An Ode to Life on the Road

I have now been wandering across our planet for almost 6 months and life on the road now feels more like home than my actual home. It's become a comfortable routine where the only constant is change. I have lost all sense of the day of the week because it no longer makes any difference whether it is Wednesday or Saturday to me. It seems like a good time to reflect back on some of the experiences that go on behind the scenes of my journey. There is so much to write about when everyday is some sort of new adventure that a lot of the details slip through the cracks because I don't have the space to mention them.

My Backpack

There is something so satisfying about being able to carry your entire life around on your back. I love the simplicity and freedom of having everything I need to survive fit in one red bag, but as with anything there is another side to the equation. With long term travel it is a constant battle to prevent the size of your bag from growing. This means no souvenirs and always searching for the elusive perfect packing strategy.

?The travel questions?

For anyone who has spent some time on the backpacking circuit the below questions form the beginnings of most of your conversations when meeting fellow travelers:

1. Where are you from? (Followed by, is it cold in Canada?)
2. How long have you been traveling?
3. Where have you been?
4. Where are you going next?
5. What is your job?

These questions are a necessary evil, but answering them over and over gets tiresome which is why I was caught completely off guard by my friend James' question recently. It is the most brilliant travel question I have ever been asked. The answer is easy to give, it is just a number, but this one number reveals something of your personality and leads to copious discussion and laughter. In James' years of posing the question to people of all ages and nationalities he has had answers range from 2 to 23. The Engineer in me immediately wanted to begin doing statistical analysis on the results by age, gender and nationality, but James thought that would be taking things a little too far. The question is simply this, "How many pairs of underwear are you traveling with?" In case your mind has immediately leaped to the next logical level of curiosity my number is three.

Laundry

Keeping your clothes clean while constantly being on the move can become a bit of a logistical nightmare. Traveling is dirty and with limited wardrobe choices many mornings the choice of what to wear is made not by what is clean, but instead by which article of clothing is the least dirty. Finding a place to do proper laundry isn't always an option which means buckling down and doing it the old fashioned way, by hand. I have washed my clothes in sinks, bathtubs, showers, buckets and at the local village tap. I have used everything from shampoo and body wash to bars of soap to laundry detergent as a means of cleaning. I am at the point now where my clothes are so ingrained with dirt that I can wash and rinse them 3 times and the water still comes out dirty. At the last major city we stopped in my laundry situation was so dire that I literally washed the clothes I was wearing and put them back on while they were still wet. On the plus side though there is no greater feeling than pulling on a clean shirt and inhaling the amazing odor of soap. It is a fleeting moment, but it always brings a little bit more happiness to your day.

The Rollercoaster

Traveling can be a crazy experience which means the things that happen to you, both the positive and negative, are amplified. When you find yourself in an amazing location or have some interesting encounter with another person you often feel overwhelmingly happy. It is an intense high and for me the telltale sign is when I find myself smiling to myself even if no one else is around. It is elusive and you can't force it, but those moments are what makes travel addictive.

With those highs though you also have to take the lows that can be crushing at times. The worst for me is saying goodbye. Due to the nature of travel the friendships you make on the road are formed quickly and because you typically spend a lot of time together in abnormal situations you can get to know someone on a very personal level in a very short time. It is inevitable that at some point you will have to part ways with that person and saying goodbye is a gut wrenching horrible experience that can leave you with feeling down for a few days. You have to take solace in the fact that if you are lucky maybe some day your travel paths will cross again.

Living out of a backpack may not be for everyone, but for me it has been one of the best decisions I have made and I can't wait to see what is waiting for me a little further down the road...