Open Parachutes

One tip I could give any traveler is to never hold any expectation of a destination.
Go somewhere prepared to indulge in whatever comes your way, never for an expected experience.

People talk about traveling to areas of Australia to experience the traditional aboriginal culture and have come back disappointed because of the indigenous violence and alcoholism.

My expectation of London shot me down, I wanted that "British" feeling which i thought would be awesome. in reality I found that the people were not very nice and Big Ben was not that big. Where as my lack of expectation towards La Paz, Bolivia, literally it was just going to be a stop over between Argentina and Peru, had me loving it because I had hopped off my bus with an open mind.

I first saw the quote in the picture above on a guy's t-shirt. We were sharing a ferry between islands in the Philippines while it was bucketing down rain around us and the boat was rocking so ferociously I forgot was stillness felt like. I landed in Manilla in the midst of a typhoon a year before the devastating Yolanda. Prior to leaving Australia I had been googleing images of my island destination, with excitement I had painted a picture of bright turquoise waters, white sandy beaches and some of the best scuba diving in the world. Mother nature brought me down to earth very quickly. the skies were cloudy, the seas were grey, the storm had washed broken coral all over the beaches and jelly fish swarmed all over the best dive sites.
What I hadn't been able to find out on Google images was how beautiful and accommodating the Philippine people were or how good Adobo Baboy tastes (the national dish of the Philippines, if not then it should be).

I had a similar earthly lesson in Ireland when I traveled across to the west coast to see the the Cliffs of Moher, I was looking forward to seeing something like this:

But instead I got this:

 

 

Go somewhere, indulge in the opportunities that are presented to you and avoid expecting a certain experience. Be content in building your experience as you go and you will find that when you leave, looking back memories will be fonder. I may have had shit luck at the cliffs, but that day I shared a hot meal and some Jameson with a lovely Irish man, and the next day he showed me around his family's farm.

Didn't expect that.

Of dreams

To all my fellow travellers and dreamers, explorers and adventurers. Those who have taken a deep look at the places and people who make up our world and those who have held planet earth in their hands. To those whose memories are filled with strange and magical journeys and whose hearts are heavy with foreign faces.

And especially those who are eager to open their minds to the beauty of travel.

I have one million and one stories from my time on this earth, as many others do, and I often struggle to find ears that have time to listen. Loved ones grow tired of adventurous tales, people from far away lands do not excite them and they do not dream of climbing mountains, exploring deserts on camel back or learning of other cultures as I regularly do.
Our common interests dissolved as I walked into the departure lounge awaiting my first international flight.

I need a space to share my stories, and maybe connect with others who have returned home and felt a similar way. Stories of kind strangers, life lessons, colourful celebrations, personal struggles, harsh confrontations with reality. Stories of treks through history, and foreign languages. Stories of loneliness and stories of friendship. Of border crossings and long bus trips. Of perspective and of food.

But mostly, of dreams. And how they come true.