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Monday 2 December 2013

I've Gone Again!




Please visit the new site for all the latest blogs, articles, drawings, films and more






'Writing Off the Page' - How to use writing as a means to travel the world.







Travellers, those hippy-types, who faf around asia all year in search of ‘themselves’ 


Writers, those self-centered-types, who faf around the house all day in search of ‘an idea’


Travel writers, searching for an idea whilst (sometimes) finding themselves. 



Three mis-conceptions I had before leaving England, picking up a pencil and boarding a one-way flight half way across the globe. I’ve found out a few things along the way, things i’d like to share. If you love to write or you love to travel hopefully I can convince you that the two can be the most wonderful combination. Here goes. 


Money? thats fiction, right?


Travel writing will never earn you enough money to live on, I had better get that in early, at best you might be able to buy a new biro once in a while! This is exceptionally true for those budding young writers out there, taking a gap year from ‘creative writing 101’ in search of a million dollar story. 


If your ‘destination’ is to become ‘rich beyond your wildest dreams’ then you needn't travel the world. In fact, you needn’t travel further then your local retail park. But what if you’re not ‘in it for the money’? 

Well, thats a start! If you’re passion is for the words and not for the cash then you’re ahead of the game.


I read a speech once made by Alan Watts. He talked about if you truly love something, eventually, you can become a master of it. And when you become a master of something you’ll be able to charge a good fee for whatever it is you do. Sounds great to me.   


The secret of writing.


There are so many writers to read. So many ideas to immerse yourself into. So many hours of procrastination to be had before becoming a masterful writer. Those really want to write will always do so. But the really good writers have something in abundance which the average joe-bloggs-would-be-novelist lacks. Inspiration.

Thats it. Secrets out. So simple too! just go out and be inspired, write a best seller, and retire in the Maldives before they sink. -If only that were true.

Well actually there is a source of inspiration in the world, it comes from a Vietnamese hostel at 3am. It comes from waking up hungover on a boat and having no idea where its headed. It comes from an Indian yogi’s 7ft of unwashed hair. It comes from going out into the big wide world and experiencing new things.

But most importantly, Inspiration comes after you learn how to say ‘yes’.



“yes, i will try juggling those! so what if they’re on fire?!”

“yes, i will go with you to find your brother. where is he again? the arctic?”

“Yes! Free-diving looks like fun. bet i can hold my breath longer!”


What’s in it for me?


As if 14 hour bus rides and dysentery wern’t enough!


You’ll find that horrible things like writers-block cease to exist, it is replaced by an overwhelming urge to share your experience with the world (whether you write it in a simple blog or shout it from the beaches of Koh Tao). Life becomes a real adventure, the never-ending search for the next great thing… to be able to tell the world ‘i found this’. Here’s what I found…


  • Opportunities are found only when we go out and search for them.

  • New experiences fuel writers (and travellers).

  • The best stories come from great adventures.



So use writing ‘for a living’ your excuse to travel the world. Use writing ‘for a living’ as an excuse to say "yes".

Author: Mark Powell. Click here for more. 

Wednesday 30 October 2013

Silly songs with Mark - Track one

http://www.youtube.com/v/5yYaNapDHUI?version=3&autohide=1&showinfo=1&autoplay=1&attribution_tag=DUdivth_i3BgY5svIQSowA&autohide=1&feature=share

Tekkit for minecraft just got ridiculous - Tekkit52 - Episode two

http://www.youtube.com/v/wcloWgtwsd4?version=3&autohide=1&autohide=1&feature=share&autoplay=1&showinfo=1&attribution_tag=XA97_paIraMozVdhIHSl0g

Tuesday 1 October 2013

USA Government Shutdown - Wishful thinking!

Please read, then share. It really helps!


As of midnight, tuesday morning, the American Government goes into (partial) shutdown. This has had to happen due to the fact that the law that funds the government ‘ran out’ it expired - like the focus on Iraq - Poof, and it’s gone. For the government to stay open, the republican house and the democratic senate need to pass a new law, they both have to agree for it to go through.




   This is where the U.S of A has fell short. They simply can’t seem to agree on the new budget - or more specifically they can't agree on one point. Obamacare. What a horrible phrase. We can thank Jeanne Schulte Scott who first coined the phase (she was mocking that private care seemed to be all the presidential candidates cared about) “Health care is hot” she said back in 2008 - when Obamacare was a mere spec in the greedy little eye of the the ‘States.




But what does this shutdown actually mean? well, to be honest, nothing. 

  • Government looses revenue from the tourist industry. 

  • Keeping money from the 800,000 workers that don't need to be paid. 

  • Taxes still collected from the citizens - with no need to spend them on pesky things like opening a 93m high french lady.





