One of the things I want to do more of is create video as I go. I created a little footage prior and during the camping trip..
I could do with a couple of small cameras (this was a rather large Fuji XT3such as GoPro or cheaper alternatives, so long as they can record 24fps and let me set the shutter speed to 48 for the cinematic feel I prefer. If anyone can recommend anything please do leave a comment.
This morning I woke in a campervan, parked up in a field amid the east Sussex countryside not too far from the coast. It’s so good to get away from London. I don’t think I have any real attachment to home, while I can while away hours on a laptop looking at shit I don’t need, or numb my senses with a playstation or Netflix, I realise how much better use of my time I make by extracting myself from suburbia. Despite the high winds, I was content to sit and read books, and when the phone died it didn’t really matter. I think reading more gives me more inspiration to write, maybe instead of the phone I should have a lightweight stripped down laptop as I feel at home writing at a keyboard. I’m not a notebook and pen type of person.
I have another travel book lined up to read after I’ve finished the last in the Black Coffee Blues trilogy, I think I’ll stick to travel writing from now on when I seek out a new tome, unless there’s something by Ryu Murakami on the shelf, but it’s always Haruki. Aside from that I’ll no doubt collect endless photography books.
I want to travel endlessly, I need to figure how to do this without succumbing to going back to working in the city to raise funds, sitting at a depressing generic desk, listening to the kind of management and aspirant management bullshit that makes me want to reach for razorblades and run a bath. I’m currently working at a well known retailer of disposable planet destroying furniture. The money is OK, my colleagues are great and I’ve heard please and thank you more times in two weeks than 15 years of working in IT for banks in the city of London. So maybe I’ll just work as many hours as I can to create a fund ,then work out how I can sustain an income (writing?, photography and videography that I’ve recently become interested in). My planned money maker – portrait photography seems to have limited opportunity in the current climate.
I’m sat at the little kitchen table on the bar stool which I’ve discovered is a comfortable place to sit and write. There is finally some rain in this part of London and it’s nice to hear and long overdue. I’m still waiting on the bike to be delivered, but in the meantime I’ve found some work to top up the bank account, and I’ve been reading travelogues. I nailed Henry Rollins’ Do I Come Here Often?, the follow on to Black Coffee Blues in about a day. I’ve also started on the third book in the series – Smile, You’re Travelling. Also on the go I have the fascinating Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell which is also nearly done. These books are superb and not helping my itchy feet. It will probably need to wait now until next year, but I would like to cross the chanel and ride through Holland and in to Scandinavia. Also I will need to get my full license to ride a bike in Europe. I need to make proper plans, but as you may guess from the title of this blog, I’m not exactly a planner, more of an impulsive and spontaneous traveller.
There’s also the matter of the flat to finish. There are freshly plastered ceilings that need painting, repaired walls that need sanding (and then painting) and probably lots more crap to dispose of to reach minimalist utopia.
The photo I’ve used is a typical street scene from Vietnam, taken in Hanoi.
Not written for a while, so much for making this a habit!! Anyway I have taken my next step in the direction of where I want to be – travelling on two wheels. Yesterday I got my CBT certificate so I can now ride a 125cc bike and have two years in which I need to take the full test. I have my eyes on something cheap and cheerful like the ridiculously named Lexmoto Assault, or maybe an old Honda/Suzuki. I don’t really like the look of street bikes, having grown up on scramblers, I prefer the off road / adventure styling.
The photo on this post really has nothing to do with motorcycle adventures, but is from my beloved Korea, a place I really want to ride around! You can’t ride on the motorways in Korea, which isn’t really a problem, small roads always offer the best insights into a country or region, why bypass everything good and only see concrete?
I’ve been revisiting my travel photos from 2019. Having worked in the city in a stressful job for years, it was time to leave before I went nuts and follow a dream to take a year travelling. At the age of 45. Closer to 46. The plan was to do this, return to London and start my own business doing portraits and headshots, and hopefully sell a few prints. The year started slowly, and then ground to a halt as the reality of Covid set in for everyone. This is a difficult time for me, I like to be busy and as much as a playstation can distract I’d be far happier doing something – taking photographs, walking, exploring, filling my mind with new sights and sounds. Even with my intention of still getting this thing running, I always have a thought about where I want to go, how I can make that happen. I think I’d be content riding a motorbike from place to place, or a little campervan where I can stop where I please, and have everything to hand. This is the longer term goal.
The photo I’ve attached to this post is from Huaraz in Peru. We went to watch the carnival and the skies opened up, and they didn’t stop. Nobody cared, the crowds packed the roadside, the trucks, bands and dancers just kept on coming, kids larking in the rivers of water, throwing buckets full at each other and laughing at the whole situation. I think this was more fun than if the sun was shining without a cloud in sight.
I want to improve at writing. The way to do this is write everyday. As I’m not currently travelling the following posts may not be so interesting to readers, but I’ll try and include a photo from somewhere in the world.
Today is windy as predicted. The blossoms from the huge tree have infiltrated the bathroom as they always do, and I put on some John Coltrane as I go about my morning routine, two cups of coffee already down, shower running for a while so it gets to a consistent temperature before I get under and swear because it’s too hot or fucking freezing.
The wind is still blowing, the horse chestnut tree is swaying in the window of my office. Aside from John Coltrane there is only the wind, the streets silenced by a combination of Covid-19 and inclement weather. At least overzealous police won’t need to harass people for being in their own gardens or standing still in a park today.
