- 02.11.2001 -

Challenge Alabama

Where do I start? I haven't booted a computer in few days now. Something always came up, as I was about to turn it on. Today however no one is around so I can grab a few minutes with my eye strainer.

I was recovering from what we now suspect was the flu after my little Sis came down with it next. Maybe all the vaccines my body was dealing with had lowered my defences against it. Either way I was glad it was behind me.

My folks had arranged a family outing to see my Auntie and Uncle in Darlo. They have a pretty nice place there. Over the past few years they have been spending their money on their home. It now looks like one of those houses you see on those REAL ROOMS or CHANGING ROOMS programs with a really nice garden thrown in. The garden is my favourite piece in my opinion. Its done in a Zen style with gravel parts, railway sleepers, ponds and water features and ivy archways over a bench. It's a nice place to loose yourself in for an hour or two.

They are happy with the fact that they have already spent the money on the house, as there is nothing that needs doing now. Which is just as well as my Uncle has just been made redundant. It seems more and more people with old skills (he is a printer) are being laid off as they are being replaced with machines. A sign of the times I guess.

…

Its getting nearer to Halloween and around here they have something called 'mischievous night'. Traditionally it is October the 30th but can last for several days before Halloween. It is where the older local kids get up to no good. Going by previous years this can be eggs thrown at windows, toothpaste or paint on your car, etc. You get the point. I kept an eye on our cars as I read my book but luckily nothing happened. It was raining pretty heavily so I guess they decided to stay in.

…

I've been watching a lot of music TV lately on SKY and I swear I am going mad. I see something in a video and the next time I look it is not there. Tell me if I am wrong but did that kid in the yellow top who dances on the sidewalk in Alien Ant Farm's 'Smooth Criminal' have a white mouth mask on at one time or not?

Have you seen the video for Iio's Rapture? I'm guessing it is supposed to be a Bladerunner thing where the guy is making his replicant babe. At the end of the video where the guy turns to look sideways, is it me or does he look a lot like Brion James out of Bladerunner? Weird.

The best songs at the moment are 'How you remind me' by Nickleback. Currently No.7 in the Kerrang charts. And 'What if' by Kate Winslet. Yep she's looking better than ever and can sing too!

…

Realising that I had not done much of anything since I got here I decided to set myself a challenge for tomorrow. I would cycle to the top of Roseberry Topping. RT is the highest peak in this area located a few miles from where I live. I was heading over to the dentists in the morning on my bike anyway so I could easily set off from there. All I would need is a backpack with provisions and a puncture repair kit should the worse happen.

The Ride

I was not carrying a map but then I figured I would not need one for the distance I was travelling. I headed off in the right direction towards RT. I soon realised that I had absolutely no energy! Maybe I should have gotten more sleep last night or had a bigger breakfast. Whatever the reason, my body felt drained and generally, just not up to it.

Sometime later I realised that I should have gone back home and set off from there rather than the dentists as this road began to wind away from my intended destination. I stopped and asked someone for directions. They recommended following a road I had just passed so I went down it and caught my first glimpse of RT in the distance.

The road started to curve away again and I was slightly peeved to find that it came out about five minutes up the road from where I actually lived. Half an hour of riding wasted! Well I consoled myself with the thought that the exercise will be doing me good.

I was starting to curse not bringing a map and also that I had no real sense of direction. Yes folks, I am about to travel around the world and I admit to having no sense of direction. I have been up RT on bike many years ago with a couple of friends. It was so long ago that the bike I was on at the time was either a Grifter (remember those?) or a black racer I put together myself. As I recall, we rode to the foot of RT by following the roads then raced up it.

I came across the entrance to a farm, which said public footpath. Looking down the rugged track I could see RT so I figured I'd take this shortcut. After travelling slowly for half a mile I reached a sign warning of Foot and Mouth and that the public path was closed and you will have to turn back. Now this I would do no problem. What got my goat was that the sign was half a mile down the track and not at the entrance. What is the point of that?

Near to the road entrance I sat down next to some bales of hale and grabbed a cup of coffee from my backpack and some biscuits. I need to regain some lost energy. I took a look around and figured out the way that we probably went years ago. When I was ready I headed in that direction. It was a long bike ride and I was relieved when I ended up at a forestry commission site.

The place was set up as a base camp for hikers. There were picnic tables, information boards on the local walks and a hut for information and some provisions. There were several walks marked for bikers as well ranging from standard to technical. I figured out a route that would take me through the hills and out the back of RT. I could have stuck to the road I was on and arrived at the foot of RT and just headed up that way. I was hoping this way would be more fun.

