Scott Vs. Wild?

Solo travel is an interesting beast, full of constants and variables. Some things change every day and some things seem to always be the same. The funny thing is, you can never guess what those variables are going to be…

Travelling in the Caribbean isn’t exactly the realm of the backpacker – not many honeymooners like to share a bunk room with a coupe of other dirtbags. So the standard of living that I’m encountering dictates that I’m logging my fair share of nights in hotel rooms. Now when I was a kid, a hotel room was this great adventure – I’d race around and see what was up for free in the bathroom, jump on the bed and search for the pop machine. But things are a bit deferent now – after logging more then my fare share of nights in hotels, plus spending most of my days poking my head into rooms, the novelty of the hotel room has worn off a bit

So back to constants – every hotel room has a bed, a bathroom and in this part of the world a TV. When I spend the whole day out on my feet – dawn till dusk researching, taking notes and writing – the last thing I honestly want to do is read – the TV reigns supreme. Luckily there are a fair few channels to watch – beyond the five, yes 5 religious stations it would seem that The Discovery Channel is a constant. So I’ve been watching allot of shows like Mythbusters and a show called Man Vs. Wild. It’s a pretty cool show hosted by a guy called Bear Grylls who is this former SAS guy who skydives into some wilderness area like Patagonia and has to find a way to survive. Inevitably he ends up eating some nasty, nasty stuff to survive. You know live snakes, raw zebra and squeezing the water out of camel shit – standard sort of stuff!

I’m not sure if some of that thinking, that will to survive at any cost, has started to sink in – but perhaps so…

So I arrived in St Vincent a few days ago, on a Sunday and after a big day of travel I was starving. Now here in the Caribbean, things grind to an almighty halt on Sundays. Things go quick-quiet and the streets vacate and all of a sudden you feel like you’re the omega man. So there I was wandering the streets about 8hrs since breakfast and the dinner options were shrinking - and fast. And then I came around the corner and saw to my horror the only place open.

KFC.

Now, for some folks that would be a welcomed sight, for some it would be a means to an end – but not for me. Thing is, for the last decade I’ve been a vegetarian. And KFC doesn’t exactly ‘do’ vegi, I eat fish but there wasn’t even a fish option. So there I was standing at the counter and said something I haven’t uttered since 1999, “could I have a 3 piece meal, original recipe, with fries and a coke.”

I thought of Bear and dug in. a thigh, a leg, a breast and more trans fat then I’ve consumed since the 1990’s… I’d like to say that it was like eating raw zebra, but actually it was ok. I thought it was going to be a once a decade sort of thing, till the next day which was new years eve. Well that was pretty much a holiday, so at 7pm I walked up to the counter and said, “could I have a 3 piece meal, original recipe, with fries and a coke.” And then as if to add insult to injury, today is new year day, again a holiday, so…. Wait for it… “could I have a 3 piece meal, original recipe, with fries and a coke.”

I think I’m still a vegetarian? It was a survival situation, like eating the pilot after the plane crash – there’s nothing all that wrong with that is there?

You gotta love travelling, where you get to experience new and strange things – like chicken.
Have fun out there,
~Scott