   With all this going on take one guess who's still being paid? No, not the NASA Scientists, Not the Police force either (they get IOU’s) but the ‘America’s bravest’ soldiers are still being paid for they’re daily pillage of the world. 



   Well, if America couldn't fund their army then how on Earth could they continue to control other countries oil supplies?! - Don’t be silly! thats not going to happen. Not on Obamawatch. Not when Obamacares. Not when it provides a beautiful smokescreen.







   What i’ve loved in watching this story develop is the unconditional bias shown (yes, i’m one to talk) but CNN and BBC are both only reporting the democratic side of the argument and Obamas reactions to what these ‘hostage taking’ republicans are doing. The underlying tone of the senate is comparing republicans to terrorism! 


   Fancy that! Russia steps in with the Syria fiasco, with their nonsense of ‘peace talks’ before bomb drops and suddenly the USA have ran out of fiction to fight! They have to literally bring the fight into there own house (pun intended) rather ironically over the inability to compromise with each other! Ridiculous. 





Obama Himself has just made a statement to the American people and the world.




   Blame game! From the outset he attacks the ‘one branch of one house’ he then goes on to compare them to holding ransom - again a terrorism reference. He talks of the services that have been shut down. he pleads with the republicans to reconsider. 

   Of course the affordable care act comes up. He focus’ on this heavily, more-so then the apparent devastating news of a government shutdown. He started giving sob stories of ‘true americans’ who are now blessed by his Obamacare. He went on to ‘plug’ websites and phone numbers for it! 




   This leader of the free world was more concerned (perhaps rightly so) with people liking his new care package! he doesn't want people to question why republicans are SO against it. 





Why are they so against the affordable healthcare act? has Obama once addressed this in public? no.




He gloats that “even though parts of the government are shut down, Obamacare is not” 



He over-simplifies important congressional discussions in terms of car loans and paying your mortgage. 



   In the end - Mr. Obama talked for three quarters of his address talking about his care package that he is obviously standing his ground on. 




   If you ask me, It looks to me that we need the ruskies in again. Sit down and have a look at both sides of this argument. Find all the facts about the bill that is bringing down a nation. The world might be a better place too if the government shutdown INCLUDED the massive drain on funds ‘the United States Army’ and maybe rethink the definition of ‘essential shutdowns’ and keep all sciences open and funded indefinitely. 



Remember to share this if you've liked it. It really helps!

Tuesday 24 September 2013

Kanas City Shuffle - The Nairobi Mall







While the whole world is watching Kenya, and the tragedy that is playing out inside the Nairobi mall siege, am i the only one whose wondering ‘What is America getting away with this time?’

It seems that every time a global incident occurs or it becomes ‘necessary to intervene’ in another country America somehow has an agenda that serves some benefit. 





Vietnam, Iraq and more recently the Syria conflict Serve as examples of the ‘Worlds police’ using little disguise to muscle they’re way onto more resources.

Although Russia seems to have stepped in and saved Syria’s backsides, (and their brand new oil pipeline (completed in 2010) at the last moment). But its really all over the chemical weapons, isn’t it?

Resources are essential for growth but wealth is essential for stability. Plundering, Pillaging and Raping the world has provided an abundance of both it seems. However, this tact will inevitably make you a few enemies. 




Can a country really find a way to dis-credit their foes, earn money AND create reason to ‘intervene’ in another countries assets? Case-in-point 9/11. 

The largest bombing campaign on Afghanistan happened on the morning of september 11th 2001. We were all glued to the controlled demolition taking place in New York at the time.

The largest insurance policy for skyscrapers was taken out for the Twin towers. weeks before, in July 2001.

The so-called ‘War on terrorism’ that followed 9/11 ultimately led to public/congressional support prior to the Iraq war.







Kenyan civilians are the latest victims of needless violence. Thats a fact. They, along with countless more innocent people before them, serve as puppets in a global political game of ‘swapsies’ Your gold for our guns. My skyscrapers for his money. Their oil for our morals. Something like that.



Whether its billion dollar Insurance fraud or Brain washing populations or fear mongering propaganda or a kansas city shuffle. When i see a big news story unfolding I can’t help but wonder ‘What is America getting away with this time?’


Saturday 14 September 2013

Vietnam's Tourism Industry - Should it be left to the kids?

Here is an article I wrote for a website. heres a sneak peak...


The full un-diluted version of Vietnam blog is on it's way too!





Vietnam.



“Start in Hanoi, then work your way to Saigon. You’ll see a difference in the south” - A simple piece of advice given to me before becoming a tourist of this country. 


