You CAN Make A Difference

I have spent a wonderful month on the road...Murter to Sibenik to Zagreb by bus, return flight to Bangkok, Bangkok to Siem Reap to Phnom Penh to Don Det to Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang by bus, Luang Prabang to Chang Khong by boat, to Pai to Chiang Mai to Bangkok by bus...lots of ground covered! And lots can be said about this route, but here is something that affected me most - not even the actual experience but the notion that something like this exists:

This is why every tuk-tuk in Chiang Mai had 'Tiger Kingdom' written on it and what every driver was pointing at, because naturally (!) we have come there to watch these magnificent beasts chained and sedated, and to take a photo with them so we can brag (about what exactly..?!) at home. It astounds me, the amount of people who support this kind of tourism. I just can't...fathom human behaviour. It is becoming more and more difficult the older I get. One would think you can become numb with time...but we shouldn't become numb!

It is a different and yet morally similar story with riding elephants. I was looking forward to seeing these impressive animals once I get to Asia, alas...it was so difficult to find a place that treats them with dignity. Again, such a small percentage of people (in reviews online) who noticed or cared about elephants being chained and/or probed with a hook. You don't really need to read any reviews to come up with a thought that riding elephants isn't a natural state of things. Some days before setting off I have received a postcard showing an elephant painting an elephant (!) like an artist - again, you don't need to think long to realise something has been done to train them, and it couldn't have been pleasant. So why, WHY are humans supporting this - because yes, by paying someone to put that uncomfortable seat on elephant's back or to put that painting brush into its trunk, you are supporting this unnatural order of things. One could argue, nothing new among humans. Yes, nothing new...

So I haven't seen a single elephant in SE Asia, except a sculpture in a wat garden...
Which doesn't mean that it can't be done, with enough research and on-time reservation <3

What's Up With The Planning

What's up? Well its happening, bit by bit, every day, in one form or another :) There are moments when you just want to raise your hands and say: I give up, who needs planning...But those are brief blimps of insanity! Just kidding - everyone has their own path, mine is to know where I'm going and how to get there, cos time is short and places worth to be seen plentiful; I am looking for that balance that will give me peace of mind from knowing and sense of adventure from not knowing too much.

A week to go and my backpack should be packed sensibly (mission: impossible), the only winter clothes on my actual self...isn't it kind of a 'grrr i want to bite my elbow' situation when you go from one climate to another...virtually an opposite. Its so hard to imagine we'll be sweating it like (nothing nice) over there! And here is trouble knocking at my door at 5 to 12 - flu season is almost in full swing, and there is a bit of a cough here and an occasional sniff there...and most worryingly of all, inner ear pains :(  Trying to stay positive, + having some hot tea, honey and lemon cannot hurt :D sooo...fingers crossed!!

The Path Is Clear

...and the ticket is in the pocket..! It was a kind of a mish-mash to the very end (of purchase) decisions being made and changed within a day...it gets trickier when you set off to travel with a person you've never met before. I have put an ad on a (surprisingly active) croatian web-page for travelers and I got a few responses, but it was all months ago when I had different thoughts and ideas. However, one person remained in my life during these months and now we are prepping for our short but sweet asian adventure :)

As I was all too keen to get away somewhere right after six months of work and isolation, I've done another short european trip, scheduled around a visit to an old friend who was with his work in Palma de Mallorca for a month. As it happens, making a zig-zag plane route is both cheaper and more interesting, so I used the chance to finally see the famous Cologne Cathedral, remind myself of Barcelona, and check what all the fuss about Berlin was about. I couldn't recall but a glimpse of the school trip to Barcelona - after all it was 19 (!!) years ago and I was told the city has changed a lot in the last decade. I will admit Berlin was done more out of convenience (the only relatively cheap flights from Croatia to Europe in the winter months are the flights from Zagreb to a few major german cities. Fullstop.) and my sister really wanted to go, so I met her there for a weekend. It left a lasting mark on me as a multicultural place with opportunities that is now calling me to come back to its livelihood...From not even considering Germany as a place to move to it has become number one, thanks to Berlin. Not that I don't love Germany - the little I've seen, that is south Bavaria, is gorgeous in its own way.

Time to finally put a few pics here :)

The Uncertainties Of Planning

Obviously I am not doing really well with this blog heh. I have been going through many different phases over the last few months, scheming for what was supposed to be a winter of long travels, but  as time progressed my plans were becoming tinier and tinier...at the moment I'd be happy with visiting just one country, hopefully I'll make it..!

