Andrew
asked
Aiden Bailey:
I've been enjoying The Benevolent Deception very much... I especially love the rich African settings, and I wanted to ask how your travels there influenced your writing?
Aiden Bailey
Africa was the first oversees region of the world I travelled after graduating from university. While most of my friends were off to Europe and North America, I wanted to try something a little more adventurous, and boy was the continent an eye-opener for me. People say India changes you, well so does Africa.
I landed in Kenya in the 1990s during a period of heightened conflict in Somalia, Sudan, Rwanda and the Congo, all countries that surround Kenya. I was backpacking with a friend and we stayed at the hostels rather than expensive hotels and so I met a lot of journalists, UN workers, soldiers, local Kenyan people, other backpackers, NGO workers, WHO personnel and foreign investors. They all had fascinating stories to tell and my world view went from limited to vast.
I did the typical safari tour across East Africa which was an amazing experience, and I saw Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, came face to face with a wild bull elephant in Zambia, took an overland train journey and hung out in local nightclubs, but the real experience was engaging with daily and political life.
On the adventurous / reckless side, I was in a crowd while there was gunfire, witnessed a series mugging that I was powerless to assist, found myself on the wrong end of an M16 when I accidentally wandered into a military camp, did home stays with Masai and Samburu people and almost got into a fight with a baboon, and yet this remains my most memorable overseas travel experience.
I’ve travelled in other parts of the world but none have been as adventurous as Africa. Many of my experiences in Kenya and Africa as a whole ended up in The Benevolent Deception, as did many of the descriptions of the people and the landscape. I plan to set many more of my novels Africa, and return there for another holiday / research trip. My wife and I have talked about assisting with aid programs there in the future when we are more established. Yes, I shall return.
I landed in Kenya in the 1990s during a period of heightened conflict in Somalia, Sudan, Rwanda and the Congo, all countries that surround Kenya. I was backpacking with a friend and we stayed at the hostels rather than expensive hotels and so I met a lot of journalists, UN workers, soldiers, local Kenyan people, other backpackers, NGO workers, WHO personnel and foreign investors. They all had fascinating stories to tell and my world view went from limited to vast.
I did the typical safari tour across East Africa which was an amazing experience, and I saw Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, came face to face with a wild bull elephant in Zambia, took an overland train journey and hung out in local nightclubs, but the real experience was engaging with daily and political life.
On the adventurous / reckless side, I was in a crowd while there was gunfire, witnessed a series mugging that I was powerless to assist, found myself on the wrong end of an M16 when I accidentally wandered into a military camp, did home stays with Masai and Samburu people and almost got into a fight with a baboon, and yet this remains my most memorable overseas travel experience.
I’ve travelled in other parts of the world but none have been as adventurous as Africa. Many of my experiences in Kenya and Africa as a whole ended up in The Benevolent Deception, as did many of the descriptions of the people and the landscape. I plan to set many more of my novels Africa, and return there for another holiday / research trip. My wife and I have talked about assisting with aid programs there in the future when we are more established. Yes, I shall return.
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