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Published: January 10th 2011
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cast your minds back to late october. where were you? what were you doing? perhaps you were making a sandwhich, or sweeping autumn leaves, or gutting that gnarly looking pumpkin which you bought from tescos. anyway seen as your here let me tell you where i was and what ive been up to. well it is my blog isnt it? all about me me me!!! ha ha ha!
so pay close attention, there is wisdom* in these words, and all will be revealed. (*wisdom not guaranteed).
so it was late october and my time in goa was nearing an end when i get instructions to collect a parcel from a hotel. that parcel turned out to be my uncle, mr aidan, from the u. a. of e. (sorry the caps lock is broken on this keyboard), who very kindly popped over the water to pay me a surprise visit. i was most impressed. he only had a few days, but i like to think he got a taste of goa. jumanji!! thanks again for coming, i appreciate it.
by the time mr aidan has to leave, it is also time for me to crack on as i have
chilaxin
el vino did flow. a flight to catch from bombay on the 4th of november. i say a fond farewell (see you next time!) to the guitar slinging, drum beating, harp blowing party animals of india. in true goan style they had a gig that evening and were in the midst of preparations to rock-the-socks-off an unsuspecting audience. may the spirit of hendrix be with you.
i just about catch the overnight train which will take me to bombay. on board i meet a guy from clapham. we arrive in bombay very early morning and hang out till early afternoon. then i get a train to the airport where i chill for the rest of the day, reading. my flight to ho chi minh, vietnam, via singapore isnt until midnight. the airport is pretty busy, i think because of diwali. my flight departure is delayed considerably so when we land the next morning in singapore i have missed my connecting flight to 'nam. no worries. singapore airlines are legends and so sort me out with a hotel room and buffett lunch at the crowne plaza, until another flight in the late afternoon. singapores changi airport is amazing! in fact i wouldnt be surprised
fellow travellers
on the overnight train to bombay if it has its own lonely planet guide. take a holiday to changi airport you wont regret it.
so i get into 'nam early evening on the 5th. spend a few hours getting the visa. and jump in a taxi for the city centre. one of the first things i notice, upon looking out the cab window, is that the moped is very much a popular choice, to put it mildly. and perhaps because i had spent the last 3 months in india and nepal, i couldnt help but notice all the flesh on display. short shorts being another popular choice. anyway i find a hotel, get some food and crash.
the next day (so that would be the 6th?) i check out of my dive and into a swanky hotel courtesy of mariam, my girlfriend, who arrives in the evening. i must have done something right, because she comes out to visit me for 2 weeks. thank you kindly. together we explore ho chi minh city (formerley saigon), the mekong delta and the island of phu quoc.
i found the people in vietnam (with the exception of the odd taxi driver and trickster) to be very
early morning bombay
not everyone is awake yet. friendly and thoughtful, which made it a real pleasure. the food is pretty nice and they love their coffee. after a couple of weeks i say goodbye to mariam at the airport. and think about where i should go next. i had dabbled with the idea of travelling to north vietnam and getting a train into south china. but in the end opted for going to japan instead. and decided for a change of pace i would spend some of my time helping on an organic farm. which was arranged through the wwoof organisation, as they say,
"get beneath the veneer of tourism". also at this stage of the trip i was overcome with a strange desire to do some work. most odd.
so it was on the 2nd of december that i take a flight from ho chi minh to tokyo. i spend a couple of days in tokyo, before taking a train out to ibaraki prefecture, about 1.5 hours from the city, where the farm where i will staying is situated. basically with wwoof it works like this: in return for helping on a farm, you are fed and given a place to stay. the atmosphere at
bombay
main train station in the background the farm im staying is very peaceful and the people are about the nicest you will meet. hence i have been here for about 5 weeks now. though the weather is pretty cold, the food is healthy and organic and is cooked in such a way that it is very tasty. about 6 people live here, but there is always lots of visitors and a few other woofers like myself, who come and go. there are 3 cats, 2 dogs, 2 goats, many pigs, even more chickens and a random duck, also living here. this place also grows many vegetables and other food like soy beans, mushrooms, citrus fruit, salad type plants, rice etc. typical jobs include things like taking care of the animals, harvesting and preparing boxes of produce for the customers.
enough!! i hear you say. ok so perhaps i can save some waffle for the next blog. im not sure when i will leave this farm. but i would like to explore tokyo some more before leaving japan. and ive heard kyoto is a good place to visit. anyway thats all for now.
take care you lot.
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cerys
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jungle
il loved your pics on the farm and i reeeaaaly want to go on that tree house i loved to photto "there not just in the jungle tehy are the jungle" lol (spaced) dont worry i havnt forgotten my films and programms