Hanoi Airport - August 2013 - My first time in Vietnam. Like most travellers my first priority was getting to the hotel. ‘This taxi drivers great!’ I thought - we’d been exchanging stories, it was a 40 minutes ride into town - so a little conversation goes a long way! Then conversation turned sour…


“Pay - You pay!” Insisting the toll booth we went through cost over ten times more than it did. He became visibly angry - raised his voice. The English he’d been chatting to me with had all been ‘forgotten’ and he became more animated in his demand.  


Now, I’m aware he must see hundreds of tourists a week - and, sadly, I have no doubt he thought by shouting i’d give in and pay. What took me by surprise was - this tact became a frequent occurrence - when dealing with anyone in trave




Employee’s of the tourism industry seem to have been given this handbook on dealing with us tourists.

  • When ‘pointing’ and ‘one-syllable-directions’ fail - try raising your voice.

  • If the offender still isn't doing what you expect - become more aggressive with your gestures. 

  • Be as defensive as possible when challenged on any of your demands and Remember - when in doubt, just refuse to speak English.




In total, i rode five 12 hour ‘sleeper’ buses, and what i noticed was rather shocking. No matter when you got on, or where, it was a case of western people are at the back - natives are at the front. When sitting in a seat deemed ‘wrong’ (i.e too far forward) a staff member would repeat the steps from the guidebook i mentioned above. 






Once and only once did i attempt a Rosa-Parks-esque stand off. Refusing to move to the back of the bus. He became furious and told me to get off.




Im sure there are many reasons why in these particular cases - its just-so-happened - to be this way. But surely better people-skills are required. Surely better training could be given. Surely no-one deserves a verbal onslaught from a angry bus driver.

Funny, i thought, that in every other aspect Vietnam had proven to be exceptional. Hotel workers were some of the best i’d encountered. Street sellers were polite and easy-going. Restaurant staff were as good as the food (which in vietnam is very good indeed!).




Why then had the travel trade been left so far behind? Are us tourists really that bad? I needed to know, and strangely an answer came to me from an unlikely source.



Saigon's Parks are a breath of fresh air. You can see people learning to dance, outdoor martial artists giving lessons, dozens of children skating and students. Students of english - this generation of academics gave me hope for Vietnam’s tourism industry. What seems like the whole school - are out in the parks simply going up and talking to people. they are practising english.

My most enjoyable night was spent talking in the park. We talked about everything. We debated politics. We chatted about english traditions. We discussed patriotism. When i asked them how long they’d been doing this one lad they said that every night for over a year he’d been coming to talk to foreigners. when i asked why he did it he said… 



“If i learn English it means i can get a better job, i can go to university or even get a scholarship somewhere. i practise everyday because i want to get better, because i  learn new things and because i make new friends everyday.”


The advice i got about ‘people changing’ as i travel through vietnam - was true. I saw an attitude change. I saw a generation change but mostly I saw a thirst for knowledge - and a spark of passion in young people that i fail to see back in England. So if you ask me ‘what do you think of tourism in Vietnam?’ I’d say go, dive in and get to know the people behind the job description.



But be wary of Airport taxis!

Wednesday 11 September 2013

Cambodia's Lies - through the eyes of a skeptic


Cambodia's Lies



Shocking isn’t it. Before you ever set foot in Cambodia - You have been lied to. True maybe for the whole world now-a-days. But this country is like a novel. One which the author got 300 hours in - realised the HUGE plot holes - and gave up.





I will ease you in. Start where I started. England (noteably not Cambodia) where I planned a trip around Asia…




Thailand - Cliché traveler destination. Might as well have a big ‘Start here’ printed on it.

Loas - Often mis-pronounced. Its between me and Vietnam.

Vietnam - There was a war here once. Lets see what the fuss is about.

Cambodia - Cheap. Buy things here before India.





That was (more or less) my itinarary. Based on both research and references. Somehow all failing to mention the corruption, the lies and the propoganda. I hope to amend this. Read this article and be fair warned!





The first lie. Go to Cambodia, it’s cheap. No, it’s not.



Don’t get me wrong - compare house prices, a weekly shop or a moped to those in the UK - Asia wins hands down. But of the four countries I mentioned - Cambodia was the most expensive.

Street food was double that in Thailand. The hotels matched prices of Saigon. Even the kids-with-a-million-sunglasses were extortionate. Why then was this - noticably - one of the poorest countries i have seen?

Who is all the money going to? - We’ll come to that.





The Second Lie. Go to Cambodia, the people are amazing.


Amazing is a strong adjective to use. You get the idea though. I was led to believe the citizens of Cambodia were what make this country great. 

Tourism is the countries biggest income. This is reflected in people. 



I imagined what the kids think. All they’ve seen is - western people must have a money tree! - I have little money… - these people need to give me their money!  

Its  tough, some 80% of all cambodians are under 30. Its hard to find an ‘old’ cambodian at all. Which suggests a free-rule for teenagers becoming impolite, deceitful and otherwise disengaged from visitors of Cambodia.



