Ten Thousand Strong - Eight Years of Memories

Hi folks
I was going to do a short retrospective blog a couple of weeks back when this blog passed 10,000 page views, but other stuff seemed more important at the time. But today, it's time to look back a little.
I started this blog at the end of 2005, in fact I had one post in December 2005, not long before I took off on my ill fated 2006 journey to West Africa. 10,000 hits since then isn't really so many, I know, it took just over eight years. So what's that? 3 views a day? Well that's pretty sucky screw you guys, I'm...

:P

Ok know I am incredibly grateful for the support of everyone over the years who has followed my blog.

Since my first post, I have visited -

Ghana, Togo, Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso, Jordan, the UAE, Ethiopia, Russia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, the UK, Mali, Senegal, France, Germany, Vietnam, China, Laos, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Luxembourg, Cameroon, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, Uzbekistan and Japan. Whew. I think that's all of them. Nope - Georgia! How could I forget Georgia? That's 31 countries! And I've blogged about and probably from each one.

The 2006 trip didn't go to plan. I got malaria and then disappeared from the blog under the misapprehension that no-one was reading it and subsequently freaked people out. I am still sorry about that one. This is my 273rd post. Recently I've noticed a lot of readers from the US have been tuning into the blog - so hello! And now a quick rundown of my travels since I started the blog.

January 2006 - My first trip to West Africa started in Ghana. I did not cope well.

February 2006 - I moved through to Burkina Faso. Just as I was feeling on top of travelling again, I got malaria.

October 2007 - It was time to travel again, I started with the Baltic countries - this is Tallinn, beautiful Tallinn.

November 2007 - Mali, with friends, an amazing experience back in West Africa. I had to returned first to Burkina Faso to cross to Mali by land because the main airport in Mali was closed for runway repairs. 

November 2007 - I made it to Dakar, Senegal, a place that was to finish my dream of going from Dhaka, Bangladesh, to Dakar, Senegal.

October 2009, Dubai, UAE. Yes it's 40 plus outside, but inside a mall you can go to the snow!

A challenge met and conquered - trekking the Simien Mountains in Ethiopia, November 2009

Big trip time again, and not long after March 11, I landed in Japan in 2011 as part of the trip where I was mesmerised by lights, karaoke, warm toilet seats and cosplay!

June 2011 - the sun beat down on me in Uzbekistan, but I was still taken by the beauty of this place as I explored Central Asia.

July 2011 - The UK. I got my geek on and met some of the legends of Doctor Who.

 September - December 2011 - I lived and worked in Georgia, teaching English and falling in love with a wonderful country. This is the capital, Tbilisi. 

January 2013 - Sri Lanka. I climbed a big rock and had my wallet stolen. 

And that's where I am today. Well, I'm in Japan actually. But things can change, and the journeying continues. Stay tuned to this blog for more! and Thank you all!

Shameless plug!

Hi folks!
Whilst I have a second to sit down and think... (always nice) people may or may not recall that I have an ebook available through kindle.
It details my journey from Dhaka in Bangladesh to Dakar in Senegal - much of which was before I started blogging. I cut the book into three volumes as it was HUGE - Asia, Europe and Africa. However after getting the first book ready to go (Journey through Asia) I realised that it might be better to chop it up into chapters as well.
Thus I put out the second and third books out as single chapters (one per country with a couple of exceptions) and then later released them as whole volumes as well. I never had the chance until last week to do release the first book in chapters. Now, I have done so! If it interests you - I think the Iran, India and Pakistan chapters are very interesting! - maybe you'd like to take a read. Here are the links:


Chapter One: Malaysia and Singapore
Chapter One at Amazon

Chapter Two: Bangladesh
Chapter Two: Bangladesh (at Amazon)







Chapter Three: India
Chapter 3: India (at Amazon)

Chapter Four: Pakistan
Chapter 4: Pakistan (at Amazon)











Chapter Five: Iran
Chapter 5: Iran (at Amazon)







Chapter Six: Turkey
Chapter 6: Turkey (at Amazon)





