WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.800 --> 00:00:05.559 The following presentation is Al Marvis Studio's production. 2 00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:28.920 When you Be on the Sky do you feel? 3 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:37.359 The poll question why the stories told? And left me 4 00:00:37.799 --> 00:00:40.119 high in shadows? 5 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:42.240 Where the truth we find? 6 00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:50.039 They built their tales on crafts and lines on. 7 00:00:50.280 --> 00:00:52.880 Theories they stake their design. 8 00:00:54.439 --> 00:00:57.880 Welcome back to truth seekers from around the world. It's 9 00:00:57.920 --> 00:01:01.479 time for another edition of the Flat Earth Files. I'm 10 00:01:01.479 --> 00:01:04.560 your host is always George Hobbes, and we have Mark 11 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:07.400 from Australia on the line who'll be joining us in 12 00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:10.359 just a moment before we get started. Don't forget for 13 00:01:10.439 --> 00:01:13.200 all things Flatter Earth Files. Please do check out the website, 14 00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:17.400 the flat Earthfiles dot com and if you'd like to 15 00:01:17.519 --> 00:01:21.280 join the podcast like Mark is today, please do send 16 00:01:21.359 --> 00:01:25.599 us an email to fefilesguest dot gmail dot com. And 17 00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:30.200 of course all of this information is in the show notes. 18 00:01:30.280 --> 00:01:33.359 And do apologize we're a little late on this week's episode. 19 00:01:33.400 --> 00:01:38.840 Unfortunately last week's guests had a family emergency to deal 20 00:01:38.840 --> 00:01:40.920 with and we'll keep him in our prayers and his 21 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:44.000 family and hope to get him back on later down 22 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:49.519 the road. And again my thanks to everyone who continues 23 00:01:49.560 --> 00:01:52.599 to support the podcast, and again I do leave notes 24 00:01:52.719 --> 00:01:55.120 in on the website and I noted that we'd be 25 00:01:55.439 --> 00:01:57.959 delayed this week. So again, thank you all for your 26 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:02.239 patience and your continued support. Think that's all the housekeeping 27 00:02:02.280 --> 00:02:05.519 notes we have for today, So we are going to 28 00:02:06.359 --> 00:02:09.319 welcome in our guest for this week. His name is Mark. 29 00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:12.680 He is from Australia. He's an author and he has 30 00:02:12.719 --> 00:02:15.199 a great story, So welcome aboard Mark. How were you. 31 00:02:16.360 --> 00:02:18.879 I'm really well, Thanks George, and thank you for having 32 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:22.439 me on the show. It's quite surreal to be here 33 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:25.759 talking with you after having listened to the show for 34 00:02:26.479 --> 00:02:28.919 I Reckon it's been about two years now. I started 35 00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:35.719 listening to it way before Christmas last year, so I've 36 00:02:35.719 --> 00:02:39.000 been churning in to all the wonderful people that you 37 00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:42.879 have on the show. It's been such an enjoyable experience 38 00:02:42.960 --> 00:02:47.159 listening to your show, number one, because I find you 39 00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:49.240 to be such a grounded and down to earth host, 40 00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:52.280 which is quite a rarity when you listen to the 41 00:02:52.599 --> 00:02:54.800 variety of different shows that there are. It's good to 42 00:02:54.919 --> 00:02:59.479 just have a voice that can discuss and talk and 43 00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:01.759 communicate with people so well, like you do with the 44 00:03:01.800 --> 00:03:05.080 guests you have on the show. And also just the 45 00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:09.319 wonderful conversations that you've had with all the different people, 46 00:03:09.599 --> 00:03:12.879 and it's sort of over the years of having listened 47 00:03:12.919 --> 00:03:16.840 to the show, all the conversations sort of blend into 48 00:03:16.919 --> 00:03:20.199 this synthesis of of of all the ideas and themes 49 00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:22.120 and topics you've discussed. 