1-Way Ticket

The street hawkers and vendors in Agra are the most aggressive I have encountered in any country, literally in your face selling memorabilia amongst other things. Confrontation is inevitable, as one middle-aged tourist had a boxing stance wanting to retaliate for his daughter been jostled. Before I travelled to India I received immunizations for a

So why did I come to this country? Many of us have a soft spot for some far-away place. There is not always a transparent reason. The Black Sea was one of mine. A flight to Turkey could be the choice, but that’s too obvious. Let’s take another route.

Lviv to Odessa, 16 hours, from the west to the south, through miles of flatlands. The former bread basket of the Soviet Union, perfect for farming crops, vegetables and potatoes. Also the front lines in

Everything looked seventeen century, the cupboards, furniture, pottery and utensils. The fridge door was heavily taped to keep closed. The stairs was narrow with linoleum of an undistinguished colour. A low ceiling in the bedroom, certainly the bed was Napoleonic, metal framed headboard and base raised on a platform, a ceramic piss-pot underneath.

A thunder storm commenced, a steady downpour, I had a plastic rain cover that protected my whole body including my backpack, stretching below my knees. A perfect gift from Uri, an Israeli-Australian who departed the country three weeks earlier. A stranger becomes a pleasant friend, they pass things onto you that are necessary. Later I duplicate the

that selfish individuals dominate, it too often appears. Periodically, I will think about these energetic but somewhat isolated young folk. I should return one day with some form of help. I should,………………right?.............. But will I? Dhading town is near the epicentre of the 2015 Nepal earthquake, loss of life has been heavy.

They would try and nudge in-front of you, by going to the top of the line to ask a question, then, buy their tokens. “I guess you see we can be aggressive,” one friend said. “But it’s not malicious, it’s part of our personality. Do not take this seriously, simply hold your spot, do not give way,” she advised.

“No, they’re gonna come,” says Jimbob. “What do you mean, who’ll come?” I questioned. “You’ll see.” “Relax, chill-out” I enthused, as I stretched-out. Three minutes later about ten people were smothering us, all with their own agenda.

The escalators, my goodness, those escalators, down to the platforms are massively long. Three minutes was the average riding time, very deep under the ground, think about that for a moment. Built this way for safety against enemy attack, a cold-war tactic. In the London underground tube system an average escalator ride would be less than one minut

younger boarders, after class, he was bloody testing me. I put Phurba standing on one leg facing the wall, the following day I did the same, this time for the entire class. It did the trick, he became more obedient, slowly becoming my friend. Nina and I were a novelty to the students,