I answer that I've been so lucky in my life and had so many wonderful opportunities that I've got nothing left unticked (apart from a couple of sexual fantasies which I'm not sharing with you lot
).I was daydreaming earlier and wondered how many experiences I could remember and they came flooding back. Of course, there are stories attached to all of them but I haven't got time for that. YOU haven't got time for that! Anyway, off the top of my head, here are some snapshots of some of the wonderful things that I've been privileged to experience. It's one of the reasons that I don't feel resentful about having to leave early
Held baby turtles as they hatched and ran for the sea - Karachi, stayed at Victoria Falls and flew in a light aircraft through the spray – Zimbabwe, ridden a camel around the Pyramids – Cairo, driven Highway One and stayed at Big Sur watching hummingbirds in a clifftop motel garden, visited the Buddha's Temple of the Tooth – Kandy, Sri Lanka, seen thousands of flamingos on Lake Nakuru – Kenya, drunk Singapore Slings in Raffles Hotel, flown inside the Grand Canyon in a light aircraft, sat on the jump seat into Runway 13, Kai Tak – Hong Kong, floated in the Dead Sea – Jordan, been to the Calgary Stampede, been charged by lions, elephants and white rhino while on foot – South African bush, had conversations with Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa and Margaret Thatcher, had dinner at the Norfolk Hotel, Nairobi, sunbathed on Copacabana Beach – Rio de Janeiro, been to a party held by the Bahraini prime minister at his luxury beach house, spent a night in a Bahrain police station, visited a Buddhist shrine halfway up Mount Fuji, driven a corkscrew road up through the Himalayan foothills from Rawalpindi to Murree Hill Station - Pakistan, had a sunrise champagne breakfast on Circular Quay overlooking the opera house and the harbour bridge – Sydney, visited Lenin's tomb and St Basil's cathedral in Red Square – Moscow, had a ham sandwich in Tel Aviv, took a steam train from Delhi to the Taj Mahal, partied in Beirut while it was still known as the Paris of the Med, seen Mount Kilimanjaro from Amboseli National Park, visited the temples of Kyoto, had dinner on the terrace of the Galle Face Hotel – Colombo, Sri Lanka, seen the fairy penguins on Phillip Island – Melbourne, been to the top of Table Mountain – Cape Town, ridden an elephant in Sri Lanka, visited a stilted fishing village in Brunei – Borneo, walked across a frozen lake to Portage Glacier – Alaska, shared a few beers with a genuine sangoma (witch doctor) and shared his secrets – South Africa, driven across the desert from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, watched a 7 locomotive/120 freight car train climb through the Canadian Rockies – Banff National Park, visited the Imperial Palace private gardens - only open on the Emperor's birthday – Tokyo, stayed at Treetops Hotel – Kenya, seen the Aurora Borealis, been in an earthquake - Tokyo ...
And much much more. I've been very, very lucky.
Ian
I suffer from paranoid amnesia. I can't remember who I don't trust.
