“Too many things were organic for my liking. Without a pair of sandals, a musty aroma of henna about me, or my hair in a ponytail, I felt that I wouldn’t be welcome here.”

One thing has changed dramatically in the decade since Hawks made is circumnavigation of the Emerald Isle. “I caused at least three disapproving sharp intakes of breath… when I plugged my mobile phone into one of the power points to recharge it,” he says. Today you’d be hard-pressed to find a youthful “traveler,” organic or otherwise, not equipped with a mobile phone, mp3 player, and digital camera (and perhaps a laptop computer); these would be the self-absorbed gits who sprawl across the aisles in the airports on their gigantic Eddie Bauer knapsacks, monopolizing all the power outlets as they recharge their equipment. I imagine the competition for power outlets in hostels must be rather fierce these days.

like:

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” –- Miriam Beard

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” — Jawaharal Nehru

more lines here -> http://princessdyanie.blogspot.com/2007/07/busy-life.html