nice play on words

It’s only when I come to a sudden stop, that I realize I traded social life for me.

Last year, I traveled to 27 cities/towns to, as Aldous Huxley described, “discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” It is a fascinating feeling, to be able to live the life I’ve always wanted. It is not necessarily glamorous, but it is beautiful. I used to travel with my sister, often with a tour group, and it frustrates me that I’ve wasted so much money visiting a place without being in a place. We should not treat a place like a prostitute, but a friend you want to get to know. “Getting to know” means you have to rough it out. You have to take the subways, ride on the lower class trains, and eat vegetables sold on wet floor covered with cow dung. It is of utmost privilege that I get to live like the locals, and that’s one of the reasons why India became one of my favorite countries. I was climbing over Indians climbing over each other with hand outstretched to buy bus tickets. I spent nights in sleepers sharing my “bed” with women and men without tickets, and listening to sellers shouting, “Chai…Chai..Chai…” I also spent some sleepless nights fighting “sand storms” in the train and rain that flooded my bed. In retrospect, I am glad I’ve been through it all.

We’ll think that only travelers are intrigued with the unfamiliar, but I have had my photo taken by countless Indians because they were intrigued by someone with yellow skin. But what I was really not used to was the hospitality of the locals. No matter how little they had, they were happy to share. I was incredibly touched.

I hope to document my passion for traveling here, and remind myself of the bittersweet adventures I’ve had in this short life.