26/04/09
12:10pm
Ok. Here I am. On a plane to Kuwait. Shit! I am embarking on an epic journey (epic, relative to my life, not so epic compared to travelling to the moon). This is the first time that I have been out of the country on my own. "Aagh!" my mind screams yet simultaneously there is a sense of peace. Strange it is how one can feel two very different things at the same time. Fear and excitement. Anxiety and liberation. I wonder if this is infact the nature of all human experience, of just mine. The conscious mind will think whichever way it is directed in the present moment however the sub-conscious mind may contradict those thoughts with its deeply rooted beliefs. On that note and the rather relevant tangent of contemplating the mind, I will attempt to get some sleep as I am rather tired. Parting with my beautiful girlfriend at the airport was painful and difficult but left me feeling uplifted and so an unpleasant feeling was transformed into a pleasant one. Such is the nature of life.
13:35pm
The attempt to get some sleep failed diabolically due in part to the loud inevitable wailing of two small children and the impending arrival of lunch which turned out to be unexpectedly satisfactory. The lunch has now gone but the wailing is prevailing (unintentional rhyme!) in intermittent bursts and in some kind of tandem relay between the aforementioned nippers. The psychological processes of small children are fascinating but I won't go off on one about that. Alternatively, I'd like to remark upon the fact that the in-built television directly in front of me doesn't work. My initial reactions are very British; I'm a bit disappointed as if some part of me was actually looking forward to staring at this 8x8cm screen (dimensions estimated as I left my tape-measure-on-a-keyring at home, looks like I'm gonna regret that), listening through the crusty uncomfortable headphones for hours. But enough with the complaining! A lady sitting in the row in front, of apparent New Zealand-ish origin has just moved further back in the plane as she simply "cannot handle the baby noise". Perhaps we should all move, to get away from the screaming kids or better yet, put them all in first class! Hmm, I see the potential for noisey-child-class, anyone? Or grumpy-inconsiderate-lady-class?.
ANYWAY, my non-functioning personal tv is infact a blessing in disguise; it has provided me with the motivation to write the above rambling nonsense, may be an opportunity for some sleep (the kids had gone quiet, until I wrote that!) or could be a good time to start one of the many books I have with me. As a separate observation, it is interesting to note that the two sri-lankan men to my right have both fallen soundly asleep while the two english men to my left are struggling with their attempts to rest despite having allegedly had only one hour's sleep lat night. What chance does an englishman of sri lankan origin whose had three hours sleep stand?
14:36
Ok, not much. None infact. But I can't blame the kids this time, they've been relatively quiet since Miss New Zealand departed, how ironic! Perhaps her frustration and anger at their noise was only upsetting them further in a negative downward spiral. Unfortunately, the proverbial baton of noisemaking has passed on to a Nepalese-looking-gentleman behind me whose headphones are painfully loud...even for me! Another child had also chose to the enter the relay but that was shortlived. On an earlier trip to the toilet, I noticed there were several small children near the back and I'd feel very bad for Miss NZ if the game of "pass the wail"
spread to her new location yet I'd also be laughing uncontrollably, on the inside of course. The truth is, I was unable to sleep because my mind wasn't at rest, and I felt compelled to write and to be fair, my present surroundings aren't exactly conducive to sleep. I'm a fussy sleeper and sitting upright, surrounded by crying children makes a hilarious antithesis to my ideal sleeping conditions. However, my tv has magically sprung to life...but I think I'm gonna opt for failing to sleep over wathing tv. We are currently flying over Turkey and apart from the relentless blasting drone that is the sound of airflight...all is quiet. Peace out.
I did manage to get some sleep in the end, and on the next flight as well from Kuwait to Colombo. This is infact a journey to Sri Lanka, not the Middle East as may have been suggested earlier. And so here I am again. The motherland of my parents! The first thing to remark upon is the heat. The send thing is the heat and the third thing again is the heat. I'll write some more again later when I'm not drowning in my own sweat!
Ok. Here I am. On a plane to Kuwait. Shit! I am embarking on an epic journey (epic, relative to my life, not so epic compared to travelling to the moon). This is the first time that I have been out of the country on my own. "Aagh!" my mind screams yet simultaneously there is a sense of peace. Strange it is how one can feel two very different things at the same time. Fear and excitement. Anxiety and liberation. I wonder if this is infact the nature of all human experience, of just mine. The conscious mind will think whichever way it is directed in the present moment however the sub-conscious mind may contradict those thoughts with its deeply rooted beliefs. On that note and the rather relevant tangent of contemplating the mind, I will attempt to get some sleep as I am rather tired. Parting with my beautiful girlfriend at the airport was painful and difficult but left me feeling uplifted and so an unpleasant feeling was transformed into a pleasant one. Such is the nature of life.
