Europe

I’ve been getting pretty sloppy at updating this blog, I figured I should let you all know what I’ve been up to this summer:

At the start of August I left the vineyard I was volunteering at and hitchhiked a few hours northeast to the fifth annual Hitchgathering – which is exactly what it sounds like, a festival for hitchhikers. I first heard about it when I was crashing on the floor of Lisa and Richard’s one room flat just outside the old city center of Chaing Mai. Richard is a programmer involved with projects like hitchwiki and trustroots (staple resources of my trip). Lisa’s boyfriend, Clemens, was about to start hitchhiking from Singapore to the hitchgathering in France, following the same route that I ended up taking through Kazakhstan, Russia, into Europe (although at that time I was hoping to cross the Middle East). I told them I would meet them all in Europe at the gathering in a few months. Which is what I did.

Why travel?

A while ago my brother and I got into a debate about travel. He argued that my trip, along with my pretentions of independence and hobo-hood, is only possible because I know that there’s a fluffy cushion of parental support and education waiting to catch me if I fall. Which is true, but what am I supposed to do about it?

A few days later, with these thoughts on my mind, my dad guilelessly fuelled the fire with an article called What I Learned When I Gave Up the 9 to 5 written by Jacob Laukaotis – a self described #entrepreneur and digital #nomad.

Jacob’s article is the perfect example of what my brother and I were arguing about. He is an oblivious guy who travels the world, mistaking his privilege for virtue. Let’s start with the title. From it we can tell that Jacob considers the eight hour workday to be yet another bad habit to “give up” – like smoking cigarettes or eating meat.

China to France

Writing yet another creative title, I realize how much time its been since I last wrote a post. I haven’t felt the urge to write much recently, but something has been nagging me. The collective cries of your (dear readers’) desperate curiosity, and it’s starting to freak me out.
“Craig, what’s happened to you? Where are you?” the wind would whisper.
“Shut up wind” I’d shout back.
“What adventures, what intrigues, what bold and beautiful struggles have you chanced upon?” the earth murmers even now. 

Yangon (Myanmar) to Urumqi (China)

In Yangon I said goodbye to Eero. We gave each other big manly hugs, the kind where you squeeze with one arm and pat firmly with the other. Four, five, maybe even six pats.

Back to China

I’ve been feeling a bit burnt out the past few weeks. Maybe it’s not so surprising, after all I’ve been on the move since I landed in Korea two months ago. I haven’t stayed in one place for more than few days. I get to know people and then I’m out the door and onto the highway.

Everthing is starting to blur together. Conversations in a language I don’t understand. Oily food, tripe, pigs feet, fish heads, intestines, heaps of white rice. Ride after ride on the highway. If I’ve learned one thing, here it is: highways look the same no matter where you are in the world.

But then there’s the good stuff. I met up with my ‘ole pal Eero in a little town at the Thai-Burmese border last week and we took a bus into Myanmar.

Thoughts on money

In my last post I wrote that I’m looking forward to when I run out of money. My mom was worried and sent me fifty bucks. “You know you can always count on me for help if you need it, right?”

My brother was more critical. “The only reason you’re excited to run out of money is because you know that you can always get more if you need to from mom and dad.” (how prescient of him)

I was peeved. “Hey now, wait a second – I’m an independent, self propelled adventurer! I’m not about to cave in and ask ma ‘n pa for help now.”

Crossing the Middle East

The end of the Lower 9th Wadermelon

I’m at an internet cafe in Chiang Mai, a city in the north of Thailand. I sat down to write about my trip of the past ten days, hitchhiking and busing across Southern China, Laos, and Thailand. But before I did, I was scrolling through Facebook and got some sad news from my friend James. I met James a few months ago when he welcomed me into his home in New Orleans with a hospitality that is incredibly rare and possibly unrivalled. He lent me a bike, and gave me a trailer to sleep in. He brought me out camping in Grand Isle after we spent the day planting mangroves in an effort to prevent coastal erosion. I never had to pay for food since we’d just drive around to the back of grocery chains in his pick-up until we’d filled the bed with salvaged food that we’d cook over a big fire.

Seoul to Hong Kong

I haven’t been writing much recently and my timeline is getting blury. But two weeks ago (or something like that) I took a ferry from Incheon (Korea) to Qingdao (China). I bought the economy ticket and got myself a little bed in a ninety person room for the seventeen hour trip. Getting onto the ferry I spotted a fit looking guy pushing an overloaded touring bicycle through the terminal. His name is Mr. Won and he told me that he’d just quit his job as the editor of a magazine and that this ferry ride marked day one of his bike trip around the world. 

Walking Across America

Check out this self-produced, hour long radio show by a guy my age who walks across America from Philadelphia to California. You won’t be upset that you did.

Walking Across America: Advice for a Young Man