Of course this doesn't ring true for everyone. But when you visit you will see for yourself, and why wouldn't they be like that?! Poverty meets tourism - thats not a good film idea. There was actually a poster in a tourist guide that read 

“Children aren't the attraction. Think before visiting an orphanage”



This says it all about us tourists. The mentality of ‘wow, look - the third world. lets go see the children quick’ - Actually thats not too far off the truth. when you see a 60+ western man with a young cambodian girl on his arm. Gold around her neck and a distinct look of depression in her eye.   

A far cry from the youngsters of vietnam - thrilled to talk to a native englishman to improve their second language. 






The third lie. The worst lie. Cambodia’s history.


This one got to me. The representation of horrific events. I chose my words carefully.

Two out of the three highest grossing tourist attractions in the country are - ‘S-21 prison’ and ‘the killing fields’. In short - a brutal prison where genocidal khmer rouge tortured innocent people - and the fields they were taken to to be executed.



I found ‘the killing fields’ an ‘interesting’ place. It certainly does have a lot of human remains on display. you can pay to buy a flower, walk 5ft and place it down at the steps. (after you’ve paid to get there, get in and get the audio tour)

I found things here didn't quite add up though. Little things. Little inconsistencies here and there. Facts and figures changing. The awful propaganda film they play three times a day. The Kids selling bracelets.



More so i have to say about S-21 prison.

Once a school. Turned into a prison. Now a museum - asserting that most of what you see is exactly how it was found in 1979.




Here’s a list of discrepancies I found at s-21 -  




1. Block A is the first building you enter. Photos of the rooms ‘as they were found’ show the last 7 bodies in the prison tortured to death. The bodies now buried just outside the door in large memorials. 

Each of the photos are on display - in the room they were taken in. Set aside the awful quality of the photos and Windows appear to have moved. Something wasn't right.




2. Gallows stand tall in the Courtyard. A plaque states prisoners were hung by there wrists. Dunked in a vat of feces, then interrogated immediately.

S-21 is stated to be the most secret of the khmer rouge’s prisons. -Public gallows and feces dunking. In the capitol city. Not the most effective way to keep your secret prison secret.




3. Block B is now a memorial to the prisoners. Thousands of photos. Each one a prisoner of S-21. All murdered. All cataloged with names and numbers. - well this building puzzles me. 

The story goes (stated on the walls of block B) that the detainees arrived in a truck. Were measured. Then Photographed. Then Beat. Women were raped. Then Put in mass detention rooms. Later moved to individual cells. Tortured. Taken to the killing field. Killed. (Not necessarily in that order). 

Why then do the photographs show smiles on the faces of these inmates? who is happy to be led - handcuffed - into a prison complex - riddled in barbed wire - with gallows and huge buckets of poo - hearing screams of torture - seeing those in front of you beat and the women dragged off for rape. 

Smiling yet?

Some of the photos are poor quality, most are clear(all better then the ones taken after the prison was discovered - abandoned) 

For the displays some were blown up to around 8 times bigger then the original ‘little’ photos. Then, oddly, had been edited to look older. Tea stained and ripped. Yet the thousands of ‘little’ photos were fine? thats strange.




4. Block B also housed the Torture equiptment. Complete with Illustrations of how it was used. What confused me here was a water torture device. A large wooden box - similar to a coffin - only three times as wide. It would be filled with water and the poor man inside would be handcuffed to the metal bar inside. Forcibly ‘half-drowned’. 

10 years of use. 30 years later. Zero water damage. A wooden box, with iron shackles - constantly filled with water. 40 years on and it was as if never used.



5. The building that looked most visually interesting. Block C. Wrapped head-to-toe in barbed wire. Not just any barbed wire though - Barbed wire that was clearly not 40 years old.

Inside - shoddily constructed cells. Uneven and leaning over. maybe 200 3ft x 6ft cells.


The bricks were exactly the same as you see everywhere in cambodia. The concrete between the bricks - looked as new - as the concrete holding up the metal supports (Put in place by the museum to stop the cells falling like dominos).




6. Maybe this one goes down as the straw that broke my ‘skeptical’ back.

The Khmer rouge abandoned this facility. They were loosing a war and left S-21 behind them. Why then did they choose to leave… 

-Photographs and measurements of every murdered person.
-Photographs of Dead and tortured inmates.
-The names of every Khmer rouge that worked there.
-Documents, detailing interrogations (and torture) of every single inmate - Thousands of files - Signed by the wardens.  

All of that evidence was just ‘left behind’. The khmer rouge were, no-doubt a brutal force, but Stupid - they were not. 







