I've been a bit bummed that I haven't really had any real moments of self-enlightenment on this trip, or at least not like I had back in 2012. I learned so much about myself during that year-long trip and was thinking I would have similar revelations on this trip, especially since I would now be traveling with my wife. But I really haven't. This 2014 journey has felt like it's been going in slow motion, which isn't a bad thing, it's just a product of having done so much traveling, that I'm used to the lifestyle. You hear athletes say all the time how the games go so fast when they're rookies and that when they get more years under their belts the games start to slow down. Well, the same holds true for travel. I've seen and done so much that I generally know what to expect and am more than used to dealing with the unexpected. I never thought I'd travel to such an extent that I would ever feel this way, but I have, and it's an interesting state of being to which I am slowly becoming accustomed. Here are some other thoughts which have been running around between my ears lately.
There is something about long, slow, crowded overnight train rides between distant Chinese towns and death defying tuk-tuk rides on Indian streets which provide a wonderful environment for self reflection and clarity of thought.
Always let your spouse be the first to take a shower when you arrive at a hostel/hotel/campground. Better that they are the first to encounter the shoddy shower construction and find out the hot water doesn't work so that you don't have to.
Without crazy, you'd never appreciate sanity. Cheers to you China, Africa, and especially India.
In a related note, countries like China, Africa, and India share the unique ability to simultaneously drain and recharge your travel batteries on a daily basis.
Why is it that countries with over a billion citizens hold pedestrians in such low regard? You DO NOT have the right of way when crossing the street in India or China. Perhaps they figure with so many people, killing off 1 or 2 in a crosswalk every once in a while is a good way to help thin the population.
Aquaberg: Brand name Indian bottled water or best name ever for a Jewish water park?
After visiting Tibet, it occurs to me that you never realize how dirty a city actually is until you find a really clean one.
It really is a grind traveling for huge chunks of time. Constantly sleeping in new beds, living out of a bag, and doing laundry in the shower/sink is wearing. Not working is nice, but you don't realize how much you miss the creature comforts of home until you don't have them.
Italy might very well be my 2nd favorite country behind the USA. It's got amazing sights and stimulates all the senses in just about all the best ways possible. It's just not exactly a place you can fully enjoy on a backpacker budget which is slightly depressing.
Whispering is a lost art.
Can a mattress really be called a mattress if the pillow which sits atop said 'mattress' is thicker and more plush?
I married the right woman.
How everyone living in China and India aren't deaf or living with ADD is beyond me.
News stories of people being trampled to death at a Chinese elementary school are extremely sad, and unfortunately, not all that surprising. Frankly, it is more surprising to me that trampling deaths don't happen with greater regularity in China.
The best time for prolonged backpacker travel is from your mid 20's-mid 30's. Any earlier than that and you'll most likely be traveling on mommy and daddy's dollar or be too immature to fully appreciate what it is you're actually doing. Any later than that and you'll likely be too set in your ways to have life changing spontaneous experiences, you'll resent the hostel because it will seem like a place where a bunch of dumb kids hang out instead of a cool place to forge new friendships, or what's most likely is that you'll have too many responsibilities at home which won't allow for prolonged travel in the first place.
There isn't anything wrong with spending all of your money partying in different cities, except that it's totally wrong.
If you don't travel young and solo, you likely won't ever travel in such a way that will truly open your eyes as to how the rest of the world lives. Essentially, you'll only ever be a tourist and never a traveler.
Putting pen to paper is a great way to make sense of your thoughts and emotions.
Traveling with people who are consciously finding their way will likely be a more valuable experience than traveling with people who think they've already found their way, especially if you think you've already found your way.
Like their overcrowded trains, I'm surprised China hasn't adopted a 'standing room only' policy for all airline flights.
I once played and won 80 games of Free Cell in 1 day. Clearly, not every day as a backpacker is glamorous, even though I look glamorous every day.
Is it really possible to LOVE India? Insomuch, is it morally conscionable to love a country where such levels of squalor, filth, and poverty are so apparent? I'll let you know in a future post.
Day of 21st's. Without consciously planning it, the 21st of just about every month since we've started traveling has been a day of arrival in new countries. July 21-overnight flight on our way to Tanzania. Aug 21-flying into Varna, Bulgaria. Sept 21-arriving in Munich, Germany, Oct 21-arrived in Varanasi, India. Nov 21-we'll be arriving in Dublin, Ireland. Weird.
How there aren't more devastating car accidents in Asian countries is beyond me. Has anyone ever heard of a helmet?
Nothing brightens your day like hearing every other Chinese citizen spitting and little babies pooping through a crap flap.
Enough of the sun umbrellas already.
China is much prettier at night, just like most of the women you find at bars.
There must be more cranes in China than anywhere else in the world.
It still amazes me that I paid $17 for a Subway footlong sub in Norway when a $1.50 sandwich in China got me just as full.
Europe is the easiest place in the world to get from Point A to B.
A mountain reflection in water is unsurpassed in it's beauty.
Say what you will about the pluses and minuses of traveling, but it definitely makes you see the world and your own life in a much different light.
Traveling breeds patience.
It can always be worse.
To know first hand that the crackle of glaciers calving and mini avalanches cascading breaks the cold silence of a night camping in Antarctica and that a hyena howling, lion roaring, water buffalo moaning, and elephant trumpeting does the same in the Serengeti, is truly a special feeling.