Fun is not a word I would use with hindsight. The first hour is uphill all the way. I had no energy and had to stop every ten minutes to drink some water. There were some walkers out and they would catch up to me as I stopped and then I'd overtake them and so on and so on. Then a couple of bikers turned up. They had the right idea. No back pack! Everything they needed was attached to the bike.

I stopped for a chat with one near the top as he was waiting for his mate to catch up. He pointed to a path with no markings and said that's the quickest way from here to RT as he had done it before. He said to go down though. I followed it for a bit until it came to an old dry stone wall. Down was a marsh with all the recent rains. Up was dry but very craggy. My instincts said to go down but I decided to head up. Big mistake! It got steeper and steeper until I just could not manoeuvre the bike any more. The path looked like it had not been used in a while. I should have trusted my instincts! I decided to turn back and head down. I got back on the bike and road through the marsh until it came a gentle slope downwards. Gentle my arse, which is what I landed on as my front wheel, went into a ditch and I was thrown from the bike. Ouch!

I can see now why Mam wants me to get a helmet. It was a lucky miss as my head missed a hidden felled tree trunk and the bikes front wheel was nearly punctured. I pushed it the rest of the way to a gate at the bottom. The area was pretty flooded and the mud looked more like clay. My shoes and the tyres were caked by the time we reached the next gate. Travelling through seemed easy but the mud gripped too well at one point as the front wheel stuck and I had a minor heart attack as I thought I was heading over the handlebars again.

Not long after I reached the back of RT. The way up was a curving path of stones that looked like they were just stuck into the mud years ago in no particular order. Half way up I met a walker coming down (he looked just like Dr. Watson). He said I should hide the bike somewhere as it would be impossible to take it to the top. I said it might be stolen but he looked around, waved his cane and said "By whom? There is no one out here but us me lad". I mumbled thanks for the advice but I'll continue. "Well good luck then, you've got quite a challenge ahead of you. Have a good day!" and he was off.

I ended up lifting the bike up at one point and carrying it until the wind got so bad that it threatened to pull me back over. When I did reach the top I left the bike against some rocks and climbed to the stone plinth that marked the very top of RT.

Was it worth it? Well I wanted a challenge and in some way, it was that. And the view alone was worth it in my opinion. I could see for miles around. I could see the sea in the distance with ships sailing on it. I could see the surrounding countryside and small towns in the distance. And the best bit? There was only me here. Looking around I could not see anyone else. Ah peace!

There was to my surprise a pretty good reception on my mobile so I called Mam and Sis to tell them I had made it. No one else was in. I texted Anna as well, one of my cryptic texts "I'm on top of the world!" For some reason she wrote back asking who the girl was as she figured I'd gotten laid.

The wind became pretty intense and I figured I'd have to go in a bit. I crawled out to the front of RT and looked down at the rocks below. Scary. I headed back to the bike and grabbed a quick coffee before doing the titanic pose into the wind. Man the wind speed must have been pretty high that day. I grabbed the bike and headed over the other side. I had spotted a grassy slope down one side that looked easier than going back down the way I had come up. The problem was that it was steep at first and the bike slipped out of my grip and luckily got lodged a meter below me. I found a ledge and sat on it to catch my breath. This is the point that Anna called after getting bored of waiting for a reply.

The trip down was a slow one as the grass was wet and slippery. When I reached the path at the bottom I had a decision to make. Take the short way down to the main road and follow that back home. Or, retrace my steps and go back through the forest route, which will be downhill for a few miles.

I chose the later route. It was a lot faster and easier now I knew which paths to take and it was all downhill so it was fun. I had to ease on the brakes occasionally though as my back wheel kept sliding out on corners with all the mud caked on to it. I soon reached the picnic area, grabbed a coffee and headed home tired as hell where I rewarded myself with a stir-fry followed by a long soak in the bath, a glass of red wine and a few chapters of 'The Fellowship of the Ring'.

…

Yesterday I headed into town for my eye check-up. I cycled again and left the bike at the University. I guessed that that would be the safest place in town for it.

The eye doctor said my eyes are improving and that I should continue using the prescription for a few more months. Another thing to add to my packing list! Cheered up I headed into town on a spending spree. I bought a watch used by travellers. It has all the features I needed such as both digital (battery) and analogue (wind up) displays, night light, alarm, waterproof, time-zones and it looked good.

I also bought a 65 litre rucksack, a wire mesh harness to secure the backpack, a sleeping bag liner and some stuff for my first aid kit. It would not all fit in my backpack so I shoved everything in my new rucksack and headed back to the bike. It was a hot day so I popped into the student bar for a Guinness before heading home. Everyone looked so young in there! Man I am feeling old.

