People and places in Thailand and India

I love Penriff

On the day I finished working in Oz I was presented with some gifts by my charming colleagues. One of these gifts was a gorgeous leather journal cover (hand-made by my boss's father) and another was a t-shirt bearing the legend "I love Penriff", Penrith being the west-Sydney location of the company's offices. I said I'd wear the t-shirt throughout my travels but the various strange looks I received on this particular day persuaded me otherwise.


Another experimental temple shot

I thought I might as well throw in a bit of culture. Most of the interesting experiences I've had thus far on this trip have related not to the exotic cultures I'm exploring but to the people I'm meeting - travellers and tourists of every kind. Therefore, most of the photographs I've taken are of people, not places. This is one of the few exceptions.


Fasting buddha

Yes, it's an emaciated Buddha. Whatever.


Grace, Jess and Doug made quite an impression on me

These guys are now travelling together in Vietnam. There was a point when I considered changing my plans and going with them. Grace and Jess possessed such a wonderful sense of freedom that it was difficult not to be attracted to them.


Fiery Jess on Haad Rin beach

We hung out with Thai punk fire-dancers on Haad Rin beach, one of whom had a huge, perfectly maintained mohican and "Sex Pistols" tattooed on his back. Thai punks are amongst the friendliest Thai people that I've met, which might sound quite strange. They may pout menacingly and give you the bird at any opportunity but it's purely a fashion statement. I don't think there is much understanding of the anarchic ideaology of the sub-culture they've chosen to mimic. Having those kinds of beliefs would be quite dangerous in Thailand.


Bangkok wingman

In an unexpected turn of events, Ben from Sydney turned up in Bangkok two days before I left for India. Perfect timing really, as Ben is a charmer-and-a-half and I had just invited Signe and Sofia from Denmark to dinner, and was in need of a wingman. How can I not believe in providence when, in my hour of need, I'm handed a wingman of Ben's callibre?!


Signe, Sofia and a guy whose name I shamefully cannot remember... it might be Toby

Signe and Sofia (who I think looks like the actress Natascha McElhone from The Truman Show) were lovely. Signe was clearly so impressed by our love of Sydney that she went back to Denmark and immediately booked a ticket! Good luck in Oz Signe!


Chubby little Indian

Spaced out and strung out, I drifted in and out of sleep during the flight from Bangkok to Bombay. On one occasion I awoke to find a chubby little Indian teenager staring at me and wobbling his head. Despite the fact that he had a stale sweat issue and was prone to commanding me to repeat Hindi phrases as if I was his houseboy, we got along okay.


Double-hard Alon and I bide our time waiting for the train that will take us to Goa

Alon and I had contrary but complimentary attitudes to our travels in India. At times it felt like we were engaged in some kind of good cop/bad cop routine. We didn't have a lot in common but we helped each other through the a tricky period of adjustment to India.


Dogs on Palolem Beach

Dozens of dogs roam the beach, here and in Thailand. The dogs here are less mangy and more sociable, although they still have all kinds of noisy adventures in the early hours of the morning when everyone is trying to sleep. I love them though. You can be sat up late having a quiet bedtime joint with your pals and suddenly find yourself surrounded by six or seven dogs. All they want to do is chill with you.


The mystery of Sira

On the day I arrived on Palolem Beach I met Sira from Switzerland and her German friend Katarina, who were lovely, remarkable and inspiring girls. Still only about twenty years old, they had just done two months working in an ashram looking after orphans and unwanted children, and were therefore totally feeling the "real" India. I got on particularly well with Sira, so have been quite perplexed by the fact that she's not been in touch. The subtleties of traveller friendships - where they stop and start - are still beyond my grasp.


My friend Jenny relaxing by the pool at the Poussada Tauma "boutique hotel" in Calangute

As a guest of Jenny and her husband Ian, I spent five days in a suite at a posh boutique hotel. It was lovely of course, but can anyone tell me what, exactly, a "boutique hotel" is? I stayed in one, and I'm still none the wiser.


Christmas Day

I spent Christmas Day in charming company, with Jenny and her husband Ian and her mum Gloria. Before dinner Ian and I played pool against the restaurant owner and his friend. I succeeded in losing 9000 rupees of Ian's money on a single shot. Jenny and Ian's driver, Yeash (also pictured), was an amusing chap. On the day he drove me back down to Palolem from Calangute, I desperately tried to find something on my iPod he'd like, as his only request, for Backstreet Boys, I was unable to satisfy. After two hours of failed attempts I pulled it out of the bag with "We Will Rock You", just as we were arriving on Palolem Beach.


Ball-point pen tattoos

I was lucky enough to spend some time with Rachel, an English girl living and studying yoga in Goa. One day she came and picked me early in the morning and we scootered back to her appartment for a bit of yoga (I was brilliant). Yoga was followed by chai and a massala dosa for breakfast and then we spent a lazy day on Calangute Beach with some of the various people she's met while she's been here, including Leela, a beatiful little Indian girl who drew flowers on my shoulder and sold me a bracelet which broke the following day.


Laziness is a state of mind

Ah Foxy, you old bastard. Mike is the reason I'm on Palolem Beach. This is his fourth visit to the laziest place in the world, and he's been encouraging me to come here for a couple of years. Laziness is a state of mind, isn't it? I'm sure the people getting up at six o clock in the morning to do yoga on the beach wouldn't describe their lifestyle here as particularly lazy, neither would the Indians. However, tapping this keyboard is the most energetic thing I'e done since I played frisbee for ten minutes four days ago.