Days like this, with strong wind make me think of a trip to the isle of Skye in Scotland. The makeshift campervan, a fusion of former decorator’s Mercedes Vito and Ikea futon doing just as good job as the plush Volkswagens and other shiny vehicles on the road. The first stop off was Glen Brittle, a grey / black sand beach that reminded me of Iceland. Maybe this will be a good destination if my two wheeled ideas come to fruition.
I managed to lose my photos of this trip which is highly annoying. The photo on this post was taken in Tokyo, 2017.
I came here for a bit of rest, and a whole lot more food obviously. Toba is a lake on top of a supervolcano, it’s got a cooler climate than elsewhere, is lush, green and inhabited by some of the friendliest people yet. The island, which is actually thinly connected to the mainland is very affordable, around $12 (US) a night for a room with private bathroom, and balcony overlooking the water.
Tourism is down currently on the island, owing to the ferry disaster a year ago this has not only put off foreign tourists but swathes of locals too who’d usually come for a weekend at least. I didn’t see any overcrowding, and there’s a register of people boarding boats at the mainland harbor, a likely new safety control.
Food is excellent as can be expected, and for once I can try more vegetarian food, with Gado Gado, and Aubergine Curry far tastier than the meat dishes such as Beef Rendang. I’ve had a few excellent breakfasts and meals at a place called Today’s Cafe, which I’ll highly recommend.
A close crop of lightning on the mainland
The scenery is enjoyable, and some of the lightning storms will definitely keep you entertained, watching from the dry land in the middle of the lake, it’s a strange sight to see a lightning storm on the mainland, with clear sky and stars above the clouds!
Berastagi is a couple of hours in a minibus from Medan, sit at the back if you don’t like overtaking round blind corners. This is a city in the Barisan region, and popular because of the two volcanoes and hot springs. It’s likely that your accommodation will offer to arrange trips, or you can go in to town and use the “tourist information” near the roundabout, or one of the others. I booked a guided trip to Sibayak with my hotel which was a fair bit overpriced at 400,000 per person, and after decided I’d book nothing else with them and source my own transport. The volcano is definitely worth doing, I think it’s walkable on your own, though you could be put off by the deaths list adorning the wall of the tourist office.
The active Sinabung volcano seen from Sibayak
The food in the town is good, and the fruit market is excellent, but haggle for prices if you can. The food market at is at night on the weekends when more people arrive from Medan. Satay chicken, roast pork (Babi pangang) (pork is sometimes called B2 because of the two b’s in the name), and if you’re inclined, dog (Biang – known as B1 because of the single b). I didn’t try the dog. I think this is a tough place to be a vegetarian while eating out, you could stick to fruit and raw vegetable, but I get the impression that most veg dishes are cooked in pork stock.
One annoyance with my tour was not seeing one of the ghost villages at the foot of Sinabung, despite discussing this, it was requested we pay more for additional bits in the afternoon. Personally I get annoyed by bullshit, I know some people say it’s part of travel but once someone’s given me a load, they are losing my further business and tip money. So on my trip onwards to the south, I arranged for a driver to stop at a ghost town for photos. The lesson is to haggle, and get a tour provider to write every details down on your receipt and state whether it includes entrance fees or not.
Arriving after a forty minute hop from Penang, that took a bit longer due to a go around landing, myself expecting to land any minute and suddenly being thrust upward and back over the sea, no explanation! Some people seem to be down on Medan, saying don’t bother, or simply it’s shit. What I found was a typical indonesian city, having hung round a little in Yogyakarta 9 years ago, I didn’t seem anything different here, perhaps better food, a couple of decent museums, and obscene shopping malls to cool down in, and buy a replacement pair of Eiger hiking sandals to replace my decease Merrells.
I liked Medan, and yes it’s nothing special to write about, but worth a stopover before you head in to the island, the food is good, and I’d say definitely check out the Great Mosque of Medan. You can go inside when outside prayer hours, and remember to dress accordingly, and not like some attention seeking instabiff.
I’ve read that most people come here for the food, and I can’t really question that, having eaten fantastic food from hawker markets and cafes over the last week. I’ve been staying in Little India, and as you can guess this area has food from North and South India, excellent Snacks such as samosas and bhajis, various takes on Biryani (mutton being my favorite), and tooth rotting sweets such as Ladoo and Jalebi. I’ve had Roti Chana for breakfast on multiple occasions, which is a buttery, flakey flatbread served with a hot spicy gravy.
Further afield, there are roadside stalls selling various rice and noodle dishes, such as Mee Curry – noodles with chilli, prawns and egg. Hokkien Mee, again noodles in a hot broth made from pork and prawn shells, served with prawns and other additions such as pork belly, ley or knuckle.
Another sweet favourite has been Apom, a crispy textured rolled pancake with a soft centre, made from rice, sugar and coconut milk. And I can’t leave out pandan pancakes, delicious.
Drinks wise, aside from water, it’s been the milky coffee made with condensed milk either hot or over ice quenching my thirst, and occasionally hot, sweet masala tea.
Aside from the food goodness, there’s plenty visually here. The heritage buildings are beautiful and more are being restored all the time. The famous blue building (not the main picture) is worth a visit, and not too expensive for a 45 minute tour. The kind guys from the hostal gave us a drive around too and brought us lunch, insisting when I offered to pay! Also the mosque is impressive and unique with its star of David windows.
Gonzo Travelling 