- 04.11.2001 -

Feel the Payne

I am still suffering from writer's block so I let the comics slide further. I have no idea how other comic creators do it. Maybe its because its all they do and because its their job, they have found ways of getting over obstacles like a lack of ideas. Anyway, I think I can knock up a few comics for the 5th just to please a few people.

...

The kids were coming around one day and they wanted me to install Tomb Raider 2 on my PC so they could watch me play it. However, when I was looking for the game controller I found Max Payne, a PC game that JP had loaned me which I had completely forgotten about. I decided to install it.

About an hour later I was still messing around on the tutorial level pissing about with bullet time, diving slowly over the top of a truck and letting the baddie have it in the chest with a shotgun. Or diving sideways past alleyways and letting loose with both 9mm berettas into the baddies chest. Man is this game fucking great!

The kids turned up and I wired up the computer to the amplifier and speakers so they could listen. They thought the game was great but the 15 certificate was well deserved and they had to leave when Mam walked in and found Max walking around a whorehouse blowing away the inhabitants and looking closely at porno mags on the floor. Man this game has so much detail and ran smoothly on my PC.

To cut a long story short, I started it at 2pm; stopped a few times to eat etc and by 2.30am I had finished the game. This gets my recommendation as the best game on any platform that I have played in a while. Yes, even Tomb Raider! Go and buy it now. And Remedy, release Max Payne 2 or add-on packs now!

The next day I was itching to play it again in a New York minute. I even went on the net to see if there were any secrets or hidden levels that I had missed but all the ones listed I had found. Oh well.

- 07.11.2001 -

I ended up as a spotty dragon after challenging Mad Madam Mimm to a wizards duel

Bonfire night rolls around and the kids turn up. We are not doing anything this year due to a lack of a car to go anywhere. This doesn't bother me in the slightest as fireworks don't amaze me anymore. But the kids insisted that I take them out the back so they can watch the fireworks.

They looked so cute in their little coats with those woolly gloves that you can never seem to get their fingers into. They ended up looking like little scarecrows as their padded coats allow the arms to rest at 45 degrees to their body.

…

I start feeling unwell again, which pisses me off. I'm about to go around the world and I can't seem to last five days in my own country without getting sick. I take a few paracetamols but I get steadily worse.

I can't sleep and I itch everywhere. I decide to finish off the last few chapters of book one of Lord of the Rings. I am still in pain so I figure I'll go downstairs and watch the original Lord of the Rings video that dad taped off the TV some years ago now.

For some reason I figured that the original film was only based on book one of the trilogy. Upon reaching, and passing the part that marks the end of the first book I stopped the VCR. Only 78 minutes has elapsed so far. Maybe the original film did cover all three books and I am getting confused with the fact that they have separated each book into an independent film for the upcoming feature films.

I also understand what the guys were telling me (even though I guess I already knew deep down). When you watch a film based on a literary work you are actually watching the director's interpretation of that work and so you may miss out on how the original author was trying to convey his fictional world to you.

The film so far has missed out so much (where's Tom Bombadil?) and has cut short such great dialogues. It has also twisted the story slightly so that it can get a chapter down to thirty seconds of airtime. An example is the Prancing Pony in Bree. Where is the letter from Gandalf? So they just trust that Strider is who he says he is? Etc etc. Sigh.

I am looking forward to seeing how the new films turn out and how accurately they reflect the original works. I recall Wes and JP arguing over something they had read on the net about how specific characters were going to be portrayed in the new films and how a particular character was to be expanded beyond they're role in the book. I hope this is not the case. I remember little of the conversation due to not really being interested at the time.

For now I am well into book two and enjoying it.

..

Dawn kicks in and I have yet to get any sleep. I make an emergency appointment with the doctors after noticing that I am covered in spots from head to toe. I was in a panic and even booted Encarta to look up the Measles and Chickenpox but I was not showing the main symptoms. I did the glass test also to calm my mind when it suggested Meningitis.

The doc said that I have an allergy to something. That's news to me. I have never been allergic to anything in my life. Have I eaten or drank anything new lately? Only my Mams cooking (she was not amused when I later repeated this).

It was raining so I walked over to Grandmas for a quiet cup of coffee and a chat before getting the bus home. The doc prescribed some anti-histamines (£6.10 for a little packet!). I have to take one a day. I'm writing this at the end of day one. They have had as much affect as chocolate fireguard so far. My kingdom for a decent nights sleep!

…

My tickets to Paris arrived! Yeah! I leave the UK early on Friday November the 30th. I also found out that I do not need a Visa for Thailand so the first 4 months of my trip are Visa free!