Whats new is the uncertainty about my job. It has always been in the air in a way, when you don't have a permanent job its the questionmark that perpetually swings over your head...I guess it is not a surprising state of things in today's economy, especially in my country that is struggling on so many levels. The thing is, now I may be forced to FINALLY decide what to do with my life! My first, truest, most severe and permanent obstacle is living in a small town, which is kind of close to some other kind of bigger towns, but to be able to do a course of some value I'd definitely have to move to a much bigger town, in this case only the capital Zagreb presents itself as a well of options (you see, another characteristic of this small country is the centralization in every possible sense), OR moving to another country. Now THAT I wouldn't mind doing at all, I don't have ties, I don't get homesick. So what is out there, and how does it relate to a 36-y-o who is still searching for a goal in life? Will my next travel be to a new home?

 

When Did You First Know You Were A Traveler?

In short: dunno (understanding the term 'traveler' in broader sense) This is a question I came across today, and searching in the maze of memories and forgetfullness I couldn't detect a plausible answer. However, a distant memory of a discovery and travel-induced goosebumps came forth in the form of an image of me walking the pier of an Isle Of Wight port. This seems like a dream sequence from ages ago, actually 10 years to be exact! I need to fish out a few photos that I have stored someplace they haven't been reached for...literally years...To be added :)

And finally...the young me and the wight island life :D

In A Nutshell

'All you need is to put some money in your pocket and go, no excuses'. That is such a romanticised vision! Sometimes excuses are real and justified. Would be nice to just celebrate and appreciate the diversity...maybe you know the song, which with some paraphrasing could apply here: 'If everybody looked the same, We'd get tired of looking at each other' ;)

 

 

Are You A Tourist Or A Traveler?

My next travels are way ahead...I have come back from a short European tour about a month ago, and have started the new working season in tourism, which will enable me to travel some more once the tourists and sunshine leave this corner of the earth. It is a wheel that has been turning for some years now with the same pace...Both the upside and the downside of having my job is being employed/free for half a year. I am trying to make the most of the upside by travelling as much as I can in my free time. The downside? No steady income, no benefits, no pension plan. Which all seemed to be lingering on the horizon almost out of sight until I reached my middle 30's...I am admitting to having a bit of a midlife crisis heh.

 

Anyways where I was going with this was: my travels are way ahead, but the thoughts of it are already swarming in my head. Having to once again get used to a parallel universe here is not an easy task! I follow a number of traveler-oriented groups on Facebook, mainly by default. I usually enjoy to look at some stunning photograps of places I would love to visit, or have visited, or never thought were that awesome and are added to my 'list'. At the begining I shared some of their statuses, quotes, etc. but then...Some things started to bug me. One particular group was asking its community this famous question: are you a tourist or are you a traveller? And off they go, rushing who will get to call themselves a 'real', bonafide traveler first...Because by some (un)written law being a traveler is something that is cool, special. Tourists are uncool. And where is the line? Theories abound.

 

As usual I have a whole long stream of thoughts at one point and the urge to write it down, but with time this urge dwindles and the page remains empty. This is why I forsee my doom in writing this blog hehe :) But today everything seems to be revolving around this issue - one of the best shows on croatian television is hosting a group of local travel writers, and I was curious about this guy who was circumnavigating the globe for a thousand days. I think I'd be keen to read his book as my first croatian traveler's feed! And then there was another guy who was demonstrating the lightness of packing...and not before long, he opened the traveler vs tourist subject. His clarification: tourist is someone who goes to a place with the aim of seeing and coming back home. The traveler just goes, for the sake of the journey. He didn't make me any wiser I think...because he seems to be coming back home after each of his travels too.

 

After some brief googling I have come across a definition by editor in chief of the well-reputed and omnipresent National Geographic, their Traveler magazine to be precise. His introduction amused me: when you travel, do you yearn for authenticity? Do you seek to make meaningful connections with the people, culture, and places you visit? If your answer is 'yes' then congratulations: you are a traveler, not simply a tourist!

 

How important is it really to separate the two? And to whom? There is some apparent need for self-confirmation, baptasing into travelling coolness. I cannot see why being a tourist should be degrading. For sure we get annoyed with noisy groups criss-crossing a place that can best be appreciated in some peace & quiet. On a larger scale of things we are just one more person in the travelling net. Besides, it is not unheard of that a group of people making most noise will consist of individuals who like to call themselves backpackers and travelers.