I am therefor - of the opinion - that S-21 prison was indeed a prison at one point. However was probably not housing a grand total of 12,000 - 15,000 innocent inmates over its years (depending on which book you read)



I believe it is more likely that the whole thing was politically fabricated. Made up to serve a different purpose. Used as a propaganda tool.


Strangely, I later found out, this is also to belief of the oppositions leader in cambodia. However the last time he publicly said his opinion he was heavily and publicly berrated.  






The final lie of cambodia. One which isn't at all well hidden. The Government.


The corruption of a prime-minister (former Khmer rouge to-boot) and the trickling down ooze of corruption throughout every government owned entity. 

Hell - even the Cambodian anti-corruption agency is owned and run by the political party. Which makes me wonder what exactly they do all day in that office?



It is well know throughout the world as one of the most underhanded, unethical and unscrupulous regimes.




…But hey, Cambodia has got no natural resources the ‘worlds police-of america’ need to steal. There not threatening any one except there own population. There resisting, but following (in a shade of grey and 7 years late) the UN’s demands for equality. 



So lets let them be for now and all focus on Syria.     


Monday 9 September 2013

World trip - Day One

   You join me at the best possible time. Boarding a plane. Looking down the gap between the door and the jetway. Makes you feel strange going into, what is essentially, a large metal tube. Soon to be a large metal tube 35,000 feet in the air. A large metal tube that seems to have the same ant infestation as your kitchen cupboards.

   Breathe a sigh of relief, you've taken off and you're not dead. I tend to do that at least. Theres something deep within us all that can't help but imagine "What if we started to nose-dive - or the tail brakes off - or this tilt turns into a barrel-roll".

   I feel silly confessing this, I have willingly jumped out of an aeroplane - twice! Both times attached to a man i'd met 15 minutes before. The second time in no more then shorts and a t-shirt. So for me to be planning the last few seconds of my life every time we hit the slightest turbulence seems absurd... I guess thats human nature - stubbornly ignorant.



   Twelve relatively comfortable hours later - watching 3 star movies. Documentaries on Planets & the universe. Pee'ing twice. Wondering why on earth only aeroplanes have headphones with two mini-jacks (rendering my new Dr. Dre beats useless) - We land.

   The familiarity of stepping off a jet in a new country makes me feel like James Bond. I clutch Mary's hand all the way through the airpot. She's been here before and knows the score. We fly through customs and lift our packs off the conveyor. Its time for the bit i've been waiting for since we landed. The one step after the air-conditioned airport.

   Heat hits you like every english summer you've ever had all at once. This is where you pause. Turn to Mary (unless you happen to be with someone else) and beam a smile of relief. A smile of excitement. A smile of an adventure starting.



   The inevitable happens after this brief moment of joy. A truly evil force in the world. One of gut wrenching slime and soul shattering filth. The airport taxi service. For the pleasure of bad driving, bad manners and bad smells - you seem to be paying the cretin roughly three times more then you should. My advice - either walk the 14 miles to your hotel or buy a used car on craigslist the day before (it'll probably be cheaper!).

   The next part of the agenda is echoed around the world after a twelve hour flight - sleep. Grunt at the hotel staff. Lug your belongings to the lift. Decipher the room keys unique method of access. Sleep. Don't worry - the world will be out there when you wake up. Kiss Mary (that parts just for me) and sleep.



Sleep.


sleep


sle-




Sunday 8 September 2013

For Writers (and those with opinions of any calibre)

If you don't know what you want to write, my suggestion is, don't become a writer.

    Those who choose to write for a living are generally the type of people who are quiet when out for the monthly 'we must invite so-and-so round for dinner darling, i hear she has a new man and we simple must meet him'. Quiet only due to the fact that 'so-and-so' casually slips into dinner conversation that she met Mr. Blah-Blah because Sagittarius happened to be in her favour that week of her menstral cycle. Or that they're meant to be together because they both went to the same church as children and the Bible that she dropped on her way home from sunday school happened to be the same colour as his t-shirt the day he bought a new copy of the old testament. Upon hearing such utter nieavities your better half more the suggests with a unmistaken look that 'quiet' is exactly how you should remain (At least that is until Mr. Blah-Blah and whats-her-face have left earshot). In short, in my opinion, a writer must have an opinion.

   Furthermore - said opinion should be of the calibre to warrant it being committed to  text. Every jolly-do-gooder has an opinion on the world but when such gems as '"fucking who talkin shit bout me so just dont alright??" plague my Facebook feed everyday i wonder if the term 'limited' truly gives justice to these peoples capabilities. Maybe i'm just a stickler for good old fashioned diplomacy. Don't make the mistake of thinking I don't have outbursts of emotion from time to time (especially confronted with aforementioned theologist) but I like to exhibit a slight more tact then my keyboard thumping Facebook friend.

