Culture shock, Poverty and Death Taxi

After reliving my taxi experience from the airport to my hotel in my head last night, its a wonder how i am actually able to write this today. I said in my last blog i was unable to verbalise the experience, i am still not sure if i can but here we go. So I stepped off the plane, through immigration, customs and picked up my bag, that was a breeze, took all of 15mins. Next was finding a taxi but more importantly i was gagging for a smoke, so I followed the hordes of people who i was sure were heading for the taxi rank, which of course they were, i didn't get in line straight away but looked for any locals that maybe smoking, i didn't want to spark up were i shouldn't and get fined or banged up within the 1st 5mins of arrival. I looked outside it was peeing down, it was muggy and miserable, however this was more than a little deceiving, as i stepped out of the terminal doors to what i can only imagine what a back draft of a fire would feel like, the humidity hit me instantly, it was like walking into a steam room, only i was fully clothed and carrying a 23KG back pack. Now i will admit, i am a bit of sweater but no word of a lie within 2-3mins sweat was pouring from my brow, i just wanted to get into a taxi and see those 2 little letters on the dash 'AC', of course i didn't do this, being a hardcore smoker (i can hear my mum and dad tutting, sorry!) i needed my fix, it had been almost 14 hours, i needed that nicotine intake, so i found smokers corner made the most of the 'fresh air' and then made a be-line for the taxi queue. I agreed a price with the driver of which i had read up on, and we were off, i asked how far and he replied in very broken English 12K, i was thinking great maybe 20mins, 30 max with traffic. Oh no, no, no.. we left the airport i tried make conversation with the driver but his English was as good as my Hindu, and to add at this point he had the worst BO ever, OK its hot and humid but come on, quite ironic that nearly every advertising board i saw was advertising 'Sure for men, it wont let you down' now either it had seriously let my driver down or he just hadn't seen the 1000's of billboards dotted around Mumbai. So we sat in silence for the whole journey. This turned out not to be bad thing, as it made me take in my surroundings, i knew i was in for poverty and a culture shock, i have seen this in other countries however nothing compared to this. Poverty jumped out at me from every direction, it was so much that i was unable to take it all in, there were people everywhere, hundreds, thousands, every corner, sat outside every shop, buildings, bus stops, crossing the roads playing chicken with the traffic. The side of the roads had 1ft deep muddy water, rubbish and dirt floating in it, the pavement, or lack of was broken and and turned to mud every few hundred meters, men, women, families with small children slept on the side of the road, small children ran around naked. cows, sheep and dogs waded through the muddy water searching for anything edible to eat, these were just a few examples of what i saw, but in all this woe and poverty everyone seem content, they went about their business doing what they were doing, it was their way life, they had no other choice, they seemed to have accepted that this is what their life will be like. Now please i have been in Mumbai only 2 days, not even that so i am only commenting on what i have seen and read, I don't hate what i have seen, i am not waiting to get 'out of town' it is what it is, yes it is shocking in places and saddening, but its not my city i don't live here, i just respect my surroundings the country i am in and embrace the experience. when people see this sort of poverty the first thing they usually say is, it makes yo think how lucky you are, i am going to be a sheep and say exactly the same, you really do have be thankful for what you have, where you live, how clean it is. We have imbeciles in England rioting for no reason killing people and here in India there are families living on the side of the roads, i think perspective springs to mind.

Now i started off by saying 'i wonder how i am actually able to write this blog', well my fellow friends its all related to the traffic and highway code they use here India. Rule 1. Beep your horn, lots and lots, Rule 2. Beep your horn, lots and lots. Rule 3. Ignore traffic signals, Rule 4, ignore other drivers, Rule 5, Gain 100 points for every pedestrian you nearly kill. Seriously, how no one killed us and how we didn't kill some one else i will never know. At one point a mixer truck came so close to hitting us side on that i could actually see the guts of the thousands of flies splattered on the trucks grill, as i was so sure it was going to hit us, i slid across the back seat to the other side, at this point my non English speaking driver laughed loudly looked back at me and said 'welcome to India', he was right this was India, so after i took my heart from my mouth I also started laughing, from then on in, it was just what it was.

