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OK, OK, I’m caving. :oops:
Seriously, this is not a bad idea. In some forums it’s actually a requirement to post an initial self-intro to even see the threads!
So here it goes, in a nutshell:
I’m a native Czech but became a political refugee and chronic expat at the tender age of 1 having lived in various European countries, Honduras and the U.S.
My husband, a bastard called DrDave, and I run a medical NGO. We are (sort of) headquartered in the U.S., that’s at least where we store our totes and where our washer and dryer are.
We have been taking volunteer teams to Honduras and are working on some NGO adventures in other exotic places.
We have NO idea what’s next on the docket or where we will go/move next. Nothing is off the table.
Cheers.Oh what the hell…
OK, just joined while looking for yet another way of procrasinating on the internet while quarterly and donor reports, not to mention budget proposals are hammering at the door. I lock my door.
I’m British, female, and currently working in Haiti as a Finance Coordinator for a medium-sized European NGO. [Yep, I’m an accountant – now bugger off]. Prior to that, I was working in Lebanon, West/Central Africa, with a very short stint in Sudan. It’s a mere coincidence that most of the places I’ve ended up in over the last 5 years have had fantastic beaches.
Cuddly soft toys and Asia Extreme cinema turn me on, so if you’ve ever tried to picture Totoro with an AK 47 in one paw and a chainsaw in another taking out school kids a la Battle Royale, then please please be my friend. Men in white suits? What men? Where?
Hello everyone, My name is Scott, I am 30 years old and found this site through twitter, look like fun here. I just started a travel forum site at http://www.worldtravelbums.com/forums check it out yet so I am not talking to myself lol. I am planning a couple trips next year. In March I plan to go to Japan and hopefully at the end of 2010 I will be traveling through S.E Asia starting with Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and more sepending on money. Talk to you all later and see you around the forums!
Hi all,
I’m a 21 y/o from Norway. Spent the last year travelling in South- and South-East Asia, Oceania, Mexico and the Caribbean. Got back in april, and have spent the last couple of months working in Saudi Arabia. I’m planning to go out on a new trip shortly. This time Africa (will post an own post about this shortly, hope to get some pointers from you :) ).
Hi all! I’m a 24 yr old female, lived in South Africa most of my life but I do my travelling on a British passport, which is sometimes a blessing and sometimes a hindrance in the formerly colonial parts of the world. Next trip I have planned is Cape to Cairo on public transport beginning at the end of November. The site looks wonderful and I look forward to exploring it!
Not that I’m aware of mate.
When I’ve more time next year at home I’ll join the Iraq stuff to the tons of Afghan photos I’ve taken, then I’ll be able to post the whole fooking lot without worrying about my bosses getting their knickers in a twist, as I’LL BE A FREE MAN AGAIN!!
From January onwards I’ll have to get my adrenalin/excitement fix with a season ticket for the football at Brighton, I might even start my own hooly firm, just for the danger rush :twisted:
Had August off, but back in the studio tonight and gig on Saturday. More gigs than you can shake a stick at between now and Christmas.
Just got back from a week in Dorset, walking parts of the SWC path with the dogs, but no other travel this year. Apartment in Portugal is ready in the next few weeks, so may just be doing Algarve trips next year too (and logging in and working from there).
Been looking seriously at getting into falconry. Doing all the reading at the moment. Still not convinced I have the spare time but watch this space.
@flipflop wrote:
Hi,
My name is flipflop and I am an utter bastard from times past. I aim to be a better bastard in future, but my online time is not what it used to be. Looking forward to catching up again with the rest of you horrible bastards
Cheers
Nice to see you back in these parts though I should be the last to welcome anyone anywhere, but yes I have in fact been lurking myself too, which instills in me a great sense of guilt, but now that we head towards the darker months I shall plan to be more proactive.
Best,
Stiv@Lee wrote:
I fear you may be right.
We went to do a gig last night, but when we arrived, the landlady reminded me that she’d called me and cancelled the gig months ago.
I’m not very popular right now.
:(
Yeah I rmember that feeling all too well, such is the life of a rock star, falconry now eh? I have to hand it to you Lee you’re never one to follow the ordinary that’s fo sho!
