on my way...

saturday i leave for my home land, and it seems it can't come any sooner. i have a bulging suitcase packed and ready to be weighed and sent off to the men in jumpsuits who don't give a toss about one's bag and toss them about. i'm slightly worried about the welfare of my bag, full of lovely things which my unstable, self conscious self rely on to walk out the door with my head held high. yes, despite what you see and hear and read, self esteem and confidence isn't a walk in the park without the protective flannels of expensive and strategically placed garments and oh so wonderfull, leg lengthening shoes. so, vanity has gotten the better of me but i shall remain ever the optimist and maintain my stand to strive for change.

now, since i've gotten my obligatory and indulgent waffle out of the way, onto interesting subjects. i have plans to travel to the eastern parts of the country, previosuly unexplored by myself and my travelling companions (my family and my extened family fortunately and unfortunately from time to time) in hope to make good miles/km as the roads are supposedly much better in those regions than in the western or north western mongolian plains.

a lake with the most beautiful grainy sandy beach and water that remains lukewarm in all seasons....but i'll post pictures and more accurate and amusing anecdotes of the said place when i get there. i have heard rough plans to see temples and monastaries along the way, so my writings will be more informational. and yet my aim for this blog was not to be a tourist guide, just to exist as part of my canvas onto which i will be able to leave a slight and inoffensive blemish.

right, more notes on my travels to my home land via a location which i shall not disclose yet, in the next post.

p.s. i have decided to dedicate a few lines of post script after each post to what-nots and random thoughts, emotions and opinions. this time round...i wonder how long it takes for one to be an accomplished opponent in the art of arguments? i once read the process is much like chess and in order to win one must be patient and foresee the near future. now that makes me wanna throw diplomacy out the window.

grease the wheels

today is the first time i'm posting on MongolGunj and i feel i must introduce the point of this blogspot.
having a background in two different countries and cultures, i feel that i can create a portal of observations through my experiences of seeing both of my worlds and share it in a way that is not glorified nor martyred. culture clash has been present for as long as people could travel and cohabit! and now more than ever awareness of different cultures is gaining a wider platform, nevertheless this isn't gonna stop me from contributing my clashed self into this amply filled area and i won't shy away from the majority out of fear of joining, what is percieved as, the common cause (because, let's face it, individuality and unique perspectives and stand on issues among most things in life is applauded...but is that another form of a 'common cause'??)

anyway, i will be travelling 'home' this summer and i wish to document whatever i find and hear and smell so more people can become aware of such beauty that they've never seen before. although this means i'm opening the door to 'my' little world and i hate sharing (who doesn't???) as blake said:
'he who binds himself to a joy
does the winged life destroy
but he who kisses the joy as it flies
will live in eternity's sunshine'
so i kiss my country Mongolia on one cheek and kiss the other cheek of the UK (London in particular) and dedicate my time and future effort to everything that i wish to keep secret and yet write about. i must express warnings of lack of political correctness and abundance of periods of/paragraphs of inexplicable self centred mumblings.

i will most likely cover issues which are usually categorised to an inch of its death and if it were me i'd ignore them but since that's how many things work now, it will read: history, politics, sociology, economics, popular culture, current news and everything in between. i hope you enjoy my blogs and feel free to comment, praise, piss off or babble.

truly, MongolGunj