Writer In Residence
| February 17, 2013 | Filed under Mexico, Writing |
We have a writer in residence at the moment. Yes, I have been writing here on the blog, and have even written a few articles to pitch to a local website here in Playa del Carmen, but I’m talking about a real-deal, book writing writer, and, drum-roll please… his name is Tyrhone. He’s had the idea for a novel for a while now. It’s a fictional story (the not-true one in case, like me, you get them mixed up), the idea for… more
Thoughts on Valentine’s
| February 14, 2013 | Filed under Mexico, Personal Musings |
Most mornings I read from a book of daily spiritual readings, given to me by a friend here in Mexico during my last visit. She gave me a paper copy which I passed on to another friend and I downloaded the digital version. I love the readings mostly, but this morning when I ‘swiped’ the page across and saw the title “Be My Valentine” the first thing I did was an internal eye roll. There’s just something about this cheesy,… more
Same Same But Different: A Homecoming
| February 11, 2013 | Filed under Mexico |
It was a little nerve-wracking coming back to Playa del Carmen, a place we had loved so much during our last stay. “What if it’s not the same?!” my neurosis screamed. Or worse, “What if it’s EXACTLY the same and I get bored?!” (just to ensure it covered all the bases of negative outcomes). After being stamped into the country for a whole six months at Cancun’s immigration counter, we boarded the ADO bus bound for Playa, just as we… more
A Year In Playa
| February 8, 2013 | Filed under Mexico |
After a teary goodbye to Tyrhone’s family yesterday, we boarded the plane to Cancun, almost unable to believe that we were actually going…home. Not long after my arrival in London, we booked a cheap flight back to Mexico. We had debated over Spain, France and some other European destinations as our next port of call, but in our hearts we knew where we really wanted to be, back in ‘Playa’, the home-away-from-home we discovered five months (almost to the day)… more
Back in London Town Where it All Began
| February 1, 2013 | Filed under UK |
It’s been interesting being back in London, where Tyrhone and I met six and a half years ago. In 2005 I accepted a basing in London with the airline I worked for. Tyrhone, originally from South Africa, had been living and working in London for about eight years by the time we met at the Reading Music festival in 2006. Us at 25, young, naive and skinny…. Being here has brought back a lot of memories, mostly good, though I… more
Experiencing Synchronicity In Udaipur, India
| January 28, 2013 | Filed under India, Rickshaw Run 2013 |
A wise woman once told me, “There are no coincidences,” and whilst I have definitely become aware of a certain synchronicity occurring in my life over the past year of full-time travel, no experience has given me more evidence of something at work, than my recent jaunt across the Indian sub-continent in an orange auto-rickshaw named Sunny. Around midday on day four of the Rickshaw Run, we rolled down a mountain in southern Rajasthan into the supposedly beautiful, lakeside city of Udaipur,… more
Rickshaw Run India – The Mayhem and The Miracles
| January 23, 2013 | Filed under India, Rickshaw Run 2013 |
I’m watching snow fall gently from the sky from Tyrhone’s Mum’s house in London, England, reflecting on the Rickshaw Run. I’ve spent the last few days in a winter wonderland, visiting the resident herd of deer in nearby Bushy Park and eating pub-lunches by the Thames. Today we visited Stonehenge, and as I marveled at the ancient, mysterious ruins, rising starkly from the snow-covered ground, I almost forgot that just a few days ago, I completed an exhausting 3,000 KM journey across… more
My Meltdown Moment
| January 11, 2013 | Filed under India, Rickshaw Run 2013 |
Before setting off on this adventure across India, I knew there would be tears. I just didn’t know that they would well up inside me from from a place I didn’t expect whilst negotiating Pune’s morning rush hour. The night before saw us blow a gasket at sunset, and wait in the dark for three hours whilst another kind stranger, who had already driven 20km to pick up a mechanic, was sourcing a new part for us from the next town.… more
Driving Through Fear
| December 29, 2012 | Filed under India, Rickshaw Run 2013 |
Hannah and I had a rickshaw lesson back in Goa, which calmed me somewhat about the prospect of driving one across the sub-continent. If you have been following the Rickshaw Run Diaries, you will know that I have been freaking out a bit about actually having to do this really cool thing that I signed up for almost a year ago. Well, I’m happy to report that we had our first test drive in Jaisalmer yesterday, and despite a few… more
Touching Down in Goa (Finally)
| December 17, 2012 | Filed under India, Rickshaw Run 2013 |
I made it to India! It was such a weird yet wonderfully familiar feeling touching down on Indian soil. I had a long, 8 hour transit in Chennai airport, which let me tell ya, was nothin’ to write home about (even though I am). My boredom was interspersed, however, with quiet chuckles as I was reminded of the wonderful idiosyncrasies of this country I love so much. more
