I'm Going To Graceland, Graceland - Memphis Tennessee...

I still remember the day - August 16th 1977. It was a week before my 8th birthday.  My brother Martin and I had been playing with some kids we had met at the campsite and caravan park where we were holidaying somewhere in Yorkshire (I didn't actually leave the county until I was 17!) and we returned to our touring caravan and awning to find Mum in tears. Wondering what on Earth was the matter we eventually discovered that Elvis Presley had died that morning.

We all knew of Mum's love for Elvis, and had been raised on a diet of his music and movies so we felt very sad too. Mum played Elvis music a lot for the remainder of the holiday. Apparently, when I was younger, I had asked my mum why, if she loved Elvis so much, she hadn't married him instead of Dad? Her reply was that he'd never asked her!

As a result, I know a great deal about Elvis. I can sing along to most of his songs and even manage a fair impression when I've had a little too much to drink. He was born in Tupelo in 1935 (can you believe he would have been 80 this year?) Elvis Aaron Presley had a twin brother Jessie, who died at birth. He moved to Memphis when he was 13, sang gospel at church and dreamed of recording songs. He visited Sun Record Studios at the age of 18 and kept paying his $4.00 each week to record himself singing. After a year of effort 'That's All Right' was recorded and the record was played by the local radio station 14 times in one night and Elvis shot to local fame and started to tour and sing professionally. In 1956, following shrewd management from Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis made it big everywhere. He bought Graceland at the age of 22, completed his national service in Germany, married Priscilla Beaulieu, had one daughter Lisa-Marie, made dozens of movies, sold millions of records, dominated Las Vegas and died of a drug related heart attack aged just 42 at the Memphis home he so loved. (I'll stop there as I really could go on and on and on...!

              

      

When I decided to go to Memphis, on my way through the USA, it was because of Graceland. I never thought I would get to visit, but a deviation west from Nashville en route to New Orleans was too good an opportunity to miss. At Easter I called my Mum and asked her if she was up to coming and joining me there? I promised to meet her at the airport, sort accommodation and transport and basically look after her once we were together. I gave her three days to think about it and told her I would call again on Easter Monday.

I dearly hoped she would come and knew I'd be hard pressed to find anyone on the planet who would want to visit Graceland more, but after a lot of thought she declined. She was too nervous to board a plane alone in the UK and travel across the Atlantic and the thought of US airports, customs and passport control scared her even more. No-one was available to travel with her at such short notice, so with a heavy heart she told me she could not come. I was disappointed, but I understood. I decided I would go alone and do my utmost to share my experience with her afterwards.

       

Memphis was hot and steamy when I arrived. Each day, thunderous showers would pour down for 20 minutes or so and then the sun would come out again, but now with an extra dash of humidity for good measure. An amazing mix of Blues and Rock & Roll music greeted me everywhere, but I made Graceland my first port of call. 

I took no chances of course, and had already purchased my VIP entrance ticket online prior to leaving Nashville. It was the best $77.00 I have ever spent. Access all areas: the house, the planes, the cars, the various exhibitions (from 'Elvis in Hawaii' to the 'I Shot Elvis' photography gallery.) I even managed to see a range of archive materials and unseen film footage and my VIP entrance pass took me to the front of every line, something I greatly appreciated in the Memphis heat and with the huge volume of visitors.

Elvis Presley purchased Graceland on March 19th, 1957 for $102,500. At the time it was 9 miles out of downtown Memphis, but today it is surrounded by the sprawl of the city suburbs. The dual carriageway which divides the Graceland Mansion from the Graceland Museum entrance is now named Elvis Presley Boulevard in his honour. Over 600,000 people make the pilgrimage to visit each year and, 38 years after his death, the Elvis Presley estate still manages to earn over $55,000,000 per annum.

