People tend to ask two questions of travelers: where are you from and where are you going. I have had no answer to either question. I'm not really from America, and compared to other Aussies, I'm not really Australian. The 9 months I spent in the U.K. (from age 0) really haven't instilled in me any sort of Britishness that I wasn't going to get from hanging out with my paternal grand-parents. Perhaps I'll settle to telling people that I'm from Gondwanaland - that covers all the bases!
The second question has proved just as tricky. We had plans to go to Zanzibar and some vague notion of a safari after that. But that was as far as our plans got. After the safari finished, I felt a bit lost, a bit aimless. We traveled back to Dar es Salaam from Arusha by way of Lushoto in the impossibly steep Usambara mountains. It was a nice town, cool with a sprinkling of Jacaranda trees. We hiked up to a view point and admired the Masai Steppe far, far below. But then I was done. I didn't want to stick around. I realized that I'm antsy for the next thing. We've been in Tanzania for over month now and I think I've seen all I need to see. There is of course more to see and do but it's either expensive (more safari) or involves really uncomfortable bus rides. I've done more than enough of those for one life time! So, we've hatched a plan - if it can be called that. Fly to Maputo, Mozambique or to Durban, South Africa. Explore. Fly to Marakesh. On to Cairo. Through the middle east and Turkey to eastern Europe. Up to Russia, onto the Trans-Siberian. Through Mongolia and China and SE Asia to Australia. It's a grand loop. You (yes, you) should plan on meeting us at some point along the way. We're doing a bit of everything so I'm sure that something in our travels will appeal to you. We'll see if we actually pull it off. It's quite likely that we'll run out of cash along the way and so may be forced to spend some time working in Prague or Sofia. Damn. That sounds terrible. Poor us.
Now we're off to a bookshop to read guide books. And then to travel agents to find the best way to Mozambique. The land border crossing sounds helacious - involves wading 25-45 mintues through a river to a dug-out canoe that will take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour to get to the other side where there may or may not be a bus waiting to take us down some crappy road to a crappy town. The good news? If we get stuck, there's a bug-ridden hotel on a sandbank in the middle of the river. I think we'll fly.
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2 comments:
aren't you from pangaea?
"it's complicated" would maybe stave off some people, but having a somewhat simliar problem myself (on the "where are you going?" part, and also the "what inspired you?" part you probably hear too), I find myself giving long answers with "ifs" in them. But when my questioners are native English speakers, it goes pretty well, if not long-winded. Rather like this comment.
You could say, "Lots of places" and "that remains to be seen." But that would probably defy your sense of wanting to engage with those you meet. One good thing is to remember to ask them where they are from and what they are doing. Turn the tables. That usually balances out the spotlight effect:)
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