Thanks Kimch It's comments like yours that really brighten my day and make it all worthwhile. Of course I'll happily answer a couple of your questions; In my experience the ladies prefer primordial man scent, and the hairs down my sofa tend to clump. Hope that helps, your inspiration is my pleasure!
amazing You are truly an inspiring person. I love all of your pics and all your thoughtful words. What camera do you use? What is your favorite aftershave? How many nose hairs have floated down the back of your sofa? Keep up the good work nomad!
Fuji s5600 Yours for a snip under $200! Incidentally, I thought travelblog had a cool new feature which captures and catalogues the culprit camera for every shot - Perhaps mine is too old to leave a trail?
nobody's talking about carbon anymore? perhaps you've become deaf in the past year or so, but it's more of a concern now than it ever has been. I love travelling as well, but do so with an awareness of it's VERY REAL cost to the environment.
Ryanair's 20p flights are just a marketing gimmick, and in no way whatsoever are an indication of falling oil prices (how much have petrol prices gone up in the past 6 months?)
Pertinent points. I read a quote recently 'In the Western world we have freedom of choice, just nothing to choose from'. Intellectual freedom may be partially achieved, but glimpses of 'freedom to' are scary and lead us to grasp onto something concrete, which is lack of economic freedom. Just realised you say this in your post and this contradicts my first comment! But perhaps this awareness of economic constraints and the choices it presents is in itself a freedom, even if we choose security?
A different kind of freedom? Freedom from political and economic ties is negative freedom - a ‘freedom from’ the restrictions placed on humanity by other people or institutions. Whereas Intellectual freedom, leads to a positive freedom, and the real challenge is knowing what to do with this ‘freedom to’ “People hardly ever make use of the freedom they have. For example, the freedom of thought. Instead they demand freedom of speech as compensation”. Søren Kierkegaard Which I think is borne out in this quote by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn "It is easier to have freedom of thought in a concentration camp than in America today."
You don't know me, but just happenned across your Blog. Some really beautiful camerawork and words. I can really associate with your feelings about freedom at the start. My only contribution to this would be, if we can achieve intellectual freedom inside, then would the other two forms of freedom mentioned (political and economic) necessarily follow?
Congratulations I could see how cruises could become attractive- maybe! Looks as if the Aspiring Nomad is now unmasked! Formal Wear? yeah right, you know that you showed up at the Yurt in Kyrgyzstan in your Tuxedo! ok maybe not. Great Post!
From the Belly of the Beast. All nations of the world have the media. Ours are just more free than most to say what they think. Its the "hooked" people that keep them in business. Personally, they don't speak for me and there is a lot like me here. Certainly, there are a lot of people in this world eager to judge people they really know nothing about. Do you have to have travel visa's to enter into yours or any other country. Its only right and our country is no different than any other in that respect. I love my country and I admit (like the world over) theres a lot wrong with it but theres also a whole lotta right.
Great pictures, by-the-way.
racism hi, am a local here. i just wanted to thank you for this wonderful piece and am a journalist here so we get lots of complaints too about ship schedules and announcements etc, but one point i really wanted to point out was that not everyone here indulges in racism. We comprise of people of everywhere in India. To give a very brief idea, the prisoners brought here as punishment were largely an Urdu speaking lot, and others brought in during that time learned to speak urdu and a derived hindi. For many years, in fact just up untill a few years ago, urdu remained our main language spoken here. While Urdu is largely a north Indian language, my boss, who is a south indian settler here since birth, is an Urdu scholar. so you see, here we come from everywhere but mingle in and adapt happily. The tribes, though, have not been handled or dealt with very well by the government.
They have suffered a great deal at the hands of people who did not know how to go about 'breaking the ice' with them.
Anyway, all in all, the beaches are worth it...but please don't judge the entire lot of us as racial just because of one charlie ;)
keep coming and keep writing
Well Done! It is a very refreshing story to read. actually this was the first blog entry on my country I've ever read, and booom!!! it is a master piece. I guess I'll have to search for more blog entries. Only thing I can say is: whenever u come to our little princess, be my guest.
Listen to my advice, man Dear Aspiringnomad,
I am very pleased to hear that there is a brave man like you in the world who feel the grievances of the Palestinian people who suffer so much since Belfor Promise
Palestinian have been suffering so much since 1948 of bloodshed, pushing them out of their homes and siege of all kinds till today where settlements are increasing upon bulldozing Palestinian's homes and homeless people and the barrier wall which suffocate the Palestinians people and make him isolated out of the world, and after all this, we hear from a lot of media in the world that the reluctance of the Palestinians against the racist occupation is a crime (which is so mistakenly so called terrorism). Undoubtedly, this conflict in Palestine is a part of the many other conflicts in the world which a solution should be found for and a peace and justice should be widespread among people whether they are Muslims, Christians or Jewish or other religions in the world so that the whole world live as one family born from Adam and Hawaa (Eve). But please advise me, friend, is there ever in the world a power, dogma or a humanitarian organization that can solve this problem in the world fairly and unbiased to any party?