How much does a Falcon/Eagle/Harpy/Hawk/Owl cost?
That’s what you should hunt with some kind of giant Owl :P
Best,
StivHi All,
Checking in today. Very cool site, love the combo of international politics & adventure travel, killer combination. I am from Toronto Canda. World politics and world affairs has been an avid interest of mine for most of my life since I picked up my first atlas at age 8. I have traveled extensively and am totally interested in adventure travel. I look very forward to contributing and being an active member of this community.
As I am a novice at this whole thing and do not know how to insert my url button, i will type my website.
worldaffairsguy
http://www.worldaffairsguy.com
http://twitter.com/WorldaffairsguyVagabond from the BFC here. I think I had another log in on PBs at some point but lost it in the smushy pink stuff I call a brain. 26 1/2, American, been a few places, want to see more but currently a bit short on funds and employment. Don’t post as much dross (if any) here as I do on the BFC but enjoy lurking and reading the articles.
good afternoon. first, thanks for the invite Ratbastard! My name is Willem de Jonge and am currently working in Russia / N. Caucasus as Head of Mission for MSF-Holland. Have been doing this for about 7 years now, previous missions in Ethiopia, Pakistan, Congo & Tajikistan. Am new to this forum, so will check it out and hope to contribute as well!
Easy way to get in touch is through twitter: @msfrussia
cheers,
WillemGood to have you over here Willem. Sounds like you have some interesting tales to tell! Would love to hear some.
@photojournalost – lol – love the handle. Welcome.H’lo all – Name’s Morgan… Found this place thanks to Rat Bastard on Twitter (Guessing thats ROB here?). Looks pretty interesting – Doubt I’ll be posting much initially, but I’ll be reading a lot.
I’m American, and not much of a traveler at this point (planning to change that, of course) but try to get in my share of adventures at home. I run a small consultancy that evaluates gear and skills for wilderness/urban/tactical medicine and survival, nothing major but entertaining at least. We also do abandoned mine exploration and research.
I’m also a writer, blacksmith, and former art teacher. Have also been a medical technician, firefighter, cowboy, and a librarian (among other things) in my 24 years alive.Thanks for having me.
Nice one, welcome to one and all
(p.s. you don’t have to have circumnavigated the globe ten times, or been fighting as a merc in Africa for the last three decades, to make a valuable contribution here, we all have something interesting to say. But if you have and you are, I’d love to hear about it!)
Cheers to all you new bastards :P
What all its about? Madness, I’m quite sure. Beyond that? Eh, think of it like Caving/”Spelunking” inside mines, instead of caves.
Abandoned mines because the ones that aren’t abandoned, well, the owners and workmen usually frown on strangers nosing around.It’s a lot like caving, with some difference – Often you’re working in spaces designed to allow the passage of humans, so it is sometimes not as confined as caving might be.
Also, you’re working inside spaces that, unlike caves, are naturally closed – Caves are naturally open, mines are unnatural openings in the rock – And everything will try to return to a state of nature.
Plus, caves lack the dangers of post-industrial debris, that in mines can range from broken bits of workings, steel, wood, etc. to old dynamite, blasting caps, and other blasting products (all of which which, for those who don’t know, are extremely unstable with age and will blow up if you hold your mouth wrong while looking at them).The mine are extremely interesting though. There is an extreme remoteness, even if where you went in is right next to town, once you’re down the hole, you’re a long way from anyone who isn’t down there with you. And yet there is a constant human touch evident, as almost everything you see is evidence of the human hand.
The old time miners would write on the walls with lamp black (soot from their lamps), leaving their name, dates, drawings, etc. I’ve seen dates from the 1860’s, and undisturbed by winds or weather the soot looked as fresh as if it had just been written. On July 18th of this year, I was in a mine tunnel at the bottom of a 200ft rappel, and written on the tunnel wall in lamp-black was “July 18th 1959”.
