ktravula – a travelogue!

The Whole Picture

The last couple of days has brought a record number of new visitors to this blog. That brings with it a certain kind of delight. (Welcome people!) I may yet resume a regular dump of my thoughts on you once again as I have been doing for the past two years. Sitting here for the past few hours has brought me into a few ideas none of which have furthered the work into my thesis beyond a few sentences. On one screen is my twitter feed that shows me diverse opinions of trending topics, from the Golden Globes to the Fuel Subsidy fights in Nigeria (in which my heart absolutely resides), and the Republican Primary fight in which another video has shown up with frontrunner Mitt Romney offering an unbelievably cold response to a sick man who had asked for his opinion on medical marijuana.

As I have discovered many times over, coming back to the empty page of a new blogpost always brought words back to my fingertips, bringing me back to a required level head to continue my work. In any case, here is what I thought: a solution to an old puzzle. All the (about three thousand) pictures that I have taken since this travelogue began need to go somewhere. As from today, I will be putting one (or two) of them per week out on the blog’s Facebook page with a little back story. If I never eventually make it to writing/completing that travel book of all those experiences, pictures and short back stories would have to do. Of course, you would be missing out on this if you are not already following the page.

Alright, that is out. Back to wondering how to successfully measure the progress of second language tonal acquisition, and communicate same to a thesis committee.

Welcome New Contributors

This month is the third September in the life span of this blog and thus the beginning of another season. As from this month therefore and in the coming days, you will be reading from new writers who are joining us from different parts of the world to share thoughts, ideas, opinions and creativity, as regular and irregular contributors.

There will be Emmanuel Iduma who co-edits a literary magazine Saraba, and Hilal Ergul a fellow FLTA from 2009 who now lives and travels around Turkey. Benson Eluma will also be joining us from the University of Ibadan, and a few more folks I’m still trying to convince that it always helps to complain and reflect publicly than grumble in private all day long. Where are those in Mexico, Kuwait, Uganda, Birmingham, Tahrir, Casablanca, Benghazi?

I look forward to more contributors and a series of new experiences and viewpoints from around the world. Give them some love.

Coming Changes to KTravula.com

I have exciting news. In coming weeks, I will begin to effect a series of changes that will transform this blog from a personal platform of just one man’s thoughts on things to a more open collaborative blog of ideas from all over the world.

I have thought about this for a while now and have come to the realization that the personal nature of the travel experiences here has gradually run its course. For one, I do not travel as much as I used to nor do I hope to soon. There are very many responsibilities of different natures competing for attention. I also have a very demanding schedule of tasks at hand including personal work, a thesis, and other research projects for which I need to give my all. More than that, I am also convinced that there are very many new voices out there that could find good use for this means of expression.

The changes will be gradual and will lead eventually to a richer and fuller content for you dedicated readers. As at today on Alexa, KTravula.com was rated #113,258 in the United States and #393,557 in global ranking. We’re slowly catching up with Google, Facebook and Youtube who occupy positions #1, #2, and #3 respectively ;). In less than two years, we also got a record 12 nominations for the Blog Awards. I couldn’t have done this without you. Now is the time to expand, and enrich the experience. We have got a few offers for non-intrusive ad links on the blog. If it works as planned then, I’ll be able to pay all contributors a little stipend. I will not stop writing, of course, but there will me a few new voices and I will retain my position as the editor-in-chief/publisher. So, watch this space.

PS: Interested travel writers/freelance writers who are interested in becoming regular or irregular contributors should send me a line at freelance@ktravula.com with ideas. I’m also looking for a voluntary website designer.

By the Way

I just found out that our “Blog Anniversary” was on August 10. That was when I made the first post on the blog this time last year. I’m really not big on this kind of anniversary so I’m letting it pass. Or maybe that passover night has taken out all the steam that this was supposed to have sprouted. There’s nothing special about a blog anniversary, except to appreciate that we’re still breathing, and that we’re still having stuff to say to each other. I find this privilege one of the most precious and enduring.

Thank you for being there, even silently. Yes, I mean you 😉

Farewell to a Good Year

Never getting a chance at the end of 2009 to make the usual resolutions and contrite restitutions meant for the last moments before the year slips by, let me pretend that this is the last night of the year, a few hours before the countdown into a new year. On December 2009, I was in that faraway place with the shadow of an errant Nigerian panty bomber lurking just around in hush conversations. A better scenery than sitting in a church service amidst noises and supplications to the deity of the new year, I was floating in an imaginary continent of my dreamland; just one of those instances I can remember in my short life where the momentary passage of one day did not live to its expectation of being super grand. A few hours later, dozens of text messages from everywhere told me that another year had passed by, at least in our time zone. As the sun moved westwards, so did the day, and very soon we were all satiated in the ordinariness of such a significant passage, far less ordinary than December 31, 1999, just a decade earlier, spent in the throes of questions and skepticisms.

Tonight could be a more significant eve, who knows, perhaps because if this blog does not continue after today, we can at least say that it lived as fully as it could over twelve interesting moons. And if it does, we can say that the first year was good, and that the second should be better. In any case, there is cause for celebration. Now, in the style of the specialists of such occasions, there should be drinks and clinking glasses. Yes, yes, I remember when men were boys, and a good time meant plenty suya and a pleasant conversation amidst howling dogs and a quiet, or soft music-infested, environment. A bottle of Ponche spread around on cold soda drinks produced what has now become the legendary KT Martini. No, I don’t recommend that now. Get a bottle of yogurt along with a box of Don Simon. Get a mix in the right proportion, read a good poem (I’ll put one up shortly, the last post for this “year”) and drink to health, long life, and many more interesting adventures. Call it KTramarula, a drink on me.

« Older Entries

...or browse articles by tags