Most of you readers will already know who we are, but as you will no doubt appreciate, I can’t miss an opportunity to write about myself. Although this is Lou writing, I see no particular reason why I shouldn’t biographise Sam too! In fact, let’s do Sam first.
Sam
Sam grew up in a small, picturesque village somewhere not too far north of London. He was always a bit of an overachiever – indeed, he was a much decorated under-11s football player. Skipping forward a few years, he decided to study History at the University of Nottingham, where we met (we lived on the same corridor in first year, and did many of the same modules). Sam graduated with a First last year. Left to his own devices, he wouldn’t mention the First. I am far less modest and take great delight in vicarious bragging.
Since then, he has lived in the centre of Nottingham in a cute little flat with me, saving up for our trip. He has proved most excellent at preventing me from spending money on clothes and cocktails – no mean feat. His hobbies include photography, history, travel, reading really epic books, and being the organised one(tm). In the summer between A-levels and uni, he Interrailed around Europe for a month, which I think is when he caught the travel bug. Since then we have visited various places together including Morocco, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Slovakia. However, our 6-month trip represents our greatest travel endeavour to date.
His photography is displayed over at Deviantart, so go give him some love. Incidentally, the picture on the front page of our blog is of me from the back. The beach is on Guernsey, where many of Sam’s relatives live. Recently, Sam’s invested in a new Panasonic Lumix camera, so stay posted for some great snaps.
Lou
I grew up under the bright lights of West London before spending my school years in Surrey. After my A-levels in English, Politics and History, I went to Nottingham to read Politics, graduating with a respectable 2:1.
In an attempt to use my brain, and become more employable, I’ve interned at Popbitch and in the Press Office of the London Development Agency. Both were great experiences which I’d highly recommend to anyone keen on getting into the media. I was able to use my full back catalogue of Britney knowledge at Popbitch, a rare delight. Whilst living in central Nottingham, saving for our travels, I worked as a Legal Eagle Secretary with a big law firm. The people there were fantastic, and I will dearly miss them all. Indeed, they’re part of the reason this blog was created – I don’t want to interrupt their busy lawyer schedules with continual updates but would very much like to keep in touch!
I’ve had a friends-locked blog since my early teens so am vaguely familiar with all this HTML business. Other hobbies include buying expensive-looking shoes, genuinely expensive cocktails, baking, taking Very Long Walks (I did a 20-mile walk for charity a couple of years ago), and being a news junkie. I am still trying to face up to the prospect that I may not be able to read the Times and the Guardian (not to mention Heat) thrice daily while we’re away.
The Trip
We fly to Bangkok on 12th March 2008, touching down on the 13th. We are expected back by anxious parents on the 13th September 2008, which gives us exactly six months. What we’re doing in the interim is pretty much anyone’s guess. Although I am a Planner by nature (and terribly Type A), Sam has persuaded me to cast my world map aside and see where our mood takes us. Expected destinations include Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Singapore. We are also toying with the idea of Indonesia, Nepal, Tibet and China. I’m hoping we make it to Nepal, because I’m a total Nepalese food addict. Sam’s hoping we get to China for the Olympics. Which pretty much sums up our respective priorities. In between, we’re hoping to do a lot of beaching, a diving course, a cookery course, trekking, rafting, and all the other stuff that crazy gap year kids do. Everything except bungee jumping. I’ve promised my dad there will be no bungee jumping.
You didn’t mention Tibet in the places under consideration? Does this mean that you are secretly a
Chinaphile(if anyone knows what this should be let me know, until then I shall have to make to do with…) commie, and that you fail to recognise Tibet as an independent country with a right to be “freed”?If this is indeed the case, you should update your profile accordingly and I may have to reconsider sharing a blog with you
By: Sam on March 6, 2008
at 6:27 pm
Could it be sinophile? I need some history/politics loving here people.
By: Sam on March 6, 2008
at 6:28 pm
I will add Tibet! I think it’s probably Sinophile (if there’s even a ‘right’ word…guess there must be).
We also need to think about being able to post as “sam” and “lou” rather than just as “jealousyet”. I wonder if there’s a way to do it?
By: jealousyet on March 6, 2008
at 6:34 pm