...We have traded in our modern conveniences of a car in our garage, a cell phone within an arms reach and a reliable computer for a backpack, travel guide and an atm card.....here's a bit of mind rambling to let you know our thoughts...
We have just left Thailand, our second leg and are now in Bali, Indonesia. We have gone through 16 countries, covering over 30 thousand miles of land and sea after leaving the comforts of our home in San Francisco. Hundreds of hours were clocked in travel time by planes, trains, ferries, four legged animals and a dozen other modes of transport. We learned how to use a half a dozen different keyboards, learned how to communicate by hand signals and a series of fragmented sentences to find food, shelter, transportation and the occasional toilet. We got the opportunity to meet dozens of bright people from all walks of life, old and young to talk, laugh and share a beer with. Needless to say, time flew by.
We left home 5 months ago unsure of where it would take us, who we would meet, and what we would do to occupy our time. We found ourselves doing lots of little tasks each day to make each day full. Our on-line journals and photos glaze the surface of the experiences and lessons in life that we have learned. We put our relationship to the test by spending almost every waking moment together and learning to live with each others quirks, and believe me, new ones surface even after 13 years of togetherness. I believe that we are more "cultured" and certainly more resourceful as most of our trip was spent waking up without knowing where we were going to sleep next.
We learned to be patient as we dealt with the idiosynchronicies of 16 different cultures, each one very different from the next. There is absolute truth to some of the stereotypes that we have been able to witness and attest to, Switzerland and Germany is extremely efficient and organized, while Austria is a mecca for art, food and old time charm. The Greek Islands and Croatia are magical and the people warm and friendly. The people of Spain, France and Italy live the good life, they put family first over work..the culture of these countries revolve around food, art and family. We found the Netherlands to be most similiar to the US, as they have very modern views on education, politics and humanitarianism.. Czech Republic and Hungary were eager to embrace the US and surprisely, we found these countries to speak the most english aside from the Netherlands. Last, but not least was Turkey, a world mixed between Europe with a heavy dose of Middle Eastern culture. Turkey will always be interesting to me, here is a country with much old culture trying to mix in with the new trying to make for a more westernized culture. Thailand, a beautiful country without the fortune of having a strong government infrastructure and yet, the people are still happy and go about their business living a humble life.
Thanks to all that have written us, the emails that we've gotten during our travels have been kind, encouraging, and supportive..we have happily received emails from old as well as new friends and have found the computer invaluable as it is one comfort we have to keep us in touch with everyone.
For anyone thinking about taking the road less travelled...experiencing new places can best be described by this, you wake up with a clear head every day...you can remember what you did on day 35 as clearly as what you did on day 105. No two days are the same, no two experiences can be forgotten. There is a lot of time for self reflection and you'll have a lot of thoughts in your head, maybe to learn more about a culture or understand a different way of thinking. Whatever it is, you want answers to questions you have yet to ask yourself.
We are finding ourselves not taking life as seriously, learning how to laugh at ourselves and roll with each passing punch. It has been an amazing experience thus far. I hope that everyone has the opportunity to spend some time to experience some of what our world has to offer.