50 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:25.879 So it's it's just wonderful. 51 00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:28.280 To be a part of that and be given the 52 00:03:28.280 --> 00:03:32.639 opportunity to have a good chat with you about something 53 00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:36.520 that often leaves me feeling like I'm sort of this 54 00:03:36.680 --> 00:03:37.120 sort of. 55 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:40.479 Pariah or you know, outsider. 56 00:03:40.520 --> 00:03:43.560 Whenever I try to bring up the subject of the 57 00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:47.960 flat Earth with people, I often feel I know it's 58 00:03:47.960 --> 00:03:49.680 a bit extreme, but it's just sort of like you 59 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:52.479 you're you're someone who's got leprosy, you know, and you 60 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:54.680 you sort of bring up this this subject and no 61 00:03:54.759 --> 00:03:59.919 get away from me, get away, I don't want to know. Don't, don't, don't, 62 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:03.800 don't come near me. And it's interesting because I even 63 00:04:04.840 --> 00:04:10.879 know some some colleagues and people that are Christian, and 64 00:04:11.360 --> 00:04:15.719 when I try to even bring this subject up with them, 65 00:04:15.719 --> 00:04:20.120 it's amazing how just in doctrine indoctrinated people are to 66 00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:25.040 you know, Ball Earth, NASA Space and as I was 67 00:04:25.399 --> 00:04:30.160 writing my book, which has a huge section and overarching 68 00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:34.839 theme on all the deceptions, the great deception that we've been, 69 00:04:35.439 --> 00:04:40.920 you know, subjected to, I sort of really felt motivated 70 00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:45.199 to word it, and sometimes. 71 00:04:46.120 --> 00:04:47.319 I can be pretty. 72 00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:53.279 Abrasive and gruff, and I think with the sections in 73 00:04:53.319 --> 00:04:56.720 the book, I was really when I was writing that. 74 00:04:56.839 --> 00:04:59.879 It was at the same time I'd heard flat Earthed 75 00:05:02.120 --> 00:05:08.160 get ripped to shreds by that really nasty chap who 76 00:05:08.279 --> 00:05:11.000 was he was having the debate with. I forget the 77 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:11.519 guy's name. 78 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:12.399 I think his name was. 79 00:05:12.399 --> 00:05:17.279 Dave too, And yeah, I know you're talking about professor 80 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:19.360 Dave right, Well, yeah. 81 00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:22.600 But apparently word on the street was he's not actually 82 00:05:22.600 --> 00:05:26.120 a professor as such. If I'm if I'm hearing right, 83 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:29.480 I'm only re rephrasing what I've heard. 84 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:34.040 Yeah, it was. It was a bit of a what 85 00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:34.639 do you call it? 86 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:37.759 When you get one of these martial arts instructors they 87 00:05:37.759 --> 00:05:40.279 call themselves a black dan when actually they're, you know, 88 00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:43.519 they're just a yellow belt. I think that might have 89 00:05:43.560 --> 00:05:46.560 been a bit of the scenario going on there. But 90 00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:51.079 I think good old Dave flat Earth, Dave just he 91 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:55.639 was he was so diplomatic and you know, I just 92 00:05:55.959 --> 00:05:59.120 felt that that was so unfair what happened with that 93 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:02.639 debate and he acted like a complete. 94 00:06:03.240 --> 00:06:08.800 Complete narcissist. You know, just what happened with that. 95 00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:11.399 Was it just fueled me to go ahead and write 96 00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:14.959 the section that I think I sent you a sample of. 97 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:20.839 So I got quite quite carried away with my wordage 98 00:06:21.319 --> 00:06:22.920 describing these these. 99 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:27.399 So called astrophysicists in their fields. 