"You must have such a boring life" was the comment I received on a post in a drone forum where I stated that I always follow the rules and laws of the land. While I didn't feel the comment warranted a reply, it did make me think. One evening, with nothing much else to do, I created a list of some of my boring experiences, and later added some photos to it.
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I've stayed in traditional Ari huts on the shores of Lac Abbé in Djibouti, in floating bamboo rafts in Khao Sok National park in Thailand, on a houseboat on Dal lake in India, and a converted helicopter in the UK.
Traditional huts made from straw mats in Djibouti
Floating bamboo rafts in Thailand
Houseboat in Kashmir, India
Converted helicopter, UK
I have experienced aerobatics in a biplane, had an audience with the Mossi King in Burkina Faso, helped the workers in a banana market in Bangladesh, and seen the Bangkok Ladyboys in Thailand.
Upside down over the English countryside
The Mossi King
Bananas are incredibly heavy
The amazing Bangkok Ladyboys
I have drunk Bia Hoi beer on the streets of Hanoi, chang beer (made from millet) in Tibet, red wine and cola (sold in small bottles or plastic sachets) in Ghana, and milk vodka in Mongolia.
Sitting on tiny stools enjoying a very cheap beer
Cloudy chang beer
It's an acquired taste...
Posh milk vodka
I've visited Chernobyl and seen Reactor # 4 in Ukraine, partaken in a dune buggy adventure in Ica, Peru, had a week-long solo photography exhibition, and flown a Cessna over Kata Tjuta (previously known as the Olgas) in Australia.
Holding a Geiger counter to measure the radiation in front of the offending reactor at Chernobyl
The very adventurous dune buggy trip
Raising a toast at my exhibition
I had a flying lesson over some incredible scenery
I've been bamboo rafting in Thailand, travelled on the Bullet Train in Japan, hobiecat sailing in Barbados, and taken an overland truck through Africa.
Bamboo rafting
The bullet train
hobiecat sailing
Our overland truck in Namibia
I've seen black and white colobus monkeys in Arusha National Park in Tanzania, coati in Iguazu National Park in Brazil, an Andean fox near Honda Lagoon in Bolivia, and a gaur (bison) in Khana National Park, India.
Black and White Colobus Monkeys
The curious coati
A mangy Andean Fox
Gaur
I've been to Jökulsárlón in Iceland, Apollonia in Libya, Borobodur in Indonesia, and Rolas Island in São Tomé.
Incredible blue icebergs in Iceland
Ruins of the 7th century town in Libya
The Buddhist temple of Borobodur on Java Ilsand in Indonesia
This marks the spot that is considered the centre of the world where the equator meets the meridian.
I've met the Debating Monks in Tibet, the Haenyeo freestyle divers in Korea, the Komien Princesses in Ivory Coast, and the Sadhus of Nepal.
Tibetan Buddhist monastic debate is a rigorous, highly physical form of philosophical inquiry used to test knowledge, defeat misconceptions, and understand the nature of reality
The legendary female free-divers from Jeju Island in South Korea who harvest seafood from the ocean floor without using oxygen tanks.
A Komien Priestess dances until she reaches a trance in order to communicate with the spirits.
A sadhu, a Hindu holy person who has completely renounced worldly life to focus on spiritual liberation
I've eaten banana blossom in the Philippines, chicken feet soup in Laos, conch in Haiti, and dog meat in China.
Banana blossom
Chicken feet
Conch stew
Stir fried dog
I've won numerous photography competitions (club, national, and international), given a number of talks to various clubs and societies, had my photos in a few Wikipedia articles, and been interviewed by the BBC.
Winning forst prize in a camera club competition
Giving a talk to Devizes Camera Club
My photos being used in Wikipedia
Being interviewed by the BBC about the migrants in Calais
I've seen anteaters in Brazil, cuscus bears in Indonesia, taken part in turtle conservation in El Salvador, and been whale watching in Antarctica.
The Lesser Anteater, AKA Southern Tamadua, in Pantanal, Brazil
Cuscus Bear in Tangkoko Batuangas Reserve on Sulawesi Island, Indinesia
Measuring, weighing, tagging, and releasing a turtle in El Salvador
Too close for comfort? Whale watching, Antarctica
I've been hunting with a bow and arrow with the Hadzabe Tribe in Tanzania, visited a coffin factory in Ghana, crossed the Equator on foot, by boat, in a car, and by plane, and climbed through the Cu Chi Tunnels in Vietnam.
Bow and arrow
Coffins shaped to reflect the life the deceased lived are common in Ghana
Crossing the Equator in Kenya
Emerging from the tunnels that date back to the Vietnam War.
I have photographed The Flaming Feathers Burlesque Dance Troupe, the GSBA Stick Fighting Championships, Cassie, the pole dancer, and The Ragged Victorians Re-enactment Group
The Flaming Feathers
The GSBA Stick Fighters
Cassie
