PRE-DEPARTURE FEELINGS (AFRICA)

Tomorrow I fly to Johannesburg, South Africa, to start my own solo trip through the Dark Continent. I don't know where I'll go, what I'll do, who I'll meet or when I'll come home. But I do know that it will be an adventure.
I've been dreaming of this trip for years. And now I finally go. I've been nervous, apprehensive and downright scared over the last few weeks while reading up on some of Africa's countries. But now that the time is near, I feel excited and confident.
I'm living the dream life. I'm lucky and privileged to have this chance. I'm going to grasp it with both hands see where it takes me.
People have been asking me why Africa; why I want to go there. I can't seem to find an answer that satisfies them. I guess the most honest answer is Because I haven't been there. And because it will be a great challenge, and I want to test myself. I'm curious about the world and want to see everywhere, but especially Africa as it seems so different to everywhere else I've been. In ten years of travel, I have never set foot aywhere in Africa, not Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt. Not even a stopover on a flight to Asia. So it will really be a new, untouched world to me.
There isn't some specific thing which draws me to Africa. There are no mountains, beaches, natural wonders or festivals that I've been dreaming of. Of course there will be an abundance of natural beauty, rich cultures and interesting foods. But mostly I just want to travel in Africa, alone, and see that I can rise to the challenges that are presented to me whilst, hopefully, learning about new peoples and places. That's it.

EURO-JOURNAL DAY 62 (LONDON - HOME)

Today I returned to Ireland. I rarely fly when traveling between London and Ireland. I'm sure there are very cheap flights when you book in advance. But I rarely have a planned schedule which allows me to book far in advance. And I personally find train and ferry travel much more enjoyable, dignified and less stressing that budget airlines and busy airports. It's also handy if you have a lot of luggage as there are no restrictions like airlines have.
There is a "Rail and Sail" ticket which I usually get from Euston Station, London up to Hollyhead (a port town in Wales) and then the ferry crossing to Dublin. It costs less than £40, but is a full days travel. I don't mind the full days travel as it's nice time for thinking, reading and writing. Though more often than not, there are very interesting people sat next to me and I don't get any of those things done.
On this trip, I was especially lucky with seat-mates. On the long train journey to Wales I was next to a South African man in his sixties. I say South African, but really he fits into that hippy category "Citizen of the World". He was such a fascinating guy. He grew up in Africa, has traveled all over the world, lives in Goa, India, has a girlfriend in London, and was on his way to an Irish farm to spend the winter helping out for free board and food. Some of the stories I coaxed out of him were side-splittingly funny. When telling me about his travels in Eritrea, northeast Africa, he recalled that the local alcohol was so good that his girlfriend vomited and he wet the bed.
Initially he seemed standoffish, perhaps because I had been sitting in his seat (accidentally of course). But when he realised we share a passion for travel, he opened up, I mean, he really opened up. During the hours we spent on the tracks I heard about his travels throughout the world, about his business in Goa (selling T-shirts), about his twenty-one year old daughter dying suddenly of cervical cancer, and of his own battle with Parkinson's disease.
I had noticed a slight twitch when he boarded the train. And a couple of hours later, he was really shaking. I didn't want to ask about his condition, but was really glad when he brought it up because I was curious. Man, he made so many jokes about his Parkinson's. He told me he gets so many compliments on the dance floor from girls back in India. "But", he said, "I can't help it. It's the Parkinson's making me shake like that. They think I'm pole dancing, but I'm holding the pole so I don't fall over." Haha, what a legend. And on the laptop he had with him, he told me he had tons of unwanted files from accidentally clicking downloads all the time. I really love a person who can make jokes about themselves. And I have a lot of respect for him going to Ireland to do physical work over the cold, wet months despite his condition. He was diagnosed with the illness in 1989, but has only recently starting taking medication. Before that, he just maintained a positive attitude and tried to manage without meds. Though he did admit to having tried some alternative medicines such as blood draining.
We chatted about all sorts of other things too including Atheism which we seemed to be on the same page about. He said "my god is spelled with two Os", which I thought was brilliant, and made many other witty comments like "I'm not saying I don't believe in an invisible world".
We parted ways in Hollyhead to take different ferries as both Stena Line and Irish Ferries operate there. Boarding the boat I got talking to a Portuguese girl who was on her way to visit friends in Dublin. She was fun and interesting and we sat together on the boat and enjoyed a little packed lunch picnic, coffee and plenty of joking around. She, Mariana, coincidentally is living in Hackney, quite close to Karol. She is doing a PhD in Archaeology which sounds both fascinating and fun. I had never thought of archaeology as a fun field before speaking to her, but actually it does sound quite appealing. When a team is doing a dig they can be somewhere way out in the wild, sleeping in tents and living quite rough. That sounds adventurous as well as the bond and comradery one must experience working like that. And of course, there is discovery; one of the reasons people travel so much - to discover, to learn, to find something new. Maybe I'll start digging holes.
In Dublin Ma and Da picked me up and drove me north for some good, home-cooked food and a good nights sleep.