                                 

   

I was given a lift to Graceland by a driver from my motel and she asked me if I wanted to be picked up  a couple of hours later? I declined and said I would call her when I was ready. I was there from 10.00 until 5.00. I was on a mission. To see everything, to photograph everything, to listen to everything and to then report back to my mum!

                             

                               

        

                                            On board the 'Lisa Marie' and Elvis' private jet

I wasn't disappointed. The house was exactly as I imagined (and remembered from the various documentaries I had watched with my mum.) I wasn't rushed and despite the number of visitors I was able to enter rooms and take pictures with no-one in the way. I even spent an unhurried moment in the Garden of Remembrance, where Elvis and his parents are buried, before returning to the museum side of the boulevard for lunch. I chose a 60's American Diner. It was perfectly decorated, with Elvis memorabilia everywhere and had a menu Elvis would have appreciated. I had a blow out meal fit for a king, including fries covered in chilli and cheese with a hamburger and more fries on the side! I washed it down with a diet coke though, as I didn't want to overdo it! They had a jukebox which only contained Elvis singles which nobody was using, so I put in a couple of quarters and chose 'Guitar Man' and 'Such a Night' and sang along as they played. (I recommend you look up both songs and have a listen, especially to 'Such a Night' - as it is relatively unknown.)

       

          I resisted the temptation to buy my own Elvis jumpsuit from the 70's - these reproductions 

                                                    were on sale for $6,000 a piece.

      

                                                                                                    The script for 'Jailhouse Rock'

           

       

 

      

For the remainder of the afternoon I toured the museum side of the estate. I clambered aboard two of Elvis' aircraft, viewed 17 of his cars and motorcycles and by 5.00pm I had ticked off every possible location I could visit. Exhausted, I called for my motel driver to come and collect me.

       

                                  

                                                 

I sent my mum two WhatsApp messages on the day. 

One was my location map: Graceland, 3717 Elvis Presley Blvd, Memphis, Tn

The second was the following: "Been thinking of you all day Mum. Still at Graceland. Amazing. Paul xxx" I was rather emotional thinking about how much she would have enjoyed it all.

                                 

The following day I Skyped her and we talked for over an hour as I shared photos and details about the day. She grilled me knowledgeably, but I could answer all of her questions - I think I could give her a run for her money as the number one Elvis fan in our family! 

I've posted her a Graceland present and have my fingers crossed that the 'US Mail' makes it. In the meantime, she will have to make do with this blog.

          

I love you Mum.

Paul xx

Sleeping Around!

Well I don't want to give you the wrong idea, but I have been sleeping around for quite a while now. In fact tonight sees me bedding down in my 91st bed in 8 months in the city of Chicago, Illinois. It averages out at 11 beds per month. Many have been for single (one night stands), whilst occasionally I have stayed in a location for up to a week. Of course, being an anally retentive and chronic list maker, I have catalogued these beds, recording the different towns, cities, villages and countries and I can recall details about each and every one of them. 

       

One surprising benefit of all this bed hopping, is the fact that it has gone a long way towards curing me of my 'Princess and the Pea' affliction. In the past I had to have the exact same pillows to sleep upon or I would wake up with chronic neck-ache, now any pillow in any bed will do (though admittedly a number have been rather uncomfortable!)

Let me share some of the more significant record breakers:

The first bed (and also my first taste of Airbnb) - Colombo, Sri Lanka. Pri was an excellent hostess and she managed to make me feel most welcome and safe as I began my world journey.

                                    

                          We managed to meet up for a drink the night before I left Sri Lanka

The longest stay in one bed - Shanghai, China. Ronald and Nicole's penthouse paradise. I spent 11 nights in absolute luxury and had to force myself to leave when Ronald and Nicole told me I could stay in their apartment over Christmas and New Year whilst they returned to see friends and family in Europe. What an amazing place. My own room with an en-suite bathroom and a stunning view over Shanghai.

                                   

                                                                                             I didn't want to leave!