13:35pm
The attempt to get some sleep failed diabolically due in part to the loud inevitable wailing of two small children and the impending arrival of lunch which turned out to be unexpectedly satisfactory. The lunch has now gone but the wailing is prevailing (unintentional rhyme!) in intermittent bursts and in some kind of tandem relay between the aforementioned nippers. The psychological processes of small children are fascinating but I won't go off on one about that. Alternatively, I'd like to remark upon the fact that the in-built television directly in front of me doesn't work. My initial reactions are very British; I'm a bit disappointed as if some part of me was actually looking forward to staring at this 8x8cm screen (dimensions estimated as I left my tape-measure-on-a-keyring at home, looks like I'm gonna regret that), listening through the crusty uncomfortable headphones for hours. But enough with the complaining! A lady sitting in the row in front, of apparent New Zealand-ish origin has just moved further back in the plane as she simply "cannot handle the baby noise". Perhaps we should all move, to get away from the screaming kids or better yet, put them all in first class! Hmm, I see the potential for noisey-child-class, anyone? Or grumpy-inconsiderate-lady-class?.
ANYWAY, my non-functioning personal tv is infact a blessing in disguise; it has provided me with the motivation to write the above rambling nonsense, may be an opportunity for some sleep (the kids had gone quiet, until I wrote that!) or could be a good time to start one of the many books I have with me. As a separate observation, it is interesting to note that the two sri-lankan men to my right have both fallen soundly asleep while the two english men to my left are struggling with their attempts to rest despite having allegedly had only one hour's sleep lat night. What chance does an englishman of sri lankan origin whose had three hours sleep stand?
14:36
Ok, not much. None infact. But I can't blame the kids this time, they've been relatively quiet since Miss New Zealand departed, how ironic! Perhaps her frustration and anger at their noise was only upsetting them further in a negative downward spiral. Unfortunately, the proverbial baton of noisemaking has passed on to a Nepalese-looking-gentleman behind me whose headphones are painfully loud...even for me! Another child had also chose to the enter the relay but that was shortlived. On an earlier trip to the toilet, I noticed there were several small children near the back and I'd feel very bad for Miss NZ if the game of "pass the wail"
spread to her new location yet I'd also be laughing uncontrollably, on the inside of course. The truth is, I was unable to sleep because my mind wasn't at rest, and I felt compelled to write and to be fair, my present surroundings aren't exactly conducive to sleep. I'm a fussy sleeper and sitting upright, surrounded by crying children makes a hilarious antithesis to my ideal sleeping conditions. However, my tv has magically sprung to life...but I think I'm gonna opt for failing to sleep over wathing tv. We are currently flying over Turkey and apart from the relentless blasting drone that is the sound of airflight...all is quiet. Peace out.
27/04/09
14:14PM (Local Time)I did manage to get some sleep in the end, and on the next flight as well from Kuwait to Colombo. This is infact a journey to Sri Lanka, not the Middle East as may have been suggested earlier. And so here I am again. The motherland of my parents! The first thing to remark upon is the heat. The send thing is the heat and the third thing again is the heat. I'll write some more again later when I'm not drowning in my own sweat!
28/04/09
12:01pm (Local time)
Day 2: Its approximately 35 degrees outside so i'm inside vegetating by the fan. I did so much yesterday! We went to a local fruit and vegetable market and to what I can only describe as a fish auction! We also went to the beach and I have met lots of lovely people, in just one day! I've been picking up as much of the language as I can. Its hard!
Day 2: Its approximately 35 degrees outside so i'm inside vegetating by the fan. I did so much yesterday! We went to a local fruit and vegetable market and to what I can only describe as a fish auction! We also went to the beach and I have met lots of lovely people, in just one day! I've been picking up as much of the language as I can. Its hard!
29/04/09
15:15pm
Anyone who knows me, knows that I love Sri Lankan food and I feel so incredibly fortunate to be here eating it everyday! Curry for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Sri Lankan food is the best in the world hands down and I think I'm starting to understand the logic behind eating spicy food in an insanely hot country. You see, when one eats spicy food, one sweats because the food is so hot, and as one is already hot, the extra sweat cools the body down leaving one refreshed. Sri Lankans however, don't sweat when they eat which kind of punches a big fat hole in my theory! Anyway, I've said before, spicy food enhances the overall flavour, you just have to push past the pain barrier! Sri Lankan food is far superior to Indian food (I'm basing that opinion on my extensive experience of English curry houses before I'm accused of making rash sweeping statements!). It is very healthy; lots of vegetables and fish and it basically all tastes amazing and so I shall leave it there with my mouth on fire and head dripping with sweat!
Anyone who knows me, knows that I love Sri Lankan food and I feel so incredibly fortunate to be here eating it everyday! Curry for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Sri Lankan food is the best in the world hands down and I think I'm starting to understand the logic behind eating spicy food in an insanely hot country. You see, when one eats spicy food, one sweats because the food is so hot, and as one is already hot, the extra sweat cools the body down leaving one refreshed. Sri Lankans however, don't sweat when they eat which kind of punches a big fat hole in my theory! Anyway, I've said before, spicy food enhances the overall flavour, you just have to push past the pain barrier! Sri Lankan food is far superior to Indian food (I'm basing that opinion on my extensive experience of English curry houses before I'm accused of making rash sweeping statements!). It is very healthy; lots of vegetables and fish and it basically all tastes amazing and so I shall leave it there with my mouth on fire and head dripping with sweat!
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