Making new friends right up until the end.

EURO-JOURNAL DAY 61 (LONDON)

We had a barbecue at Karol's this evening. Aussie James and Finnish Suvi, backpackers I met in Sarajevo, but who are living in London came over. It was a good chance to catch up and have a laugh about the good times we had. London is a great place to live. So many different nationalities are here and it seems easy to meet new people and have a good social life. Pity it's so expensive.

EURO-JOURNAL DAY 60 (LONDON)

Caught the tube to Vauxhall to meet Rachel for lunch. Rachel is an English girl I met in a free Korean class at a church in Seoul four years ago. I think I was the only atheist in our class at the church, but I got on really well with Rachel and a Canadian guy called Greg so we formed a study group together. Both Rachel and Greg left Korea after completing their one year contracts, but we always make an effort to meet up whenever we happen to be in the same country.
A homeless guy sat next to me on the subway. He smelled a little of booze and didn't seem to have any full teeth, just the bases of them were visible. And his nose was pretty flattened, looking like it had been broken more than once. He was a big guy, but didn't seem aggressive so when he asked about my Kindle, which I was reading from, I explained how it's different from an iPad. For the next four or five stops he talked to me about his old drinking buddy James and how he'd died when he was just 38. He got a bit teary eyed and then started to talk about life in the sixties. He said he was from Manchester originally, and I said I was from Northern Ireland. He mentioned George Best and said he was disappointed that George went back on the booze after his operation. At his stop we shook hands and said good luck. I was pretty pleased with myself for chatting to him because, to be honest, I'd usually feel uncomfortable in this type of situation and try to get out of it.
Rachel and I had some lunch in a pub - quite a fancy lunch actually, which seems to be the trend for pub grub these days. It was great to catch up and to reminisce on the past. She's working for an NGO and oversees fundraising. It sounds like a great job - challenging and creative and she even gets to go on "business trips" to Zimbabwe. Not a bad gig! When Rachel went back to work, I went to a tea house she recommended. A pretty place that the waitress described as Harry Potterish. At 5 or 6 pound for a cup of tea, it would need to be magic.
I met my younger cousin Gerard at about six. He's from the same place as me, but has been living in London for the last few years. I don't know him as well as I know my other cousins so looked forward to spending some time with him. He recently graduated and is working at a Wetherspoon pub in Kingston while looking for a graduate job. His pub serves quite a variety of European beers so it was good to continue to beer sampling tradition tradition of this trip. Gerard seems to be doing great - content, but focused - he looks to have bright future ahead of him. It's good that he's living away from home and in a big city with opportunities. I think doing that broadens people's horizons and gives them confidence to try more challenging things. I know that my time in Korea, surrounded by good people who believed in me, certainly made me feel more confident and optimistic about the future.
Karl came down too and joined us for a few pints. But, as always, a few pints turned into a session and it was another belly-full.

EURO-JOURNAL DAY 58/59 (LONDON)

Not much to report. Lot's of lazing around and more beers. And we dragged ourselves out for an uneventful night as a farewell to Ricky before he flew back to Sydney the "real world"

EURO-JOURNAL DAY 57 (LONDON)

A pretty chilled day at Karol's. We mostly sat around watching TV and drinking the Bordeaux wine that Beoy gave me in Paris. Karol isn't working at the minute so it's cool to hang out with him and catch up properly. We've met several times in the last four years - he came to Korea and Indonesia as well as Budapest to see me (what a friend!). But usually we are too busy partying to talk deeply so it's nice to just have some quiet time to catch up and talk about the future. We are both at transition stages of our careers. I'm hoping to move on to something other that teaching English (but who knows what?!) and Karol is changing jobs from criminal defense lawyer to other types of law.