The shortest stay in one bed - Vancouver, Canada. 6 hours in the C&N Backpackers Hostel. It was awful. The room smelt of wet paint, the bedding wasn't clean, the electrics were extremely dodgy and the whole fourth floor had to share one communal bathroom and toilet. Fortunately, I arrived in Vancouver on a late night train from Seattle at midnight and I was up and out by 7.00am the following morning to catch a ferry over to Vancouver Island. 

The most basic bedroom - Annapurna Circuit, Nepal. During my trek on the Annapurna circuit I slept in a number of different guest houses. All were extremely humble. A bed, a couple of blankets, a pillow, a main light. They were always clean however and extremely welcome after a long day hiking. They observed a tradition to leave your boots outside the door each night (a blessing for me and my smelly shoes.) 

The smallest bedroom - Anchorage, Alaska, USA. I spent one night in a sleep-pod in a hostel in downtown Anchorage. I had been warned that the room was small, but I was still not prepared. The ceiling was only 4 feet high and room dimensions were 8 feet long by 4 feet wide. The bed was a very thin mattress on the floor. They had taken one standard bedroom and made 6 sleep pods from it. The exterior wall now had 6 miniature doors in it, 3 low down and 3 higher up, accessed by short ladders. That said, there was a tiny window, numerous electricity sockets and lights and rather clever shelving in the room to stow belongings. I slept well, but half way through the night I had to open the door as I became a little hot and claustrophobic.

The dirtiest bedroom - Ky Anh, Vietnam. I shared this room with a mouse and a cockroach. I was very grateful for my silk sleeping bag liner (no, not for kinky reasons, but because the weave is so fine that bed bugs and other insects can not squeeze through!) The room was very cold, very mucky and had only one blanket. The hotel served no food, was very noisy and cost a whopping 250,000 dong per night (that's a massive £7.47) There was a complimentary crust of stale bread in the corner behind the cupboard for the mouse to eat though, which I thought was kind.

No bed at all - Lantau Island, Hong Kong, China. My island misadventure when I ended up sleeping on a chair on a beach after getting rather drunk and catching the wrong ferry back across Kowloon Harbour. Whoops!

                               

In transit - a couple of overnight flights, a few overnight trains and even a couple of overnight greyhound buses. Actually, I am beginning to sleep on them now, something I could never do before, though some have been real marathons, like the 16 hour train journey from Chengdu to Xi'An on a very hard seat.

In an airport - Indira Gandhi Airport, New Delhi, India. My Visa disaster stopped me from going to the hotel I had booked (and paid for) as the authorities would not let me leave. I felt like Tom Hanks in that movie..."The Terminal.'

The most luxurious - Xi'an, China. - The Aurum International Hotel. I had been on the road for quite some time and I felt the need for a hotel room with an en-suite bathroom, preferably one with a bath in it! I ended up in a luxury suite, complete with bathrobes, a bed turn down service, a living room, two televisions and a laundry service which cost more than the bloody clothes! Still a very grand and relaxing experience for me to feel indulgent in and I used the swimming pool every day.

With the best companions - Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The Heng Long I Hotel. Oliver, Ida and I met on the bus travelling from Vietnam to Cambodia. We chatted a great deal and when we reached the capital, they came with me to the hotel I had booked as they didn't have anywhere sorted yet. They liked the Heng Long hotel, we liked each other and we chose to travel together for the next 9 days through Cambodia - it was magical.

 

The most space efficient bedroom - Hong Kong, China. The room was really small, yet they managed to squeeze in a toilet, a shower, a sink, a bed, an air-conditioning unit, under bed storage and shelves everywhere. It even had a window to let in the noise and aromas from the street below (thank goodness for ear plugs!)

The most welcoming - Nanaimo,Vancouver Island, Canada. With John and Sherry. They told me to make myself at home, but I stopped short of walking around naked scratching my privates! Their welcome, in both the log cabin on the lake and in their farm homestead was excellent. Not for the first time on this trip, I had to make myself move on.

