How can I begin to reflect on the past three months? There were so many journeys. There was the physical journey of traversing the globe from East to West and stopping in five unique countries along the way. There was the cultural journey of sampling the local customs, languages and flavors, and getting just a sense of the continuity of humanity as one culture blended into another. There were the individual inner journeys. And there was the journey of the dynamic and amazing relationship that Johanna and I share.
It is interesting now to reflect back and try to recall the feelings I had upon setting out. There was the excitement of new adventures and the fear of the unknown. I remember asking myself many times, “can we actually pull this off?” There were the hours spent honing our packing list in order to fit all of the possessions we would need into carry-on size backpacks. There were the days spent at coffee shops researching the countries we would visit. Perhaps as an interesting twist of fate, and a metaphor for the spontaneity of our trip, we spent the most time researching a country that in the end we did not visit.
We saw and did so much, that at the moment it is a bit of a blur. If I stop and reflect, images of places come back. It feels as though we spent three months living experiences, each of which was a destination or a vacation in and of itself. As I look back, what really strikes me is the variability of the passing of time. I remember sitting on the rocks outside our hotel in Koh Tao feeling almost intimidated at the amount of traveling that lay before us. Indeed, for me, those first three weeks in Thailand seemed to pass very slowly. We were just getting warmed up, and in many ways, Thailand was an ideal warm up. Thai culture is a shockingly different culture than our own and is rich with sights, sounds and smells. Yet, Thailand is remarkably easy to travel through.
In hindsight, I am increasingly thankful for Thailand, as it provided a more gentle transition than had we flown directly to Nepal from the United States. Nepal ended up being the crux of our journey.
I have a tremendous respect for Nepal, and for the Nepalese. They are such hard working people. There are the men and women that walk miles with building supplies or cages full of chickens with only the power of their bodies for transportation and a crude head strap to secure the load. There are the women whose chores of maintaining house and home never seem to end. There are the waiters and tea house workers who literally work the same long hours day in and day out. You do not see Nepalese laying around and relaxing. The harshness of the conditions for most of the population in Nepal will not allow it.
One thing that particularly impressed us was the resourcefulness of the high mountain village people. These communities seem to subsist entirely on their own ingenuity and in cooperation with the other nearby villages. Should a worldwide catastrophe ever threaten the existence of those of us in the “civilized world”, I would imagine the people of the high country in Nepal will go right on existing while we scramble to figure out how to survive in a world without internet.
We arrived in Nepal with so much excitement and anticipation. We had no idea the extent of the physical and emotional challenges that awaited us. We scratched the itch. We experienced mountain vistas of which we had only before dreamt. As is often the case, realizing one’s dreams does not come without a cost, and in the end, the trials of our time in Nepal helped to set the stage for the magical experiences of traveling through the Middle East.
I would say that it was in Turkey that we really hit our traveling stride. Part of the credit for this lies in the fact that Turks are incredibly welcoming and helpful people, and Turkey has a fabulous tourist infrastructure. I believe another explanation is that having survived Nepal and arrived safely and healthily in Turkey, we felt like battle hardened travelers. We basked in the modernity of present day Turkey. We were awed by the cleanliness of restaurants, bathrooms and streets. We fell in love with the bus system. There is so much to see in Turkey and after three weeks, we barely scraped the surface. We both agree that of all of the countries we have visited, Turkey is by far our favorite and we look forward to returning.
It was with more than a touch of angst that we departed Turkey for Israel. As we would learn, there were threats that the third Palestinian Intifada would kick off the day prior to our arrival. Our fears, as they often are, proved unsubstantiated. All around us people carried on with their day to day lives and for the ten days that we were in Israel and Jordan, we felt as safe or more-so than at any other time during our trip. This is not to deny that there are real problems that face this region and its people. People do not live in denial. One young Israeli that we met seemed to put the paradox into perspective as he said, “I’m glad you’ve enjoyed your visit to our beautiful, f’d up corner of the world.” The darkness and chaos are surely present. Yet, they are not dominant as it would be easy to assume if one were to rely soley on network news as a means of learning about the world.
I will forever be thankful that we trusted our hearts, put our fears in perspective, and travelled to the Middle East. The beautiful people, vibrant cultures and rich history, in concert together, provided an absolutely magnificent travel experience. I hope that I will never forget the feeling of our time in Jerusalem. Historically, spiritually, and culturally, I do not know of a more dynamic and exciting place to be. It was the perfect location for the culmination of our international adventure.
Of the sixteen or so flights that we had pre-booked, I believe we ended up on two or three of them. Indeed, this trip has been constantly evolving as it has progressed. Keeping with that spirit, we called another audible and from Israel we headed home to Ohio to surprise Johanna’s parents. This was one of our better decisions, as we found the time to relax with family to be a true blessing. However sleep and family time were not the only gifts of our time in AK-Rowdy (Akron). Serendipitously, our family has added another member….a beautiful eleven month old Golden Retriever / Irish Setter mix named Henry. He has been in the Paulett family since soon after birth, however due to extenuating circumstances he has yet to find a permanent home. I say this was serendipity as we had for some time been researching where and how we would add a puppy to our lives. However, we did not expect to find our new buddy on this trip.
It seems that so often in life, when things are meant to be, there is a sense of being pulled rather than having to push through. So much or our entire trip has had this feel. We were already very happy with our decision to return just a bit early to Ohio. With the entry of Henry into our lives, we feel once again awed by the abundant nature of the Universe. Graciously, Johanna’s folks agreed to look after Henry for the next few weeks while we dog-proof our home and arrange transportation to get him to Oregon.
However, before getting our home in Portland Henry-ready, we had one more stop on our itinerary. We headed south to Islamorada, Florida for the wedding of our dear friends Alexis and Aaron. Relaxing, inspiring and absolutely magical, our time in the Florida Keys provided the icing on the cake to our amazing journey.
So, how do I begin to bring my recounting of our travels to a close? These past three months have been a dream-come-true. In the interest of brevity I will say this: The opportunity to travel around this big beautiful planet is truly a gift; yet to be able to go around the world with a soul mate is an absolute blessing for which we will be forever grateful. Cheers to making all of your dreams come true!
