Friday evening
I believe in being sold on image - are we able to be sold on anything but a notion of reality?
I've been sold on my trip to Asia for over a month... I've been glancing between different images of the continent, visually weaving a trail from place to place, constructing detailed itineraries which have sometimes focussed on the length or stay in each nation, the scenic potential of each route or perhaps the convenience in getting around...
I've visited the Asian continent three times before, though the first two were very brief stays of less than a day each, featuring Bangkok and Singapore. I enjoyed both places for different reasons, and would love to see them again.
My most recent trip involved a three week stay in Shanghai, which I found both calming and exhilerating at the same time... I'll be able to delve into my experiences in all three of these places (and some of my other travels) as I go along... I can't wait to kick off my trip in China!
Due to some extraordinary good luck, I've recently made a very good friend who just happens to be in Hong Kong right now... I'm excited at the prospect of being introduced to the city by a pomo-friendly person, and though I wasn't originally planning to spend more than a week over there I'll probably spend most of July in the area - ppl are by far the most interesting attracions! :o)
Where to from Hong Kong?
A few questions that might be cleared up by the end of tomorrow (by the end of which I should've alerted my parents to my plans) include...
How long will I be able to travel?
How do I think I will best be able to make use of seasons over my time in the area?
Do I intend to travel into Europe or Africa (and will I have the means, as this will probably include flying)?
Currently I am considering two routes:
The first was my original conception - Moving west from China into Vietnam, Vietnam into Cambodia, Camb into Thailand, Thai into Laos, Laos into China, Tibet into Nepal, Nepal into India...
From India I could possibly catch a flight to Egypt, find a way into Morocco (though doing this by land looks highly inconvenient, and a little dangerous for a solo female traveler), and perhaps make visit England before I fly back to Aus....
An ever-present (and undersireable option) is to find some kind of employment somewhere. If you already know me you may have some idea of my attitudes towards 'adjusting myself' to a workplace... I may have mentioned something like "inevitable creative death" or some other terms... And while I'm always eager to re-examine my biases, it's precisely because I try to keep an open mind that I find most of them really hostile environments...
I have to admit that as a younger person who tries to help a lot of ppl who are older than me I'm often not sure how to address issues of employment - I mean some ppl have been working almost their entire lives, and most ppl do have to do that - though it'll be a very long time before I buy the phrase "That's the reality of it" - go tell someone who believes in an objective reality, is all I have to say to that! ;o)
However I will need to consider all my options, because staying in Asia whilst I do the work I *want* to be doing is to a large extent dependent on my parents. While I feel they will reluctantly agree to support me (I've been very insistent in representing how agitated they make me feel, and I think I may have actually partially gotten through), they may not be comfortable with the length of time I want to stay overseas - 12 months or more.
They're likely to think that Asia is full of "hidden dangers" (and how is any other place any different, I ask?)... Personally I can't wait to adapt to the environment and experience the cultures around me, including all those potential dangers lurking in the periphery of my ming. I also *do* know how to take care of myself, twenty years old or not - I seem to have no problems making friends and I'm learning how to do things such as laundry, washing up, and generally doing all the things that my parents used to do for me... And I definitely know how to take care of myself on a mental and emotional level! :oD
My parents officially have no idea that I'm planning this trip, but somehow I don't think they'll be too surprised... Or, at least if they are I'll know exactly how much they are in denial over our family dynamics, ho hum.
Very soon, I will have nothing to regret... but right now I regret letting those ppl agitate me the way I have let them, over the last year or so... it hasn't been worth it, even as a way to make myself ultra-motivated to get outta this apartment building. However, it's only a relatively small time of my life that has been 'sacrificed for the greater good', and lo and behold- in three days I shall be free ~
Onto Potential Travel Plan #2 ~
This trip is more in tune with the weather in Asia atm -
Hong Kong - Guangzhou - Shanghai - Beijing (- Dalian (- Harbin?) ) - Xian - Longshan - Lhasa - Nepal - India - Nepal - Tibet - Kunming - Laos - Thailand - Cambodia - Vietnam...
Where to from Vietnam? I have the option of going back to Thailand and going down into Malaysia, and then making my way home via Indonesia and/or Papua New Guinea.
