Ari's Planet

My travels, or whatever I get around to writing about. Currently embarked on a round-the-world trip. I've written up some notes about my preparations: itinerary, equipment list and selection, medical preparations. My trip started with an abbreviated tour of the US to see family and friends. So far, I have been to Japan, Mongolia, China, Nepal, India, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. See my photographs, which I upload as computing facilities, talent, luck, and time permit. Sometimes I also write, with varying and limited success, about my experiences.

People ask me how long I will spend at this. I am not really sure. At first it was going to be 3 months, then I said what the heck, make it a year and go around the world. When I tallied up all the countries and weeks it ended up being 14 months. I do not want to rush and there are many things to see. Maybe I will spend a few extra months in India exploring Ladakh next summer or learning Yoga at the source, or stay for a few months in Israel, or take longer in some countries. I've already blown most of the setup cash on my gear and getting out here, so now it's just basic living expenses. In developing countries I can live pretty well at $10/day for a room, another $10/day for food, and add $10 for general expenses, it comes to around $1000/month. This is not a budget, but it seems like what I've been spending since Mongolia, give or take. Sometimes I spend less (cheaper rooms, cheaper food), sometimes more (shipping to/from the US, gifts, flights). I have not been watching every penny, just going with the flow.

My favorite travel book, one of my favorite books, is Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. Some excerpts are here. Read of Zobeide and of Ersilia. Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces is my other favorite other travel book, though it technically is about mythology and the sections on psychoanalysis are dated. When I travel, I will not see what I observe. Perhaps I will stumble across some forlorn city, longing for its people, the earth calling back its children.