In the Beginning

The real reason for me to start this project is very personal and emotional. I'm not yet ready to share it. It is locked into one of my many diaries for now. Perhaps one day it will become a tiny breadcrumb floating in the digital ocean. The truth is it doesn't matter much since the motivation doesn't influence the outcome in this case. So let's just get down to business.

My philosophy about travel is not groundbreaking at all. Go see the famous landmarks and do the tourist things. There is nothing wrong about it. These superficial artifacts are major components of the story about that place. But don't stop there. Go meet the ordinary people at the local markets, cafes, and squares. Watch them walk and talk. That's when I weave political events, economic figures, semi-accurate historical records, references from books and occasionally Hollywood gossip into the story about this place, uniquely for me. To create a story like that, I need to be there in person. But being as rational as I am, I know my reach is very limited. It is not that easy to go around the world. I need a different way to cover a wide span of territories. Stumbled upon 'Out of Eden Walk' sparked the idea of hitchhiking. Why not ride along with Paul Salopek as he walked 21,000 miles step by step around the world? His epic journals will take me to places new or old, give me the raw ingredients for the story, and I will be sitting in the back seat to add my own sauces and spices to cook up something completely useless to others but totally fascinating to me. No, this is nothing like 'Julie and Juliet'. I do not attempt to repeat what Salopek did. Nor do I intend to counter or endorse Salopek's reflections at all. If you find our sentiments are similar sometimes, that's simply because we're human after all and we probably do share a lot more than we'd like to admit.

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2