May 26th, 2005
"Year #3"
People seemed to enjoy my last two statistic-loaded yearly
updates, so here's yet another. I never intended to travel as long as three
years (as of May 19); it's twice as much as my longest estimate. Not quite sure
what's happened there. But I'll go with it and see where things take me.
The last two year's numbers, for comparison, are located in square brackets [2nd
year, 1st year].
'In the Last 365 Days'
======================
I spent:
* 29 nights in New Zealand (continuation from last year)
* 5 nights in New Caledonia
* 22 nights in Japan
* 11 nights in South Korea
* 22 nights in China (visit #3 on this trip)
* 15 nights in Russia
* 4 nights in Estonia
* 2 nights in Latvia
* 4 nights in Lithuania
* 1 night in Germany
* 11 nights in Netherlands (10 on visit #1, 1 on visit #2)
* 1 night in Belgium
* 18 nights in France
* 7 nights in Greece (2 on mainland, 1 at sea, 4 on Rhodes)
* 8 nights in Turkey
* 7 nights in Bulgaria
* 4 nights in Macedonia (1 on visit #1, 3 on visit #2)
* 3 nights in Kosovo
* 4 nights in Albania
* 6 nights in Serbia & Montenegro (3 in each, at separate times)
* 4 nights in Croatia
* 8 nights in Bosnia-Hercegovina (5 in the former, 3 latter)
* 4 nights in Slovenia
* 4 nights in England
* 3 nights in Switzerland
* 91 nights in USA (5 DC, 7 Wisconsin, 4 Nevada, 75 Minnesota)
* 1 night in Spain
* 9 nights in Morocco
* 2 nights in Western Sahara
* 9 nights in Mauritania
* 8 nights in Senegal
* 3 nights in Guinea-Bissau
* 8 nights in Guinea
* 17 nights in Mali
* 7 nights in Burkina Faso
* 1 night in Ghana
* 4 nights on international journeys by sea
* Plus additional transit days through Switzerland, Germany, England, Poland,
and The Gambia...
That's 38 [14, 8] countries this year, some being repeats from the last two
years, for a total of 47 countries so far on the trip, 69 overall. Finally
getting up there, but not that many, really, considering that's three years'
worth. But I'm seeing them properly anyway. This year's total is much higher
because there's lots of bitty ones in there, though my geographical pace remains
about constant.
Speaking of geographical pace, if you care, here's a breakdown:
* 4 months Southeast Asia
* 6 months Asia/Pacific islands
* 7.5 months 'Mainland' Asia
* 3 months North America
* 3 months
* 6.5 months Indian subcontinent
* 4 months Europe (2.5 East, 1.5 West)
* 2 months
And yes, that adds up to 36!
I have moved sleeping places 187 [204, 209] times. 35 [32, 45] nights were spent
on transport of some kind. I paid for 165 [270, 272] of the other nights.
Another 165 [64, 45] nights were otherwise unpaid-for: alone a stranger's
apartment in Estonia, in an iron-ore container in Mauritania, a bush taxi in
Guinea, atop a sand dune, behind a hedge of bushes in Western Sahara, a
streetside in a Malian village, and a fair bit of camping and crashing at
friends' houses, as well as with random people I meet en route.
I spent $1456 [$1053, $872] on accomodation.
I was alone 144 [167, 186] days, and had a travel companion 222 [199, 178] days.
My record of 54 days spent with someone (including 46 straight) still stands (
Again, mistakes were made. I know it all doesn't add up spot-on to 366 days.
Tough. It'll even out overall. Maybe. I've still never spent more than six
consecutive nights in the same place, aside from two courses I've done that were
eleven nights apiece.
