That Joan Armatrading song has a lot to answer for! I remember hearing it and thinking I had found my anthem! I too wanted to “go to China and to see Japan”! And let’s not mention sail the oceans before they run dry. So, I left home and the UK at 17, on the first step of my world travels, and never looked back.
Joan Armatrading: Me Myself and I
I spent years traveling alone and working my way to the next destination. This was way before the time that everyone shared every step of their journey on social media…. hey it was even before there was mains electricity to fuel those full moon parties in Koh Phangan!
I didn’t have to fight with dozens of selfie-stick-wielding tourists to take a photo of a sunset on some exotic beach, or temple.
Large-scale tourism was yet to hit many of the most popular traveler spots, making them far more interesting but defiantly a lot less sanitary! (One of my favorite traveling companions then wanted to make a calendar out of her photos of the world’s most disgusting toilets! ) The chance of finding usable toilets nowadays is one thing I am not going to complain about!
Now I’m living in Israel, unhappily married with kids (but that’s a whole different blog! lol) Due to reasons out of my control, I have to be satisfied with the virtual travels that I plan through my work. In other words, I get to plan, book, and design routes for those who want to travel those roads less traveled.
I will be back traveling soon – not because there are so many places that I haven’t seen yet but just because I just have to! That’s the trouble of having the need to travel deep in my DNA!