Wednesday 10 October 2007

Graham's "8 Random Things"



Well, I have been tagged by Linda from "Linda and her surroundings" with this rather challenging meme.... to come up with 8 random things about myself.

Now the problem is, I could come up with a million random things about me.... the thing is to think of 8 facts that are remotely interesting. As this is a travel blog, I decided to base it on my travel experiences. So here goes......


Random Travel Fact 1.

When I was in the Amazon, I hurt my back on a speed boat and had to take pain killers. The pain killers reacted with the anti-Malaria tablets (lariam/mefloquine) that I was already taking at the time. The resulting affect was that during the night I had an attack of hallucinations. I can remember waking up in my hut in the middle of the night to find eight shaman in full head gear standing around my bed doing some weird form of dance, chanting and waving their spears above their heads. It was totally surreal. At first it scared the living daylights out of me, but somehow I was conscious enough to realise that I was experiencing a hallucination and closed my eyes. At that point, I could even feel their hands touching my face, arms and legs.... it was horrible. After some time it finally stopped, I opened my eyes and they were gone... but trust me, they were never forgotten.


Random Travel Fact 2.

During my visit to Brazil, I visited a nice restaurant. The trouble was that I was unable to speak Spanish or Portuguese, and the waiter was unable to speak English. What made it even worse was that the menu was also not in English. Luckily, the waiter had an amazing sense of humour and decided to help me out by miming the options as I pointed to them. I couldn't quite work out the different types of fish, but the crab and chicken were very easy to understand. Alas, the universal language of mime came to my rescue. Oh, by the way - I ended up with a bowl of delicious mussels for my starter, a large crab for my main course and Ice Cream for my sweet. I'll leave the mime of the ice-cream to your imagination....
The above library photo is of the legendary Mime Master, Marcel Marceau
(born in March 1923 and sadly left us in September 2007)




Random Travel Fact 3.

During my tour of Scotland, I jumped on a boat and sailed around Loch Ness. I was there with my camera in hand, ready to take 'that' photo that would prove the existance of the Loch Ness Monster....

The above photo is was taken by Marmaduke Wilson in 1934 (and was confirmed in 1994 to be a fake).

...did I see Nessy?.... ....did I heck!



Random Travel Fact 4.

I have been fortunate enough to ride camels on 3 different occasions, once in the Canary Islands, once in Morocco and once in Egypt.

...and trust me, it didn't get any easier!



Random Travel Fact 5.

I have only every been skiing once in my lifetime. It was when I was 18 yrs old, and I went with some friends to Meribel in the French Alps. The one thing that I can remember is that I spent more time on my butt than standing up. By the middle of the holiday, I can remember being black and blue all over. However, as per usual I took lots of photos to remember the experience. The unfortunate thing is that I got rather merry on the last evening and lost my camera - so I went through all of that pain and discomfort and had nothing to show for it apart from a few bruises.



Random Travel Fact 6.

Whilst on holiday in Island of Zakynthos a few years ago, I took a day trip to main land Greece to visit the famous ruins of Olympia. It was amazing to walk around the ruins, imagining that all those years ago the first olympic games took place there. I even had the opportunity to run along the track which held the first sprint race.



Random Travel Fact 7.

I have a passion for the game "Backgammon". One thing I love about the Turkish folk, is their admiration for the game too. Whilst walking around the streets of Taksim square late at night, I am always amazed at the number of bars that have small tables spotted about outside with people playing backgammon. Board games and card games are a great way of crossing the divide between different cultures.




Random Travel Fact 8.

When I was in Morrocco, I took up the opportunity to have a snake around my neck and also plucked up the courage to touch a cobra on the top of the head. The experience, albeit quite frightening, was amazing - a chance in a lifetime experience that I will never forget.


Okay, so that's 8 random facts from me.

As I only recently issued a meme, I will leave this meme open for anybody who would like to take up the challenge of writing 8 random facts about themselves. Please let me know if you do take it up, I would love to read your choices.

Ta ta for now,

Graham ;)

21 comments:

linda said...

So, are you sure you weren't hallucinating about Nessy? I love you the way you say "When I was in the Amazon..." so casually. I love the look of backgammon, the board and the pieces and the geometry of it - but I have NO idea how to play it at all. Your photo album must be so interesting with all the places you have been.

Weekend Warrior said...

I've always been intrigued by paranormal phenomena and mythical/strange creatures like the Yetis, Loch Nesss', Unicorns, Mermaids etc. It's amazing that you got a shot of what is supposedly a Loch Ness. How long did you sight it for and how often did it appear out of the water?

