Alex In A Far Away Land

Tales of my travels. Now tales from home.

[alexinafarawayland]

I write whenever I can. Always carry my notebooks, pens and perhaps a little inspiration tatecollectives

[alexinafarawayland]

A little something a certain Mr John le Cafe wrote for the LRB

[alexander-silver]

#tbt to sunset in an abandoned park overlooking the Taj Mahal

[alexinafarawayland]

One of the greatest songs about London by one of it's greatest ever songwriters.

[alexinafarawayland]

Things turning Autumnal

The British can talk about the weather for hours and I am no different. If you don't know someone, it is often the first topic you choose. Whilst we didn't have exclusive sun for the 12 months of our travels, we haven't had the standard 4 seasons of the UK. Therefore, since returning I have often been cold even when friends assure me it isn't.

Now that September is coming to an end though, Autumn is coming. The leaves are just starting to turn and add a nice crunch underfoot when you walk somewhere. 

The one thing we had been missing was the rain but this came with a vengeance last week when I was woken up twice by huge thunderstorms. 

I was thinking about this and admiring some trees in Regents Park when suddenly walking underneath one became unexpectedly dangerous. A gust of wind sent dozens of conkers falling down around me but luckily not on my head.

[alexinafarawayland]

Wonderful British Food

One of the things I was looking forward to most about returning was the food. People can denigrate British food all they like, but they are wrong. It is wonderful.

Some classic British dishes are up there with the best I had anywhere and in London there is such a variety of food to choose from. I mean the favourite dish in England is curry!

My first meal back in London was a curry at one of the best places in town. Tayyabs in Whitechapel. Busy, hectic and fairly cheap. The lamb chops are one of the best things in the world. The curry and naan bread wasn't far off either. 

Back at home on the south coast, I had to go for fish and chips. Greasy and served in paper with a small wooden fork but there really is nothing like it. Especially when it is fresh and by the sea. 

Then there were all the great cupboard fillers which you can't seem to find elsewhere. Brown sauce and baked beans. Marmite!

My favourite British dish is without a doubt the Great British Fry Up. However, this is so good it requires a separate post. Possibly even a few.

[alexinafarawayland]

Since I am back in the UK, I thought I should start posting some British music. 

I love a lot of different music but do think these small islands produced some of the most amazing bands. Squeeze, I'm not sure where one of them, but this is such a great song. And one set in London on my return to the city.

[alexinafarawayland]

One of the joys of returning home and not yet working was the ability to visit so many places in London. One such place was the National Portrait Gallery. A huge and wonderful collection.

After the scrum of the annual portrait prize I disappeared upstairs to rooms of Tudors, Edwardians, Victorians and modern Britains.

My 2 favourite pieces (above) - portraits of the Labour politician, John Burns and an entry to the Portrait Prize of a man who clearly loves his chair.

[alexinafarawayland]

The Great British Sea-side

After a while in London I made it back to the Sussex seaside where I was bought up.

Cloudy skies over pebbled beaches. Ice-creams. Walks along the prom to see piers (strangely a lot of which have now been burnt down) and beautiful Victorian architectire

[alexinafarawayland]

Tate Modern

It has always been one of my favourite places in the city and I made a point of getting back there as soon as possible.

I wandered through the galleries with no goals in mind. I had been there many times so didn't linger in some rooms and, as always, found places I had not been before. New paintings and new views across the river.

I did make a point of seeking out my favourite painting, Summertime by Jackson Pollock. I went to the room it normally is but it wasn't there. Not sure if I was lost, I tried a few more rooms until finally asking someone. It is in Liverpool but hopefully returning soon.

I left and wandered towards the bridge. Past the piano which has been there a few years when I saw a stall for the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) with telescopes looking up. I asked them why and they told me a peregrine falcon was sat, as he often is, at the top of the building overlooking the river and the city. And so he was. Majestically perched on the tower. Apparently there is a pair which nest in the city.

I wandered over the Millenium Bridge towards St Paul's Cathedral which was basked in sun and remembered why I love this city so much.

[alexinafarawayland]

[alexinafarawayland]

Getting back to London

Finally after just over a year, I made it back to London. And the sun was shining! It didn’t last of course but was so nice to come back and enjoy it for a while. 

2 weeks of enjoying the sun and the other things I had missed about home. A proper pub! The food. The people

And the things I had missed about London. I went for long walks without a real plan of where to go. Over Primrose Hill, through Regents Park, down Portland Place with some of the best looking buildings in London, and into Soho. 

I relaxed, enjoyed the not often seen sun and tried to settle back into the busy pace of the city I love

[alexander-silver]

#tbt to last year in #Laos. Crossing a river near Luang Prabang and being raced by kids on their small boats #travel #lp

[alexander-silver]

August last year in Halong Bay #Vietnam #tbt #nofilter

[alexinafarawayland]

Things I won't miss

The year I spent travelling was, without doubt, the best thing I have ever done but not everything was wonderful.

It can be very tiring. Constantly packing up and moving on. 3 or 4 days in one place then an invariably long bus journey and a search for a hostel and somewhere to eat.

A few things which really did get to me after a while were (in no particular order):

Dodgy showers - would the water be hot, would there be enough of it, was it clean... The list goes on.

Quick dry towels - once you get out the potentially terrible shower it feels almost impossible to get dry and even when you do, the towel does not seem to dry any quicker than a normal one.

The same clothes - once dried you dress in the same clothes or a slight variation on them. It get a bit tedious after a while.

Not being able to watch spurs games - once a week, or sometimes more, I would know my beloved Tottenham Hotspur were playing but it was almost always impossible to watch the game. I think I only managed a few games whilst away (in a Cambodian hotel with no sound, in a bar in Lukla, Nepal, and often keeping updated on the radio or Twitter).

These are, of course, minor gripes when I consider the amazing places we went, the fantastic people, the gorgeous food... This list goes a lot further.

[alexinafarawayland]

As well as beer tops, I also collected money from all the countries I went to. I have a lot of coins but here are the notes. Some have great designs on them. So many around the world have animals or stunning natural vistas. My personal favourites were from Nepal.

[alexinafarawayland]

I bought a lot of things back from my travels but here are the beer bottle tops from all 16 countries and the labels from the best 4 beers. Oh and a few beer mats thrown in too. The best 4 beers were (in reverse order)... 4. Cusquena Rojo (red) from Cisco, Peru 3. Pacena Negra (black) from Bolivia 2 . Patagonia Amber lager from Argentina 1. Dark Beer Lao from Laos