I have to be up at 5.30am tomorrow to catch a 6.30am train to GOA, however I did have a wonder around this evening and if i have ever felt like a black sheep, today was it, i didn't see, not 1 other westerner in the whole 2-3 hours i was wondering around, not that i was bothered, but you can imagine i was certainly seemed to be the center of attention on the streets of Mumbai for a couple of hours. Walking around the smell of the city also became More apparent, it was (one for my mate Rich) 'pungent, kinda stings the nostrils, and not in a good way' ;o). I found a nice little India restaurant, probably posh for India. i went for something called 'Fish shashlik' on asking what this was he said fresh fish (i didn't catch  which fish he said it was) with veg, rice and sauce, perfect i thought. 10mins later the 'mound' appeared, OMG was that really all mine. Since leaving the restaurant i have renamed my 'Fish Shashlik' to 'fish mess' just like the 'eton mess' but less sweet and not as nice to look at. The reason, the 'mound' consisted of Rice, green beans, cauliflower, peas, sweetcorn, fish and fries, topped of with what they called traditional Indian sauce or to me and you gravy!! hahaha.. this concoction of food was just literally piled up on my plate with the fish sat on top, don't get me wrong it was all nice and the fish was lovely ( i do love fish) but i didn't even finish half of it! Anyway as i parted with around 700 rupees and got up to leave the table i glanced at the next table, 4 youngish local guys around my age, they were also tucking into a 'Fish mess'.. between the 4 of them!!!!!! Keep well all.

Bristol to Mumbai

Hello from Mumbai, India. OK, I finally arrived to my first destination, I have to admit all in all the first bit of travelling has gone pretty swimmingly, i really hope i am not speaking too soon especially as i have to get on a 9 hour Train journey tomorrow from one of the busiest train stations in the world i am told its pretty hectic, i look forward to this experience especially at 6am after almost 12hrs of travelling the day before. So as i said, the outward journey from Bristol all went pretty smoothly. I started with a 2hr 20min coach journey from the Center of Bristol to Heathrow Airport T5. Not the biggest bus station in the world and probably only 10 seats for 15 gates but what else do you need. I did end up chatting to a gentleman while i was waiting, he was also off to Heathrow and to India, i had made my first friend. It turns out however he was off to Delhi and then up to the Himalayas.. cycling.... yep that's right cycling. As the convo progressed i found out he was a keen cyclist, had ridden many countries including the Rockies.. pretty impressive, it made my lands end to John O'Groats ride that i did last year like a walk in the park. What the conversation did do was make me really miss my cycling, i haven't really ridden since LEJOG last year as i sold my bike for the cash towards this trip.. when i am back 1st thing i am going to do is buy a brand new spanker!!! So, bus journey uneventful, i did however start reading one of my books, 'More awkward situations for men' by Danny Wallace, for those that dont know Danny's books, he wrote such books as 'Yes Man', he is a great writer and his books are written as he thinks it, i would fully recommend both the books i have mentioned, especially 'More Awkward Situations for Men' real life experiences which every man and women i guess go through. So arrived at T5 no queue at check in, brilliant, however i soon found out why, when the lady gave my ticket she said 'middle rows only left' i checked my watch, i was 3 hours early? as everyone else been camped out? she soon explained that everyone 'check's in on-line' nowadays and you can choose your seat, i looked at her with the expression on my face  which said 'not fcking everyone love'! so i politely said 'middle seat it is then'. I will leave it here as i only have an afternoon and 1 evening in Mumbai and though i am hanging out of my arse, I want to go and explore this crazy city, i know i havent mentioned much about Mumbai but thus far i am unable to put in to words how to describe it, i have only had an hour taxi drive from the airport to the hotel but i am lost for words, even in my very tired state due to not sleeping on the plane i was fully aware of my surroundings, i need to take in, even that hour journey experience before i can put something in words. Keep Well.

D-day Has Arrived

Hello peeps, well i said in my last blog that you wouldn't hear from me until India, well it would seem that on my final day in the UK i seem to have a spare few minutes before heading off down to the bus station. Must admit all seems a little surreal and the nerves have definitely kicked in. I am all set, bag checked, passport, money and all the essentials accounted for. I am also pretty excited now, the big wide world awaits me, i really hope it knows what it's letting itself in for. So all that remains is to say cheerio England, see you in 6 months... maybe!?!?!? and to everyone that know's me, take care all and i'll keep you updated, i know you will all be waiting in anticipation for the next dose of 'Ruffys World', even if your not and you want something to put you to sleep, then come and have a read!

