Today I left the United States, with it’s vast diversity in cultures and nature. A continent in which everything can be found from native Indian tribal life to the vibrant hectic rush in the cities like New York and San Francisco. The US made it possible for me to do my cross continental trip on a motorbike and I am very grateful for that. But more that riding along the Route 66 it gave me so many new friends, that it is quite hard to say good bye.
Thank you, United States!
It starts with a plane.
Every adventure on my trip started with a plane. The routine of checking in and wandering around alone on the airport makes me feel like a lonesome wolverine looking for his partner. Reading a book in the corner on the floor and watching people chatting, waiting, looking forward to reaching the destination they chose to go. Usually I fly in shorts, flip flops, my hat and no hand luggage. All I need for enduring a flight up to 15 hours can be stored in my pockets easily. Two books ( a travel guide and the assault on reason), some napkins, my passport, ATM and credit card and mp3 player. The only disadvantage is that it takes me minutes to reassemble myself after security screening. I had a nightly 10 hours stopover in Florida. So I slept on a park bench at the Fort Lauderdale Airport using the books as a pillow, the hat as a blindfold and getting protected by the police, which had it’s standby spot right next to me.
Thinking back on the stories that I found so far on my trip makes me melancholic. Someone asked me once if it’s not boring to go alone on vacation for so long. I think it would be boring if it actually was vacation, but the truth is that the fundamental difference between travel and vacation is that travel is not always fun. Ups and downs mark my way around the world. The fact that nothing is fixed and nothing is organised seems like an expression of pure freedom. But at the same time there is no place to call your own. And the absolute lack of stability can get to you deeply. To overcome all these kinds of strange situations and to cope with challenges, that is travelling. And the outcome must be to be able to appreciate what you’ve got from life on a deeper level. And it all starts with a plane.
Where are you now?
Oh, by the way, I just arrived in Colombia. Imagine you arrive at Bogota airport and notice that you just looked up how to say “my name is” in Spanish. You are sure that at some point in time you learned this nice language for 3 semesters, but your brain doesn’t care about that fact at all! The immigration officer asks you if you speak Spanish…in Spanish “no” is your answer but your counterpart tells you all the important immigration information in the same language. 5 minutes later you are on the street. Once again in a country where you are practically deaf, numb and illiterate. As you climb into a taxi and play charade with the driver to get downtown, you realise: Next destination: SPANISH COURSE!!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Hitchhiking and other bad habits
On the road again
Since nearly one month I travel with a friend I met in New York. We went to Boston and Martha’s Vinyard together and had an incredible time! His name is Mike too. And he is 26 and American. After leaving the little island of Matha’s Vinyard we decided to go on a hitchhiking trip up north to Quebec. We camped in the wild as the campgrounds cost up to $40 per person and night. We made our way through Cape Cod to Portland, where we tried to find a nice place to camp next to the freeway. As we walk towards a bunch of trees we hear a voice. “Stop, where are you going?” We turn around and see a homeless guy sitting under a tree. “This place is occupied! GO AWAY!” Then we realise that we stepped into the territory of a bunch of homeless people. So we decided to get away from there and find an unoccupied tree for ourselves.
Some funny facts about hitchhiking in the United States
When you hitch at a traffic light your mind starts to play tricks on you. After one hour all cars that stop in front of the traffic light seem to move backwards.
It is a myth that you get a ride easier, when it is raining. In fact we’ve been waiting in the rain for over 3 hours in a little town called Bingham. People don’t feel mercy for you, they are afraid that their car might get wet.
The more expensive a car, the more room inside a car, the less likely it is that you get picked up by it’s driver.
Blame Canada, Blame Canada
On our way north on the 201 in direction of Quebec we got a ride from a young guy to the Boarder. By the time we reached the boarder to Canada it was about 7 pm. The Canadian Customs started to search through our bags and the Immigration officer undertook the usual questionnaire. One hour later, as we started to wonder why everything was taking so long, we got told that Mike was not allowed to cross the boarder to Canada. Thunderstruck we asked for the reason and learned the following: Mike is not allowed in Canada because he was found sleeping drunk in his car with the keys in the ignition over 7 years ago. Under shock we get escorted back to the United States and get handed over to the US Customs. There we are at 8 in the evening with no food and no water 15 miles from the next town in the middle of nowhere. So we started walking with half an hour of daylight left. We tried to hitch but not a single car stopped for us. Not knowing what to do we decided to flag some cars down. “We have no food and no water and it is getting dark- we give you $10 if you bring us to the next town.” Here are some answers we got:
Rich couple from Quebec: ”No, sorry we don’t have enough time.”
