Tales of a Traveler

Month: August 2010

  • I’ll have a shot … of everything

    Two days ago, my friend A came over bearing homemade chicken soup, sourdough rolls and kombucha, to help eradicate this cold I’ve been wrestling. As I ate the delicious soup, we sat and talked, catching up – since we hadn’t seen each other in a while.

    During the conversation, A asked when I was leaving. I said “about nine months – mid-March next year”. Then I counted. Then I had a moment of panic. Nope, not nine months. More like 6-1/2! Oh, goodness. So much to do!

    So yesterday afternoon, I called UW Travel Medicine to schedule an appointment for initial consult and first shots. The nice receptionist lady expressed surprise that I was calling so far in advance for a trip scheduled for next spring. When I mentioned that I would be traveling for a year and a half, she expressed a bit of surprise, but moved right along with getting me an appointment soon.

    “Where will you be traveling?”, she asked. “All of Europe, North Africa, Central Asia, China and Southeast Asia.” More surprise. She asked if I had an itinerary, so I told her I did, but it was pretty flexible since I would be traveling by motorcycle. I could almost see the fine mist of brain matter vaporizing and seeping out of her ears, so I gave her a moment, waited as surprise turned to incredulity and then back to a forced poise. “How many countries?” “20, at least” “Maybe you should just bring your itinerary with you when you come in, rather than me trying to type them all in.” I smiled and said that sounded like a good plan.

    So, then: I have an appointment on Sept 10th to consult with the nice folks at UWTM, and have them start turning me into a pincushion. Each little step I take makes this a bit more real.

    And now, I’m off to Touratech to buy panniers!

  • The New Hotness

    I realize I have been remiss in posting a photo of my new beast. Without further ado:

    My shiny new F800GS

    The details:

    • 2010 BMW F800GS, Lava Orange
    • Standard package: Heated grips, ABS, On-board computer, white turn signals
    • Center stand
    • 64 miles

    No, it doesn’t have a name yet. I’ve had several people comment on how it lo0ks like an insect, so there are some options there.

  • Itinerary

    Here’s a very rough itinerary for my trip. This is subject to change based on weather, whim, geopolitical reality, disturbances in the force, and so on:

    Spring 2011:

    • France
    • Germany
    • Czech Republic
    • Poland
    • Lithuania
    • Latvia
    • Estonia

    Summer 2011:

    • Finland
    • Sweden
    • Norway
    • Denmark
    • Netherlands
    • Belgium

    Fall – Winter 2011:

    • British Isles
    • through Europe to Egypt
    • N. Africa (Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco – and, if possible, Libya and Algeria)
    • Southern Europe (Spain, southern France, Italy, Croatia, Greece)

    Spring – Fall 2012:

    • Turkey
    • Georgia
    • Russia
    • Kazakhstan
    • Mongolia
    • China
    • Laos
    • Vietnam, Cambodia, and/or Thailand

    My dream 2012 route is more like the following, but political realities make visiting a number of these countries, shall we say, challenging:

    • Turkey
    • Iran
    • Pakistan
    • India
    • Nepal
    • China (entering via Tibet Autonomous Region, then Sichuan and Yunnan provinces)
    • Laos
    • Vietnam, Cambodia, and/or Thailand

    I’ve recently thought about starting the trip by riding from Seattle to the East Coast, so that I have another opportunity to see my family before I embark into the unknown.

    This is quite the undertaking, obviously, and more than a little crazy. But then, so am I.

  • Skulls, at Choeung Ek Genocide Museum, Cambodia

    Skulls, Killing Fields, Cambodia
    Skulls from victims of the Khmer Rouge, at Choeung Ek Genocide Museum outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

    For more Photo Friday travel images, head over to DeliciousBaby.

  • Beginning of a Great Adventure *

    Welcome, welcome. I’m planning a big trip – which I’ve talked about to a lot of people over the last year or two – and it feels like time for me to uncloak more widely.

    In March of 2011, I plan to ship a motorcycle from the US to Europe and spend the next 18 months on a solo adventure through most of Europe, North Africa, Central / East / Southeast Asia. I’m simultaneously delighted and terrified by the prospect!

    This trip is a long time coming – the path to the decision has followed an odd route through more than half my life. I remember being 15 or so, reading a lot, staring at atlases and globes and thinking, “I want to see every continent. I want to know the world”. A few years later, I find myself on the far side of my collegiate experience, steeped in wanderlust, reading “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”, and seeing a possible future.

    Fast-forward from 1990 to 2005: my first act after nine years at Microsoft was to take off on a ten-day solo motorcycle trip through WA and OR, no clear idea where I was going, just wanting to ride. I got myself into a few misadventures along the way, taking my very obvious road bike onto some of the thin gray lines on the map, and loving it. The next two years found me in the saddle again for a week or so, off by myself seeking clarity, beauty and solitude.

    I think it was 2007 when I first saw “Long Way Round”. That’s when it clicked. I like traveling by motorcycle. I want to see a lot of places. Perhaps I should combine the two. So I started thinking about it, and then mentioning it to a few people, trying it on for size. I came to realize more and more that this is so completely what I want to be doing with my life.

    So, then. I’m doing it. I’m about to buy a bike, trick it out for crazy adventure travel, learn its ins and outs. Take it out into the woods.

    Along the way, I plan to write more about my plans (and some about previous travels), and post photos from various trips and places. I’ll write about what I’m riding and taking, where I plan to go, some of my goals for the trip.

    I hope you’ll stick around for the ride – and maybe, if you’re inspired, come meet me somewhere along the way. Introduce me to folks I should meet out in the world. Tell me about that one magic place you went and always go back to when your heart travels.

    Come along. It should be fun.

    cheers,
    ~stuart

    PS: Please pardon the dust while things settle out here. I’ve got things to say, and don’t want to wait until I have a perfect blog site to start saying them.

    * h/t Lou Reed

  • Mt. Wintour