I made it another year without bribing anyone, though as I crossed The Gambia
visa-less in transit, I did part with about four bucks (that, or not get my
passport back), and lost a buck on the Mali border after my long argument. So my
reputation may be tainted. Anyway, travellers seem to be proud of getting out of
situations by bribing (especially here in
I have moved around on a variety of transport. NOT counting the rickshaw,
bicycle, motorcycle, tuk tuk, train, bus, escalator, ferry, and taxi rides
within cities, and NOT counting transportation that I've personally driven
(namely one rental car in France and other cars in the USA), I estimate that I
have ridden on 11 [16, 9] airplanes, 31 [12, 25] trains (including sleeping in
the ore cart), 64 [102, 60] buses, 27 [44, 8] jeeps/cars, 15 [32, 11] vans, 12
[48, 14] boats, 3 [8, 2] motorcycles, 7 [32, 21] trucks, and one steer-pulled
cart. 45 [46, 15] rides were via hitch-hiking, and 18 have been by the wonderful
African bush taxi. I didn't buy any (live) animals this year or other vehicles
(like other years).
My longest journeys?
* 156 hours (6 days/7 nights) on the trans-Siberian train.
* 44 hours on the bus from
* A 4-night train-train-train-bus odyssey from
I have filled 4 [7, 5] journals and run approximately 8 [10, 10] pens dry,
mostly a mixture of black and blue ones, and lost a few others. I have taken
approximately 2300 [3000, 3600] photographs. And written 14 [13, 23] online
journal entries.
I read 51 [43, 47] books. Favorites?
* '100 Years of Solitude', Gabriel Garcia Marquez
* 'Crime and Punishment', Fyodor Dostoevsky
* 'The Stranger', Albert Camus
* 'Under the Garden', Graham Greene (short story)
* 'Grimm's Fairy Tales
Listened to lots of music back home. Most listened-to this year?
* Doves: Last Broadcast
* Air: Talkie Walkie
* Herman Dune: Mas Cambios
* Dandy Warhols: Monkey House
My backpack has become a conglomeration of far-scattered items: medicine pouch
from Laos, shoulder bag from Cambodia, pills from China & Indonesia & Korea,
shirts from Guinea and Japan, a patch from Nepal, a shavestick from New Zealand,
a plastic case from Malaysia, necklaces I've made from bits of India & Nepal &
Mali & Tibet, glasses from Ghana, an eye-ring from Thailand, socks from
Mauritania, pants from Australia.
While I have not yet died or broken any limbs or received any black eyes...oh
wait, I did manage to break a rib this year, self-afflicted, from taking a
flying leap at a friend back home. And got knocked in the head once in
I have been sick approximately 6 [6, 8-10] times, though what you consider
"sick" seems arbitrary...mostly colds, and one fierce bout with altitude that
nasty Tibetan ginseng root tea did nothing to fix (other than momentarily
distract you from the headache). Nothing major. Happily, I've never yet been
laid up where I couldn't move or travel, aside from a hip injury that restricted
my movement to small walking distances for a few weeks. A friend I traveled with
got malaria, presumeably when we were together, but it missed me.
I have sent 4 [12, 17] packages home. I have had 3 [3, 1] haircuts, though one
of those was after 18 months without (and the most recent was my first attempt
at the 'self-cut', which is comparable to Great Clips). No more piercing this
year, actually down to just one total now. An almost-new wardrobe since I
returned from the
I have not yet met a food I won't try. The best:
* Kimchi (spicy pickled cabbage),
* Chili,
* Cepelinas (meat in potato dough, deep-fried),
*
* Tajine, at Dom & Aline's in
* Mangos,
* Gibanica, Slovenian dessert
*
* Kavarma & gyuvetch (clay-pot stews),
* Djiminta (peanut ginger treat),
* Hand-picked mussels (low tide),
* French cheeses, especially Roquefort and Comte!
* Burek (greasy stuffed things), all over Balkan peninsula
*
* Fresh figs, Turkey
Ahhh, but I don't do it justice...there's so much more!
