var qtext = new Array(); var qname = new Array(); var qurl = new Array(); var ctext = new Array(); var cname = new Array(); qtext[0] = "A solitary man prays towards the sun, chanting Hindu prayers and scooping water up in his cupped hands. Suddenly his prayer is finished, and it is as if for the first time he notices the cacophony around him, the beginning of a whole new day in India."; qname[0] = "Varanasi, India"; qurl[0] = "../india/varanasi.html"; qtext[1] = "On the way up into the Western Ghats I noticed that above the rock-painted adverts someone had scrawled 'Jesus never fails'; I sincerely hoped that the bus' brakes were as reliable as the Son of God."; qname[1] = "Kodaikanal, India"; qurl[1] = "../india/kodaikanal.html"; qtext[2] = "With lakes, citadels, stunning views over the plains below and a friendly local population who mysteriously insisted on greeting me with 'Bye-bye!' instead of 'Hello!', I wandered for hours in the blistering heat..."; qname[2] = "Mandu, India"; qurl[2] = "../india/mandu.html"; qtext[3] = "The world is different on Ko Samui: the possession of a beer belly is almost an entry requirement. If you're fat, pale and have a tat of a rose enshrined in barbed wire at the top of your left arm, you're practically a deity in these parts."; qname[3] = "Beach Bums of Thailand"; qurl[3] = "../thailand/beach_bums_of_thailand.html"; qtext[4] = "Unlike the soppy specimens I'd come across on the way up, he bared his teeth, let fly a vicious screeching, and started running at me, looking for a fight. There's not much that's scarier than a monkey running at you, full pelt, fangs glinting in the midday sun."; qname[4] = "Gunung Rinjani, Indonesia"; qurl[4] = "../indonesia/gunung_rinjani.html"; qtext[5] = "The locals had to pull the latter's body from the wreckage and make sure it went through the right channels, something the owner of the body had quite obviously failed to do in the last moments of his life."; qname[5] = "Amanu, French Polynesia"; qurl[5] = "../french_polynesia/amanu.html"; qtext[6] = "Unfazed, he continued to rant. 'It's possible,' I replied, 'but I am the eggman, they are the eggmen, I am the walrus, goo-goo-ba-joob', and he snapped to a close, staring at me as if I'd just asked if he knew any good burger joints in town."; qname[6] = "Trichy, India"; qurl[6] = "../india/trichy.html"; qtext[7] = "Mt Abu may be the honeymoon capital of Rajasthan, but not one but three shops, right there on the main street, sold a huge range of ancient but effective guns. No doubt they were for shotgun weddings and quick divorces."; qname[7] = "Mt Abu, India"; qurl[7] = "../india/mt_abu.html"; qtext[8] = "Zed managed the crossing without faltering. There was, however, a rising tide within the car, and as I kept accelerating gently, muddy river water poured into the foot wells, oozing over my ankles and threatening to soak all my possessions."; qname[8] = "Submarine Car"; qurl[8] = "../new_zealand/submarine_car.html"; qtext[9] = "She could have jumped up on the bar, smothered herself in whipped cream and done strange things with a banana, and the old gits sitting and staring at the results of the 4.15 handicap from Fremantle would have probably just asked her to move out of the way."; qname[9] = "Top-up, Sir?"; qurl[9] = "../australia/top-up_sir.html"; qtext[10] = "Take Marco Polo Beer, which came complete with the warning 'Liquor ruins country, family, life' emblazoned on the label. Surprisingly, it didn't say: 'Liquor ruins country, family, life and the whole of the next day'. It should have done."; qname[10] = "Mamallapuram, India"; qurl[10] = "../india/mamallapuram.html"; qtext[11] = "Opium and marijuana are the main drugs in northern Thailand, both are readily available, and you can watch a real live opium den in action. Is it any wonder trekking in Chiang Mai is so popular, where the mountains are high and so are the trekkers?"; qname[11] = "Chiang Mai, Thailand"; qurl[11] = "../thailand/chiang_mai.html"; qtext[12] = "The really<\/em> low point happened after 14 days of rolling and throwing up. I lay down in the bottom of the boat, curled up and cried my heart out, and I remember thinking that whatever happened to me in the future, things would never<\/em> get worse than this."; qname[12] = "Sailing to French Polynesia"; qurl[12] = "../french_polynesia/sailing_to_polynesia.html"; qtext[13] = "I'd never seen dead bodies before. The first one up was an overweight woman in a black dress. It struck me how incredibly white she looked compared