    I have been distracted from my point, like in the film Tron where you cruise along at insane speeds and then fly off on a tangent equally as fast, I have 'tron'ed' from my subject - writers.

    I am currently reading a book entitled 'C.E.O of the sofa' by P. J. O'Rourke. His background is journalism and he brings across through his past papers a truly remarkable sense of humour in the most unlikely situations. A full review of the book will be penned as soon as I finish but until then I would like to mis-quote his text if I may (I mis-quote only due to the fact that his book is currently in the jumbled accumulation of all my belongings, sitting on the hotel room floor. I, however, am trying to escape the blisteringly cold chill of an AC unit which knows two settings - arctic and off)

P. J. O'Rourke on the subject of Women hiding all the secrets of success in the business world in 'how to manage with a toddler' books-

    "I suppose women thought men would never read these books. Or women thought these books would be read by the kind of man who bikes to his job at the organic food co-op--not a threat to promotion. Anyway, women didn't work very hard at putting their percipience into code. Even a bored chairman could crack it. Examine the following passage, allegedly about biting..."

    He then takes a passage from the children's book and replaces characters with 'executive assistants' and 'account supervisors' and the passage plays out in a completely new light. Seemingly confirming his theory of a secret sisterhood of business-women who pass on vital information through '123... the toddler years'.

    Thats what I love about writers. They can take any mundanity and put their opinion on it, Transforming not only the way they look at the world, but, with a little ingenuity and the right linguistics, the way the reader looks at the world. So, back to my point. If you don't know what you want to write, my suggestion is, don't become a writer. Maybe that should read 'If you lack an opinion worth writing'



Wednesday 28 August 2013

Plan How To Change Your Life Forever

    Im going to talk about the way I looked at the next few years of my life, more specifically the ways I planned it all. Im not saying that my 'to do' list is going to be the same as yours but I will say that there is a method you can use (exactly like I did) to see what your short (and long) term future could look be. I will say at this point that if you want to understand how I got to this point then go back and read my earlier blogs about How to earn money quick and where to begin? 



    Now the answer to how exactly to go about planning a life different to your day to day routine is both the easiest question youve ever been asked and the most difficult. the funny thing is, we all know and we've all been asked it...



    Alan Watts made a speech that i can never forget,  i'll let you decide what to make of it...



(Click here to hear the speech yourself in a new window)







"So I always ask the question: What would you like to do if money were no object? How would you really enjoy spending your life? Well it's so amazing as the result of our kind of educational system, crowds of students say 'Well, we'd like to be painters, we'd like to be poets, we'd like to be writers' But as everybody knows you can't earn any money that way! Another person says 'Well I'd like to live an out-of-door's life and ride horses.' I said 'You wanna teach in a riding school?'

Let's go through with it. What do you want to do? When we finally got down to something which the individual says he really wants to do I will say to him 'You do that! And forget the money!' Because if you say that getting the money is the most important thing you will spend your life completely wasting your time! You'll be doing things you don't like doing in order to go on living - that is to go on doing things you don't like doing! Which is stupid! Better to have a short life that is full of which you like doing then a long life spent in a miserable way. And after all, if you do really like what you are doing - it doesn't really matter what it is - you can eventually become a master of it. It's the only way of becoming the master of something, to be really with it. And then you will be able to get a good fee for whatever it is. So don't worry too much, somebody is interested in everything. Anything you can be interested in, you'll find others who are.



But it's absolutely stupid to spend your time doing things you don't like in order to go on spending things you don't like, doing things you don't like and to teach our children to follow the same track. See, what we are doing is we are bringing up children and educating to live the same sort of lifes we are living. In order they may justify themselves and find satisfaction in life by bringing up their children to bring up their children to do the same thing. So it's all retch and no vomit - it never gets there! And so therefore it's so important to consider this question




What do I desire?" 





    Upon hearing this for the first time the words struck a chord within me. I think this is true for a lot of people. His words simply make sense. What he talks about makes sense. The best thing is he is telling you that you don't need some magic potion to be happy, you don't need the money or the education. All you NEED is already possessed by you - the clarity of mind to sit down and think to yourself 'what do i enjoy'


    I did just that, i thought about everything from if a university degree would make me happy, or if I wanted to become a teacher, if I loved film enough to try to make a career in that... In the end I wrote a list. I sat down and wrote a list of things i want to do. now these were not all sensible, they were not all practical and they definitely were not all going to change the world but nether-the-less i wrote down things like...


see the sunrise and sunset in the same day.
Fire a big gun
play a song on guitar
live in another country
sing in public




    My list is not finished (and may never be) but the important thing to me was I could see them. I could look at this piece of paper and see goals to head toward. You want to know how to plan a life changing future for yourself? Start by asking yourself exactly what you want in life, if you do that then it will not matter if its boring, stupid or completely insane because its YOURS. If you can write 5 things today that you would love to do tomorrow and end up doing one of them because of it then its WORTH DOING.