100 00:06:27.439 --> 00:06:29.959 So there's a lot of a lot of nasty wording, 101 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:32.399 but I tried to go down the road of not cussing, 102 00:06:33.079 --> 00:06:37.240 but trying to just be as beers obnoxious as I 103 00:06:37.279 --> 00:06:40.319 could about what I thought of them, and at the 104 00:06:40.360 --> 00:06:43.680 same time try and succinctly spell out some of the 105 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:47.839 idiocracy of of you know, the physics that they are 106 00:06:47.879 --> 00:06:52.240 purporting and pushing on us all the time. So, you 107 00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:54.720 know it, it took me a long time to actually 108 00:06:54.759 --> 00:06:57.319 just get that that section of the book done because 109 00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:00.720 I was carefully going over all the fact and the data, 110 00:07:00.759 --> 00:07:05.120 and you know, it was something that I'd already had 111 00:07:05.480 --> 00:07:08.600 ruminating away from having listened to your show and also 112 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:15.639 from what I'd read previously. I guess, I guess I 113 00:07:15.639 --> 00:07:23.160 should start off by saying who I am I'm Mark Grangele. 114 00:07:23.360 --> 00:07:26.360 I live in Corland Gatta in Queensland, which is on 115 00:07:26.399 --> 00:07:27.839 the east coast of Australia. 116 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:31.639 Cooling Gatto is part of Queensland. 117 00:07:32.199 --> 00:07:36.000 However where we live is right on the border of 118 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:39.319 New South Wales, so where you literally look out over 119 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:44.199 our back fence and we're looking into Queensland. So technically, 120 00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:46.680 when we drive in our driveway we're in New South 121 00:07:46.680 --> 00:07:50.120 Wales and when we drive out of our driveway we're 122 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:54.800 in Queensland. And as I was just saying earlier, we've 123 00:07:54.839 --> 00:07:57.720 got a time difference because New South Wales goes on 124 00:07:57.800 --> 00:08:01.839 daylight savings for six months of the year and as such, 125 00:08:03.120 --> 00:08:06.839 now when we drive out of our driveway we are 126 00:08:06.920 --> 00:08:09.199 going in our backwards in time, and when we drive 127 00:08:09.240 --> 00:08:11.800 in our driveway we go forwards an hour in time. 128 00:08:12.800 --> 00:08:14.920 And so we have two daughters and when we drop 129 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:17.120 them off at school, one has to go to the 130 00:08:17.480 --> 00:08:19.600 school on the New South Wales side of the border, 131 00:08:19.639 --> 00:08:22.279 so we've got to calculate her start and finish time 132 00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:26.319 with our oldest daughter who goes to Palm Beach High School, 133 00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:26.920 which is. 134 00:08:27.079 --> 00:08:28.519 Just north of here in Queensland. 135 00:08:29.319 --> 00:08:32.759 And so it's a juggling act, and normally with my 136 00:08:32.799 --> 00:08:35.720 wife working at those times of the day, I'm the 137 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:38.600 one who's got to run around and madly kind of calculate, 138 00:08:38.639 --> 00:08:41.360 and I'm often getting calls from the school to. 139 00:08:41.399 --> 00:08:44.639 Say, you need to come and pick you need to 140 00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:45.679 come and pick a rorer up. 141 00:08:45.720 --> 00:08:48.240 You've for gotten the daylight savings, and I'm all, yeah, 142 00:08:48.840 --> 00:08:50.080 I'll be there in a few minutes. 143 00:08:51.519 --> 00:08:54.360 So we've been living here for ten years. 144 00:08:56.279 --> 00:09:00.519 My daughter's are fourteen and twelve now, and we moved 145 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:08.519 here from China. My wife's Chinese, and for ten non 146 00:09:08.519 --> 00:09:12.679 consecutive years, you know, like three years here, two years there, 147 00:09:12.720 --> 00:09:17.679 three years here. I've lived in mainland China, working for 148 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:20.320 most of that time as an ESL English as a 149 00:09:20.320 --> 00:09:21.519 second language teacher. 