Graham Ettridge said...

Linda, you must go and pick yourself up a backgammon set and learn to play. It is a fun game, with relatively simple rules. I'm sure you'll love it!

Weekend warrior, sorry but I did not take that photo. I wish I had, I'd be a very wealthy man by now. I too am intrigued by the paranormal phenomena and the unexplained...

Weekend Warrior said...

Okay, I just noticed that you had a small footnote under the picture which I missed ;) Anyways, Hope we'll sight one of these in our lifetime !!

AZZITIZZ said...

Hi Graham,
I have had a snake round my neck too when I went to Bristol Zoo. Got a piccy somewhere for proof.
:)
P.S.
Why is there a licorice allsort on the backgammon board?
:)

Anonymous said...

Same here, I've only been skiing once - and it's not my kind of sports, really... :D

Ordering at a restaurant and not speaking the language - happened to me in Hong Kong when people only spoke Cantonese but I could read the menue fine though. And in Brazil. Ouch, it was tough to feed myself at first ! :D

Good meme ! So good that...

Yeah...

You've been tagged again !

No pressure my friend, I know you're my favorite victim ;)

But you might like this one :

Dear artist...

Anonymous said...

Isn't travelling one of the best things in life? I got a big list of the places i am planning to go to...
I also rode a camel last month for the second time in my life in Eilat desert, and it's true, it doesn't get easier! We're planning to go check out Malta in November.
I always enjoy your posts!
Thanks for commenting on my blog!

Max Coutinho said...

Hey Graham,

I finally received your visit lol!
Thanks for dropping by :).

I can imagine how fun it must have been in Brazil: Brazilians are wonderful people...I just love them!
By the way congrats for that meme: very creative!

Cheers

Oswegan said...

Love the facts and the photos.

Do you take them all yourself?

You must get some nice photo opps traveling so many places.

~Oswegan
http://oswegan.blogspot.com

david santos said...

Very good Blogue and very nice photos, thank you
Have a good day

Lorelai236 said...

Fantastic post Graham! I hope one day to see the sights you so vividly describe--including #1!!! :)

Anonymous said...

oh great trips graham !!!! u have had amazing experiences.....of the world....so wht is left in ur book...
a snake on ur shoulder...tht is so scary.....riding on camels....i cannot even on a horse...its so painful...lol....

great article graham...!!! kudos !!

Graham Ettridge said...

Azzy! I haven't been to Bristol Zoo for years. Mmmm, I must pop back there agian sometime.

LOL! I wondered what that licorice square thing was too. I think it is supposed to be the shaker for the dice....lol!

Zhu.... awwwww, I love memes but your one is sooo difficult. I'm really going to have to think long and hard about this one... it may take a few days and some real soul searching. However, I absolutely promise that I will do it!

Graham Ettridge said...

Hello Omega! Malta is supposed to be breathtaking... I am sure you will have a great time. Make sure that you take loads of photgraphs. ps. I love your new hairstyle!!!!!

Hiya Max :))))

Sorry it has taken so long, but I ejoyed your blog and will definitely be stopping by more often. Thanks for your kind comments.

Graham Ettridge said...

Hello Oswegan,

I try to take as many photos as I can when I travel. I want to capture as much as I can, so that I can look back in the future with fond memories.

David, thank you for your very nice comment.

Graham Ettridge said...

Heyyyyyyy Lorelai, long time no speak! I do hope you are well and having fun!

gayathri, thank you for your kind words. The snake was quite scary and yes, the camel was definitely uncomfortable....lol!

Daszzle said...

I know it is way past the 29th of August, thus making me ridiculously out of touch with my surroundings for having not noticed, but congratulations on your blog award! You definitely deserve it!

Graham Ettridge said...

Hey Daszzle, thanks for the kind comment. Best wishes :)

Choc Mint Girl said...

I didn't know when I'd be able to explore a place like Amazon. I've got mixed feelings about it. I sure hope someday someone could prove the existence of Nessy. It'll be fascinating.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting facts, Graham! I might have to participate in this one as well. I think I've done it several times already, but I'll come up with some all new facts! :)

AZZITIZZ said...

Hey, only just spotted, you didn't answer my question on this post....

Why is there a licorice allsort on the backgammon board?

Is it a licorice allsort or a new type of playing piece?

Had they run out of discs?

Am I asking too many questions?

Serves you right for not answering the first one when I asked. He he!

:)

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