Try and prove me wrong.





    There we have it. I had the drive and passion to leave my day to day life. I was earning the money I needed to leave and I had a list of things I wanted. Time to take a leap of faith...



Saturday 24 August 2013

How To Get Rich Quick... Get Sick!

Working two jobs, paying the rent, paying the bills. Sounds pretty average right? I mean, we all can name dozens of people doing the same thing right now. So how did i manage to save up enough cash fund my escape? Well i didn't do it alone, I got help from an 'unconventional' organisation and at the same time had an unforgettable experience.


Flucamp. Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like... That is, if you thinking 'Flucamp sounds like where you take multiple trips to the heart of London to undergo rigorous trails and tests to determine your physical capabilities, your mental capabilities and your pre-existing medical history (including genetic implications). All culminating in a Fifteen day Quarantine period as your body is introduced to a particular strain of rhino-virus, then being left to allow the infection to spread before being subject to the latest version of a manufactured chemical 'cure' in the hope that no adverse effects arise and the compound can be approved for use in general public'  ... well if you were thinking that i would be very impressed indeed because thats exactly what flucamp is!

The fact is, medical trails are very common. (more so when you travel further a field to places like the united states of america but nether-the-less we've all heard of them) and the compensation you receive (for the relatively short time it takes to complete) is huge. Not to mention the additional money you save by not having to pay for food, water or accommodation for the time your in there.



'Perfect!' I thought to myself. Hearing this medical trail was accepting applicants was music to my ears. The money they offered was substantial and would be a huge boost to my savings pot. I quite literally wasted no time in texting back to the number to request a phone interview.


Now, I realise writing this, that this method of 'earning' money may seem a tad extreme to some people and certainly when I told people that I was planning to go ahead with it all the reactions were mixed to say the least! With the expected remarks of "you're crazy! i'd never do that! what if you grow an extra eyeball or something?" I think my favourite comment was "I'll see if you survive it before I ever apply"


Despite the somewhat sceptical outlook that those close to me shared, I was quite confident and even rather excited at the opportunity (not least of all because after discussing the details of the trail I learnt i was to receive three and a half thousand pounds for the time I would spend there)



So lets fast forward to after my first blood screening, they checked here if my white blood cells were correct, they were. Continue past my second physical screening where my lung and heart were put under scrutiny... I passed. All the way up to my first day in the quarantine unit... The picture is me on the first day in a rather fetching face mask. No contact with anyone for the next two weeks. Now a full review of my time in flucamp would take far to long to write about here... So if anyone is interested as much as I was at the thought of this (or any other medical trail) then you can see the Vlog I made whilst inside. One video each day the whole way through.


The long and short of it is that for two weeks of sitting in a room alone i was given three months wages.  Now if anyone can find an easier way for the average joe to make that much money then feel free to add your ideas for us all to know!



Here we go then. After making the decision to get up and do it the first priority was to increase my income with a second job. The second step for me was to find a way to dramatically increase my savings in a short space of time. Next was where it starts to get fun... how on earth do you begin to plan  your life after leaving everything you know behind. Thats my next challenge...

        

Thursday 22 August 2013

The first Step To A New Life


    Rat Race. Look it up on IMDB. Its a comedy film about a race across america and the winner gets a cash prize. It is by no means a spectacular film (although I still enjoy the end theme by Smash mouth) but its the title that caught my attention. Rat race, It describes, in a somewhat derogatory way, the struggle of everyday life in our culture. To quote another film "working jobs you hate to but shit you don't need" the endless cycle of working to pay the bills, to survive, to spend your life in the same place and be content doing so, maybe aiming (at most) for the next promotion... Far from the hollywood-esc ideal of shooting for the stars and living 'the dream'. Were always asked as children 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' as if anything is truely possible and little joe bloggs can grow up to be a billionaire-genius-astronaut-icecreamman when sadly (for the vast majority of people) its un-realistic to even strife toward a fraction of this adulthood. 

    If this is the case, and were destined to be stuck in the 'rat race', it is, as far as i can see, only out of our own choosing! The people who will be remembered forever were not content with a 'normal' life. Every single moment of every single day each person on this planet has a choice, whether large or small, important or not or maybe just the choice to wear a smile or a frown it is these moments that make up your lifetime and ultimately guide you where your future is headed.

