Introduction

Two gay men traveling the world and noting their impressions; Is that how I want to introduce this blog? Well it certainly is what the blog is all about. Does the fact that we are gay matter? Well only in the sense that some of the adventures you will hear about may not happen to other travelers. Does the fact that we are English, but have lived in California for the last 30 years, matter. Well I think it makes for an interesting dichotomy in our outlook. It means we can travel on either passport, but at the time of writing they may be looked on as two of the most unpopular passports in the world. We have the reserve of the English, but with a patina of the California laid-back style. We love to take Cruises but often do not enjoy our fellow shipmates. Whenever possible we refuse to take the scheduled day trips on organized buses to prearranged destinations. Instead we make our own day trips, sometimes driving ourselves in countries where we cannot read the road signs, which can be a lot more entertaining, and often means we have no idea where we are. We love to travel in style and comfort as much as our situation allows, but we also love to travel to out-of-the-way-places where style and comfort are not available. We love to meet people from all over the world and hear their stories and learn how they live.

If you stay with us on our journeys, you will read about the places we visit, and learn about the people we meet. You will also come to know a little about me. You will see that I enjoy the small moments of our travels, particularly if they have a sense of the absurd about them. You will also realize that I delight in the observation of the people around me, and may not always describe them in the most flattering light. But in all cases the names are changed so as not to cause offense.

I hope my stories will make you laugh, and occasionally make you cry. But most of all I hope the stories make you care. Care about the world we live in, care about the people we meet, from the hill tribes of Burma to the Maoris of New Zealand, and care enough to maybe make some journeys of your own.

I will start with Burma. We took this trip a little over a year ago, in November and December of 2007. We were to fly to Burma just 2 months after the uprisings and suppression of the monks took place. We couldn’t decide whether to go or not. We felt that by going we would be supporting the Junta, but we heard that the people of Burma desperately wanted the tourists to return. Without the tourists so many people had no income. So in the end we decide to go and tomorrow I will begin to tell you of our travels, the people we met and our impressions.