Cardiff Pride 2015

"My mom, she’s a fan of Saint Thomas of Aquinas. She calls pride a sin. Saint Thomas saw pride as the queen of the seven deadlies. She saw it as the ultimate gateway sin that would turn you quickly into a sinaholic. But hating isn’t a sin on that list. Neither is shame. I was afraid of this parade because I wanted so badly to be a part of it. So today I’m marching for that part of me that was much too afraid to march. And for all the people who can’t march. The people living lives like I did. Today, I march to remember that I’m not just a me. I’m also a we. We march with pride.  So go (explicit) yourself, Aquinas." - Jamie Clayton in Sense8

Pride had once again come to Cardiff and being the out gay man that I am I decided it was my patriotic duty to get off my arse and attend the event. As usual it was the perfect mixture of high camp, colour, glamour and most of all a feeling of pride to be part a larger gay community.

What I've always liked about pride in Cardiff is the sense that for one day the city is transformed into something approaching a massive party. Everyone seems friendlier, the town centre is transformed into something that is colorful and bright and everywhere you go you get the sense that life has gotten a little bit brighter and more exciting for a moment. Its great to think that the gay community can share this larger then life moment and enliven the world around them.

Coopers field in the Cardiff was definitely the centre point for this filled as it was by rides thumping out dance music, shops and stalls selling brightly coloured gay paraphernalia, delicious food and several stages filled with dance acts, singers and comedians.

Everywhere you looked wandered people dressed to the hilt in brightly coloured costumes, leather gear, over the top drag outfits and even a few people in very little at all.

There was however a very serious side to Pride as attested to by the numerous stalls such as amnesty international, the faith tent, the police and army tents to name just a few. All delivering the important message that ignorance, hatred and homophobia are still very much a part of our world both at home and abroad.

And so it was also a time to stand up and show the world that we as the gay community are not filled with shame or self hatred, we are not to be loathed and feared and we will welcome the world with open arms and we will do it with pride.

London calling

I decided that rather then going straight home after my flight, I would to take the opportunity to have a wander around London. Now I've always considered Britain's capital to be a bit of a strange place, it almost seems to me to be one of the least British feeling cities in the entire country.

Now whether that is because of the interconnecting spiderweb that is the London Underground, the fact that the place is such a melting pot or the way that the feel of the city changes completely from district to district (try going from the market places of Camden to the river front near Westminster to see what I mean) I just don't know. Whatever it is it leads to a city that somehow manages to feel both completely alien and familiar at the same time.

I started my time there by heading over to Trafalgar square and after picking up a coffee I took in the sights of Nelson's column before heading to the National Gallery to take in some art. I was halfway through the gallery when I remembered just how much I disliked Renaissance artwork (boring, samey and full of disturbing man child like images of Christ) so I reversed direction jumped on a train and set sail for the Tate gallery instead.

The gallery was beautiful, modern and full of interesting and thought provoking pieces and I spent a thoroughly cultured couple of hours wandering around it. Afterwards I decided that I was in need of a change and so I headed towards one of my favourite parts of London; Camden Market.

This awesome place is full of shop after shop of cool clothes, alternative people, great food and a beautiful canal through which boats pass upon a regular basis. I decided to get lost amongst the maze like stalls of the marketplace and after perusing the wares I decided on a snazzy little jumper for myself. I ended the day by getting in a pint at The World's End pub before heading to the subway ready to finally travel home.

Cambodia: The floating villages of Kampong Lounge

 After my adventure in Siem Reap I needed some time to relax so I travelled by boat to the city of Battamberg (i'll talk more on that later). We travelled by boat down the Mekong River, one of the largest lakes in South East Asia. We past brightly coloured house boats filled with people trading, washing, fishing and relaxing.

I took a bus to the nearby floating village of Kampong Lounge and after arriving by motor bike I was soon traversing the waters of the lake. The houses were ingeniously set up to be homes, businesses and fully floating boats. My overnight home turned out to be a mixture of hotel, barbers and local store. It was also the home to many dogs and two deeply mischievous Macques.

Now as reinforced by my time at Cat Tien I had come to the conclusion that monkeys should not be kept as pets and these little bastards confirmed this suspicion by proceeding to steal my glasses (and get aggressive when I made to get them back). After some bribery involving banana however we managed to successfully retrieve them. Even though they didn't look that badly treated it was still heart breaking to see them put on such short chains, unable to get the exercise they needed (or probably even the correct diet that would be good for them).

I spend my day relaxing, reading, people watching and taking a tour of the lake that took me past a rather impressive floating cathedral and allowed me the opportunity to stop to take tea with a group of wedding guest waiting for a service.

By night I sat out on the prow of the house and watched the lake become a sea of lights, floating serenely in the night.

Thailand: Sangkhlaburi

 Sangkhlaburi managed I think to be one of the best places I visited in Thailand. Quiet and remote, its right on the edge of the border next to Burma and as such has a large number of refugees from the people of the Mon tribe (fleeing Burma's oppressive regieme). Unfortunately they are barely given any rights in Thailand and as such have to subsist on extremely low wages with very little rights to travel. Fortunately it has become home to a large number of NGOs and so is a great place to come and volunteer.

After arriving I spent the first day canoeing with friends on the beautiful lake by which my hostel was located. We drifted past sunken villages, golden temples and the far off mountain ranges of Burma and Thailand. and afterwards we swam in the warm waters of the lake. The evening we headed out to the amazing food market that got held daily around Sangkhlaburi, with so much delicious food to choose from I was beginning to wonder if I might start getting fat.

The following day I rented a bicycle and spent the day cycling around the temples in the village. After crossing a huge bridge made of bamboo on the lake me and my fellow traveller wandered past houses that floated suspended on the water. The temples were even more amazing, appearing as they were to be made of sold gold and after wandering past the many buddhas in its halls, I follows some children's examples and spent at least half an hour trying to throw coins into the pyramid creveses within which the smaller buddhas sat.

For the rest of the day we cycled around the hills surrounding the village and came at last to rest back by the lake, ready that evening to head out for even more delicious food.