And of course, the whole first volume is also available:
Dhaka to Dakar: Volume One: Journey Through Asia


OK - sorry for the shameless plugs, normal service will be resumed soon....

videos on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/thegreaterworld

Hi folks
I've just began the long process of uploading videos onto youtube from my travels. I have a few from my last trip (2007), and then there are a couple of small avi files taken on my digital camera from 2006 West Africa which i might put together. From 2004 I have a series of film shot on 8mm with no sound which I plan to convert over the next few weeks or months (well there's a lot) so I'm setting myself quite a little project. Nevertheless I think it's a good one.
Today I've started with Senegal and Casablanca in November 2007. Hopefully neither are longer than ten minutes or i've wasted a lot of bandwidth...

Andrew

Images of Mali and Senegal

Bit of time on my hands today, so here are some more photos. We start with the Senegal River at St Louis, Senegal; then Bamako, Mali outside the main post office; getting on a bus in Mopti, Mali; an interesting building in Dakar, Senegal; the Mosque at Djenne, Mali and finally a street on the Ile De Goree, Senegal.

St Louis, Senegal

Folks,
The trip is winding down.
Two days ago I journied from Dakar to St Louis, tomorrow I return to Dakar to take my flight the next day to Casablanca, then London on Monday and home Tuesday night (arriving two days later).
Ive found the last few days a bit tough - just exhaustion really. Where as Mali was light on the hassle, Senegal certainly isnt. Not in St Louis and certainly not in Dakar.
I headed two days ago to the Dakar Gare Routiere. It was the biggest and most confusing that I have seen. Still; I soon found myself on a minibus to St Louis at about noon. Only three people on the thing, oh god i thought, It will be a good two hours before we leave. No... I was wrong, try six and a half.
Crikey indeed.
Still, I showed great patience as we began our ride that should take between three and four hours. Wrong again. Peak hour in Dakar, and you`ve never seen traffic like it. It was stuffy and hot whan the minibus was stationary, and it was for a long time getting out of Dakar. To get to Thies, 70km away it took three hours. I kid ye not. Then we were held up as there was a bad looking accident on the road involving four vehicles. Very bad indeed... Two ambulances needed - but thank goodness they were available. I shudder to think the response time in say Niger.
Another accident slowed us down a little further on. In summary - arrived at St Louis just before 1am. Phew. Makes that journey from Parkou to Niamey seem quite successful.
Now St Louis.... was steaming hot yesteday. A sleepy sort of town, not luch to do. Fine, I don`t want to do much. Had some good mmeals thankfully as the I journied here four bananas made up my lunch and dinner. Still trhe hassle exists in the centre of town. Cooler today but a hot sun. Such is life... I can`t believe I am so close to returning home, but I have to say I am tired and ready!! Africa sure takes it out of one!

Mission: Dakar

So
I am here in Dakar. I flew in two nights ago, and was quite assaulted by many taxi drivers at the airport, but I made it safe and sound. To be honest, part of me thought I would never make it to this place.
Still here I am at last, with just over a week of the holiday left. Mali was brilliant in retrospect, even if tough going at times. Bamako was not the most impressive of capital cities, but could hold interest for a day or two. Lots of markets and things to buy, if only I had some money left. Much more in Bamako than the rest of Mali - from restaurants to toilets being sold on the side of the road, but still poor; dusty and as polluted as any city I have been to before, excpet for perhaps Dhaka in Bangladesh.
And now, Dhaka to Dakar is complete. Dakar, Senegal is a pretty happening place. Easily the best of the African capitals that I have visited in terms or money - new buildings, obvious investment, new roads being built, even an over pass of sorts. Still there is a lot of hassle though. I visited the interesting and colonial Ile de Goree yesterday, which also has a slave trade history. Today its a nice place, people swim; there was a music festival too. Still; the past lingers in the Maison des Esclaves. Very popular (the island) on a Sunday, absolutely packed.
A little look around the city today, then to St Louis tomorrow....