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Costa Rica
7.1: Turrialba
7.1: Tortugero
Brittish Columbia
Under construction
Califorina
Under construction
New Zealand
4.1: Whitianga
4.2: Rotorua
4.3: Tongariro
4.4: Kayak, etc.
4.5: Oz
4.6: Gold Coast
Thailand
3.1: Up North I
3.2: Up North II
3.3: Phuket
3.4: Dive, Etc.
India
2.1: Darjeeling
2.2: Sikkim
2.3: Varanasi
2.4: Khajuraho
2.5: Kanha
2.6: Taj Mahal
Bali
1.1: Kuta
1.2: Ubud
US
0.0: NC / MD
Etc...
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Why
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Why?
Ok -- this keeps coming up, so I may as well address it journal-wise. Why. Why give up your place, stuff everything into a 5'x10' storage locker and take off to other countries. Why Asia? Why not Europe? I'm sitting here typing as Cathay Pacific boards the first-class folks to Hong Kong on the way to Bali, and I'm still not exactly sure, but I do have some ideas.
I'm not going "out there" to find myself. I'm right here. I'm not running away from problems - well, maybe a bit, but I'm smart enough to know that any said "problems" I might want to escape will be waiting for me at what ever destination airport I can get myself to, so that's not really it.
In a nutshell, it's something that I've always seen myself doing and the time is definitely right for a number of reasons. I've never been interested in traveling. Always thought one day I might be, but that was about it. It all started when Kelly's sister Kim invited us on a dive trip to Fiji. It really all started right here. In the Tom Bradley terminal at LAX. It was strange -- something just hit me. Looking up at the boards with all of those cities listed on them. And the people going to them were all right here buzzing around me. It was very ... visceral I guess is the best word. I really felt it. The bite of the "travel bug." In Fiji I vowed to get out of the country three more times in the next year.
In the past year I've been to Ireland, New Zealand and Malaysia. The real inspiration for this trip was the folks that I met in Malaysia who were all traveling on their own. And about 1/2 were gals, so ... what was my excuse? No more trying to find someone to travel with -- from what I read you'd just end up wanting to kill each other anyway.
So, back to why: I just don't have a great answer to why except that it just seems like it's time to expand the borders of the comfort zone and just get a better idea of the world that's "out there." I guess to make the world a smaller place, no matter where I am. And I guess if that happens, then, well, relatively anyway, the traveler becomes a bigger person.
It goes without saying all of the stuff that's "out there" to be experienced. And great people to meet and cultures to experience in both locals and other travelers. And some fun stuff -- music, diving, rafting, hiking, exploring. But for some reason it seems like right now that that's all going to be a really great back-drop for something else:
There are some elements of this that do seem a little scary -- a whole world out there where just doing simple things will be an adventure. So there's some confidence building to be done. How to go to these other countries and reach that certain comfort zone where you can ... just exist with some of the same levels of comfort (mental, not physical) that you have when you're in your own country. It's that process that happens any time you relocate -- of getting your surroundings and culture "sussed out" to the point where you can function normally and just be yourself. I don't feel like I have that with foreign places and I do want that.
I guess part of it is that I've always seen myself living somewhere else other than the US. So, where is the other San Luis Obispo? (The cheaper one!) I don't know whether it would be permanent or seasonal (like Breck & Marci -- what great inspiration they are). But, so it's about going in that direction.
And, for better or for worse, a big part of this is about taking the laptop and seeing just how portable making a living can be. There didn't seem to be much of a difference in getting work done on the East Coast or West Coast of the US. It was amazing to see how doing work remotely on one of KCBX's or AWD's computers wasn't any slower from Baltimore than it was from San Luis Obispo. So, a big part of the question is: how far does the tether go? The laptop isn't heavy but it is fragile and quite the shiny object that could be easily stolen. So, that's the challenge. And of course, power and internet access. We'll see!
And then the other baggage. The violin is coming along by default. I can't not play for a month, much less several. And from my past experience, the thing has been an interesting travel companion especially when it comes to interacting with other cultures. And, yeah, I'm curious to find out how far that goes and what it will lead to.
Finally, there's just the recommendations of too many others that I respect. I don't really know what the heck's going to happen, so I'm not going into it with too many expectations. Or maybe I am and they'll make themselves really evident when I'm least wanting them to! But so many people just say it's the adventure and growth experience of a life time. So, I'll take their word on it. It's something that any one can do (yes it is) and most of all I don't want to leave it undone.
A big part of that
definitely a self-confidence builder -- shit! this is scary!
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