The most festive - Hoi'An, Vietnam. I stayed in the Lantern Hotel for Christmas and it was a lovely place. The staff tried really hard to deliver a western style Christmas at their Christmas Eve Gala Dinner. They served turkey and sprouts, created an epic gingerbread castle and even put on some entertainment in the form of amateur singing and dancing. 

      

The most like Hogwarts - Wesley College, Sydney University Campus, Sydney, Australia. This was a great place to stay during the Aussie summer break (February.) It was close to a major bus route and in a lovely neighbourhood. I felt like a right student again and enjoyed the daily cooked breakfasts in the refectory.

                                  

The most homely - Berwick, Melbourne, Australia. I practically moved in with Jen and Paul (who I had not previously met) and stayed with them for over a week in their beautiful home. I even got to meet Jen's lovely parents when I returned for an extra couple of nights after my diving trip up north.

The most wildlife - Juneau, Alaska, USA. One morning I woke up to find a pile of animal dung on the road outside. I asked Tamra what animal it was from and she answered 'a bear'. I also had a porcupine say hello to my shoe as it passed the steps, I saw bald eagles in the trees and mountain goats on the hills.

The smallest cabin - The Spirit of Freedom liveaboard, the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. I shared it with Riley from South Africa, Danielle from Los Angeles and Kim from Korea. The four of us packed into a very tiny space, but it cost us a lot less to be onboard than the couples who had cabins to themselves. We sensitively took turns in our tiny bathroom, let the girls change for bed first and apparently none of us snored (I can only think that I must have been too tired to snore, after completing 11 dives in 3 days!)

                                  

The most luxurious cabin - Halong Bay, Vietnam. I treated myself onboard the Bai Tho to a private cabin, though as the costs in Vietnam are far less than in the west, this was not so expensive. I had a magical few days onboard and some great companions from Spain and Canada.

                                  

The best Samaritan - Matara, Sri Lanka. The home of Charmi, my tuk-tuk driver. When my accommodation fell through, Charmi offered me a bed in his home when I had nowhere else to stay. If the same thing happened now I would be far more relaxed, but this was still my first month of traveling the globe, and I was incredibly anxious. He and his mum made me feel very much at home and his act of kindness was the first of many I have encountered.

The coldest (and highest) bedroom - Ghorepani, nr Poon Hill, Nepal. The only time I felt any effect from altitude sickness. I went to bed early, as it was cold and dark, but woke up before midnight and could not get back to sleep again. Fortunately we were up at 4.00am to climb Poon Hill. The views were well worth it.

                                 

The hottest bedroom - Cairns, Australia. Thank God for air conditioning. It was over 40 degrees centigrade each day and the humidity levels were terrible. Suffice it to say, that every time I entered my room, I put on my air-conditioning and took off everything else!

The most disappointing - Guangzhou, China. The Jin Yan Hotel. I had informed them when I booked the room that I would be arriving in the late evening. After flying from Shanghai and taking a taxi to the hotel, the staff member on duty proceeded to tell me they had no rooms left. I had already paid for mine and I told them I was not leaving the hotel as I was in a brand new city and I didn't know where I was. I told them it was their responsibility to find me an alternative place to stay. They duly found me another hotel and sent me there in a taxi, but I had to pay again. When I contacted Agoda.com for a refund, they said that I had cancelled the original hotel. I had to get the hotel manager of the Jin Yan to put in writing that I had not cancelled, but that he was full up. Agoda then told me they would reimburse me within six working weeks. They never have. (I say never use AGODA. COM - they suck!) 

Of course, travelling alone makes accommodation a financial nightmare. Even when I get the smallest and most modest possible option, I usually end up in a room that could sleep two and I am charged accordingly. If I could have split my accommodation bill in half, by traveling with a companion, I would have saved thousands of pounds. Oh well. Mustn't grumble!

I wonder how many more beds I will sleep in before I finish my trek around the world?

Good night all,

Paul 

x