the Kenfessional Diaries - the trip of a lifetime, a lifetime ago

[Ken Gargett]

Greetings all,

I have been chatting to Rob about an idea that has been bubbling around in the mists that constitute my conscious thought and it is time to give it a go. Sadly, cigars play almost, but not quite, no role.

I'm interested in what people think – is it worth it? Please say so if not, as it is going to take a fair whack of time over a long period.

Thirty years ago, tomorrow, I set off on what was for me the trip of a lifetime. I had been living in London for about two and half years (and absolutely loved it) and had decided it was time to move on, but I was definitely going the slow way.

Since I can remember, top of my bucketlist was travelling through Africa and if my bucketlist had a bucketlist, then ever since I saw David Attenborough sitting amongst the gorillas, that was it. Did it happen? You are going to have to wait for that.

Leaving London involved an imbecilic bank, sidestepping Kiwis, giant parties, Daryl Hannah, endless planning and some seriously crossed fingers.

The trip, mostly on the back of a truck but if you can think of a form of transport, bar dogsled, we took it (truck, train, dodgy planes, elephant, motor bike, river boat, camel – I hate those things – cycling and so on), started in London and raced through Europe, across the Sahara, through the jungles of central Africa (where I was mistaken for a criminal), into east Africa with a stop for Kilimanjaro, back up through Ethiopia, the Sudan (where I was mistaken for a spy), Egypt, the Middle East, Iran and then the sub-Continent and up into Kathmandu (and if there is a party town on this planet, at least back then, Kathmandu was it). Afterwards, I spent another few months around Southeast Asia (mostly on the Island that now holds the Full Moon parties, though this was before they kicked off). All up, it took about a year.

The idea would be to replicate a sort of daily diary (and yes, I know myself well enough to know fat chance of me getting to it every day, but I'll try). I have dug out the old notebooks and photo albums from the trip – would love to be able to share the pics but they are faded old style photos, so I am thinking unlikely. I also took a small Dictaphone with me and dictated all manner of thoughts – I have never listened to them, so lord spare me as to the ramblings they’d contained. Warren was kind enough to provide a suitable Dictaphone to decipher the mess, as mine had atrophied.

Why, you ask.

I guess because it is an anniversary and I am personally interested to relive it, but the idea came about when talking to someone about how different the world is now. For instance, I remember a few of the group climbing a hill somewhere in east Africa and we were having a chat. We were talking about how lucky we were to be doing the trip now as from here on in, the world was going to be so much easier to travel about and we were glad we did it when it was tough (for example, when we left Algiers, we did not see another paved road until we hit Nairobi, except for a tiny village in Zaire which had perfect paved roads for all of 100 yards, and even street lights, a sort of bizarro world in the jungle, but we found out later, it was Mobuto’s mother’s village). The irony is that almost from that moment on, it became so much more difficult to travel throughout so many of the places we managed. In fact, I do not believe that there has ever been a time since when the journey could have been replicated, at least without serious danger. By going back, I'm hoping to discover what might have changed and what might not.

Anyway, hopefully some of you might enjoy it (but seriously, stop me if it is useless). And please let me know any thoughts throughout.

[Fuzz AI]

Look forward to reading the rest, Ken.

And glad Warren's dicatphone worked. For the life of me, I can find mine. Knowing my luck, I will find it when looking for something else in a few months.

[Ken Gargett]

3 minutes ago, Fuzz said:

Look forward to reading the rest, Ken.

And glad Warren's dicatphone worked. For the life of me, I can find mine. Knowing my luck, I will find it when looking for something else in a few months.

 

4 minutes ago, Fuzz said:

Look forward to reading the rest, Ken.

And glad Warren's dicatphone worked. For the life of me, I can find mine. Knowing my luck, I will find it when looking for something else in a few months.

fuzz, you are hereby nominated as my barometer. let me know when i have gone completely off the reservation.

[MrGlass]

If you write it, I'll read it.

[Danimalia]

Yeah, I'd be interested in reading. 

Traveling through much of Africa is on my bucket list.

[Fuzz AI]

25 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

 

fuzz, you are hereby nominated as my barometer. let me know when i have gone completely off the reservation.

I think most people would be quite happy to read the ramblings when you go off the reservation. I want to know how the heck Daryl Hannah fits into this tale.

[Ken Gargett]

Just now, Fuzz said:

I think most people would be quite happy to read the ramblings when you go off the reservation. I want to know how the heck Daryl Hannah fits into this tale.

a tragic tale of sadness and missed opportunities, though she may not have thought so, not that she even knows she is part of this story.

