8 months into my backpacking journey, I am going home for the second time (for a week) to take care of some business and rest up before heading for the final segment of the journey.
Back in March 2017, I bought a one-way ticket to Greece, started venturing in Eastern Europe, and spent the next 4 months traveling the rest of Europe mostly by buses and trains. After going home for a week in July, I had a short stay in Ethiopia before flying to Egypt to begin backpacking in the Middle East and Central / Southeast Asia. One week from now, I will be heading to Guatemala in Central America and will be traveling overland by bus to the rest of Central America (Honduras > Nicaragua > Costa Rica > Panama). Since there is no road between Central and South America (“Darien Gap”), I will most likely be flying from Panama to Colombia for the South America segment.
As a solo backpacker, I spend much time venturing on my own, but once in a while I have the opportunities to meet like-minded people. One thing I learned after being on the road is that not everyone understands what I do: Why am I taking the road less traveled? Why am I staying in hostel dorms and taking local buses when I have a bed to sleep in and a car to commute with back home? I came to realize that we all are in different stages of our lives and have different priorities – Travel might not seem relatable to everyone and that is totally understandable. That said, I am certainly grateful to have met people who found my images and writing relatable – Reading and learning about someone else’s experience was exactly how I got started. By documenting my travel, I can look back decades from now and remember my thoughts during specific time and places. I also hope that my images and writing can inspire others to take manageable risks, venture out, and see the world with their own eyes.