Guy in a SUV: “Yes, I go to the next town, but on my own!”
Guy in another SUV: “I am sure you will find someone.”
Not believing what we just heard we had a decision to make. Being aware that there are moose and bears around we tried to find a sensible spot to camp. It should be a kind of clearing which animals would not access, somewhere a bit away from the wood. And then we found our camping spot for the 8th of July 2009. A graveyard in the woods. A small sign told us that dead children were buried here. As the sun went down everything seemed to be a little more frightening then before. The air temperature lowered fast as darkness encircled us. Strange noises from the woods completed the scenery, that could be out of a cheap horror movie.
That night we slept like dead.
The next day we kept on walking, trying to find somebody with a heart to pick us up. After 2 hours walking without food or water a car appears from a side road. “Would you take us to Jackman- we are stranded since yesterday.”- “I go fishing” he says. “Yes but we have no water and walk since two hours with 20 kg backpacks each.” “Yes, but I go fishing.” And away he drives.
Half an hour later a car pulls over for us: The US Boarder Patrol, gave us a ride to the next town.
Dirtbiking and Whitewater Rafting
After getting rejected by the Canadian Boarder we decided to spend a couple of days at West Forks, which is a wonderful place for camping, rafting and having fun. For the first time in my life I went Rafting and Dirtbiking.
Since nearly one month I travel with a friend I met in New York. We went to Boston and Martha’s Vinyard together and had an incredible time! His name is Mike too. And he is 26 and American. After leaving the little island of Matha’s Vinyard we decided to go on a hitchhiking trip up north to Quebec. We camped in the wild as the campgrounds cost up to $40 per person and night. We made our way through Cape Cod to Portland, where we tried to find a nice place to camp next to the freeway. As we walk towards a bunch of trees we hear a voice. “Stop, where are you going?” We turn around and see a homeless guy sitting under a tree. “This place is occupied! GO AWAY!” Then we realise that we stepped into the territory of a bunch of homeless people. So we decided to get away from there and find an unoccupied tree for ourselves.
Some funny facts about hitchhiking in the United States
When you hitch at a traffic light your mind starts to play tricks on you. After one hour all cars that stop in front of the traffic light seem to move backwards.
It is a myth that you get a ride easier, when it is raining. In fact we’ve been waiting in the rain for over 3 hours in a little town called Bingham. People don’t feel mercy for you, they are afraid that their car might get wet.
The more expensive a car, the more room inside a car, the less likely it is that you get picked up by it’s driver.
Blame Canada, Blame Canada
On our way north on the 201 in direction of Quebec we got a ride from a young guy to the Boarder. By the time we reached the boarder to Canada it was about 7 pm. The Canadian Customs started to search through our bags and the Immigration officer undertook the usual questionnaire. One hour later, as we started to wonder why everything was taking so long, we got told that Mike was not allowed to cross the boarder to Canada. Thunderstruck we asked for the reason and learned the following: Mike is not allowed in Canada because he was found sleeping drunk in his car with the keys in the ignition over 7 years ago. Under shock we get escorted back to the United States and get handed over to the US Customs. There we are at 8 in the evening with no food and no water 15 miles from the next town in the middle of nowhere. So we started walking with half an hour of daylight left. We tried to hitch but not a single car stopped for us. Not knowing what to do we decided to flag some cars down. “We have no food and no water and it is getting dark- we give you $10 if you bring us to the next town.” Here are some answers we got:
Rich couple from Quebec: ”No, sorry we don’t have enough time.”
Guy in a SUV: “Yes, I go to the next town, but on my own!”
Guy in another SUV: “I am sure you will find someone.”
Not believing what we just heard we had a decision to make. Being aware that there are moose and bears around we tried to find a sensible spot to camp. It should be a kind of clearing which animals would not access, somewhere a bit away from the wood. And then we found our camping spot for the 8th of July 2009. A graveyard in the woods. A small sign told us that dead children were buried here. As the sun went down everything seemed to be a little more frightening then before. The air temperature lowered fast as darkness encircled us. Strange noises from the woods completed the scenery, that could be out of a cheap horror movie.
That night we slept like dead.