[Fuzz AI]

46 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

a tragic tale of sadness and missed opportunities, though she may not have thought so, not that she even knows she is part of this story.

And one we would like to hear, nonetheless.

[Fatshotbud]

Ken Memoir @ FOH? Enticing!
Wait--- you once where on the reservation?
Have at it Sir!

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[JamesKPolkEsq]

Koh Phangan - Dodge the party, the island is spectacular. My wife and I spent a month there, sheer bliss.

[Ken Gargett]

1 minute ago, JamesKPolkEsq said:

Koh Phangan - Dodge the party, the island is spectacular. My wife and I spent a month there, sheer bliss.

yes, fabulous place. also spent a month there, but this was before the partis started. when i went, it was way off the beaten track - just two small boats a week so you had to stay at least 3-4 days. stayed with a fantastic family, the wife a sensational cook. $2 a day. heaven.

phangan is also the island, if i recall, in the book/film 'The Beach' from which leo di C and his mates swim to get to the "special secret island" where it all goes pear-shaped. no such place, of course.

[LordAnubis]

I’m only here for the pictures of a skinny ken in stubbies.


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[Fuzz AI]

19 minutes ago, LordAnubis said:

I’m only here for the pictures of a skinny ken in stubbies.


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Hey man, I'm not gonna judge your kink.

[JamesKPolkEsq]

41 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

yes, fabulous place. also spent a month there, but this was before the partis started. when i went, it was way off the beaten track - just two small boats a week so you had to stay at least 3-4 days. stayed with a fantastic family, the wife a sensational cook. $2 a day. heaven.

phangan is also the island, if i recall, in the book/film 'The Beach' from which leo di C and his mates swim to get to the "special secret island" where it all goes pear-shaped. no such place, of course.

Of course 

[Rustyman]

Go for it Ken.  I am sure it will make good reading.  Travelling is attractive for many people and I would like to hear about your journeys through Africa.

[99call]

This sounds like a lot of fun. Roll it on out

 

[Colt45]

Have you considered writing it as an actual book? ( Looking for La Bomba )

[99call]

One thing that I would find very interesting is the financing of such a trip. I'm not implying anything one way or another, it just the UK it awash with memoirs of travels that suggest wonderful travels were all waged on a winning smile and a cunning wit, to only later realise later that it was all funded from a blue blood estate credit card.

My only interest in the financing, Is to give the average Joe a true insight into how travel and opportunism may have, changed/evolved etc. 

[Ken Gargett]

2 hours ago, 99call said:

One thing that I would find very interesting is the financing of such a trip. I'm not implying anything one way or another, it just the UK it awash with memoirs of travels that suggest wonderful travels were all waged on a winning smile and a cunning wit, to only later realise later that it was all funded from a blue blood estate credit card.

My only interest in the financing, Is to give the average Joe a true insight into how travel and opportunism may have, changed/evolved etc. 

did i mention the idiot bank?

[Fatshotbud]

Ken; will you employ an editor for these written orations? Be aware some folks (not myself of course) are critical of Grammar, Syntax and Punctuation.

Please don't leave your Participles dangling for the sake of our younger readers

 

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[oliverdst]

43 minutes ago, Fatshotbud said:

Ken; will you employ an editor for these written orations? Be aware some folks (not myself of course) are critical of Grammer, Syntax and Punctuation.
Please don't leave your Participles dangling for the sake of our younger readers

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https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=grammer

[Fatshotbud]

Fixed it -- thanks
You may apply for the job
I can't, due to my most severe case of Lesdyxia....

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[oliverdst]

39 minutes ago, Fatshotbud said:

Fixed it -- thanks
You may apply for the job
I can't, due to my most severe case of Lesdyxia....

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Leishmaniasis is a bitch!

[JamesKPolkEsq]

7 hours ago, 99call said:

One thing that I would find very interesting is the financing of such a trip. I'm not implying anything one way or another, it just the UK it awash with memoirs of travels that suggest wonderful travels were all waged on a winning smile and a cunning wit, to only later realise later that it was all funded from a blue blood estate credit card.

My only interest in the financing, Is to give the average Joe a true insight into how travel and opportunism may have, changed/evolved etc. 

This type of trip is typically not as expensive as it might seem... 

My wife and I did something similar to Ken's trip in 2013-2014. We certainly didn't rough it (much), nor did we go high on the hog. 

All told, we were in for a year (all things included, planes, trains, food, lodging) less than $18k for the two of us. We saved for quite a while, but did the trip under budget and certainly could have gone cheaper... 

[Williamos]

Sound like the makings of a book Ken. By all means organise it for the Forum, but I'd suggest you set your sights wider.


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