I can't wait to meditate upon how I might change by the time I come back... if I ever should! :o)
I've been sold on my trip to Asia for over a month... I've been glancing between different images of the continent, visually weaving a trail from place to place, constructing detailed itineraries which have sometimes focussed on the length or stay in each nation, the scenic potential of each route or perhaps the convenience in getting around...
I've visited the Asian continent three times before, though the first two were very brief stays of less than a day each, featuring Bangkok and Singapore. I enjoyed both places for different reasons, and would love to see them again.
My most recent trip involved a three week stay in Shanghai, which I found both calming and exhilerating at the same time... I'll be able to delve into my experiences in all three of these places (and some of my other travels) as I go along... I can't wait to kick off my trip in China!
Due to some extraordinary good luck, I've recently made a very good friend who just happens to be in Hong Kong right now... I'm excited at the prospect of being introduced to the city by a pomo-friendly person, and though I wasn't originally planning to spend more than a week over there I'll probably spend most of July in the area - ppl are by far the most interesting attracions! :o)
Where to from Hong Kong?
A few questions that might be cleared up by the end of tomorrow (by the end of which I should've alerted my parents to my plans) include...
How long will I be able to travel?
How do I think I will best be able to make use of seasons over my time in the area?
Do I intend to travel into Europe or Africa (and will I have the means, as this will probably include flying)?
Currently I am considering two routes:
The first was my original conception - Moving west from China into Vietnam, Vietnam into Cambodia, Camb into Thailand, Thai into Laos, Laos into China, Tibet into Nepal, Nepal into India...
From India I could possibly catch a flight to Egypt, find a way into Morocco (though doing this by land looks highly inconvenient, and a little dangerous for a solo female traveler), and perhaps make visit England before I fly back to Aus....
An ever-present (and undersireable option) is to find some kind of employment somewhere. If you already know me you may have some idea of my attitudes towards 'adjusting myself' to a workplace... I may have mentioned something like "inevitable creative death" or some other terms... And while I'm always eager to re-examine my biases, it's precisely because I try to keep an open mind that I find most of them really hostile environments...
I have to admit that as a younger person who tries to help a lot of ppl who are older than me I'm often not sure how to address issues of employment - I mean some ppl have been working almost their entire lives, and most ppl do have to do that - though it'll be a very long time before I buy the phrase "That's the reality of it" - go tell someone who believes in an objective reality, is all I have to say to that! ;o)
However I will need to consider all my options, because staying in Asia whilst I do the work I *want* to be doing is to a large extent dependent on my parents. While I feel they will reluctantly agree to support me (I've been very insistent in representing how agitated they make me feel, and I think I may have actually partially gotten through), they may not be comfortable with the length of time I want to stay overseas - 12 months or more.
They're likely to think that Asia is full of "hidden dangers" (and how is any other place any different, I ask?)... Personally I can't wait to adapt to the environment and experience the cultures around me, including all those potential dangers lurking in the periphery of my ming. I also *do* know how to take care of myself, twenty years old or not - I seem to have no problems making friends and I'm learning how to do things such as laundry, washing up, and generally doing all the things that my parents used to do for me... And I definitely know how to take care of myself on a mental and emotional level! :oD
My parents officially have no idea that I'm planning this trip, but somehow I don't think they'll be too surprised... Or, at least if they are I'll know exactly how much they are in denial over our family dynamics, ho hum.
Very soon, I will have nothing to regret... but right now I regret letting those ppl agitate me the way I have let them, over the last year or so... it hasn't been worth it, even as a way to make myself ultra-motivated to get outta this apartment building. However, it's only a relatively small time of my life that has been 'sacrificed for the greater good', and lo and behold- in three days I shall be free ~
Onto Potential Travel Plan #2 ~
This trip is more in tune with the weather in Asia atm -
Hong Kong - Guangzhou - Shanghai - Beijing (- Dalian (- Harbin?) ) - Xian - Longshan - Lhasa - Nepal - India - Nepal - Tibet - Kunming - Laos - Thailand - Cambodia - Vietnam...
Where to from Vietnam? I have the option of going back to Thailand and going down into Malaysia, and then making my way home via Indonesia and/or Papua New Guinea.
I can't wait to meditate upon how I might change by the time I come back... if I ever should! :o)