I also want just want to mention in advance a huuuggeeee Congratulations to Cherry and Ben, it would seem that little baby Morgan did not want to wave me off, Cherry is already 10 days late but i saw her this morning and she is going in this afternoon to be induced, so all the best to you both and congrat's again.

Keep well everyone. Ruffy.

The Essentials.. plus a few not so essentials

As promised, below is the contents of my backpack which will hopefully suffice for the next 6months. Before I start my list I'll just tell you about my backpack, its a 'Caribee Akula 75 Travel Pack'. Before i purchased this pack a few months ago i used to use a Bergaus pack, this was big enough however you could only pack from the top, meaning that anything in the bottom you had to take out. I found this a pain in the arse, so decided for a side opening pack, which basically opens like a suitcase, much easier to access all your stuff, even the stuff buried at the bottom. I also wanted a bag with a detachable day sack so i wouldn't have to carry an extra bag when travelling from place to place. Enter the Caribee, i found this online, Caribee is an Ozzie brand, i must say i am pretty impressed with it, the main pack is 60L and those for you with math problems the day pack is 15L. It has a really good back support, a rain cover which tucks away easily you can also even zip the straps away which prevents them getting damaged while going through airport transit. So all in all, a good sturdy bag and the price at £120 i think was a steal, perhaps i should wait and see after a few weeks whether its still a steal! So onto what you have all been waiting for the 'equipment'.. here we go..

Shorts x3

T-shirts x4

long sleeved T-shirt x2

Shirts (casual) x2

Swim shorts x3 (also can be used as normal shorts)

Pair of combats (which i will be wearing on plane)

Pair of jeans x1

Rain coat (rolls up very small into a bag) x1

Fleece x1

Beach Towel  x1

Quick dry towel x1 (very useful)

Flip flops

Lightweight walking shoes (got mine from North Face a little expensive but durable, light and comfy)

Suntan lotion and after sun x1 of each

20 piece swiss army knife (every man's essential item)

Knife, fork and spoon (this is an all in one fold away contraption, pretty cool)

Head torch (with spare batteries) 

Mosquito Repellent and After bite

Toiletries (pretty self explanatory)

Travel First aid kit

Medicine (paracetamol, Imodium (lots of as i am going to India), Malaria tablets, Barroca, Multivitamins (good to have these as will give you everything you need if you cant eat properly).

Worldwide travel adaptor

Swiss Stainless steel water bottle

Mmm ok, i think that's pretty much it for the essentials, i have also got a few 'nice to haves' though i guess in today's 'techno' world they might be classed as 'must have's' 

DSLR Camera with charger and PC lead

Netbook with charger

Ipod with charger

2x 8GB USB Sticks

Well that pretty much sum's up my list, I am sure there are a couple things of have't wrote down as well as a couple if things i haven't packed either, though as i said in my previous blog i'll get it along the way. keep well.

 

1 75L backpack and 2 suitcase's!!!

Hello followers, hope you are all well. With only 3 days to go before i jet off into the sunset i thought i'd brush up on my blogging skill's, as it has been a while since I graced you with my presence. The last 2 days have been made up of mostly packing, both for my trip and all my worldly possessions and clothes that are staying behind. When i say worldly possessions I mean anything that i haven't sold. As i mentioned in my first blog i have pretty much sold everything of value that i own, the only thing i had left was my beloved Golf GTTDI which i sold last week (sob, sob), however it was all part of the plan and i am now debt free and have cash to travel, not a bad situation to be in i think!! However i did ponder for a good 15-20mins after i realised that pretty much everything i owned had fitted into 2 suitcase's, (1 of which could be classed as an over night bag) I heard a voice in my head say 'what the hell have you done' of which i replied 'fcuk know's'. Though this thought stuck with me for many minutes i soon gave myself a slap and said 'what does it matter, your doing something that most people only dream of'. Now i wouldn't recommend that anyone wishing to go on a RTW trip sells everything they posses, gets rid of their flat and moves in with a married couple, however i take some pride that i have had the courage and determination to see it through, it hasn't been easy and on many occasion i have questioned (just like today) 'what the hell am i doing'. There are many reasons why i have done what i have, some valid, perhaps some not so valid but what it proves is that when you really want to do something, when you really put your mind to it, when you have the courage to see something through, you can do anything you want.

