The Road Behind Me
Six months ago I quit my job, sold most of my possessions and packed up my car headed west with the goal of circling the globe in two years or so (I eventually sold my car…and used a plane to cross the Pacific Ocean). My strategy for my around-the-world trip is a bit different then others I’ve known, its a rather meandering stroll than a fast sprint around the globe. My plan was (and still is) to setup short-term experiences (studying, working, teaching, playing, volunteering, etc.) in 5 or 6 different places around the globe so that I get to know the communities and their people a bit better. In between these stops, I will backpack, see the world and have new experiences.
Travel, by its nature, keeps you focused on the road ahead, with often little time spent contemplating the road behind—Thoreau, the supreme travel muse, once wrote “Half the walk is but retracing our steps.” Having sauntered my way half way around the world in half a year, I am often guilty of focusing too much attention ahead without taking stock of the steps made along the way. So, let me take a brief look back, review the trip so far and recount a few things I now know, that I didn’t know before.
I’ve traveled 13,000 miles, spent time in Nebraska (USA), California (USA), Hong Kong, China, Japan, and Macau. I’ve dined on strange new foods, shopped in the open air markets of Hong Kong, sat in University classes with young Chinese people, been bamboozled by an impostor taxi driver in Beijing, walked the Great Wall of China, celebrated New Year’s Eve on a temple crawl in Japan, ate (reportedly) the world’s best sushi in the world’s largest fish market, slept in a tube hotel in Tokyo, bathed with naked men in a Japanese bathhouse, walked the Mediterranean-esque streets of Macau (actually located on the South China Sea) and sang more karaoke since my departure from the States, than I had in almost three decades of life there.
Based on your feedback you seem to have enjoyed my stories of eating chicken feet in Hong Kong, the “cute” story of teaching the nuances of English to a Chinese speaking friend, recounting attempting to use Cantonese to speak Starbucks-ese, and getting tricked in Beijing (which I have now been told by many people that we are darn lucky that’s all the con men did to us).
I have also taken hundreds of photos, many of which are posted in the photo galleries. Some of my favorites so far…
In traveling, I’ve learned much in my short amount of time on the road. Here are a few things I can say I am fairly certain of now…
SEEING THE WORLD IS VERY POSSIBLE: Extended international travel is possible, in fact its much more accessible then most people realize (or want to admit). For those fortunate to be able to generate a moderate income in a developed country, around-the-world travel is very possible. Around the world tickets can be had for less than $2000 (US) and if you stick to places outside of Europe, The US and other developed countries, lodging and food can be found for $5-50/day. I realized about 2 months ago, that if I wanted to stay on the road forever (like the HoboTraveler) it is very possible—desire is really all I’d need now.
CONNECT WITH THE LOCALS: When traveling, the best way to truly see a place is to make a connection with local people—however you do that (I’ll post later on a few tricks I’ve picked up). There is a tourist’s way to see things and there is a local’s way. I guarantee you the local’s way is always more interesting. My friends Ice and Tool (pictured below), were more than helpful in Beijing and more than willing to share their country with me making Beijing a very memorable stop, not because of big walls and impressive palaces, but because of seeing the place as they see it and not like the tourist offices’ wish to portray it.
THE STORIES, OH’ THE STORIES: I, by my nature, am a story teller and a people collector. And traveling has reemphasized the already cliche adage that “everyone has a story to tell.” But I find, outside of the US, the stories are so different from those I know (and sometimes so hard to fathom) that I could just sit and listen to peoples’ stories and never need to travel anywhere. Take the story of Popo Lau (pictured below), born and raised in a rural village in China, she walked from her hometown in Mainland China and snuck into Hong Kong—a distance that may have literally been hundreds of miles—as a young girl. She lied about her age (her ID card says she’s 72, but she says she’s really 88), and now she lives in a very small apartment in a public housing building where her family doesn’t visit much. She’s lived through two world wars, the Chinese-Japanese War, The communist takeover of China, the Japanese occupation, the Cultural Revolution, and the handover of Hong Kong to China among many other things. I realize I need to do a better job of sharing some of these stories here on this blog, so I’m going to start doing profiles of people I meet, to share some of their stories with you.
YOU’RE NEVER REALLY LOST, UNLESS YOU THINK YOU’RE LOST: This sounds a bit more philosophical than it really is. A person gets lost often traveling to new places and new cultures (that have maps and signs in unreadable languages). I have been lost countless times amongst bustling streets, densely packed forests, and rushing airports, train stations and bus depots. In the end, I always find my way out, always. The first hundred times, the disorienting nature of being lost (there’s a redundant statement for you) in a foreign land brings a rush of nervousness and, if unresolved, mild panic sets in. After, the hundredth time, I began to realize that being “lost” is simply a state of mind–and you will always find your way eventually. (Pictured below is a photo of the Tokyo subway map, I dare you to NOT get lost there.)
There are of course hundreds of other things I’ve learned in the last six months, I will share more later. I’m back in Hong Kong for about two more months and in May I will decide where to head next. Some ideas: Teach English in Shanghai, take a train across China to Mongolia, rent a beach hut in the Philippines and learn to SCUBA dive, take an internship or study Chinese some more around here, hitch a cruise ship or cargo ship south towards Australia, or make my way overland from China to Indonesia. What’s my plan? I honestly don’t know. This my be the best lesson so far: Plan less and go with the flow more—I know I will find my way eventually.
Though May is coming soon, so I suppose, upon further reflection, I’d better put my eyes back on the road ahead and get ready for the next adventure. (I welcome all advice, please comment below.)
[Preview of upcoming posts starting this week: Adventures in Japan.]
March 21st, 2007 at 2:10 am
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