150 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:25.399 The last teaching stint that I did in. 151 00:09:25.399 --> 00:09:29.360 China I was actually working at an international school called 152 00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:31.240 Dutun International School. 153 00:09:30.960 --> 00:09:32.840 As a grade two primary teacher. 154 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:39.320 I'm kind of in this long, duous journey of trying 155 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:43.120 to finish off doing a BA in education, which started 156 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:48.080 off initially as a dip ed, but then the university's 157 00:09:48.279 --> 00:09:51.480 changed and said you can no longer be qualified doing 158 00:09:51.480 --> 00:09:54.120 a dip hed, a DIPAD used to be one year. 159 00:09:54.200 --> 00:09:55.679 Then they made it two years. 160 00:09:56.679 --> 00:09:58.759 You could attach that onto the end of a degree 161 00:09:58.759 --> 00:10:02.600 in any subject and then walk out of there and 162 00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:05.120 have a really good grounded knowledge in what your original 163 00:10:05.159 --> 00:10:09.480 degree was in with the two years of teaching education 164 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:12.600 tacked on to the end of it. But I think, 165 00:10:14.240 --> 00:10:16.720 pointing the finger a little bit at the managers of 166 00:10:16.759 --> 00:10:20.240 the universities, probably wanting to make a bit more money 167 00:10:20.279 --> 00:10:23.720 from the whole outfit, they then made that you have 168 00:10:23.799 --> 00:10:27.960 to now do a BA to be qualified as a teacher, 169 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:31.240 and that if you wanted to specialize in anything, they 170 00:10:31.399 --> 00:10:33.480 just sort of tack something into the middle of it, 171 00:10:33.559 --> 00:10:36.080 you know, So if you wanted to be an art teacher, 172 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:38.440 then they would say, well, in the middle of that BA, 173 00:10:38.600 --> 00:10:39.200 you're going to. 174 00:10:39.159 --> 00:10:40.559 Do a whole lot of art subjects. 175 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:46.240 So it's sort of circumfunded needing to do a degree. 176 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:51.120 But in my personal opinion, I think that's not right 177 00:10:51.240 --> 00:10:54.799 because you have a lot of great teachers who are 178 00:10:54.799 --> 00:10:58.519 passionate about whatever their subject was coming out and then 179 00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:00.320 they do they did BED and they go in there 180 00:11:00.320 --> 00:11:04.840 and they become great teachers at what they're into. For me, 181 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:08.360 it seems a little bit generic and washed out what 182 00:11:08.399 --> 00:11:12.519 the content is for those specialties within the course. But 183 00:11:13.240 --> 00:11:18.279 as it were, I started down that track of requalifying 184 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:22.159 because I'd let the diploma go while my wife and 185 00:11:22.200 --> 00:11:26.200 I decided that we wanted to start our own puppet theater. 186 00:11:27.480 --> 00:11:32.360 So I was looking at you know, of course I 187 00:11:32.440 --> 00:11:37.399 did with the Tim Tim Winston School of Character Design. 188 00:11:37.440 --> 00:11:39.480 I was doing an online course about how to make 189 00:11:39.559 --> 00:11:42.960 muppets and you know, Cookie Monster and Kermit those sort 190 00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:46.519 of So I got a little workshop studio going and 191 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:48.960 I started to get quite good at making less huge, 192 00:11:49.399 --> 00:11:53.519 you know, sesame street quality muppets, and then we began 193 00:11:53.600 --> 00:11:57.559 to formulate shows and ideas about education and anti bullying. 194 00:11:58.519 --> 00:12:01.240 And for a while they're both Louy and my wife 195 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:03.200 and I would. 196 00:12:03.039 --> 00:12:06.840 Go around to kindy's and schools and holiday resorts and 197 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:09.600 shopping centers, and we were doing you know, full on, 198 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:10.879 you know puppet shows. 