    You must have heard of the butterfly effect right? That concept intrigues me. The idea that each event (however small) can have a huge effect on everything that happens after it. It works too! think back to one event in your life that changed a lot. Maybe your wedding day or your first child or your first kiss, now think of what must have happened for that event to occur. If you woke up 5 minutes later on june the 5th 1996 maybe you'd have never met your future wife. That is definately one way of looking at the line i wrote down two and a half years  ago 'creating elegance through chaos' 



    Anyway, I digress. I am supposed to be talking about how after I made a decision to leave england it came to be....

    One step at a time is the only way to begin an epic journey and here I was, about to make my first step. Co-incidentally finding my first obstacle. Money. Money is where 90% of people give up. 



    "i cant leave my job, how would i survive" 

"some of us have bills to pay!" 

"i just cant afford to go away for 1, 2 even 3 years" 



    Money is huge to us, especially in England. The things we buy are expensive and the things we save up for are luxury. When I really sat down and looked at the figures of this trip I was astonished. The flight alone was more money then i could afford to spend. Heres what i did...

    I said to myself, this IS what im going to do. I can plan to earn as much as possible before I go, I can factor in certain monitory boosts along the way but WHATEVER happens I will do this. 

    I was determined. Determination is a powerful thing. I've always read in quotes how 'you can do anything if you put your mind to it' and maybe thats not true for everything in the world but theres a hell of a lot you can do if your willing to stick at it! My first step was a second job. Now i already worked in a school at the time, one of the finest special needs schools in England, the pay wasnt great but the perks of the job more then compensated for that. (On a side note if anyone is bored of retail and wants to try there hand at something new... try volunteering one day a week in a school. I learnt more there in 3 years then i did throughout my teenage. I also was on a salary which means I was paid even when on school holiday which in summer is 6 weeks. not too bad at all!) 



    As I was saying the first step for me was to work two jobs. I made up my mind in the morning that I would print off a new CV. I spent the morning walking around town handing it in and talking to managers and that evening i had a second job. Remember i spoke of determination? Well to all those who think 'theres no jobs out there' you are simply not trying hard enough.



(Here's me looking particularly haggard whilst working my second job, i like this picture because i remember taking it, and i remember how i felt at that specific moment. i can look at it now and feel grateful i'm not there)





    So i was bringing home two wages every month. That was a huge boost to my confidence about the future. I knew at the time that I would be tired and exhausted from the mental drain of school days and the psyical drain of retail wok but I knew it wouldnt be forever and the money i could afford to save at this point would greatly improve my future chances to succeed. 




    I have now taken you on the first step with me. The second step was something altogether different. Something i'd never done before, and for it id have to get sick....



Where to begin?

     I often wonder this, because I often think about committing words to a page and describing how and what I do, not from any deluded expectation that my life is grander or any more interesting then any one else's... But the simple act of writing down your experiences and aspirations can fuel the fire to achieve more of your goals.

    When I read back though things i've wrote in the past (apart from having the hindsight to see how ignorant I may have been as an adolescent) I learn from it. I can see how much i've changed. I can take a rather unique perspective of my own life that I think only someone who writes can get. The fact is, we, as a species tend to forget. A lot. We take generalisations of situations for future processing but on the whole the details of our day to day life are irrelevant and therefore forgotten.

    It stands to reason therefore that the choices i've made, certainly the big decisions in my life, have stuck with me. I can remember the first cigarette I smoked. The first day I was alone in a new country. How i felt sitting on a empty bench in the middle of the night back in 2009. And every single choice i've made has led me down the long, and sometimes unexpected, road that I am on today. As I mentioned before as I write this entry I am in a hotel room in Vietnam. But this is very very far from home indeed, and if you asked my 5 years ago where i would be... Here is far down on the list of possibilities. so, where do I begin?






  I think the English thing to do, when keeping to etiquette would be to formally introduce myself.




 
    For those who are unfamiliar, my name is Mark Lewis. I am 24 years old (for the next three days) and i look like this....






    Roughly 6 months ago my girlfriend and I came to an important decision, one that we couldn't take lightly and certainly one that would be remembered. To leave England, to leave our jobs, our homes, our friends and our lives.





    So thats how i'm going to start. With the decision. A good place if you ask me.



    In this blog i will take you through my journey. From the decision to get up and stop letting days be forgotten, through the trails of planning and saving, the tricks and tips on the shortcuts i made, the plane journeys, the bus rides, the sleepless nights and the unforgettable experiences. 



    I hope at this point that people who feel like-minded might take notice, if your reading now and feel like you too want to change something in your life, that you want to leave the country you live in, the town you grew up in or maybe just you have the aspiration to live independently. To everyone who has thought 'what else could i be doing right now, where else could I be if I had taken that chance or acted on that urge' then my blog is for you. I hope you enjoy, because if nothing else, I know that one day I will read this and feel how I have changed, and that is more then enough reason for me to carry on.