EURO-JOURNAL DAY 56 (LONDON)

Man, London hangovers are expensive hangovers. I spent forty-five pounds last night and it wasn't even a big night; we just went to a couple of local pubs for beers and shots.
Ricky had to get up early and drive to Southhampton to drop off the car. I got up early too and explored east London a bit while Karol caught some zs. I love walking around Hackney. It feels more foreign to me than the far east. The ascetic jews with their fascinating haircuts and hats and the east Africans in their colourful robes are more prevalent here than us white boys.
I found a little Oriental medicine shop that was open on Sundays so I went in for a well-needed head and shoulders massage. Ten minutes only cost eight pounds and I definitely needed it after all the driving and the car-sleeping. The Chinese man did a great job and it felt like much longer than ten minutes so I might go back again before leaving London.
I then walked down to Tottenham where I finally found a Turkish Coffee House - a really nice place with big bookshelves, live music in the evening, and terribly slow service. I was in no hurry so didn't mind at all. I (kind of) enjoyed the Turkish coffee though I always feel I'm getting more value with a big mug of Americano than with these tiny european drinks.
Back at Karol's house I caught up with him and his housemates - Timaz and Sophia. Timaz is first generation British, but his parents are from Iran. And Sophia, his wife is from Cypress. Timaz's parents are visiting right now and it was cool to talk to some Iranians. Since meeting Timaz years ago, I've always wanted to visit Iran. But I think it would be a place best visited if you have friends there and not just as a solo backpacker. Some day I hope.

EURO-JOURNAL DAY 55 (PARIS - LONDON)

Left Beoy's early this morning to meet up with Ricky for the drive up to London. We caught the boat from Dunkirk to Dover and then drove up to Karol's falt in Hackney. Ricky and I are going to stay with him for a while. A few beers and a bit of a catchup tonight over a barbecue on the terrace.

EURO-JOURNAL DAY 54 (PARIS)

I spent today wandering around Vincennes and in towards Paris centre. I've been to Paris several times before and seen the sights so felt no pressure to run around taking photos or visiting musuems; I just enjoyed reflecting on my about-to-end trip and on what Beoy said last night about moving to Australia.
I walked along the boulevards and stopped in a cafe to scribble in my journal. Sitting at the cafe was nice, despite the stereotypical arrogant waiters who refused to speak English. I had an almost-window seat and a four euro cafe creme, the expense of which was only justified by the quality of people-watching. This city is full of great characters; baguette-wielding business men, dirty-jeaned labourers, and pretty Parisian girls, dressed in black ignoring the autumn wind.
Later as I sat on the banks of the River Seine, some guy approached me saying he was from Sri Lanka and that I was going to change his life. I told him I was from Ireland and that I wasn't going to change anything. Then I moved to a park bench and read a little of 1Q84. I'm really enjoying it, but hope to get finished soon and move onto something else.
Back at Beoy's this evening, I enjoyed a lovely salmon and prawn dinner and more wine, and then we watched some rugby together.

A couple I saw dancing by the river with an mp3 player and one earphone each.

EURO-JOURNAL DAY 53 (PARIS)

We had some problems this morning getting to Ricky's friends place. We found where they lived alright, but Ricky couldn't remember which apartment it was nor did he have access to their phone number. So we spent about forty minutes walking around that neighbourhood trying to get wifi on our phones to contact them. We are the new generation of underprepared, technology-dependent travelers.
His friends were nice and I had a cliche coffee and croissant breakfast with them before making my way across the river to Vincennes, the area my family friend, Beoy, lives in.
I first met Beoy in 2000 when she hosted Karol and I at the beginning and end of our first ever backpacking trip. She had been a friend of my dads and kindly put us up and fed us. In fact, she did, and always has since, feed us like kings. On Karol and my 23 day, 5 country, very-tight-budget trip we mostly survived on supermarket bread, canned tuna and cooking wine which we consumed in parks or on overnight trains.
Beoy is a great host and a great person. The thing I love about her most is that their are no formalities, no pretense, and no nonsense. Whether it be a person she has just met or someone she hasn't seen in many years, she will enter directly into challenging conversation. Although I've only met her three times in twelve years, I feel totally comfortable in talking to her about anything including my worries, fears, and mistakes. And I'm always certain that she will give me an honest, un-sugarcoated opinion based on her own logic, knowledge and experience.
I had lunch and dinner with Beoy, a real treat after weeks on the road since she only eats high quality organic food and cooks very well. After dinner we enjoyed some wine and a good chat. I told Beoy of my lack of future plans, but possibility of moving to Canada to utilise my Canadian citizenship. She strongly suggested I go to Australia instead saying the climate and prospects for work there are great and that Canada has recently joined most other countries in the recession. Perhaps Australia could be an option for me. I spent a year there when I was younger and loved it. And it's pretty close to Asia. But I've heard so many people are immigrating there these days that it might be competitive. Beoy said to forget that and go anyway, "it's a big country". I'll definitely think on it.