OK, so i have told you how today i packed up my somewhat 'empty' life now to tell you about the good stuff. so yesterday consisted of a pre-pack of all my gear for my trip, I say pre-pack but when it actually came to it i realised that everything in it wasn't needed until i leave so it could all stay in. I thought this was going to be a bit of a chew on but actually it took no more than 20mins. You see, for those that don't know me that well, I am a mixture of Mr Organised, My Prepared and Mr Tidy. To your average Joe, planning a 6 month RTW trip may have been the most stressful, worrying, hair pulling experience ever but if your Mr efficient like me then its been a breeze. I realise that i am now blowing my own trumpet but eh, if i don't, who will!?!?!!? So not to bore you with in's and out's i pretty much read every travel site going, blogs, forums, travel advice you name i read it. From that i just started making mental lists of things i needed and actually when it comes down to it, its all pretty much common sense stuff and maybe its not that i am well prepared but more that, as long as you have the essentials then anything else can be bought. So back to the packing, Mmmm.. so at this point i thought it would be good to provide you all with a list of what i was taking, I know most of you probably don't care, however, peoples blogs are very useful things for other travelers (ok i admit most of what i babble about wont be useful to anyone but at least i can try and put some good tips in) and i know most people reading will be friends but i have followers as far a field as America and OZ you know!! they clearly clicked on the wrong 'ruffysworld' though as a good friend told me recently there is only 1 'Ruffy' ;o). I am going to post my 'equipment list' however this blog as gone on a little now and i have had comments like 'good blog, bit long'. Thanks.. i think!!!

So i will leave it here, with 3 days to go, i must admit i am feeling a little nervous now and seeing friends and family saying goodbye's for a while, it is a little sad! that said, watch out world Ruffy is almost out of the cage!!!! Apart from my 'equipment list' blog which i will post shortly, i am not sure if i will post again before i leave, so if not take care everyone and the next time i write, it maybe from India. Keep well.

P.S - I just realised that i hadn't explained why i had to pack up my worldly possessions, well, when i leave my friends the 'Millsy's' i am pretty much homeless, so into storage it goes, just in case you were wondering.

'We all have something to offer, this is because we are all 'unique' from this uniqueness you give your's and other people's life meaning'

End of an era.. maybe?

Hello followers, I haven't wrote for a few weeks, no real reason, i just guess until my actual journey begins there isn't a lot to talk about and i don't wish to bore you all even before I set off on my travels. However i thought i would write today because it my last day at work until February 2012!?! WOW, reading that back made me sit back in my seat and ponder that thought, OK, i agree its not a life time, whats 7 months out of work? well actually it is quite a long time, how many people take even 3-4 weeks at a time? I am sure many people have taken career breaks for 6-12 even 24 months but there also many, many people that will work there who whole lives taking there statutory annual leave every year and that's it. I know a few people who's life is to work, that they live by the saying 'live to work' they would be lost without it. I must admit that this once was myself, i started work at the tender age of 13, of course i was only a mere paperboy but for those of you who have been paperboys/girls know that getting up at 5.30am every day at 13 in all weathers in no mean feat especially when most your customers read the 'Daily Telegraph', paper? more like an A4 size daily 'book'. From that point on I seemed to have got the bug to work, or perhaps greedy for money!! I progressed (in the same shop) at 14-15 to shelf stacker and then working on the tills at 16. So as i was serving milk, bread and the usual local shop rubbish my mates where out enjoying themselves, drinking, getting high and generally being teenagers! Of course i didn't work every night and I did partake in drinking down the park and getting high also and actually enjoyed it that little bit more as i could actually afford it! OK, i could go on here and describe my working 'carreer' but I will spare you the boring details and brieflyy say that from 'shop assistant' i progressed to supervisor and at 18 running my own store! So by this time i was fully with attitude of 'live to work'. I stayed in this role for a year and unfortunately things started to go downhill working at times 90 hours a week, I then for a number of reasons got myself into a large amount of debt. I left my position and at 19 joined the company i am with now, Orange. I started as humble customer service agent and soon got back into working every hour i could, this time not because of my 'live to work' attitude but more 'work to survive' my salary had taken a huge dip and i had debts coming out of my ears, i actually acquired the name 'overtime king'. After a few years i was getting back on track and was actually able to buy myself a pint or 2 now again even a packet of fag's rather than 'scabbing' from friends! Mmm i just realised that i earlier wrote 'i'll spare you the details of my working career' so i will try and sum up, after 4 years on the call center i applied for a role i am in now in Technical, supporting call routing software which delivers calls into the call centers. Again in this role i took on the attitude of 'live to work' and i progressed very quickly within the team, it was however at around 26 that my attitude changed to that of 'work to live' why i hear you ask? a 2 week trip to Brazil, amazing! up to this trip i had only ever been Europe, you know normal destinations like Spain, France and such like, Brazil opened my eyes and i soon realised Bristol, England was just a tiny drop in a huge Ocean of the world! My bug for travelling had begun! So over the next few years my hard earned cash went towards extended holidays, OZ, Thailand, Fiji, America.

