I’m happy to hear that the Vogel family, mentioned in my last post about bicycling from Alaska to Argentina, actually made it to Usuhia. That’s amazing!
Source: Poldavo (Alex) at flickr
For the last two years, I have been avidly following the Family on Bikes, as they made their way from northern Alaska, down through Canada and the United States, all the way down to the southern tip of South America. They are almost there. They started cycling in June 2008, and have about 10 days left on their journey. It’s an amazing feat for any athlete, but a family – mother and father with two young boys – it’s a truly incredible feat. My hats off to them.
That is two and a half years of cycling many hours per day – only a few days off here and there to combat illness and bike repairs. Dusty roads, no roads, rain, heat, cold. Having to carry all your possessions with you. Wearing the same clothes over and over again – how many shirts would they pack with them? Pulling over to the side of uncountable roads and camping for the night. I almost want to say, two and a half years of being uncomfortable. All the things we take for granted – including hot food and hot showers – were luxuries for them. But at the end, I am sure they made a lot of friends, learned a lot, saw a lot, and have memories for a lifetime.
Source: Mathieu Struck at flickr
Maybe I am not much of a world traveler. After all, despite the 19 countries I have visited in the past, I have only had to apply for a tourist visa once before in my life. But I just got back from the Consulate to apply for my second visa, and country number 20. Brazil, here I come!
Sonia could not crack a smile. She was unhappy, impatient, and clearly all these tourists wanting to visit her country were disturbing her. “Bem dia!”, I exclaimed. Nothing from Sonia. She took the papers from my hands, without even asking how I was or what she can do to help me. She was fast and efficient, I will give her that. A few checkmarks, a stamp, and she filled out a receipt for me. And just like that, my visa application was in process. “Obrigado!”, I said, in one last attempt to get a response from her. Nothing.
Now I know for a fact that Brazilians are friendly and welcoming. Perhaps the Brazilian Consulate of Toronto should consider hiring some of those people.
So the plane ticket has been purchased for a mid-April departure. Two weeks in sunny South America – my fourth continent. Damn, two years ago I could have stepped a toe on Africa for a few hours and this would have been number five. I should have.
Anyways, watch out meus amigos do Brasil. I am on my way. Keep a beer cold for me.
Source: DislOck at flickr
I’ve recently been bitten by the South American bug. There are so many interesting places to see down there. And the first on my list is Brazil.
As a side note, I have been to Aruba, which is just off the coast of Columbia. But apparently that’s still considered North America. So this will be my first venture into South America.
I’m going to start with the very interesting large city of Sao Paulo. Sao Paulo has a long Italian history, and so I am interested in seeing Italy transposed into South America, and how the two cultures mix.
Why not start with Rio de Janeiro? Well, I could have I suppose. Rio is known for it’s beaches, the famous ginormous statue of Jesus, and the annual Carnival festival. And did I mention it’s amazing beaches? Well I know people who live in Sao Paulo, so that makes the decision a whole lot easier. I can always go to Rio for a few days as part of this trip, as they are relatively close.
Right now, I am thinking about going there in late April. As you may know, the seasons are reversed, so April is autumn down there. Apparently the temperature is quite moderate (20 degrees) and it might not be as busy. Both good things in my opinion. Having gone to China in August, and suffered through 38C days every day (108F), moderate but still warm temperature is a definitely plus.
Source: Theodore Scott at flickr
I had a chance to visit the fine city of Houston recently, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I also very much enjoyed Dallas when I was there a couple of years ago, so Texas is 2 for 2 with fine places to visit for me.
Now if you are familiar with Houston at all, maybe you’d argue I didn’t visit Houston at all. I spent a lot of time with my friend in the happy suburb of Kingwood. Kingwood has tree-lined streets, broad boulevards, parks where the kids play, and even wooded areas that become long bike paths. In short, it’s nice. My friend lives on a cul-de-sac, and has a house with a pool. They know all their neighbors – or a large number. And basically, I wish I could have stayed there longer. I could see myself living there – and am both happy and jealous that he and his wife (and kids) have in one year made a nice life for themselves there.
This is not the Houston I was expecting. I was expecting concrete, and office towers. I was expecting every free greenspace filled with oil drills. Heck, even Dallas is not all that green.
Source: moriza at flickr
I recently spent a couple of weeks traipsing through China by myself, which was the first time I had travelled so far for so long by myself. A friend of mine commented, “I could never do that.” And not many people would consider a long trip alone. Heck, some people can’t go to dinner or a movie by themselves. So travelling alone has some challenges. Here are a few that I encountered.
1. Psychologically Being Alone
Travelling by yourself, versus going with a partner or group of friends are totally different experiences. There is a lot of quiet time. Alone on the plane, alone in the hotel room, alone at dinner. Depending on the location, you can go an entire day without talking to anyone. Unless you’re the type of person who can make friends on the flight over and stick with those people for the entire trip, you have to be comfortable doing things by yourself.
To combat this, I suggest booking a tour – either a tour for the entire trip, or a short day-trip at your destination. You’ll get a chance to socialize with other solo travellers, and who knows – you can easily meet someone you’d want to meet up with for dinner or at a later date for another adventure. There are a lot of other solo travellers out there, and if you meet one of them along the way, it’s a good chance for you to make a new friend and do things together.
Source: me
I’m on the plane in Hong Kong, and we’re just about to embark on the 15.5 hour flight to Toronto. I hope to be able to sleep most of the way. But I do want to write down some thoughts of Shanghai – what I liked, and what I did not.
I’m glad I had as much time there as I did. 4 days in Beijing, and 3 days in Xi’an was feeling a bit rushed to me, and so 6 days in Shanghai allowed me to see and do a lot, and give me the extra time to get to know the place a bit.
Beijing, for me, felt like an old city. I stayed next to the Forbidden City in the center of the city, and there was a lot of history there. As I described, stumbling into a garden that was actually hundreds of years old, you could feel the history in almost everything there. I did not really get to experience the new modern parts of that city. I was far from the subway, so I don’t even know what it looks like!
Of course, Xi’an is an old city that doesn’t feel like one. The place was called Xi’an even 1,000, 2,000 and 3,000 years ago, and people had been known to inhabit the area for 6,000 years. The city wall, the bell and drum towers, all are showcases of that history. But most of the city feels new, with its bars and shopping malls. Blocks of 30, 40 condo buildings being built all at once. A giant nuclear power plant on the outskirts of town.