199 00:12:10.879 --> 00:12:13.440 And I made the stage myself out of wood. 200 00:12:15.320 --> 00:12:20.960 It was a kind of old retro Italian public theater 201 00:12:21.080 --> 00:12:23.399 style stage that I made that could fold up and 202 00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:26.240 go on the back of the van. And for a 203 00:12:26.279 --> 00:12:28.840 while there it was it was okay. But the problem 204 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:32.279 was that we were just a husband and wife team 205 00:12:32.559 --> 00:12:35.080 trying to run a household and then at the same 206 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:37.960 time trying to run a business. So it was it 207 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:41.320 was up and down and it was a real rollercoaster ride, 208 00:12:42.440 --> 00:12:45.279 and then eventually we just had to say, okay, we 209 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:47.759 need to go back to normal jobs. 210 00:12:48.279 --> 00:12:50.879 Yeah. Is that the same Stan Winston that was part 211 00:12:50.919 --> 00:12:51.960 of the Tim Burton films. 212 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:56.879 Yes, yeah, he he he's the legendary you know. I 213 00:12:56.960 --> 00:13:02.039 made the alien characters and the Predator, designed the Predator. 214 00:13:02.120 --> 00:13:05.440 When the film was going down one road with a 215 00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:07.759 different character, they stepped got him to step in, and 216 00:13:07.759 --> 00:13:09.919 he kind of saved the day with the redesign of 217 00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:15.799 the And also he has a wonderful online school, very 218 00:13:15.919 --> 00:13:20.240 very comprehensive, well priced. And so I was making Muppets 219 00:13:20.279 --> 00:13:21.879 as a hobby and I jumped on there and that 220 00:13:21.960 --> 00:13:24.919 sort of took me up to the next level being 221 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:28.960 able to, you know, design and create these muppet characters. 222 00:13:29.440 --> 00:13:31.600 And I just kept working away at it. 223 00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:35.159 I guess I like, I love working with my hands anything, 224 00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:43.200 painting heart It's a very for me, very it's reward, Yeah, exactly. 225 00:13:43.639 --> 00:13:45.480 You look at something that you created with your hands. 226 00:13:45.480 --> 00:13:48.240 It's I do woodworking and things like that. It's very 227 00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:50.879 when you're done after the hard work, the detailed work 228 00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:53.320 and the time and effort is it's very rewarding and 229 00:13:53.399 --> 00:13:55.600 it is like it's a stress believer as well. 230 00:13:56.240 --> 00:14:00.360 Oh definitely, you know it's it's it's that act that 231 00:14:00.600 --> 00:14:03.519 it's also the necessity is the mother of all inventions. 232 00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:06.360 So you know, we had we went and got a great, big, huge, 233 00:14:07.559 --> 00:14:11.279 you know, eighty inch TV, but we didn't have a stand. 234 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:13.399 And I'm looking at the process of the stands going. 235 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:16.480 You've got to be joking me, and I can go 236 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:19.200 do that myself. So you know, I went into Bunnings, 237 00:14:19.240 --> 00:14:23.559 which is like Australian version of Home Depot. So Bunnings 238 00:14:23.559 --> 00:14:25.480 sort of generally is where you go for all your 239 00:14:25.480 --> 00:14:26.639 dool stuff. 240 00:14:26.360 --> 00:14:26.960 Here in Oz. 241 00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:30.039 And you know, it took me about a month and 242 00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:36.120 I made a TV stand. I'm not very artistically woodworky, 243 00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:38.600 you know, like with joins and all this kind of thing. 