Ben J West Australia

1. I detest conflict and avoid it fiercely unless someone is being racist, sexist or beard-ist.
2. My favourite quote is “Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional” Impressively my parents practice it.
3. Milk and no sugar. Lattes do not count.
4. Since I was four my nickname has been ‘Westy’…occasionally ‘Testies’ and ‘Festy’.
5. I was born in the seventies, my music taste is stuck there.
6. Anyone who starts conversations with ‘What do you do for a crust?’ will be a complete bore.
7. Sport bikes, not Harleys.
8. Wasabi coated peanuts; a gift from god.
9. I can put a condom up my nose and pull it out of my mouth.
10. Once upon a time I was so stressed I would regularly throw up breakfast.
11. Despite trying to face this fear I get highly agitated around cows.
12. I regularly tell the important people in my life that I love them. They already know. I also hug close friends, sometimes passersby. Not those awkward, half hearted man-hugs but proper from-the-heart-dude-you’re-brilliant hugs that would cause weirdness if I winked afterwards.
13. There is no way that I can take an angry Indian or Hispanic person seriously. I have tried but always start giggling.
14. Currently my transport is a loud motorbike, I love this.
15. Many things I do scare the heck out of me. I’m afraid of missing out due to fear and this is part of why I push through.
16. I once rode a yak for a dare.

Actually in hindsight a list seems like a cop-out. I’ll go with a big ol’ paragraph:

I’m Ben from Tasmania. You know that small pubic hair shaped island  just below Australia? Before you ask, Yes, it is part of Australia, yes we speak English and yes, all the children ride kangaroos to school. This blog started in the same way as many others – a convenient way to assure mum that I’m alive.

Here you’ll find stories about all the things I love; mountains, paragliding, exploring, getting into stupid situations and drugs. Not that kind though sorry, as a pharmacist it fascinates me that we can design a compound which will change the way our bodies do their job.

Don’t get the wrong idea though, I don’t spend all my nights gazing at Advil capsules in awe.

In my travels I have wrestled a midget biker in a shady Ecuadorian bar, tested my navigation skills in Patagonia, SCUBA dived in Thailand, climbed Himalayan mountains and fallen in love on a boat cruising the Galapagos archipelago. I have learnt a lot since selling my pharmacy business and hitting the road in 2010, not least of which is that money truly does not make people happy. “Some people are so poor that all they have is money.” If you believe the internet, Morgan Freeman said that. Those words, however, do strike a chord with me.

That said, please don’t peg me as a wide-eyed travel evangelist. I fully respect that some people are happy to bliss out at home with a good red so I avoid the ‘you-must-travel-or you-will-die’ bandwagon. All the tickets for this wagon were sold out anyway.

With my introductions finished I will get back to keeping you updated as I travel the world to climb things then jump off them, act inappropriately at random and talk my wife into really pushing her comfort zone.

Feel free to comment and join the fun. Thanks for stopping by.