Travel musings. Yes, I´ve had a lot of time to think lately

I think, after so long travelling and just recounting my journey, it´s about time for some philosophical musings, if you will.

So it seems I´m anti-tour. I went on the 42 day Rio to Caracas tour two months ago with that mindset, and still appear to have it. Once you have a position it´s sometimes hard to change it. So why do I take this position?

Firstly, I guess, I´ve grown up with romantic ideas of what travelling really should be. Hitchhiking, roughing it on a very tight budget, stretching out of your comfort zone to make you quite a lot more tough and worldly in your outlook. But, because of it all, having great experiences and doing amazing things. Perhaps more like Motorcycle Diaries. Quite far from what I did, and far from the norm of travelling in this age. The world is much smaller now.

Touring is very padded, even on the cheapest and most basic ones like I did. Everingthing is pre-organised for you, so the sense of adventure is diminished. And you can do things for cheaper, but you would end up taking a lot longer going to the places you can on a tour because you´re more or less making it up as you go. Tours give you a lot more security (especially for a young, lonesome traveller as myself), but you can easily end up hangin´with all the whities, rather than adventuring out as much. However, that can happen anyway I suppose, at a hostel. But at least your not stuck with the same people if you don´t want to be or don´t like them. Then again, it´s up to you what you do, and I made some great friends on my tour. I found, though, that tours seem more based on going to the destinations, doing the best activities and quickly moving on. This can get tiring and old after a while.

And now, to step back further. Travel. What´s that all about. Seeing amazing new things, meeting new people, getting to know new cultures. Excellent times, and very addictive. Also, in these busy times, taking a break to recharge one´s batteries.

At the start of my tour I started reading Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracey Kidder (and highly recommend it). But it put me to shame. It is a real life account of a doctor called Paul Farmer who has devoted his life to curing patients in very poor countries, and trying to stop the inequalities that make countries like Haiti (his true home) so poor, when the US is so grossly wealthy. It made me resolve that future travel I want to do with more purpose. I like to have concrete reasons for going to places. These range from helping local people to going to Global Green congresses, to seeing family. So I guess on this current trip I´ve had the latter two purposes, among others.

But that leads into the fact that travel is very resource intensive by it´s nature. Carbon emissions are a big one, even if you do a lot of land based travel whilst at your destination. (Incidentally I looked into travelling by cargo ship, which produces far far less carbon emissions, from Canada to NZ on my way back, and it turns out it is much more expensive than flying, even though/because it takes like a month). Other things range from food-related waste if you eat out a lot, and room cleaning if you´re shifting hotels a lot. It depends how you travel. It´s also a very difficult balance to strike between helping local communities with your business, and ruining their local environment with your waste and travel, even if it is unintentional. It´s important to remember, especially as a New Zealander, that you have a magnificent backyard, and an excellent way to clense the soul is to use that backyard sustainably. It is far better for the environment, and get´s you closer in touch with what you loose out on living in the city (ie. go tramping!).

So, before this gets too long, I will sum up this mish-mash of thoughts. Not many people have the money to travel internationally, and there aren´t enough resources in this world to sustain the current style of travel. So if you´re lucky enough to do it, enjoy it as I am, but don´t forget the true cost, and be conscious of trying to travel as lightly as possible. Also learn from it, use it to develop your worldview. There are many other reasons to travel, other than just to see things and do activities, you just have to find them, and judge their merits for yourself.

I´m having a great time and learning about what developing nations are like. New Zealand is still very much my home, but maybe next time I travel I´ll be doing it very differently.

(The picture with this post was taken between Copacabana and Ipanema beaches in Rio de Janeiro. Although it looks like it´s raining in the background, it was a very sunny day. That´s smog).

When in Rio...

So I've been doing what one has to do when in Rio - and there's lots that fits that description. I visited Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer), or Turisto Redentor as it seemed to be today. He watches over Rio, and so I did too. (It was a nice day, but look at the haze. Bloody humans and their cars).
I've also partied in Lapa for two nights - Thursday and Friday. On Friday, after drinking on some plastic tables and chairs outside a couple bars, we went to a really good and old Samba club, with live music. I think it was the first in Rio, and the building atleast was build in 1867.

