Here we go!
This blog is the record of an epic journey. Much of what will occur, will be driven by our senses, our expectations, our hopes and dreams, and possibly from sheer fear. I suspect that much of what Julia and I will experience will be the same, but different! Due mainly to the roles we will play along the way. Driver and navigator. Adventurers on a mission
Our transport and home for our adventure.
Each of us have passions and interests that will make this the most amazing and life changing experience. we will be seeing the unusual or conversely the familiar. The flora and fauna. Wildlife (I have no doubt that every feline specimen has been alerted to Julia’s arrival across the World. I have never been anywhere with her and not seen cats come out of every nook and cranny to see her!) we will be bombarded with Architectural splendour. Moulded by centuries of necessity and centuries of empirical invasion. There will be cultures and ancient civilisations on display for us to find and explore. Hidden places only known by those that know! Temples and monuments. All resplendent in the colours created by ingenuity and centuries of skill. The sounds of cities. The sounds of silence.
“In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure-dome decree”. One of my favourite pieces of literature. I wondered if it actually existed. A year ago I wouldn’t even have thought it possible, assuming it to be a fanciful poetic location. Yet….This is an actual place, not far from the path we shall be taking! .
The sounds of the V8. Although I expect I will be the one who hears this! The groans and creaks of the leaf springs as we manoeuvre and navigate potholes and rivers.
1982 3.5 litre Rover V8
There is a supermarket of culinary delights awaiting our taste buds. Hawkers markets, roadside stalls, home stays and random locals cooking unheard of items that in some cases should remain unheard of!
I apologise in advance to my friends and colleagues who have the magnificent skills and abilities in the fine art of the written word. I am conscientious that my friends back in Nelson in the illustrious English department at Nelson College (Samme, Ryan, Leigh, Graeme, Annabelle et al) are marking this and grading it with an ‘achieved’, ‘merit’, or ‘excellence’?
In the words of the famous trombonist….” it is what it is”!
so having arrived safely in Singapore on the 6th of April 2019 our adventure begins.
Sunrise on Singapore (06-04-19)
Cleary Overland 