June 23, 2001
7:20 AM Subscribe
He was 22, and he loved to travel. While sitting on top of a Land Rover in
Afghanistan he wrote in his diary: "Someday,
when I am rich, I am going to invite someone from my travels to visit me in
America." It took 27 years, but this month, he made his dream come true.
Timely link -- I'm sitting here trying to work out the schedule for my own RTW trip! Here's the secret: normal jobs are a dime-a-dozen. You'll end up dead at some point anyway, probably when you least expect it, so ya may as well *do* something in the meantime.
...of course, that's the logic that's got me in pretty serious trouble in the past, so perhaps I'm not the best advisor on this sort of thing.
posted by aramaic at 12:32 PM on June 23, 2001
...of course, that's the logic that's got me in pretty serious trouble in the past, so perhaps I'm not the best advisor on this sort of thing.
posted by aramaic at 12:32 PM on June 23, 2001
aramaic: In the many many travel journals I read, people throw themselves into seemingly impossible situations but always make it out fine.
Most people don't die because they tried something which sounded difficult.. most people die because they're disrespectful to others, fall ill, or break the law.
I was fixated on an excellent online travelogue all about a guy walking across the entire US. Yes, walking. No matter what scrapes he got into, there was always a way out.
I think life, and this planet, works in that way. Generally, there's a way out of everything and a way to profit from most any situation, just as long as you don't shit on others or try to be too much of a smartass.
posted by wackybrit at 4:13 PM on June 23, 2001
Most people don't die because they tried something which sounded difficult.. most people die because they're disrespectful to others, fall ill, or break the law.
I was fixated on an excellent online travelogue all about a guy walking across the entire US. Yes, walking. No matter what scrapes he got into, there was always a way out.
I think life, and this planet, works in that way. Generally, there's a way out of everything and a way to profit from most any situation, just as long as you don't shit on others or try to be too much of a smartass.
posted by wackybrit at 4:13 PM on June 23, 2001
And avoid icy crevasses. My wife worked with a guy who took off on a RTW solo adventure; he tried climbing a mountain in New Zealand alone, fell into an open crevasse, and was never heard from again (a very true story).
posted by briank at 5:24 PM on June 23, 2001
posted by briank at 5:24 PM on June 23, 2001
_The Longest Walk_ by George Meegan.. southern tip of South America to the Artic Ocean in Alaska.. by way of Washington DC.. Meegan holds the record for the longest walk, 19000 miles and 7 years. Book is awesome out of print but can be found on the used market.
posted by stbalbach at 9:18 PM on June 24, 2001
posted by stbalbach at 9:18 PM on June 24, 2001
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I think this guy is doing something that many of us have dreamt of at one point. However, some have the determination to travel the world (or even just the country) and some don't. For me, I have too many other hobbies to pursue things like this, but would certainly like to a US cross-country trip in a few years.
Good luck to him and all of you other guys breaking away from the social 'norms' of getting a 'normal job' and travelling the wide wonderful world.
posted by wackybrit at 8:57 AM on June 23, 2001