperious skyscrapers crisscrossing the Orient. It stands alone (ish); not just surviving but flourishing,

It’s been a while since I’ve flown away in total relaxation, no worries, no cares and (briefly) no job it’s a sense of freedom, doing the things I so loved, seeing friends old and new. I never go on holiday, just on expedition! The memories came flushing back while waiting at the airport. I sat with a glass of wine watching people go by, some sad, some happy, some happy to leave, others being torn apart by having to go. There I sat serenely watching taking calls from the people close.

The day started with a last minute visit to the Indian High Commission in London to pick up a dual citizenship stamp. The less said about this the better but suffice to say that when they tell you it will take 10 minutes it will probably be the whole day (if at all). I will just have to find another (entire) day. Then a far-too-long traffic filled lift to the airport from an accommodating friend. I think I underestimated London rush hour traffic...oopsie! Anyway got in on time and my battery is gonna go soon so further updates when I try to work of Singapore a little more. Night night.

PS this actually went up on Day 2, off to Melbourne tomorrow and will update

Preparations abound

Well things are finally shaping up with the plans for circumventing the world. I've done a lot of the paperwork involved so financially and legally my ass is covered, all I really need to do now is make sure I don't smell or die for 10 weeks so time to buy medicines and toiletries. As an aside I was really shocked at how much variation there is between different holiday insurance providers. As this trip is over 30 days I had to take out separate insurance and when I asked about extra medical cover  the first quote I had was almost £500, the second from my usual provider Atlas direct using the same algorithm was less than £10. Ho hum guess which one I went for. My sister pointed me in the direction of a travel towel she had bought, very tiny pouch but with a full size microfibre towel inside, handy when everything is carried on your back! In addition I have a Crocodile Dundee hat unfortunately the knife is more suited to peeling fruit than taking on the outback.

Generally I've been nothing but impressed by Trailfinders, on the outside they are just a regular travel agent but I've found them helpful and second to none in arranging complex trips. The service was really good and planned the trip doing 90% of what I wanted to do. They dutifully moulded my plans around the several people that I'm meeting as I sent text, IMs and emails around the world harassing people every time with a cheery voice on the other end re-routing me round the world. They even provided one of the best quotes around with very reasonably priced excursions. So now as usual my holidays don't actually comprise of any relaxing just running around taking photographs and meeting people! I only had to get one visa and that was through Trailfinders too. Australia sells them for £15 though travel agents and you can get them instantly if you have a valid (and presumably clean) UK passport, how I wish other embassies did this, (I'm looking at you High Commission of India!).

They have even helped me change my trip as a thanks to my previous secretary happy days are here again. She has given me a photography prize she couldn't claim. 2 nights in a rainforest treehouse near Cairns, really very nice inside and set in 100 acres of unspoilt rainforest and on stilts above the canopy. You can go wildlife spotting hiking and perhaps even use the washing machine. Sounds perfect after almost 3 weeks of non stop travel.

Extra bit of adventure should continue in British Virgin Islands where Ken O has looked into a deep sea fishing adventure. The name "Speedy's" has my approval. Hopefuly Miranda will also join me as she is working there around that time...hope you're listening girl!

That's where I'll wrap up. I have two interviews next week so better get back to work. Ciao for now.

....and its real

Suddenly all that anxiety I had about moving from a vague plan to do something useful in my two months has finally germinated into a fully fledged and booked trip. Now all I have to worry about is surviving for ten weeks away from the bright lights and easy living of London.  It’s going to be a wonderful chance to see good friends, relatives and a wee bit of an adventure as well. It’s been quite some time since I’ve been away for so long and perhaps I’m a little rusty.  I’ve got my hands on the Abbey Zero credit card which you can use abroad without charges and my insurance. I’m getting there but any more suggestions on a postcard please.

I finish my job at the end of September and leave the Thursday after for Singapore hopefully to see a couple of friends. I may well do some camera shopping there as I’m in the market for a new good compact. The upcoming Canon G11 and S90 have caught my eye. Both are built very well with high quality physically large sensors. The G11 has a very handy articulated screen and easier manual settings while the S90 is more pocketable and has a very high quality f2.0 lens making image sharpness on a par with an SLR. They both retail about £350 in Singapore. Whatever happens I’ll still have the Sony SLR with the ranged and portrait lens.

After Singapore I’m off to Melbourne to visit a couple of friends and relatives. On to Sydney for a 14 day tour up to Cairns hopefully catching the Great Barrier Reef, then to New Zealand for a similar 10 day tour.  Next stop San Francisco for 5 days where I’ve been told I’ll be climbing mountains very soon after a 15 hour flight...fun.  Ken in the British Virgin Islands’ next where I’ve challenged him to show me why fishing is such an addictive sport though I think there may be some bias as I’ll be doing in the Caribbean. Finally I’m off for a cruise around the Galapagos vir Thanksgiving in Miami. At long last I get to go home in mid December.

This is my first posting on my first ever blog and hopefully it will serve as a diary for me and good reading for anyone that wants to look. Recent photos should be displayed and any updates should show up on fb and twitter (samirshah). There’s even a little widget that should say where in the world I am.