- 12.11.2001 -

DONT PANIC

I had a panic attack and I ended up meeting my old friend insomnia head-on once again. I think it was partly to do with stress owing to the fact that my departure date is drawing near. It was also to do with planning.

I am usually pretty good at planning but friends and contacts that have done extensive travelling had told me to avoid getting a RTW ticket and to just go. The advantages are that you have the freedom to travel where you want, when you want without incurring penalty fees for making changes. So with a rough idea of the countries I wanted to visit in my head, I planned the first leg of my journey and booked that.

The panic attack happened when I decided that I would probably have to fly from Greece (Athens) to Thailand (Bangkok). I logged onto the internet and started hunting for an idea of the cost of this flight. The prices being returned by these online booking systems ranged from £1,300 to over £2,000. Cue the panic attack.

I went onto lonely planet and chatted to some people and the replies were mixed. One person said it should only be a few hundred pounds and that I shouldn't worry.

So there I was full of worry and unable to sleep. I knew that the only way I was going to get any sleep was to log online again and look deeper. I had reasoned that if I was living in Greece and I wanted to fly to Thailand, I would not want to pay over a thousand pounds to do so. I mean, from the UK it is only £367 return to Bangkok with Trailfinders so in theory, Greece should be less.

Digging deeper I found daily flights between Athens and Bangkok via several airlines. The prices were in Baht but the currency converter worked them out as about £322 (28,000baht) and that was for a return flight. I felt the panic subside.

I remembered how JP wanted to just go to Iceland and sod planning, but in the end he never went because others planned it to death. I guess I had started to do the same. The internet is a great resource but it can be cluttered with too much information that may not be of any use to you. In the end you should learn to trust your instincts more.

I am now calm and once again looking forward to my travels. The first leg of the journey is Europe so I should not have much to worry about. I know it is completely the wrong time of year to travel through Europe but I really want to see Paris, Venice, Rome and Athens so I figured I'd include them into my itinerary. Maybe I will benefit from the lack of tourists by getting cheaper accommodation, easier access to the sights and better deals.

If the worse case scenario does happen and I get stuck in Europe, unable to get a flight to my next destination, I can always return to the UK and fly out from there. Hopefully this will be unnecessary.

Although the RTW ticket is a nice safety net to have, I believe that just travelling and arranging everything on the road will prove to be more adventurous. Alabama Flint fears nothing!

…

I only have a few more items to tick of my to do list before I leave. One is travel insurance. There are many companies offering basic backpacker insurance that mainly covers medical expenses. And normally with insurance I will go with the cheaper option. However this is my life we are talking about, not a cheap motor. Therefore I believe that paying extra for full coverage including flight delays, hijacking, medical, theft, lawyers and driving insurance is the option I will take. Insurance is not an area that I feel you should try to save money on. Save money on flights and accommodation yes, but when it comes to your health, spend wisely.

…

Before the panic attack yesterday I was playing Discworld Noir extensively. I figured the detective story line would generate ideas for Detox 3.0 but it didn't. I needed to create some comics so I went through some metal and rock MP3s and checked out some old strips. I got an idea for a Detox Intermission strip and it snowballed on from there. I managed to create a week's worth of strips in an hour! It takes me that long to do one Detox 3.0 strip. I think I have made it too complicated to churn out daily so hopefully I will finish the story line soon so I can concentrate on other things. I should have kept to the KISS principle like Little Gamers. Keeping it simple is much better.

- 13.11.2001 -

A blast from the past

My day started off badly when I received post from the Inland Revenue about taxes and some from my accountants asking me to sign stuff. By rights I should be abroad by now if I had left as originally planned.

For the last few weeks I had been trying to contact my account manager to confirm that they had done what I had paid them to do. Namely to make my company dormant so I can leave the country knowing that I would not be done for tax evasion upon return.

It transpired that my account manager had left the company and my accountants had not assigned anyone new to me. I was pissed to put it lightly. I am no longer paying them but I paid them a fee to make my company dormant and to file my tax returns. By the looks of things, this has yet to be completed. I am not a happy man.

…

With the best intentions in mind I hoped to get some Detox 3.0 comics completed today but I could not get into the right frame of mind. So I found other things to do instead like sort out some paperwork, post some mail, watch TV and play on the PC. The latter is something I have been doing a lot recently.

The phone rang at about 9:45pm and interrupted Millennium. What followed was one of the weirdest phone conversations I have had in a long time. And I have had a few.

He asked if I knew who this was. I said no. He mentioned a few things from when I was young. Dodgy stuff you do as a kid that parents ground you for. I knew who it was.

