Five Years Ago Yesterday

I noticed that my flickr account turned five years old yesterday, I had just posted the image above which I thought could be much better, I was considering taking it down again when I realised that, completely insignificantly, it was the last picture I posted before I was aware of the date. Caught up with concept that anniversaries matter I went for a wander through my photo's.

Way back then me and the man had taken the plunge and found ourselves jobs in Vietnam. The flickr account was one of the ways of documenting the "international experience', as is this blog. The name on both is a combination of our initials with an extraneous "s". We were both meant to contribute, that didn't happen but he does occassionally point out spelling mistakes.

The flickr account has pictures of leaving Scotland, sorting out the house for renting, arriving in Vietnam and getting settled. Trips and holidays all over Asia and a brief visit back to the homeland before our current incarnation in Mumbai. It documents my favourite places and views, my obsessions and interests of the time and it makes for nostialgic viewing. I'm working on improving my photography and getting more selective about what I post, hence my prickliness over the "significance" of the photo above. But if the last upload was so bad, how would I feel about the first one?

I was well chuffed! My very first upload to my flickr account was a shot of two buildings in Singapore which, when viewed from a certain angle, look like a great big c*ck!

Pure class.

Production line

Little Ganesh statues being manufactured in a village industries training centre. I still don't own a Ganesh but one day I'll find one that's irresistable.

Yusuf Meherally Centre

Street Jewels

I spent a few days at Kala Ghoda festival in South Mumbai, so did these girls as part of one of the folk entertainment troupes.



I hope that one day they own jewellery which is worth more but for the moment they're rockin the little mermaid theme.

In pursuit of the hirsute

There's no denying that India's a pretty hairy country.

No skinny little eyebrows, not even on dolls.

Full heads of hair and well nurtured beards abound.
Ear hair's a common feature on older gentlemen in many countries...
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...and they start growing it young here.

Some go to enormous lengths to prove the virility of their hair growth.

If you have enough hair you can suppliment your income with it.

Turban Time

I am woefully ignorant about turbans and what the style of tying and choice of fabrics indicate. They're damned stylish though.

Neatly tied and a bit of a bulge at the back, I'd imagi ne this would be quite good for cycling quickly because of the aerodynamic styling.

This looks like what would happen if I tied a turban but mine would undoubtedly fall off whereas this one probably takes lots of skill to achieve a devil may care, casual look and stays on all day.

Impressive and practical, you could tuck all sorts of little things into this one.

Turban Trufax