to her clothes. She was closely followed by an old woman, trailing white vomit in her wake; they were dead on arrival."; qname[13] = "Dock of the Bay"; qurl[13] = "../australia/dock_of_the_bay.html"; qtext[14] = "When westerners think of Bond, they think of beautiful curves and how attractive they are in little black dresses; when the Indians think of Bond, they think of beautiful curves and how aerodynamic they are."; qname[14] = "James Bond in India"; qurl[14] = "../india/james_bond_in_india.html"; qtext[15] = "It quite unnerved me to be in a city where passing wind in a public place probably contravenes the Health Regulation Code of 1987, Appendix C Subsection III. No wonder everyone suffers from executive stress."; qname[15] = "Singapore City"; qurl[15] = "../singapore/singapore_city.html"; qtext[16] = "The railway follows the road for the main part, which means you pass wonderful signs such as: 'If you want to donate blood, do not do it on the road, donate it in the blood bank' and, rather worryingly, 'Love thy neighbour... but not while driving.'"; qname[16] = "The Toy Train"; qurl[16] = "../india/toy_train.html"; qtext[17] = "The sight of a beached ship with half its front removed is both awesome and gruesome, because despite the lack of humanity in a fully intact ship, when it's sitting there with its guts hanging out it's hard not to pity the poor thing."; qname[17] = "Alang, India"; qurl[17] = "../india/alang.html"; ctext[0] = "Your observations about India are spot on. This is without doubt the best travel site on the Net. You have raised the bar for anybody else trying to put his own experiences on the Net. Absolutely amazingly written. How do you put it all so funnily?"; cname[0] = "Aatish A"; ctext[1] = "A true traveller. Best writing on the Web. Mark's writing on India is superb. I learned more about India through his writing than through anything else. I strongly recommend one reads him before setting foot in India."; cname[1] = "Daya T"; ctext[2] = "It's a rainy day today where I live and I have spent a full two hours today reading the section on India and I still am not finished yet. The stories are beautifully written and engaging. I cannot think of a better way to spend a rainy day than sitting and reading your articles."; cname[2] = "Mike from indiamike.com"; ctext[3] = "I was recommended to have a look at this site, and I have to say that this is arguably one of the best sites I've actually seen for recounting travelling experiences."; cname[3] = "Mark B"; ctext[4] = "You've created a fantastic site, beautifully put together. I'm amazed that you've gone to such a mind-boggling number of places and still had the energy to write about it at the end of the day. Congratulations on the site, and for having the ability and wisdom to set off on your journeys, the good humour to continue with them, and the energy to tell us all about it..."; cname[4] = "Will M"; ctext[5] = "It's rare to find a site as good as this. It's one thing to travel, and yet another to bring these experiences to other people (who may not be able to) via these nicely written, well thought out and above all interesting articles. You are an inspiration to budding travel writers such as myself."; cname[5] = "Dave L"; ctext[6] = "I found your site absolutely awesome. I have spent hours reading now, and I still have so much left to read. This is absolutely amazing, and right now I just want to go! I'm sure you're familiar with that feeling. :-) Thank you for an excellent site."; cname[6] = "Bjorn J"; ctext[7] = "I have to say this is one of the best, most useful, funny, informative sites out there. Your writing is wonderful!"; cname[7] = "Patrick Y"; ctext[8] = "I loved the website. I just wanted to say your stories gave me confidence that I can actually get away for an open-ended trip (a plan I've been working on) and figure out what it is I'd like to do with my life. Thanks for the excellent writing, but more importantly, thanks for the inspiration."; cname[8] = "Ryan W"; ctext[9] = "Thanks for the interesting site. A lot of really good work! The travelogues with dialogue are very entertaining (have you read William Dalyrymple?). You are honest without being patronising, unlike some travel writers I have read. I share your love of India. Thanks again and keep up the good work!"; cname[9] = "Peter R"; // Display comment and quotation function quotes() { var choice = Math.floor(Math.random() * ctext.length); var strHTML = '

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