First, a ‘warning to the reader’, an idea I’ve borrowed from Peter Fleming, an English writer of the mid-20th Century. His fascinating book about travels in 1930’s China was prefaced by a caution, advising that he was not a specialist on the country. In fact, as he disarmingly admitted, he had only spent a few months there and didn’t speak Chinese. My caution is that I’ve only spent a few months on freighters and am no expert on ships or international shipping. I am simply interested in the topic, but make no claim to being an authority.My next few postings will have some background, but if you want to skip straight to my voyage come back in the late winter of 2010.