I'm adding a drink section as well:
*
* Pomegranate juice,
* Sum de cabazera (mystery drink),
* Stouts on tap,
*
* Bloody Mary's (my friend Terry's,
The worst:
* Gravelly rice and couscous,
* Tea,
* Fried dough things of all shapes and sizes, Africa
* Yogurt that turns out to be mayonaise, Russia
* Kola nut, Senegal
* Moldy-tasting water, Guinea
* To (millet paste with baobab-leaf sauce), Mali
The most interesting:
* Camel meat, Mauritania
* Neri (fruit), Guinea
* Raw herring fish, tail-up, Netherlands
* Shkembe chorba (intestine soup), Bulgaria
* Random drinks from bags, West Africa
* Cashew fruits, Guinea-Bissau
* Chapolo, Burkinabe millet beer
* Tkaout (spicy-sweet pasty chocolate), Morocco
* Fresh mushrooms in every shape and size imaginable, Lithuania
* Kvas (fermented rye bread drink), Russia
* Bran flax fruit muffins, Minnesota
Favorite country? Not going to try. All of them. Except The
Highlights? Here's some random pieces that come to mind: entering the autumn
forests of Bulgaria, crossing Russia by train, surprising all my friends and
family by returning to the USA in December, everything about Sarajevo (Bosnia),
hitching and hiking around Great Barrier Island (New Zealand), Japanese toilets,
my two weekends spent at friends' cabins in Wisconsin (USA), stepping onto the
Red Square and seeing St Basil's cathedral (Russia), driving around France with
my mother, bone-rattling African journeys, chilly but beautiful Ljubljana
(Slovenia) and its Christmas decorations, live concerts in Dunedin (New Zealand)
and Vilnius (Lithuania), wandering through Rhodes city fortress (Greece), making
it to Timbuktu and the Dogon country in Mali, Bulgaria's jaw-dropping painted
churches, the view of Dubrovnik from my rented room (Croatia), sushi/card party
(Japan), hitchhiking in the Baltic States, the Tibetan highlands of western
Sichuan (China), Marrakech's bustling markets (Morocco), and all the visits to
friends and family around the world!
I could also mention lowlights: breaking my favorite sunglasses, losing a nail
clippers I'd owned since 1990, retiring my backpack, further growth of fungus in
my camera lenses, busting another zipper on my daypack, breaking an almost-new
toothbrush, and voting for one losing presidential candidate. Another bummer is
that my rough plan to buy toothpaste in every country completely fell apart as I
hit all the small ones...I'd need a bigger pack or start having to brush a few
dozen times a day to keep up.
I celebrated my first year by waking up to a beautiful Himalayan sunrise in
That's really about it...I have just a few more jottings: I started to learn two
new languages (German and French) but I won't say I speak them. Attended fifteen
concerts and plays, and saw four movies in the cinema. I'm on sleeping bag #3,
guitar #1, and was in a Muslim country for my second straight Ramadan. I quit
learning to play the harmonica when it dawned on me how truly annoying they are
to listen to. I've seen the world's largest mud-brick building. I've skipped one
airplane flight, been on one US Naval Base, and attended one mud festival, in
addition to two International Music Festivals. And lost one broomball match on a
frozen
But to conclude...
It's been a great year. I've seen amazing places, witnessed fascinating
cultures, made great friends from all over the world, and eaten a LOT of killer
food. Good travel is about the experiences, not the sights. On a trip,
inevitably, you have expectations. Mine are always surpassed in ways I never
could've imagined...like living out a good book, where the next page is always
both a mystery and a surprise...and always wonderful.
When I do return and stay, it's going to be to a different world. This year, I
learned that home isn't home when you've still got a return ticket and a head
full of ideas. It's been the most chaotic and disjointed year yet, and very
challenging. Sometimes I think that I am finally wearing down, other times no.
Many people ask me when I'll be calling it quits, returning home for good, and
hanging up the backpack. The answer? I don't know. Not yet.
"...now, pray, who is the greatest madman, he that is
so because he cannot help it, or he that is so for his own pleasure?"
(Cervantes)
Away Awhile is hosted by Josh Trutwin.