Undoubtedly, the only way to solve this problem is first to know who we are. We all believe that we are the creatures of God, who created us, whether be Muslims, Christians or Jewish, and that the sky above us is a creature of God and that the land is created by God in order we all live on it through the system that the Creator wanted, and this system the Creator wanted exists in the Books of Heavens that He sent down to his Messengers, and which the latest and the seal if them was the Holy Quran, which is a complete and comprehensive course and comprise all what relates to the cosmos, mankind and life and show the relations between them, and it is also a great gate to pass to all kinds of right knowledge that relate to this cosmos.
I am going to give an example of our real life to simplify the idea: if one buy a device from a famous industrial company, no doubt that he will get a Usage Documents together with the device, this documents includes general information about the device and the most right ways of using this device and the trouble shootings, and where you are recommended to make reference to the manufacturer company in case of incurable errors, and where you are also warned of maintaining the device by other than the manufacturing company or its agents. In this concern, God says in the Verse no.10 in AL-Anbiaa (The Prophets) soura of the Holy Quran, and as I convey the translation of its explanation: ((Indeed, We have sent down for you (O mankind) a Book, (the Qur'ân) in which there is Dhikrukum, (your Reminder or an honor for you i.e. honor for the one who follows the teaching of the Qur'ân and acts on its orders). Will you not then understand?)
At last, let us friend, to look in this Quran and brows it, and you will find it from the first to the end to be the miracle of God's speech where no one, whatever of eloquence he is at, to bring out any one similar "verse" of it. Then, if we found one verse of this Holy Quran are a human's, or found that one verse has been distorted, then, we refuse the whole Book.
And this Quran, as we mentioned, is a general definition of each of cosmos, mankind and life, and an exposure to the relations within them, and it also comprise all what mankind needs of systems that make him on the topmost level. So, after we brows and accurately understand it, if we found otherwise than what have been mentioned, then we refuse it.
Also this Quran was sent down concerning the people in general whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims to live fairly and peacefully within them on this earth. So, if we also find it bound to or one-sided to Muslims, then we refuse it too completely.
Moreover, the wonderful thing in the Holy Quran is that It is quite corresponding to science, and there is no contradiction, in it, with the science that come out of a right base, because sciences that come out of right base, it would certainly reach to a right result. Information that come out of wrong or astray base would certainly reach to a wrong or astray result.
Wish you all the welfare.
To Ziggy I'm glad you've taken the time to leave this comment Ziggy, because despite your air of self righteous wisdom your pathetically ignorant and frankly racist diatribe is actually that of the average tabloid reading FOX News viewing masses. Thank you for judging "Everybody's" opinion here as 'not interesting' enough for you to argue about, or taking time to judge the "irrelevance" of the reasons the inhabitants of Israel or Palestine are fighting. If you did however do just a little reading for yourself you would discover there is no congenital historical enmity between Arabs and Jews, despite your belief that the issues "go so far back in time that they become irrelevant". And instead of seeing peoples behavior and thinking maybe this is a result of their treatment, you see it as a "barbarianism and blood lust which governs this part of the world" again you have almost verbatim toed the racist neocon line that violence is something inherent in their culture. Then with almost embarrassing predictably you claim that nothing can stop the killing so you "seize[sic] to care" and that's "the way it goes"..."leave them to it". Again, the tabloid party line; that this is an ancient problem with little hope of a solution...Do yourself a favor today Ziggy: Start thinking for yourself. "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance it is the illusion of knowledge" Stephen Hawking
The grounds of morality Interesting, in this blog you push the moral superiority of single Western males who are not involved in the sex trade. There are a couple of points though. 1. Tourism, including your jaunts to exotic locations helps make commodities out of local people and places (where they live). 2. The exchange of sex, or romance, or marraige as a socioeconomic transaction is a part of Western culture just as much as the places you visited. I will not argue the point but will point out that expensive flashy cars are supposssed to get the gal in western countries ahahahhaha..sure
Interesting Another well-written, thought-provoking entry. Look forward to the next entry and hope that the time-gap between the entries won't be as long.
Is Hampshire a place near Havant? For the record, Chomsky's take on the American Dream is this "It's nothing but propaganda. Even in North-Korea you could talk about a North-Korean Dream. It too would consist of freedom and justice and equality and so on. But that is not North-Korean reality." (The policeman in my head thinks he deserves the taser treatment for such a subversive comment; you think I should Just Do it!?)
aspiringnomad
Jason
Thanks Kimch
It's comments like yours that really brighten my day and make it all worthwhile. Of course I'll happily answer a couple of your questions; In my experience the ladies prefer primordial man scent, and the hairs down my sofa tend to clump. Hope that helps, your inspiration is my pleasure!