Post: #26

Tom Torero had a great video recently, that touched on a lot of the issues discussed here...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLKvUz7Kaec

Post: #27

Just some of my favourite travel moments from the past three years:

1) Sitting on a plastic chair eating noodles in low-so Ratchada. The rain was absolutely HAMMERING down and my surroundings looked like Gotham. I later grabbed a beer and sat there for another hour. Fantastic.

2) Walking around Taipei at night and seeing Taipei 101 staring at me wherever I went. That building is fucking enormous. It's like something out of Independence Day.

3) Gangnam bus terminal. I got off the bus there. It was essentially my first step onto Asian soil. The sea of beautiful, skinny women surrounding me will always be remembered. From then on, I was blind to white women.

4) Riding on the back of a motorcycle on a sunny day in Taipei. It was so damn warm. I went and had dinner and 'Waterfalls' by TLC came on. I had it in my head all day.

5) Laying in the sea like a starfish at Poda island. I went on one of those 'five island tours' where they try and rush you through tropical paradises as quickly as possible. We got to Poda, and everyone on my boat geared themselves up for an hour of walking around taking photos. I, on the other hand, lay in the sea and stared at a big rock for the whole time.

6) Being sat at a rooftop bar in Laos. Looking across the river was nice. Never had so much enjoyment from being at a bar. I'm thinking of travelling to Laos next month just to go there again.

7) My first few hours in Taipei. After a hellish last few months in Korea, arriving in that city was the most relieving damn feeling that could be had. I sat on the floor in Taipei Main Station for over an hour, just grinning. The weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Some kids were throwing paper airplanes around.

8) A night out with some millionaire Thai's. It got to the point where we were chugging bottles of Gold Label whilst shouting '1-2-3!'. I won't disclose much more, but it was a VERY expensive night for some.

9) The journey home after my first night in Taipei. It was a wet, grey Sunday morning. It smelt of tofu and lavendar. (Taipei does constantly smell of tofu actually. For some reason I really miss it.)

10) My hellish journey from my family home in England to my new home in Korea back in 2012. It was a 35-hour trip, and it was a bloody great laugh.

So, what's my point?

The best moments of travel are all completely intangible. So much so, that I actually find it nearly impossible to describe why I enjoyed them so much.

...The smell of tofu in Taipei, the weird new font on my Korean phone, having a Chang beer on a tropical island in the pissing rain, the 'red' 7-11's in Taipei, their 'bluer' counterparts in Bangkok.

So many feelings and smells and things. These are the reasons I travel, and I think people should remember these little moments of joy.

I've been to temples, monuments and beaches. Not many of these things stick in my memory. My advice is to take it easier and open your eyes to your surroundings more.

Post: #28

Great thread. While I haven't traveled as much as some of the veterans here, I can relate to what OP is talking about. I think it really dawned on me when I was walking around the high end malls in Kowloon and suddenly realized the homogenizing effect of global markets. All the malls are starting to look the same with the same bullshit outlets and marking images plastered on their windows.

But so far the reward of traveling is and always have been the people you meet. Sure after staying even in half a dozen hostels in the same country you start to see the same type of people over and over again. And perhaps we are filling on of those stereotypical hostel types in the eyes of others as well. Which of course makes me want to educate myself and continue to strive for an independent and unique expression of my own existence. However, I still seem to meet amazing and interesting people and when I least expect it.

Some of my fondest memories are getting basic Japanese lady on a ferry to a remote island in the Seto Inland sea, getting invited to dinner by rich jaded expat hippies in Ibiza, seeing the shock on people's faces as they saw an asian driving an embassy rental BMW around in Montevideo and Punta del Este, eating spicy chicken and drinking beer with Republic of Korea Navy NCO's, and the list goes on. Sure our thirst for flags drives us but for me it has become a smaller and minor factor for traveling. Maybe my testosterone levels are going down.

And finally don't forget the sublime beauty of nature. Nature transcends borders, cultures, and people and it's the one true gift the earth gives us. I know some people don't care but over time I've grown to respect and love nature. I'm not a hippy by any means and stick to cities most of the time but I find myself going out to spend solitary time in nature more frequently over time.

Just my thoughts but like with anything in our lives our reasons for "why" we travel can and do change.

Post: #29

(01-09-2016 10:11 AM)Onto Wrote:  Eventually you will get bored of anything. That's life. Once we find that special someone, we'll eventually get bored of that too. Go back to playing the field, eventually you get bored. It's like a see-saw really. I think the only real peace is getting off the see-saw altogether, and I don't mean not being with women, just not seeing them as the answer.

Creating a life where you have enough leisure time to enjoy your hobbies, pursuits, and women is probably the best situation any man can ask for. The financial freedom to do that is not an easy thing to achieve.

We are each the hero of our journey, but sometimes we forget why we began or have lost sight of our purpose. That is why we have each other.

Post: #30

(01-09-2016 06:48 AM)Bananaman711 Wrote:  Do you eventually get bored of it and wanna settle with someone? What is endgame?

Have you read Rooshv.com blog posts on this subject, he has some good posts. You could replace settle with grow.

Personally I don't like statements that start with "like all things in life." Already sounds defeated.

Travel never gets old for me.

Maybe the problem isn't travel, maybe it's an unproductive life. No amount of travel can mask doing nothing and not going forward. Not sure if that is your situation or not.

Post: #31

any update?

Post: #32

The lesson, which seems simple, but took me a while to learn over the last 13 years of travel, is this: Where ever you go, there you are.

Post: #33

(01-09-2016 10:11 AM)Onto Wrote:  Eventually you will get bored of anything. That's life. Once we find that special someone, we'll eventually get bored of that too. Go back to playing the field, eventually you get bored. It's like a see-saw really. I think the only real peace is getting off the see-saw altogether, and I don't mean not being with women, just not seeing them as the answer.

Creating a life where you have enough leisure time to enjoy your hobbies, pursuits, and women is probably the best situation any man can ask for. The financial freedom to do that is not an easy thing to achieve.

This is exactly what I've been finding. First few trips were all about racking up lays, now I get more enjoyment from working, picking up new hobbies, discovering new people/things and getting laid is only part of the overall equation for my happiness. In the same breath, getting laid is still the best part.