244 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:42.120 I'm very pragmatic. I'll go hang on. 245 00:14:42.200 --> 00:14:43.600 I mean, I can put a bolt in here and 246 00:14:43.639 --> 00:14:45.919 bolt that and you know, and as long as it 247 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:50.399 tastes together like the rocket Gibraltar. But I appreciate the 248 00:14:50.440 --> 00:14:53.639 real artisanry in woodwork. You know, when I see people 249 00:14:53.679 --> 00:14:58.320 making all these wonderful furniture and someone that's got all 250 00:14:58.360 --> 00:15:01.759 these amazing dovet all joins and all this kind of thing, 251 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:04.679 I think, God, one day, I'd like to One day 252 00:15:04.720 --> 00:15:06.919 I'd like to have the time to be able to 253 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:09.360 get down and sort of make something like that. But 254 00:15:10.279 --> 00:15:13.039 it's a wonderful feeling to be able to make something 255 00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:16.120 with your own hands, no matter what it is. And 256 00:15:16.840 --> 00:15:20.639 so yeah, for me, that's been my go to, always 257 00:15:21.240 --> 00:15:23.639 trying to have some sort of outlet, whether it's you know, 258 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:31.120 painting or sculpting or anything really. But yeah, sadly for us, 259 00:15:31.159 --> 00:15:33.440 and it was really sad. I got quite depressed that 260 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:39.240 we had to stop with the puppet theater. I sort 261 00:15:39.240 --> 00:15:43.120 of had aspirations of, you know, carrying it further and 262 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:46.240 maybe trying to do a TV show or even because 263 00:15:46.279 --> 00:15:51.080 originally George my degree from what seems like three or 264 00:15:51.080 --> 00:15:54.000 four lifetimes ago. It was in the late eighties, I 265 00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:58.639 graduated from a film degree and nothing ever really came 266 00:15:58.679 --> 00:16:03.559 of it. But there's always that creative drive in the background, 267 00:16:04.360 --> 00:16:10.360 and in a way, the character for my book that's 268 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:15.960 just been released today, he sort of sprung to mind 269 00:16:16.919 --> 00:16:19.840 years and years and years ago, when I was backpacking 270 00:16:19.879 --> 00:16:22.200 through mainland China in the early nineties. 271 00:16:23.240 --> 00:16:26.879 I've been living in Hong Kong and working as a 272 00:16:26.919 --> 00:16:28.399 health instructor in Hong Kong. 273 00:16:29.159 --> 00:16:34.200 And my girlfriend at the time, she just traveled this wonderful, 274 00:16:34.320 --> 00:16:39.600 amazing journey through You're all, through Pakistan and through the 275 00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:42.399 Kaiba Pass and then she'd been in India before that. 276 00:16:42.519 --> 00:16:45.000 And when she got back, she showing me all these 277 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:48.840 photos and I'm just blown away because my minor in 278 00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:53.679 my film degree was photography and I had this amazing, 279 00:16:53.960 --> 00:17:00.240 inspiring photography lecturer, Max Pam, who is a famous I was. 280 00:17:00.279 --> 00:17:01.559 He traveling photographer. 281 00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:04.839 So he had all these wild photos of all these 282 00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:09.039 places he'd visited in the Gabie Desert and the mountains 283 00:17:09.039 --> 00:17:11.799 of Mongolia and all these other places. 284 00:17:11.799 --> 00:17:14.000 And I'd always sort of been inspired to do the 285 00:17:14.039 --> 00:17:14.519 same thing. 286 00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:19.480 So when I saw the photos of where this friend 287 00:17:19.480 --> 00:17:23.400 had traveled through, I was all, Okay, I'm going to 288 00:17:23.400 --> 00:17:25.200 get a backpack, I'm going to get a camera, I'll 289 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:28.359 get a lonely planet. And this is in the early nineties, 290 00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:31.759 so there was no phones or digital or anything. I 291 00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:34.559 got a map of China and that was it and 292 00:17:34.839 --> 00:17:37.599 packed my clothes and off I went, got my visa 293 00:17:37.680 --> 00:17:41.440 of course, and then jumped on the train at Monkok 294 00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:45.759 station in Kowloon and traveled up across the border into 295 00:17:46.440 --> 00:17:50.480 Shenzhen and Guangdong, and then off I went on this 296 00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:55.799 big parapetic journey all around China. But the idea for 297 00:17:56.119 --> 00:17:59.880 the character of my book came while I was in 298 00:18:00.079 --> 00:18:06.400 this small, beautiful, little hamlety pocket at the time called 299 00:18:06.799 --> 00:18:11.720 Sechuan Bana, and it's in southwestern China, and it's called 300 00:18:11.720 --> 00:18:14.119 Sechwan Bara because it stands for I believe, the Eight 301 00:18:14.200 --> 00:18:17.519 Tribes or the Seven Tribes region. And this has all 302 00:18:17.559 --> 00:18:20.440 the hill tribes, all the minority hill tribes that are 303 00:18:20.680 --> 00:18:24.920 really they don't see themselves as any particular nationality. 