life, the universe, and everything- part 3
So. Being stationary is obviously more relaxing than travelling. But the travel days are what always stick in my mind and keep me thinking on that day that I'm just sitting in a laundromat doing a Sudoku. Travel days are challenges. You might not know how far you'll end up walking, what you'll eat, or where you'll sleep. Navigating, exploring, seeing what's around the next corner, meeting new crazy people that bring you new ideas or piss you off or keep you company or tell you something you wouldn't ever have learned otherwise...
...and to me, the only way to be free to have as little or as much involvement as I want in those new places and new people is to travel alone. Considering that I never know what´s coming next, I want the freedom to be able to stay, leave, sign up for a class, or go to Morocco on a moment´s notice. Everyone´s idea of a perfect travel experience is different. Crazy California woman wants to do nothing on a beach, I want to hitchhike. Traveling with someone is a compromise, and I like my exploration uncompromised. That's why I travel, and that's why I travel alone. Hmm, simple conclusion from a weird source. And that's what travel is all about.
P.S. If this doesn't make sense to you, drink a cup of the strongest iced coffee you can find and reread.
posted by karenlikescereal @ 10:45 a. m.
5 Comments:
I have to admit, the least appealing thing you mention is the "not knowing where you'll sleep tonight" thing. I personally can't imagine ever living that way. Living like New-Age woman seems only a short step above reverting to our innate animal natures, which I don't think would be such a good idea.
Of course, I can't imagine ever spending every waking moment of your day wondering about the entire rest of your life. Must be nice not to have that kind of pressure on constantly.
Yeah, Peter never liked the sleeping in an unknown place thing either. It doesn't bother me at all- I mean, it's going to be in a youth hostel or a pension somewhere, it's not going to be in a ditch or anything. I just like having all my stuff with me because then I'm free to go as far or close as I like. And just for the record, I do think New Age Woman is crazy.
I don't really know what you mean by the second paragraph.
Oops.. typo.
I meant "I can't imagine NOT spending every waking moment..."
Since that's what I do.
OK... that makes so much more sense now... yeah, I agree, it is really nice to have that pressure gone. Of course, being a general perfectionist, I always tried to do a good job even when I was working in hostels. But if I sucked at it, it wouldn't matter at all.
Some memorable times I "didn't know where I was sleeping that night":
In Killin, Scotland, didn't want to pay for a hostel since I was at this conference in a community center, so at the end of the night I stayed in the building and thought I'd be sleeping in a chair, but then managed to find a cot! While drunk of course.
Same trip, in Glasgow. But Glasgow was packed with tourists for events in Glasgow and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I ran into an old Australian couple in the train station who were also desperately finding a place to stay. Together found a B&B 20 minutes away. Good B&B too, as they always are.
Lund, Sweden. Visiting a friend. Couldn't stay there, ended up staying in the train hostel. Also memorable because at that point I realized I had belongings scattered around Europe: A suitcase in Galway, Ireland, a bunch of clothes I had left with a friend in London, my travel suitcase in Malmo, Sweden, and just my backpack in Lund.
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