I also walked around the centre area of the city, Centro, on Saturday. It was very quiet. Most people must just work there, and then stay in their neighbourhoods at week ends, which is understandable. All the shops that you need are nearby, and all the (wealthier) neighbourhoods are very nice. Centro has old buildings dotted in with new. There's a new Cathedral I went inside of that looks like a starwars parliament building from the outside - not too pretty, but inside is very different. Very peaceful, and powerfull, with an extremely high roof and beautiful stained glass.

Above are steps near Lapa, which are paved with tiles from some old artist. One day he just decided that they were his project, and now they are filled with tiles from all over the world - including one of a Tui. He's a bit crazy, apparently, and every picture he personally draws features a pregnant black woman as the main focus. The steps are always a work in progress - he smashes some tiles and replaces them, though he seemed to be taking Saturday off.

Above are the arches of Lapa. They are an old aquaduct that now support the tramline that runs to Santa Teresa, which I visited on my first day (see earlier post).

After visiting Jesus and the neighbourhood below it today, I strolled along Copacabana beach and watched the sun set. A very romantic moment with myself.

Tomorrow I will probably visit the beach again more properly, as I haven't done so yet and it's my last day. I move to a hotel nearby to join the 42 day tour I'm doing, which takes me to Salvador on Tuesday.

They built this city on rock n' roads

Good evening all. Sorry it's been so long since my last post, but I was very busy getting ready to go to:


Yeah, that's right, I'm staying in Hollywood. For the night. And then heading on to Brazil tomorrow. I'm sorta on the hillside below the sign at someone's sweet house.

So it is that my big OE trip has commenced.

Prior to my departure, besides not blogging, I was very busy. Workin' full-time, living alone, and getting a lot of man-love (and a little woman-love too, but not so much) saying good bye to everyone - some people prematurely, meaning I said good bye to them several times over a couple of weeks. But that's all over now, and after some stressful packing I was on the plane all to Auckland, and there was nothing more I could do. (By the way, that guy from that band followed me from Wellington all the way to LA, but I can't remember what band. And I don't know that guy's name. I'm pretty sure they're well known around NZ and Australia though! Yeah, that's right.)

But then my worst nightmare struck. Fatigued, but in cramped stuffy conditions on the flight to LA, I decided to read some of my travel guide to both become more informed about Brazilian culture, and also to hopefully be put to sleep. Was I ever misguided in that belief. Just out of interest I decided to flick to the "do before you go" section - specifically the part about Visas. Much to my horror, it said NZers and Canadians (I have dual citizenship) both need Visas!?!?!? Noooooooooo! Because I didn't have one. And I still don't. Those lousy Lonely Planet liers gave me a severe case of in-flight panic, and for nothing. New Zealanders DON'T need a Visa for stays of up to 90 days in Brazil. So thank god, but never trust Lonely Planet. Ever. Even if the guide is up to date to only a few months ago as mine is. The End.

Disclaimer: Lonely Planet offers quality travel guides, with plenty of information in them. I'm sure they try to be as accurate as possible, but inevitably there will be some mistakes. Otherwise I wholeheartedly endorse the guides, unless something bad happens to me on my trip due to the information contained within the aforementioned guide book series. Then I will reconsider my position, and talk to my lawyer. (Jack, I'm counting on you).

The other scary moment was some severe turbulence in the middle of the night, which woke everyone up from their slumber, including "sob lady" who lived roughly two rows back from me and decided to sob and scream the whole time. But I wasn't even scared even.

And so I made it alive to the city of many wide streets - Los Angeles. Beneath the smog it was a beautiful day. After deciding American TV is just as crap as most of NZ TV (that is, because most of NZ TV is American TV), but manages to be crap over hundreds of channels, and after a snooze and a shower, I went for a walk to get me some American Eats, and see the Hollywood.


Above is the Capitol Records building in the evening sun, as I walked over a bunch of names in stars (though didn't really recognise any of them...

And that's the smoggy freeway that runs by Hollywood Boulevard, along with some tall smoggy buildings in the back.

I better sum up for now, but I am enjoying this free internet access - a luxury I will have to live without.

In conclusion, being in LA is like being in an American movie, without any action. And you can smell the air and taste the water, which you don't have to put up with in a Cinema in Wellington. And Fox News is just as unbearable yet strangely addictive.

PS If you still don't know about my trip, or have only just come accross this blog, please refer to this previous post.