The next day we kept on walking, trying to find somebody with a heart to pick us up. After 2 hours walking without food or water a car appears from a side road. “Would you take us to Jackman- we are stranded since yesterday.”- “I go fishing” he says. “Yes but we have no water and walk since two hours with 20 kg backpacks each.” “Yes, but I go fishing.” And away he drives.
Half an hour later a car pulls over for us: The US Boarder Patrol, gave us a ride to the next town.
Dirtbiking and Whitewater Rafting
After getting rejected by the Canadian Boarder we decided to spend a couple of days at West Forks, which is a wonderful place for camping, rafting and having fun. For the first time in my life I went Rafting and Dirtbiking.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
after New York
Business as usual on a rainy day in Harlem.
Living in hostels usually is quite fun. You meet many nice people from all over the world, who have the same goal as you- Explore the city and save money. Sometimes you face a rainy day and think, that this is a perfect day to relax and get away from all the hassle of doing tourist activities. So you sit on the porch have a nice conversation and watch a guy running down the road like a wild boar. “STOP, THE POLICE”- Five policemen run after him struggling with the pace. The facial expression of one of them says: “I hate that f...ing job!” Ten minutes later a police bus passes by with the guy in the back held down by two cops.
Business as usual on a rainy day in Harlem.
Martha’s Vinyard
This tiny island located south of Cape Cod is a true rich mans getaway. What to do if you are not a rich man is explained fast. You meet some awesome people who let you spend some nights in their place and have a good time with them. And after that?
Here is what happened, and this is no joke or imagination:
Sitting in a small gazebo at the pier of Vinyard Haven, hiding from the pouring rain not knowing where to go next. The hostel and the hotels on this island have prices that are just beyond the range of an average backpacker. You sit there for hours contemplating how nice it is to have a place on your own sometimes. Where you have privacy and don’t depend on anyone.
Out of the blue Morgan comes along. She is a woman in her thirties, asking where you come from and where you’ve been so far. Then she offers you to stay in her house. You agree.
The next day she gives you the keys to her house and tells you she will be gone for a couple of days. There you are in your own house on Martha’s Vinyard on the coast with ocean view and sunshine for a week. Sometimes things just happen and you don’t know why. Wishes and dreams do come true.
Stars and Stripes or the 4th of July
1984 by George Orwell is one of the few books that ever meant anything to me. As it is written in the year 1948 it is considered as a fiction book. It predicts how society will be like for future generations. For those of you, who didn’t read the book, read it! It describes how Big Brother is watching you. The speciality of this book is that although it is a fiction book you can actually take part in the plot and feel how it is to live the life of Winston Smith, while Big Brother is watching you. Where? Here, in the United States of America. It is ridiculous how everything described in the book is actually happening right here right now.
There is the invisible enemy on the outside of the country, which is always there and always a threat of life and death. In 1984 it is called Oceania. In US it is terrorism. It is a threat that is permanent and that can strike anytime anywhere. So be afraid of it, this way you are easier to govern.
Big Brother is watching you in 1984. There are no telescreens in the United States. But therefore you are under constant surveillance everywhere. Even your own neighbour can spy on you if he gets some supplies in so called “Spy Shops”. I’ve actually been to a Spy Shop in San Francisco. So your own neighbour could give you away in case you do something strange. So you should better not trust him or her. Be afraid and suspicious. This way you are easier to govern.
No free health care for the sake of keeping people afraid of ruining themselves in case of a major health problem. Being afraid makes you easier to govern.
No free education for the sake of keeping people from thinking for themselves. This way you are easier to govern.
Great great media, that keeps people brainwashed. Everything is there like in 1984: The interviews with veterans from war. The reports from the front. The display of the enemies. And all the rest. Look it up in the book- it is ridiculous!
There is an opposition to the government. In 1984 it is called the brotherhood. Here it’s either the republicans or the democrats. In reality it doesn’t really matter. Both of them are part of the system that is corrupted itself. You can join the opposition and believe in so called “conspiracy” theories. Then you are one of “those” people, who believe in these things. People have lost the ability to understand what a fact is. A fact is that 2 and 2 is 4 and not 5. But these days everything becomes a matter of believe. Meaning that you can believe in “2 and 2 equals 4”, but you don’t necessarily need to. Here are some more facts: It is a fact that the climate changes. It is a fact that the government of the U.S. messed with the laws of Geneva against torture for applying it in Guantanamo Bay. There is nothing to believe- it is there! This leads us right to the concept of Doublethink. My spell correction doesn’t even mark that word, which makes me think even more. Doublethink is the ability to believe in two contradictory facts at the same time. For example, to believe in the fact that you live in a democracy and believe the fact that Bush won the elections 8 years ago. There are hundred examples like these. But again: You can believe it but you don’t really need to. It is your choice.