There is a certain amount of anthropology/history in what we do, and what we document. Some of the mines we’ve been in go on for miles (40, 50, 60, longer), and represent hundreds of man-years of work… a lot of the evidence of which is still below, ore carts, old clothing, tobacco and cigarette tins, tools, magazines, names on walls… In some places it looks like 100+ years ago everyone just stopped working and vanished, leaving it all behind. In others, its obvious just how long its been… crumbled rock and rusted tools, the earth reclaiming everything. But there is a magic to it because its so vast, but accessible through only one, or two, small openings. And openings that may eventually get dynamited shut, by the liability wary authorities.
Plus, its a challenging environment…. It is as challenging as caving, or rock climbing, or mountaineering – Its requires very similar skillsets. Its great adventure, and a great test of you and what you can do. If you already do things like that, its a one of a kind environment in which to push, validate and expand those skills. And for my team doing gear evaluations and designs for harsh environments, it provides a great test environment, as its harsh down there.Certainly not a pursuit for everyone. Its reasonably risky (though far less so than driving a car, or riding the train), but its taxing both physically and mentally… and for most people that just stops being fun pretty quickly. Particularly in small spaces where you’re surrounded by absolute darkness save the small pool from your headlamp…
Hi there,
I found out about this website via the Black Flag Cafe, read all the posts and articles for some time until I realised there’s also a forum, and because I sit bored in pre-christmas Germany I decided to join.
Travelled around quite a bit, been to Asia couple of times, North and East Africa, lived one year in Canada (I love Canada and hope I will not be subject to permanent harassment, mobbing and crap dumped me eh? :D ), did some time in the army, attended university for a month until I got sick of it two weeks ago and in another two weeks I’ll be packing my bergen for China where I will work for six months if everything works out right.
My interests are travelling around Africa, I got a crush on Tanzania, Kenya and the lot particularly. I do some mountaineering (I was mountain infantry) and outdoor/survival stuff, so if anyone has questions about equipment (boots, backpacks, clothing, GPS, first aid, whatever) I will be glad to share my knowledge 8)
Hope I can contribute something here. As I will spend the next days without internet in the German outback on a farm, Merry Christmas to everyone.@M Atwood – I would definitely be interested in a thread on the topic!
@Tonne – sounds like you’ll fit in fine here. What you gonna be doing in China? Just tripping around or you got some work lined up?@Tonne – That’ll be a load of laughts. Language teaching is a great way to meet a lot of teh locals. Good way to have a good time.
Hi, I’m Mike, originally from Australia. Did some time on the military before moving overseas (Europe), worked as a language teacher and now working in airline maintenance. I love to travel and learn about other cultures. Found this site after hearing it mentioned sooo many times on another forum. Happy New Year to you all.
@coldharvest wrote:
Hello, I’m here because others are not.
I’m a gentle socio-path who likes sunsets and vengeance.
My favourite colour is shame and I only enjoy lap-dances if the stripper is crying.You would have loved the stripper with track marks I saw in Chicago who was trying to wow me by shooting breast milk across the room while diddling herself.
Anyway, hi everybody.
Hi guys, I’m Erin. I’m here because I am exactly 13 or over. Most days I’m over. I was invited here by elves.
I just quit my job as a travel counselor so that I could become a professional ninja. Sort of.
I’m a writer interested in a bit of everything and I feel a little bit like I’ve just stepped into the lion’s den here. I’m a fan of passports and new adventures. I don’t watch a lot of TV except for Destination Truth and endeavor to one day challenge Josh Gates to a Yeti-off. First one to get a hug wins.
Hello, all! I am parbuster and I was invited to join y’all here by Rat Bastard. I’m in San Jose, California (Silicon Valley) and work as a golf professional here. http://www.cinnabarhills.com
Let me cruise around and see what’s happening. Glad to be here!
@flipflop wrote:
:lol:
You’re a card
Wilkommen
Why thank you. I too am tiring of the whole dating scene at the other place. Too many Coast to Coast listeners for my taste. I am looking forward to bringing my leftist do-gooding asshattery to PB’s on a more regular basis.
God help you all.
Greetings Username Orion, real name Spiro. I joined this forum a few years ago but my email had changed, and forgot my password.
I returned from Africa and back in Australia since 2008 and now I am going mad again and must leave. My wife won’t let me. Please help.
I remember some of you, so am hoping to learn from the experts, and have stories to tell.
Sincerely Spiro
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