My travels have taken me from Essex to Essaouira, Dead Sea to Mt. Everest, Fredericksburg, VA. to St. Petersburg, Russia, Great Wall of China to The Great Barrier Reef, Petra to Angkor Wat, Easter Island to the Galapagos Island, Taj Mahal to Machu Picchu, the Serengeti to the Sahara, and the Pyramids to the Colosseum. And that's just the tip of the Iceberg.
And finally...Planning a trip is often just as much fun as the trip itself. All of those aforementioned destinations are all at your fingertips. So what are you waiting for?
Cheers.
There is something about long, slow, crowded overnight train rides between distant Chinese towns and death defying tuk-tuk rides on Indian streets which provide a wonderful environment for self reflection and clarity of thought.
Always let your spouse be the first to take a shower when you arrive at a hostel/hotel/campground. Better that they are the first to encounter the shoddy shower construction and find out the hot water doesn't work so that you don't have to.
Without crazy, you'd never appreciate sanity. Cheers to you China, Africa, and especially India.
In a related note, countries like China, Africa, and India share the unique ability to simultaneously drain and recharge your travel batteries on a daily basis.
Why is it that countries with over a billion citizens hold pedestrians in such low regard? You DO NOT have the right of way when crossing the street in India or China. Perhaps they figure with so many people, killing off 1 or 2 in a crosswalk every once in a while is a good way to help thin the population.
Aquaberg: Brand name Indian bottled water or best name ever for a Jewish water park?
After visiting Tibet, it occurs to me that you never realize how dirty a city actually is until you find a really clean one.
It really is a grind traveling for huge chunks of time. Constantly sleeping in new beds, living out of a bag, and doing laundry in the shower/sink is wearing. Not working is nice, but you don't realize how much you miss the creature comforts of home until you don't have them.
Italy might very well be my 2nd favorite country behind the USA. It's got amazing sights and stimulates all the senses in just about all the best ways possible. It's just not exactly a place you can fully enjoy on a backpacker budget which is slightly depressing.
Whispering is a lost art.
Can a mattress really be called a mattress if the pillow which sits atop said 'mattress' is thicker and more plush?
I married the right woman.
How everyone living in China and India aren't deaf or living with ADD is beyond me.
News stories of people being trampled to death at a Chinese elementary school are extremely sad, and unfortunately, not all that surprising. Frankly, it is more surprising to me that trampling deaths don't happen with greater regularity in China.
The best time for prolonged backpacker travel is from your mid 20's-mid 30's. Any earlier than that and you'll most likely be traveling on mommy and daddy's dollar or be too immature to fully appreciate what it is you're actually doing. Any later than that and you'll likely be too set in your ways to have life changing spontaneous experiences, you'll resent the hostel because it will seem like a place where a bunch of dumb kids hang out instead of a cool place to forge new friendships, or what's most likely is that you'll have too many responsibilities at home which won't allow for prolonged travel in the first place.
There isn't anything wrong with spending all of your money partying in different cities, except that it's totally wrong.
If you don't travel young and solo, you likely won't ever travel in such a way that will truly open your eyes as to how the rest of the world lives. Essentially, you'll only ever be a tourist and never a traveler.
Putting pen to paper is a great way to make sense of your thoughts and emotions.
Traveling with people who are consciously finding their way will likely be a more valuable experience than traveling with people who think they've already found their way, especially if you think you've already found your way.
Like their overcrowded trains, I'm surprised China hasn't adopted a 'standing room only' policy for all airline flights.
I once played and won 80 games of Free Cell in 1 day. Clearly, not every day as a backpacker is glamorous, even though I look glamorous every day.
Is it really possible to LOVE India? Insomuch, is it morally conscionable to love a country where such levels of squalor, filth, and poverty are so apparent? I'll let you know in a future post.
Day of 21st's. Without consciously planning it, the 21st of just about every month since we've started traveling has been a day of arrival in new countries. July 21-overnight flight on our way to Tanzania. Aug 21-flying into Varna, Bulgaria. Sept 21-arriving in Munich, Germany, Oct 21-arrived in Varanasi, India. Nov 21-we'll be arriving in Dublin, Ireland. Weird.
How there aren't more devastating car accidents in Asian countries is beyond me. Has anyone ever heard of a helmet?
Nothing brightens your day like hearing every other Chinese citizen spitting and little babies pooping through a crap flap.
Enough of the sun umbrellas already.
China is much prettier at night, just like most of the women you find at bars.
There must be more cranes in China than anywhere else in the world.
It still amazes me that I paid $17 for a Subway footlong sub in Norway when a $1.50 sandwich in China got me just as full.
Europe is the easiest place in the world to get from Point A to B.
A mountain reflection in water is unsurpassed in it's beauty.
Say what you will about the pluses and minuses of traveling, but it definitely makes you see the world and your own life in a much different light.
Traveling breeds patience.
It can always be worse.
To know first hand that the crackle of glaciers calving and mini avalanches cascading breaks the cold silence of a night camping in Antarctica and that a hyena howling, lion roaring, water buffalo moaning, and elephant trumpeting does the same in the Serengeti, is truly a special feeling.
My travels have taken me from Essex to Essaouira, Dead Sea to Mt. Everest, Fredericksburg, VA. to St. Petersburg, Russia, Great Wall of China to The Great Barrier Reef, Petra to Angkor Wat, Easter Island to the Galapagos Island, Taj Mahal to Machu Picchu, the Serengeti to the Sahara, and the Pyramids to the Colosseum. And that's just the tip of the Iceberg.
And finally...Planning a trip is often just as much fun as the trip itself. All of those aforementioned destinations are all at your fingertips. So what are you waiting for?
Cheers.
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