So, that brings us up to the present day, with me now sat at my desk writing this post thinking 3 things, firstly, i really went of on a tangent, secondly how many of you have fallen asleep? I guess my point is, that life should be lived, that the world is not big but it is Huuuugee! Now i don't just mean that you have to go on exotic and adventurous holidays, roaming the planet looking for the next 'high' or that it will make you happy, however 'work to live' don't 'live to work' you only get one life and its short, at some point we all i am sure have to 'live to work' or even 'work to survive' but if you get the opportunity to do something you have always wanted to do, believe in yourself, trust yourself, grab life with both hands and LIVE IT!!

Some of you maybe thinking 2 things, whats the title of this blog all about? and what was the 3rd thing i was thinking about? well they are sort of encompassed into one. I have been at Orange for 12 years, i have worked hard, made some great friends, earn good wages, Orange has been good to me no doubt, however the last 2 years i have lost my 'Orange mojo' I must admit as much a i love my job over the past years it has drained me, sucked the life right out of me at times, which is why the career break. I am now in a position where i am debt free, no ties, so as i sit at my desk with only around 5 hours left of work the only question i have to ask myself... will i come back??

''learn from the past, embrace the present and live for the future''

Step Closer to being branded a 'Flashpacker'

It would seem that my fears from my last post of becoming a 'Flashpacker' seem to be coming true as this week i purchased myself a 'Netbook'. I have debated for sometime whether to invest in one to take with me on my travels or not, did some online searching, weighed up the pro's and con's and the general consensus was that people that had taken them would have been 'lost without one', i am not sure i like that phrase, it sounds like those people that update their Facebook status with 'lost my phone, i feel like i have lost my right arm' a phone's a phone we went thousands of years without phones and everyone seemed to get along just fine. So i was a bit skeptical about purchasing a Netbook however i think the pro's out weight the con's. Most internet cafe's, cafe's, hostels and hotels now have wireless and majority are free, even in countries such as Cambodia and Laos i have read that a lot of the hostels have wireless, so this saves paying for internet access in hostels and internet cafe's which lets face it usually have PC's as old as my grandad are as big as a house and so slow that your first hour's worth of access is taken up by just opening the internet browser, so that was a tick in the box, secondly and also just to booster my 'flashpacker' status i am taking a DSLR camera, the Netbook has 250GB of disk space so i will be able store quite a number of photo's and not worry about having to burn to disk or upload to a photo site which again in an internet cafe in some countries will just be painful. Of course their is the risk of the Netbook and even my camera being stolen so i will be sending back home at convenient times USB sticks full of photo's. On the note of theft i have actually insured my Camera at a small cost of £3.16 a month for theft and damage, the website if interested is listed on the right hand side of my blog. The final couple of pro's are that on long journeys i can play films/music and of course even prepare my next blog for all you lucky readers out there who i know will be everyday waiting in anticipation for your daily dose of 'ruffysworld', OK, well maybe not but i like to think that will be the case. So whether i am branded a Flashpacker or not I believe and hope it will be a good investment even if at the same time it makes me prime target for wannabe thieves and muggers!!! Keep well. Ruffy.

Came across the below song while watching an episode of 'House' (which i love by the way) I thought the song was very 'apt' and i think its great! enjoy.