Putting it out there Almost in Print!

 Dear followers of 'The Greater World',
As I mentioned a few or many posts ago, I was venturing into the world of e-publishing. Finally, I have managed to get a book up on Amazon for Kindle, and I thought I'd you something about it.

Hustle and Bustle of Delhi

 Before I started to blog, back in 2004, I set off with a mission to make it from Dhaka in Bangladesh to Dakar in Senegal - 'Dhaka to Dakar'. I am publishing in 3 stages the story of my incredible journey from Malaysia to the start line in Dhaka, across Asia, through Europe and then West Africa.

Kids in Darjeeling, India

 Each segment is pretty weighty on its own. The first book - 'Dhaka to Dakar - Journey Across Asia' is now available for Kindle (and devices which take Kindle, Kindle for PC).
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MJ0RKM

Enchanting Esfahan, Iran

 For those not up with Kindle, it's a device sold by Amazon allowing people to purchase books and read them from the Kindle itself. You can change the font size to help with reading, and books are downloaded straight to the Kindle after purchase and it can be used most places on Earth as long as there's some sort of mobile phone signal available.

My team on the Kyhber Pass, Pakistan

So why not start with my ebook? 'Journey Across Asia' sees me venture to Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. I take in some amazing sights such as the Ganges in Varanasi, Uch Shariff in Pakistan, Persepolis in Iran and the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey. Photos are included.
Will I die of Delhi belly in... Delhi? End up married in Iran? Will I survive long bus rides across the Balochistan desert from Pakistan to Iran? Who will I meet?
Dear readers of 'The Greater World', I thank you for your support.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MJ0RKM

Normal service will resume from Georgia in the next few days!

The next part of the Adventure - Georgia

Howdy folks, I am writing again from Tbilisi, the capital of the Republic of Georgia. I may have mentioned its location before but for those who missed it, it is to the east of the Black Sea, above Turkey and below Russia in the Caucasus region of the world.

I am here to teach English - I guess I should learn how to speak and write it sometime soon! On Friday the organisation - TLG (Teach & Learn Georgia) who organised this exciting opportunity will be sending me out  to an area called Kobuleti, to the village of Jikhanjuri. As far as I can see, it has a famous chapel and that's all the information I could glean from the internet.

One of the many castles in Tbilisi

 I arrived a week ago now and we have had a week of orientation since that arrival. Tbilisi is a very pleasant capital, and I am reminded a bit of my time in Central Asian capitals with a little bit of Luxembourg thrown in - lots of rocky hills and castles here to boot! However I have not got down to any exploration of this city as yet, save that for a long weekend later in my time here.

Road on the way to Batumi

 We are a group of 53 English Teachers - some, like myself, will be teaching for the first time. The majority are from the States, and in this group I am the only Australian. The orientation has been long and tiring. We have been given Georgian lessons and to be honest, not much has stuck for me. It's not easy and it's all so compressed. The days start at 9am and continue until 730pm or later, and when you are sitting and listening for most of that time, the back gets sore and the eyes start to droop somewhat. Who knows what I will find on Friday when I travel to Jikhanjuri? Outdoor toilets are a real possibility and the connection to the internet... well who knows how it will be.

Opera House, Batumi

We did have a treat though, we were taken (plus many other volunteers already teaching here) to Batumi in the west of Georgia to see a modern opera - 'Keto & Kobe', the story of two lovers who overcame the odds. The colourful and dramatic show was housed in the seemingly new (well seemingly unfinished, what with wires hanging out everywhere) Batumi Opera House.
If that wasn't exciting enough, the Prince of Monaco and the President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, were also in attendance! No they didn't have their own box, in fact they sat in the fourth row with some volunteers only a seat or two away! The bus ride showcased how beautiful this mountainous country is as well, although at 7-8 hours each way and only one night in Batumi it was rather exhausting to say the least!

So this new adventure lies ahead for me. What will it bring? A lot of challenges that's for sure. I will be teaching primary kids in a small village, and there's not much more that I know for sure at this stage. Stay posted!

Na na na na Nagoya

So here I am writing from Tbilisi, Georgia. What? Georgia? How did I get here? I have no idea life is strange and crazy and involves far too many flights.

