The Traveling Duo

Dazed & Confused

This post should be about the crazy adventures we’ve just had, joining up with Sarah’s parents with a world-wind tour of the ancient civilizations of Egypt and the natural wonders of Kenya. It should be about the generosity of the world - whether from strangers on the bus who offer their hospitality or a dear friend of Sarah’s mothers who lavished us with gifts, love, and kindness.

We’ve spent the last two weeks holding on tight to an open-air jeep as we cruised past lions, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, and buffalo. We’ve cruised the Nile and walked the footsteps of ancient Egyptian royalty. We’ve had our problems: stolen camera, the most incompetent travel agency (Naggar travel), a guide who actually made us more clueless about history. But we’ve also had more laughs imaginable: Sarah’s Dad and Daniel as roomies, an accidental slip of the mind as the Yahtzee dice were dropped into the wine glass (let’s just say alcohol was hard to find so when it was available, we took advantage), Sarah becoming a two-time Yahtzee Cup champion, smoking sheesha out of our noses, watching as Sarah’s Dad freaked out on his first camel ride.

These last few weeks have been what traveling should be about. Learning about other cultures, politics, history; having fun; and spending time with people you love the most. But all we can think about right now is how much we miss the luxuries of home.

We’ve been on the road now for over five months. Being an independent traveler has its advantages: interacting with locals, paying local prices, freedom to travel where you want and when you want, but it can grind you down as well - both physically and emotionally. In order to survive this kind of life, you have to learn to live in the moment.

Before, we had become naturals at this. We could patiently wait during long transits, deflect and even occasionally befriend the touts, go to a city without any real plan and not stress. Now, we’ve been re-acquainted with the sumptuous comfort of the Western lifestyle, and the last few days have been the toughest on us yet. Our plan was to hang out on the beaches of Jordan for a few days to relax and readjust to the budget-life, but a last minute decision landed us in Jerusalem at 2:30 am.

Even though Israeli standards of living are much more on par with the US than say Burma, its been much harder to adjust. Cars drive incredibly fast, there are parking lots and burger joints and everyone looks sort of like us again (well, not Daniel). We spent the first few hours wandering around the city like lost souls and two days for us to finally get out of the hostel and really see the sites.

Fortunately, I think we are slowly adjusting back into the nomadic lifestyle.  After a refreshing float in the Dead Sea, we’re ready to test our traveler’s mettle in the most politically unstable region we’ve yet to encounter - the Palestinian territories.