304 00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:25.839 They're they're part of. 305 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:32.799 Laos, They're part of Burma, they're they're mountain people. And Jinghong, 306 00:18:32.920 --> 00:18:36.240 which is the capital at the time, was this beautiful 307 00:18:36.279 --> 00:18:41.799 little oasis of a of a town. It just had 308 00:18:41.799 --> 00:18:45.000 this laid back, lovely feel, and there was all these 309 00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:47.000 foreign backpackers there at the time. 310 00:18:47.319 --> 00:18:50.240 Because it was too cold to go further north. 311 00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:56.720 This is around about January February, and so my plan 312 00:18:56.880 --> 00:18:59.759 was to hang there until things began to warm up 313 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:03.799 more north, because I was planning on going into Tibet 314 00:19:04.319 --> 00:19:07.200 and then further north up into Cashgar and Mongolia. But 315 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:09.960 at that moment in time, it was a you know, 316 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:11.240 frozen tundra. 317 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:14.519 So this lovely semi. 318 00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:17.359 Tropical kind of place was a good kind of you know, 319 00:19:18.039 --> 00:19:21.240 location to park up and just you know, enjoy and 320 00:19:21.319 --> 00:19:21.599 do a. 321 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:22.160 Bit of traveling. 322 00:19:22.200 --> 00:19:25.720 And as it were, there were all these little towns 323 00:19:25.799 --> 00:19:31.279 nearby called Manglon, Manghai, mang mang Lan, and they generally 324 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:34.160 had the same name, and there was all different little 325 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:35.920 attractions to go and see in each one. 326 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:39.160 There were very small, little rural villages, you know. 327 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:45.440 And so I went one night to go stay in 328 00:19:45.640 --> 00:19:51.160 this treehouse in the Elephant reserve. And what had been 329 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:53.880 happening was that all the groups of backpackers had been 330 00:19:53.920 --> 00:19:58.319 going there and having barbecues and sing alongs, and you know, 331 00:19:58.359 --> 00:20:00.480 they're all coming back on and it's really and you 332 00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:03.000 can stay in the treehouse and it's really and I 333 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:05.400 thought I'll go do that, and without sort of consulting 334 00:20:05.440 --> 00:20:08.039 with anyone first, because I thought they'd already gone there, 335 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:11.359 I got on the bus and traveled out there, and 336 00:20:11.400 --> 00:20:14.119 the guy that ran the place goes, oh, there's nobody 337 00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:16.759 there at the moment. But I walk you there and 338 00:20:16.920 --> 00:20:19.319 it was like a thirty minute walk into the jungle, 339 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:24.799 and along the way, you know, he's pointing and going, oh, yeah, 340 00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:28.119 look that's a tiger print there. And then he actually 341 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:31.039 got quite scared because he saw some fresh tiger poop 342 00:20:31.839 --> 00:20:35.519 and he's pointing at the tiger poop going on, poking 343 00:20:35.559 --> 00:20:40.920 up with a stick, going out, and he looked quite scared. Like, yeah, 344 00:20:41.640 --> 00:20:46.000 at the time, I was kind of like totally obliviously 345 00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:48.359 in the sense that I thought, oh, wow, yeah, tiger, 346 00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:49.599 Well look at that there's he's bore. 347 00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:50.240 Yeah. 348 00:20:50.680 --> 00:20:54.440 I hadn't mentally processed the fact that I'm there just 349 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:58.079 with this stood on a little trail, completely unarmed. 