Hello :)

Laura has been bugging me to talk about our trip to India earlier this year for a while, and because Past Me was always intending to pod it, they did travel diary voice recordings on a near-daily basis to provide a basic framework, or in fact to just use as the pod.

Anyway, the trip was across a little of Southern India, starting in Kochi and taking in the Kerala Backwaters, an overnight train, and the two temple-centric cities of Madurai and Thanjavur. This had us visiting the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Due to the nature of the recordings, quality cannot be guaranteed to be consist'nt.

Topics discussed in this episode are:
* I have ADHD. Who'd've thunked it?!
* Admin and immigration to India is more interesting than you'd imagine
* Food and drink in Kochi
* Three Hours on the Kerala Backwaters probably isn't enough
* The Obligatory McDonalds
* Overnighting on an Indian train is comfortably and pleasantly underwhelming
* A day in Madurai, being frustrated by temples
* A peaceful daytime train to Thanjavur
* The joys of suburban hotels: Becoming the GPS we always wanted to be - Part One
* Finally, a good temple experience
* We Still Don't Speak Tamil: Becoming the GPS we always wanted to be - Part Two
* The delightful experience of a non-touristy backstreet restaurant

A PDF transcript of this podcast is available.

As always, if you have anything to say about the topics, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I have a newsletter with extra content, and where I'll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution.

I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over.

Three-Quarters of this podcast is made up of daily summary conversations recorded at the time between me and my friend Laura, so I guess that counts as her contributing!

Until next time, bye for now. :)

Hello :)

This episode is the first example of something new I'm going to develop - storytelling vignettes. Three or four little pieces, connected only by the vaguest of theme, telling little stories about my travel past that are too short for a full episode. Over time I hope they'll develop and become much more 'storylike' rather than what feel like 5-10 minute podcast extracts.

The three vignettes this time are:
* My first international backpacking adventure (1994)
* My first backpacker hostel experience (2012 or maybe not)
* My first flight (1986)

A PDF transcript of this podcast is available.

As always, if you have anything to say about the topics, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I have a newsletter with extra content, and where I'll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution.

I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over.

I wish to thank my penpal Jelena for the introduction and for her contribution in vignette one. In addition. during the episode, I promote the Deck Of Many Aces actual-play D&D podcast.

Until next time, bye for now. :)

Hello :)

This episode (a bit delayed) is all about the Ultramarathon I entered and attempted in May 2025. It is, very much, an example of 'I do these things so you don't have to'.

Topics discussed in this episode are:
* Why I thought about doing an Ultra-Marathon
* What *is* an ultra-marathon anyway?
* How I trained for my ultra, and how you *should* train for an ultra
* Obligatory kit to take on an ultra, and why you need it
* How I felt running the first half of the ultra
* (An advert for the Barefoot Festival)
* How I felt running the second half of the ultra
* How I physically felt having finished the ultra
* Food and drink, and sustenace you need to be aware of, while running an ultra
* Why failing to finish an ultra isn't a bad thing at all
* Thoughts about privilege in being able to run an ultra
* Lessons Learned

A PDF transcript of this podcast is available.

As always, if you have anything to say about the topic, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I have a newsletter with extra content, and where I'll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution.

I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over.

Here are details of the ultra that I attemped
And here is a link to the results of my race, based on the trackers

Until next time, bye for now. :)