Neil Bateman

Hi, greetings to all you gypsies of the wind, spirit and earthly pathways. Don't you love to hear about the experiences and observations of people who have wandered from the 'normal' path of worldly experience? Yep, so do I.

Since journeying through a wondrous multitude of other countries became more accessible to a larger group of adventurers in the post-war years and up to the current period, many of us have taken the opportunity to place ourselves into situations that were highly unlikely to happen back in our own home towns.

Like, for instance, one hot night in downtown Delhi we (a cohort of colourfully dressed, long-haired gypsies) were blocked from leaving our hotel by a passing parade of Rajput Maharajas. Not only were they more colourful than we were, with their turbans, jewels, brocades, flowing beards and beaded slippers; they all swayed past seated on either a brightly festooned elephant or similarly attired camel. This splendid parade was accompanied by the kind of raucous street musicians that specialise in blaringly out-of-tune trumpets, crashing cymbals and thunderous drums. And as we stood on the steps of the hotel with eyes glued to such a spectacle, a large crowd of Indians had gathered directly in front of us, staring just as intently at this exotic group of travellers.

So, I love to read and write about such personal experiences, and the dynamics of life that have led me/us to leave behind the map and seek an alternative to modern consumer-based lifestyles. I often say to friends/others who are of a similar vintage to me that I'm kinda glad I was born in the 50s and was a teenager through the turbulent 60s period, as it encouraged many of us to go explore.

Also, add to the equation, being born in Australia, which was then a much simpler and less 'sophisticated' country. It was normal as a kid for me to go barefoot, have patches in my clothing and maybe not get around to combing my hair too much on school holidays.

Somehow these mannerisms managed to carry over into my teens, when 'hippiedom' started to influence young Australians, with reports and photographs of San Francisco's Summer of Love filtering into the country around '67, and into my awareness. Ideals and inspirations from the Age of Aquarius flowed easily into my heart and mind, to set the course for the next 30 years of my life. My 'adult' journey had begun.

Strangely, many of Tom/Jai's adventures in 'Singing Gypsy Moon' seem to match instances of my own life, and probably that of many other modern gypsy nomads of the period.

Currently I have 2 novels in the works, loosely based on similar themes to SGM, with undertones of a search for utopia. Apart from the themes already mentioned in this biography I also love reading murder/mysteries with interesting characters and plotlines, such as Agent Pendergast in the series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Another favourite writer has been Eliot Pattison, for both his Shan series (set in Tibet) and the series of a young Scottish adventurer set in colonial America.

Although I have been living a partly settled lifestyle the last handful of years, I do have plans to outfit another Kombi-style van to once again head out into the wide, wild blue yonder, cos there's no doubt - the road, and the possibilities for more stories, goes on forever - Om Shanti.