I am way behind in my blogging, around two weeks. I traveled by bus from Yokohama. On the way I managed to get this below shot of Mount Fuji. It's the best shot I have and no, it's not great, especially after visiting Japan twice this year,

Mt Fuji from the bus.

The thing is nearly 4000 metres high and yet I've only seen it as a silohette. In my defence there were a lot of clouds this time around in Japan. I visited Nagoya also whilst in Japan this time.

Town Hall, Nagoya.

It's a pleasant sort of place with the usual temples and one grand castle that is not to be missed. The castle is mostly a reconstruction of the one on the site that was destroyed in the Second World War, although parts of the walls and smaller turrets still stand from longer ago. They are presently reconstructing the original entrance and the work can be seen where you visit the castle. Apparently it is still seven years away from completing, the woodwork on the rooves is intricate and quite amazing.

Restoration work at Nagoya Castle.

Inside the castle are many levels. From the top you get a great view over Nagoya, the other floors have an interesting museum spread out over them with traditional rooms set up for the tourist to view. One staircase is just for going up, the other for going down. As the photo shows, it's a stunning building on the outside. The curvy rooves are a feature, as are two gold dolphins on top.

Nagoya Castle.

 Also in Nagoya was the simply brilliant temple 'Kannon Osu', somehow the surrounding buildings have been built to connect in a way to it. It's grand with a serious staircase leading up to its quieter shrine for prayer. It's also right next to a long covered shopping strip, which is the place in town to get all manner of Japanese sweets and cakes.

Kannon Osu, Nagoya.

 Back in Yokohama I took one half to see the moving walkway, which extends from one of the metro stations to the Landmark Tower, the tallest building in Yokohama. I visited the Port Museum, where I learnt a lot about the history of Yokohama from the time when Japan started to open to world for trade to the present day. A few centuries back now, Japan was a completely closed country. Thanks to the arrival of a fleet of American ships to Yokohama in 1858 under the leadership of Commodore Matthew Perry, a treaty was signed and the port started to grow. It was devastated by an earthquake in the early 1900s, but bounced back. After World War Two a lot of Americans lived in Yokohama. Nowadays it still a bustling centre of imports/exports and has plenty of industry too.

The Nippon-Maru.

The Nippon-Maru, a retired navel training ship, is attached to the museum. It's a perfect museum piece which allows you to see how the ship functioned, where people slept, how they slept, ate, cooked and lived. A worthwhile museum to visit.


But NOW I am in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, a former USSR state located between Turkey and Russia. Why I am here and what I've been doing... that will be the next blog in a day or two! Stay TUNED!

Journey (back) to Japan

Now I know my journey is just getting confusing now, and has not been helped by lack of recent blogs, but right now I am in Japan, tomorrow I leave for Georgia and my last post was about France.

Yokohama.

So let's go back three weeks. If your time machine is not working, best just to read I guess. From Lyon I went south to a place called Carcassonne for two nights where it was 39 degrees and I did very little. To Paris the next day, flight the day after. Five hours in Kuala Lumpur, a night in Singapore, flight via Hong Kong to Tokyo. Yes, that was not the easiest and most logical of routes, enough said.

 I have spent most of my time in Yokohama. The weather has been hot and sticky every day, but hey, I've survived. Yokohama seems a pleasant enough city with a fair ground and large Ferris wheel and plenty of shopping. I have also managed a trip to Nagoya (more on that in the next post), into Tokyo, which is only a short distance away and to Enoshima and Kamakura.

 Enoshima is a little island on the east coast with a tower on top, escalators that take you to the top and you have to pay for (!!!) and also some interesting caves containing many religious statues and the like. Well worth a little visit. Kamakura is an old capital with amazing old temple I visited.

Through the cave mouth, Enoshiba.

 In Tokyo I visited the Senso-ji Temple, and clearly was not the only person. It lives in Akasaka, an area of Tokyo, and people from everywhere come to visit it. The streets around the temple have more touristy shops that I could imagine in one area, but the temple itself was rather awesome, with some of the best giant red lanterns you could want to see.

Red Lantern hanging in front of the Senso-ji.

 Finally in Tokyo, with the Sony Building shut on the day I wanted to visited, I went to the Shinjuku NS Building. It has an amazing atrium and I took the lift up to the 29th floor to see some amazing views across Tokyo. As it was free, I highly recommend it! More on Nagoya soon!

View from the Shinjuku NS building.