My Dream Trip...

While I was thinking of this topic, I became kind of depressed to realize that I have now been to the five countries that were probably at the top of my list of "places to go." Although it's very satisfying to have now been to all of those places, it also kind of takes away some of the excitement of travel. My top 5 were probably Poland, Peru, New Zealand, Nepal, and Greece. I had long been attracted to Poland because it is the land of my ancestors, and I was lucky to spend 3 weeks there in 1997. Peru was on my list, of course, because of the spiritual draw of majestic Macchu Pichu. I was able to see this wonder of the world last year. After making Kiwi friends in Japan, I had longed to visit the Land of the Long White Cloud to see where all of these friendly people came from, and I was fortunate to have the chance to spend 2 years in "Godzone." ("Godzone" is a nickname for NZ, because the locals said it was so beautiful and unique that it was "God's own" land...) NZ certainly lived up to this nickname, as the breathtaking and diverse scenery is the closest you can come to heaven on earth. Finally, I crossed both Greece and Nepal off mylist this year. I had dreamed of going to Greece since I was a child, as I was fascinated with Greek mythology growing up and wanted to see the Acropolis and Mt. Olympus, which I had in my imagination for so many years. Finally, since I am an avid hiker, I was drawn to Nepal by Mt. Everest and the mighty Himalayas.

Anyway, since I have been to all five of my favorite destinations, what's next? That is my question. I have been thinking a lot about it, and I think I have a unique "dream trip." It's not really a specific destination, but rather a specific WAY of traveling. I have been thinking on my recent trips that I am getting sick of relying so much on guidebooks. Guidebooks tend to sabotage our travels. Although I tell myself again and again that I will rely on them next, when I am in a new city and tired and hungry, I inevitably turn to the guidebook to check out the "places to eat." Why do this? Although the suggestions are usually good, isn't it more exciting to just go out aimlessly and find where the locals really eat? Who wants to eat in a place that's full of westerners and other tourists and not locals? Well, if the food is good, of course I want to eat there, but it kind of defeats the purpose of travel.

So, it is just a crazy thought for now, but I would love the journey of traveling to several countries on one trip without using guidebooks of any kind, but just relying on local information. I tried a mini-experiment during my latest trip to Southeast Asia. My main trip was to Cambodia, but I also decided to spend three days in Thailand on the way back to Japan. I didn't want to shell out on a big guidebook just for three days, so I just wrote down some hotel phone numbers and went from there. It was a little intimidating, as I took a local bus to a national park in central Thailand and found myself stranded there with no transportation back. If I had consulted a guidebook, I would have been more prepared. Just as I was getting really angry with myself, some friendly Thais drove by in a truck and gave me a free ride one hour back into town! If I had relied on a guidebook, I never would have met those nice and generous locals. So, maybe in the future I will try a longer adventure...

I don't want to put stupid ideas in anyone's head. You should always be prepared when you travel and learn as much as you can about your destination. But travel needs an element of adventure as well...As one famous travel writer so eloquently put it, "It's not a real journey until at least one time during my trip I say to myself, 'What the hell am I doing here???'" Smart words. I just hope I can live up to them...