Tag: travel

Entry 97 My Thoughts on Travelling

In my last few entries on this topic, I want to explore other aspects of travelling, such as my general opinion of travelling and my motivations. Why did I travel?

My motivation was to explore and be curious. Travelling is a humbling experience as I have met people who travelled to far more places than I have / will or impressive people who would indirectly inspire you. The world is big, with lots to see and lots to do.

Cinque Terre, Italy

My approach to travelling can be a bit random, or “stochastic” now I can officially declare myself smart with a PhD. However, Travelling with a tent and relying on public transport in Sicily is so random. My patience in waiting for buses and trains is about 8 hours. I would feel slightly frustrated after 8 hours. Travelling is a tickbox exercise, just to experience it good, bad, and indifferent. Once is enough for some activities, as there are risks involved. I listed the notable ones.

Fairy pools, Isle of Skye
  • Travelled to live in a foreign country (90 days+) Italy, Nepal and Japan, Learn about local cultures.
  • Provided accommodation to Couchsurfers from all over the world
  • Couchsurfed at other hosts (Austria, and Italy)
  • Took a hitchhike (Avola to Catania, Italy)
  • Gave a hitchhike to others (Iceland, Austria)
  • Walked on live volcanoes. (Iceland, Italy, Japan)
  • International festivals (Oktoberfest, Film festival at Jersey, Edinburgh Fringe)
  • Sleeper trains (Interrail and China)
  • Work with NGO – (Nepal, Created science experiments for the local teachers).
  • Annapurna Circuit trek – 5400m plus.
  • Night bus in Nepal from Pokhara to Kathmandu with an 8-hour wait – Once is more than enough. Zero is the right number here.
  • Fly to see Mount Everest – Statistically safe to do it once, and perhaps carbon footprint is not so agreeable these days.
  • Many UNESCO sites – People say these places are worth going.
  • Driving in Iceland – visited as many swimming pools as I could.

So why did I travel?

My answer is simple, I wanted to find the best version of myself, which I did not know when I departed for Kathmandu, was to find the best version of myself. I recall at that time, I followed my instinct. So follow your instinct into whichever topic and enjoy every aspect. You will find the best version of yourself because that is part of you.

Getting too old for this.

Final point, the most important part of travelling is to return home safely.

Entry 37 The Travel Buddy

Sunday, 14 August 2011

The travel buddy.

As I explained my plan to him, that I was going to go somewhere, see some sights and return home. He was interested to hear the precise details. “I will fly somewhere, and take the train home.” Suddenly, I realised that my plan was not quite a plan. 

My other destinations were not decided, so he had the choice for some destinations. Rumour had it that he has Polish heritage. But I was not convinced. Hence Poland was added onto the list of countries to visit. He is also a vegetarian. It will be interesting in Poland where apparently, vegetarianism is more of a Myth, “Can people really do that?”.  

Scheduling is one of his strengths. He created an Excel Spreadsheet of where precisely we have to be at any given time. There will be “scheduled fun”. The attention to details was strangely suitable for this trip because of the lack of time available. In terms of preparation, I have never been this well prepared before. I think my opinion of “Real men don’t plan” was very outdated and needed updating. I never planned, left things to very late because I can. I had an opportunity to do something different hence I created a PowerPoint Presentation to complete the mental preparation for the scheduled fun that lies ahead.  

To be honest, I don’t actually know the guy that well. Hence I have prepared a list of questions to ask him on the long train journeys. Below is a selection of the questions. 

> What is your favourite colour?

> How many pets have you had?

> Which was first, the Chicken or the Egg?

> If you had to be an animal, which animal would you be and why? 

> And many other interesting questions.

14 Days, 1 flight, 6 train journeys, 5 countries, 4 festivals, 2 ferries and 1 bus ride. What (Which) could possibly go wrong? 

To be continued.