350 00:20:57.680 --> 00:21:00.559 Nothing there. And then when I'm. 351 00:21:00.200 --> 00:21:02.720 Years and years later, when I've watched videos of tigers 352 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:06.039 attacking people, I'm going, damn, that. 353 00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:07.880 Was that was not a good spot. 354 00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:13.400 But he took me into this little spot where they 355 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:16.720 had this treehouse. And when I say treehouse, it was 356 00:21:16.759 --> 00:21:20.039 more like one of those guard watch towers that you 357 00:21:20.119 --> 00:21:23.039 see in those old Second World War films, you know, 358 00:21:23.079 --> 00:21:25.440 the ones that they've got the big watchtower, you know, 359 00:21:25.480 --> 00:21:27.880 one of the the. 360 00:21:27.319 --> 00:21:29.839 Prison camps or whatever, you know those kind of towers. 361 00:21:29.880 --> 00:21:35.799 They built one of those, so it was quite safe, 362 00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:40.119 you know, as in secure and anyway, So I got 363 00:21:40.119 --> 00:21:41.519 there at two in the afternoon. 364 00:21:41.640 --> 00:21:45.279 I thought, oh, maybe some people will show up. Nobody did. 365 00:21:45.400 --> 00:21:48.160 So by six o'clock at night, I'd gone up to 366 00:21:48.279 --> 00:21:50.960 the top of the tower and there was a mid 367 00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:54.519 level entrance way and I closed that and I've gone 368 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:56.079 up into the top part of the tower. 369 00:21:57.079 --> 00:22:01.680 And my real worry was pythons. 370 00:22:01.720 --> 00:22:04.799 There've been all this scuttle button talk about how this 371 00:22:05.240 --> 00:22:10.480 particular jungle area was rife with giant pythons and all 372 00:22:10.559 --> 00:22:14.759 these stories about people getting attacked, and so I'm lying 373 00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:16.359 there going, well, if I go to sleep, I don't 374 00:22:16.359 --> 00:22:19.559 want to wake up cuddling up to a python. So 375 00:22:19.720 --> 00:22:22.559 I'm looking at all the rafters and thinking there's trees 376 00:22:22.599 --> 00:22:24.039 around they could come in through there. 377 00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:27.359 That was my biggest worry. But nothing ever came of it. 378 00:22:28.119 --> 00:22:32.880 But the following morning, as I was walking back out 379 00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:35.759 of the trail, so I got through the night, I 380 00:22:35.880 --> 00:22:38.119 was so I sort of went to bed about twelve, 381 00:22:38.119 --> 00:22:41.160 and I was not really too scared. I was just 382 00:22:41.200 --> 00:22:44.759 a bit like worried about rats or anything coming into. 383 00:22:44.519 --> 00:22:46.319 The area because it wasn't sealed off, you know. 384 00:22:47.720 --> 00:22:51.880 And as I'm walking back out, I got kind of 385 00:22:52.359 --> 00:22:54.599 quarter of the way down the path and just in 386 00:22:54.640 --> 00:22:58.960 this small little clearing, I'm looking at this this It 387 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:03.559 was a cactus about five foot tall, I would have said. 388 00:23:04.400 --> 00:23:07.440 And as I kind of walked off the pathway to 389 00:23:07.480 --> 00:23:09.559 take a good look at it, I'm treading really carefully 390 00:23:09.559 --> 00:23:13.200 on the ground, mind you, because I'm worried about snakes 391 00:23:13.240 --> 00:23:16.279 all the other creepy crawlies that there were. I kind 392 00:23:16.279 --> 00:23:18.319 of get to this palm and it's sitting in this 393 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:23.400 little clearing all by itself, and I'm sort of thinking, wow, 394 00:23:23.799 --> 00:23:26.200 look at you, you know. And it had like one 395 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:29.319 of the arms holding up like you know, you'd hold 396 00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:31.920 your arm up to say hi, you know. And it 397 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:34.519 had two arms, like one was hanging down by its 398 00:23:34.559 --> 00:23:36.799 side and the other one was sort of up. And 399 00:23:36.839 --> 00:23:40.319 it didn't really have a bulbous head, but it almost 400 00:23:40.319 --> 00:23:45.400 looked like there was a certain differentiation between the head 401 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:48.079