Wanderlust

I picked up an email yesterday from my friend Rachel. I met Rachel in India, and she’s just returned home to her native New Zealand after the best part of eighteen months of travelling, covering four continents, if I’m not mistaken. She admitted that she’s now trying to decide what to do with her life, meaning – and I quote – “tentatively looking at the job websites while closely studying the travel ones…”

I thought this was worth sharing for three reasons:
1. I found it quite amusing and refreshingly honest.
2. I can think of no better way to describe the situation I find myself in at the moment.
3. It’s reassuring to hear. For me. Selfish, aren’t I!

Our Antipodean friends, of course, are in the middle of their barbeque season over there. Conversely, it’s the middle of winter in London. Yesterday, when I was half the man I used to be, it snowed, and inclement weather is not conducive to my peace of mind. This got me thinking about SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder, to give it it’s full name. This, aside from being the English language’s best acronym, is the depression caused by seasonal weather variations, primarily in winter, of course. Now, much as I am unimpressed by winter, I don’t suffer from SAD myself, but this morning, the grey sky had turned blue, the sun was shining, and everything and everyone seemed a bit more cheerful. SAD men and SAD women; I hope you feel a bit better today. We all need a little sunshine!

Now, grey sky or blue, while I reconcile my restlessness with the economic realities of life, I’ll be staying here. In other words, I’m broke. But of course I can still contemplate and plan my next trip, and I’ll be sharing these plans, the implications and restrictions associated with various places, and feature some “Spotlight Destinations” as I mull over a map of the world. Australia, I know you have a visa with my name on it somewhere. Other travel-related joy will appear as my blog develops and (hopefully) the readership grows. This will include extra features, photos, recommendations and useful links to worthy travel sites and other blogs. For the time being, I’m off to adjust the thermostat downstairs before my fingers drop off…

Reckless Rickshaws

Here’s a link to my second post on the-nri.com, a short tribute to the men that keep India moving…

http://www.the-nri.com/index.php/2010/02/reckless-rickshaws/

Riding The Indian Railways

Here’s my first article published on the-nri.com. A cut-out-and-keep guide to getting the most out of Indian Rail Travel.

http://www.the-nri.com/index.php/2010/02/riding-the-indian-railways/

It’s A New Day

Welcome to my new blog site!

I’ll spare you the inane technical reasons for shifting the blog to this host; suffice to say it’s easier to update, and the features are better. Thanks to those of you who took the time to follow my India blog while I was away. There are links on this site that refer to the original posts; they’ll stay on that server to avoid duplication. Hopefully, I can maintain the blogging in 2010 – and all new content will appear on this site only. If you’re inclined to do so, this site has a handy ‘Subscribe’ option (link on the right hand side): Enter an e-mail address and you’ll get notifications when new posts appear here. Clever, eh?

There is also a ‘Further Writing’ tab at the top of the page; this will feature links to articles I publish on other websites over the coming weeks and months, though I will post links in the main feed as they appear, too.

I’ll look forward to hearing your opinions on the new site, and I welcome any suggestions you might have for new content.

Enjoy!