Welcome to the year 1984.
Living in hostels usually is quite fun. You meet many nice people from all over the world, who have the same goal as you- Explore the city and save money. Sometimes you face a rainy day and think, that this is a perfect day to relax and get away from all the hassle of doing tourist activities. So you sit on the porch have a nice conversation and watch a guy running down the road like a wild boar. “STOP, THE POLICE”- Five policemen run after him struggling with the pace. The facial expression of one of them says: “I hate that f...ing job!” Ten minutes later a police bus passes by with the guy in the back held down by two cops.
Business as usual on a rainy day in Harlem.
Martha’s Vinyard
This tiny island located south of Cape Cod is a true rich mans getaway. What to do if you are not a rich man is explained fast. You meet some awesome people who let you spend some nights in their place and have a good time with them. And after that?
Here is what happened, and this is no joke or imagination:
Sitting in a small gazebo at the pier of Vinyard Haven, hiding from the pouring rain not knowing where to go next. The hostel and the hotels on this island have prices that are just beyond the range of an average backpacker. You sit there for hours contemplating how nice it is to have a place on your own sometimes. Where you have privacy and don’t depend on anyone.
Out of the blue Morgan comes along. She is a woman in her thirties, asking where you come from and where you’ve been so far. Then she offers you to stay in her house. You agree.
The next day she gives you the keys to her house and tells you she will be gone for a couple of days. There you are in your own house on Martha’s Vinyard on the coast with ocean view and sunshine for a week. Sometimes things just happen and you don’t know why. Wishes and dreams do come true.
Stars and Stripes or the 4th of July
1984 by George Orwell is one of the few books that ever meant anything to me. As it is written in the year 1948 it is considered as a fiction book. It predicts how society will be like for future generations. For those of you, who didn’t read the book, read it! It describes how Big Brother is watching you. The speciality of this book is that although it is a fiction book you can actually take part in the plot and feel how it is to live the life of Winston Smith, while Big Brother is watching you. Where? Here, in the United States of America. It is ridiculous how everything described in the book is actually happening right here right now.
There is the invisible enemy on the outside of the country, which is always there and always a threat of life and death. In 1984 it is called Oceania. In US it is terrorism. It is a threat that is permanent and that can strike anytime anywhere. So be afraid of it, this way you are easier to govern.
Big Brother is watching you in 1984. There are no telescreens in the United States. But therefore you are under constant surveillance everywhere. Even your own neighbour can spy on you if he gets some supplies in so called “Spy Shops”. I’ve actually been to a Spy Shop in San Francisco. So your own neighbour could give you away in case you do something strange. So you should better not trust him or her. Be afraid and suspicious. This way you are easier to govern.
No free health care for the sake of keeping people afraid of ruining themselves in case of a major health problem. Being afraid makes you easier to govern.
No free education for the sake of keeping people from thinking for themselves. This way you are easier to govern.
Great great media, that keeps people brainwashed. Everything is there like in 1984: The interviews with veterans from war. The reports from the front. The display of the enemies. And all the rest. Look it up in the book- it is ridiculous!
There is an opposition to the government. In 1984 it is called the brotherhood. Here it’s either the republicans or the democrats. In reality it doesn’t really matter. Both of them are part of the system that is corrupted itself. You can join the opposition and believe in so called “conspiracy” theories. Then you are one of “those” people, who believe in these things. People have lost the ability to understand what a fact is. A fact is that 2 and 2 is 4 and not 5. But these days everything becomes a matter of believe. Meaning that you can believe in “2 and 2 equals 4”, but you don’t necessarily need to. Here are some more facts: It is a fact that the climate changes. It is a fact that the government of the U.S. messed with the laws of Geneva against torture for applying it in Guantanamo Bay. There is nothing to believe- it is there! This leads us right to the concept of Doublethink. My spell correction doesn’t even mark that word, which makes me think even more. Doublethink is the ability to believe in two contradictory facts at the same time. For example, to believe in the fact that you live in a democracy and believe the fact that Bush won the elections 8 years ago. There are hundred examples like these. But again: You can believe it but you don’t really need to. It is your choice.
Welcome to the year 1984.
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