Out of the blue he had called my old number and was amazed to find me there. I told him he was lucky, as technically, I did not live here, I was just staying here until I left on my trip. He sounded stoned out of his head. I'd forgotten how childish he was and it didn't seem like he had grown up. This feeling was confirmed when he asked me for a computer virus to unleash on DHL for loosing a package of his. Sigh. What was that famous saying? When I was a kid I played with childish things but as an adult I put away such toys? Well something like that.

An American female voice tells him to stop being silly and to get off the phone. He says it's his wife. I think he met her over the internet. He wants to meet up tomorrow as he lives nearby. I agree out of a morbid curiosity rather than an urge to see an old friend. There's still a bit of tension between us over an accident.

In 1991 we were the passengers in a car being driven by a friend who had just gotten his license. The rear tyre blew on the motorway at 90mph and he lost control. The driver went through the front windscreen (it had fallen out) and the caller went out the back. He was not so lucky and ended up in surgery to remove the glass from his body. The car rolled several times and I was still in it. My seat was released from the floor mountings and the seatbelt saved my life by holding me back while the roof caved in on me. I climbed out of the car with extensive damage to my internal organs.

I ended up in intensive care and the caller ended up in surgery. The driver got away with bruises. He wore lots of leather at the time and it saved his ass. He wasn't wearing his seatbelt and was speeding and he should have lost his license but I refused to testify against him at the time. I guess it was out of some stupid loyalty to a friend. I mean, he could have killed me.

Some friend he turned out to be. He disappeared not long after and did not bother to stay in touch. I guess I am not really looking forward to seeing this particular old mate again. With the driver being my friend his parents banned me from their property and tried to do me but the insurance company and police wrote it off as an accident.

So out of the blue this guy is calling me and he wants to meet up. He's coming over tomorrow. This should be interesting.

- 28.11.2001 -

Tomorrow is the day

I've been meaning to write this for some time but other tasks kept getting in the way. I have finally found a moment ore two of peace so I'll get started.

...

I haven't been sleeping well lately as the day slowly draws near when I will be leaving on my travels. I think it's the realisation of what I am actually about to do kicking in. As I lie here safe and sound in a warm bed I start thinking such thoughts as 'Where will I be sleeping in a week or a months time?' A cheap hotel maybe or a youth hostel. Maybe even under canvas or on a train or plane.

Other thoughts also pop up such as all the warnings that I have to heed. The data from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office I have read on each country I am hoping to visit; the notes made by fellow travellers available on-line; and also the warnings of relatives and friends.

But then I think of the reasons that I am doing this and I can finally drop off to sleep. Everyone that I have talked to about the trip says that they are envious of me. Then they follow this up with 'but if I had the money I probably wouldn't go because of the risks'. Maybe the risks should be considered as part of the adventure?

So what are my reasons? I have read others say that they hope it will change them. Others have written instead that it will not change you but it will bring out your personality more. How you handle situations and interact with the people you meet will better define you.

Some people see going around the world as a goal in itself. They will shell out lots of money to do it, usually in as short a time as possible so they can get back to their lives and say they have done it. That is not for me. I wanted to travel abroad and visit foreign places that I have only read about in books or seen in documentaries. The fact that I can line them up so that it makes a path around the world is a bonus.

The conversations and emails I have had recently about the trip have been somewhat intriguing. I believe a lot of people think that I will be partying in a different country every month or entertaining women of a dubious nature at every opportunity that presents itself. Just because I am away from home does not mean that I will change over night.

My main interests and reasons for travel is to explore foreign places, to visit landmarks, see beautiful vistas, meet people and fellow travellers and experience the delights of foreign food and culture. I also hope to take part in various activities such as walking, climbing, biking, water sports, swimming, diving, sailing, etc. In other words I plan to have as full an adventure as possible.

I also plan to be very careful. Although I have taken out adequate insurance, and I am pretty well inoculated against the most common of diseases, my safety on my travels is my main concern. I hoped to go to Nepal maybe even meet the Dali Lama but recent events there have made that dream impossible. I also wish to go to Cambodia to see the temples of Angor Wat but that is looking more and more dangerous for a traveller. I guess I'll see where the road takes me.

Whatever happens along the way I am sure it will be an eye-opener for me. I have only ever been to two places outside of the UK before and they are not on my itinerary so every place I visit will be new to me. The only part of this journey set in stone is the trip to Paris. Everything else is to be arranged as I travel.

I lie. There is one other part of the journey set in stone and that is the end date. I must be back in England on or before early September next year in time for a wedding.

Until my next update.

David Kei

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