Surely its the Final Dribble

---

If this were my first overseas trip I don’t think my family would have allowed me to go. Over the past year I have been working in an office in God’s Country (Parramatta) whilst still keeping an eye out on my potential destinations for The Journey Part 4 (JP4).
 
JP4’s fixtures will see me (want to) go to South East Asia for 3-4 months than across to the Stans’ for around 3 months (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan Kyrgyzstan, etc.) I am also thinking about going to Iran. After that hoping to go to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, Belarus maybe Moldova? Who knows… (Finland to get what is rightfully mine?)
 
These unknown countries (apart from SE Asia) for the extent of time I plan to stay there are not normal for first up journeys. This type of journey is a build up from all the previous ones. Each Journey adds more confidence, more experience and more knowledge from previous mistakes such as:
Filling up the washing machine too much at the Generator Hostel in London. Than not having enough time to do a re-run so I laid them out in my room stinking out the whole dorm - All for the sake of another drink. {Contiki girls loved that one!} (JP1) -
But…I now know what I’m doing.
I know now that - Okay maybe deliberately getting sick for the sake of the true Indian experience is a bad idea when you haven’t even seen the Taj Mahal yet. So the only day you are able to get there is when it is closed on a Friday. (JP2)
Always, always get rid of your highest bank notes in a 3rd world country otherwise the only chance to spend it is at the exchange booth at the border or get robbed by the Venezuelan police (JP3)
 
But sometimes no matter how much confidence you have there is always an element of doubt. Previous experiences have given me the confidence but it’s the knowledge of what can happen, what has happened, what nearly has happened. That has given me some doubt on making another journey. But doubt is an exciting thing to have when traveling it adds to the enthusiasm to explore something different.
 
3 previous experiences in JP3 come to mind that have always stuck with me since I returned. It pretty much sums up South America. No matter how much of a good a time you have, no matter how many good people you meet. It’s the bad experiences that come to mind first. It comes to mind first because when South Americans make a bad experience they do it well.
Hitch hiking till 9pm almost collapsing on the side of the road from exhaustion in French Guiana - with animals’ eyes glinting in the moonlit sky in the forest 5 meters away. Anything could have happened there. But… dad… I know what I’m doing now…
Being robbed at knifepoint in Belem, Brazil - The scary part was that I was a bit resistant - that could have gone either way. - Still scared about my reaction if it happens to me again.
And as already mentioned before the Caracas police robbing me. Bloody lucky not to have got drugs planted in my bags - Still fuming about that one even though I got out of it okay.
 
Than just before I leave I hear of Britt Lapthorne the Aussie Backpacker who died in Dubrovnik. I stayed at the hostel, I went to the nightclub nearly every night I was there and walked back to my accommodation (on one occasion caught a taxi).
 
These experiences come to mind when deciding whether to go again. I was comfortable in my job, enjoyed the work environment, close to home, no stress of traffic. No money wasted on the entertainment of getting to and from work. Life was pretty good.
 
But… I feel the body has got one last Journey in me. After returning from JP3 I had to go through a complete overhaul. No drink for 3 months for possible liver problems - all fine now. I went to a Chiropractor for having a badly aligned spinal cord. Apparently lugging around (all up approx) 30kgs of crap for 10 months at a time is bad for your back - so that’s been all readjusted.
 
I am going into JP4 the heaviest I have ever been. 77kg can hardly hear the cries of my 66kg return from JP3. That doesn’t necessarily mean I’m fit just that I’m a bit heavier but a lot weaker. I think this is the worst muscle mass that I have had since I was 15 years old. If I were to do Mauy Thai Boxing as me now 27 years 77kg against me 16 years 66kg - I would be putting my money on the past. Maybe I’m a bit harsh but I’m not looking forward to the backpack straps digging into my trapezoids that’s for sure. I haven’t even given it a test carry yet. In fact from the looks of things this will be the lightest I have ever packed.
 
Anyway back to my family not allowing me to go if it was my first trip. (Sorry I went off on a tangent there after only 3 lines.) Over the past few months I have been astounded with how many destinations I plan to go to that are having problems. It just seems that this time round the news is against this trip.
 
It started off in Bishkek Kyrgyzstan Aug 26 when I found out news that 65 people were killed in a plane crash near the main airport. I read that all the nation's airlines are banned from operating in the European Union's airspace because of failure to meet safety and aviation standards - So that cancels out Kyrgyzstan planes
 
Than the next week in Bangkok more than 5,000 anti-government demonstrators from the People's Alliance for Democracy camped in the grounds of the Prime Ministers office to overthrow the current government. I than found out that Thailand has had 24 coups and attempted coups since the end of the monarchy in 1932. Foreigners are rarely affected but this time airports are blocked. The former prime minister was ousted in 2006 while he was at a UN function. So anything can happen there.
 
Even the Prime Minister going to court for appearing as a host on a cooking show “Tasting Grumbling”. Since September 9 I have been reading this story since Thailand is only about a month away (for JP4.) He is said to have made 80000 baht (1250 pounds) for 4 shows. By late September he was looking at 2 years jail time. The problem was that it was a politically/cookery show that complaintees suggest helped him overthrow the previous government.
Than - Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is under pressure to quit, after criticism from within his cabinet, as well as an opposition bid to seize power. So I’m thinking is there another coup going to start. Malaysia is before Thailand.
Soon after - Singapore (my first destination) found the potentially deadly chemical melamine in a third milk product imported from China. So that rules out Chinese milk for the rest of my life.
But Kyrgyzstan made the news again - this time for a powerful earthquake that killed at least 74 people, 41 of them children. Measured 6.6 it was felt hundreds of kilometers away destroying the village of Nura. One of the survivors quotes "Four of them I dug out with my own hands, and thank Allah they are alive -- but my two youngest, the poor ones, they died instantly, when I got them out they were dead," An aftershock of 5.1 hit the region just over two hours later.
But Thailand decided to make the news again and came back with its worst political violence in more than 16 years when police battled protesters who besieged the Parliament. One woman died and more than 400 people were injured. I leave Oz with the knowledge that they are still in the grounds still occupied since August 26.
Than there is Georgia!
Georgia’s Sarkosy said about 6 weeks back "On October 15, there must no longer be a single Russian soldier on positions beyond where they were before August 7," "Either it is done, and in that case each side has kept its word, or it is not done, and then five days later Europe will draw the consequences."
It’s looking like Armenia and Azerbaijan are missing out as well as Georgia
 
So where to instead, Middle East, home? Do I just cut that out and go to Belarus where Lukashenko's 14-year-old regime in elections two weeks ago looked like his allies would win all 110 lower house seats. A place dubbed as "Europe's last dictator" by the United States. Apparently leader of the opposition said that in most electoral districts, no-one counted the votes.
What am I thinking going to places like these? Especially after the Australian dollar decided to drop down some 15c in the past months. Unbelievable every trip the Aussie dollar screws me. If it remains at 69c than my trip has become about $2K more expensive and I haven’t even left the country.
Than on the day before I leave I read the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen asked Thailand to evacuate its 81 troops from the Veal Intry area near the Preah Vihear Temple on Cambodian soil within 24 hours, and warned of war. In July Preah Vihear Temple was awarded world heritage status by UNESCO. Thailand still claims ownership.
 
For the first time in all the journeys I really need to look at what’s happening in the world at the current moment. JP1 was the beginning of the War on Iraq. But if I have learned anything over the past 3 journeys maybe its better off not getting any news. No news is good news except of course when thedribbleman is involved I will keep you posted on my new site. I’m blogging it this time after the annoyance of the previous formats. This should be a lot easier to navigate. I think this will be the last Journey so enjoy it while you can I’m sure I will and I am sure I will discover more dribble for your visual pleasure. Just look at this one!!
You know deep down inside you love it!!
Don’t feel bad get excited JP4 is on its way!!

---