Riding Down King’s Highway

I’ll admit it; the main reason I wanted to take the long way from Madaba to Wadi Musa down the King’s Highway was because King’s Highway is one of my most favorite songs.  I’m pretty sure one has nothing to do with another, officially, but unofficially, they are linked in my mind.  This was a song I listened to quite frequently when daydreaming about the trip, long before I even knew there was a King’s Highway in Jordan or that I’d someday ride down it.

When the time gets right
I’m gonna pick you up
And take you far way from trouble my love
Under a big ol’ sky
Out in a field of green
There’s gotta be something left for us to believe

Oh, I await the day
Good fortune comes our way
And we ride down the Kings Highway

No you can’t hide out
In a six gun town
We wanna hold our heads up, but we gotta stay down
I don’t wanna end up
In a room all alone
Don’t wanna end up someone that I don’t even know

Lover, I await the day
Good fortune comes our way
And we ride down the Kings Highway

– King’s Highway, Tom Petty

You’ve got to roll with it.

Like days at home, there’s good and there’s bad on the road.  The pendulum can swing back and forth pretty quickly. I know that technically I am not allowed to complain about anything, on account of the not having to work thing, but it is what I do best.

Good: tracking lions on safari.  Obviously a great start to a day.

Good: looking at beautiful scenery in Blyde River Canyon.

Bad: adding a new category to our budget – shakedown fees – after a police officer kindly suggests that a small donation to his wallet would be a win-win for all involved instead of a more costly speeding ticket.

Bad: everything affordable in Graskop, where we planned to stay, is booked.

Good: there’s delicious pancakes in Graskop.   Very good. Very good, indeed.

Good: finding a spring stone sculpture in a local artist’s shop with resident kitties.

Bad: discovering, after it is too late and dark to bother finding another, that the hostel room recommended in our guidebook in the next town over is basically a glorified room in someone’s garage.

Just another day on the road.

6 months on the road!

Six months ago today, we left Pittsburgh to start this crazy journey.  Our travels took us briefly to New York City, then to 3 continents and 17 countries: Spain, France, Morocco, back to Spain, to Portugal, again back to Spain, to the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, South Africa, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, South Korea, and Japan.  It has been a wild and surreal 6 months.  Sometimes I have to remember to stop and take it all in.  By this point, we are used to the constant movement and being surrounded by sights, people, food, and language that are completely foreign.  The other day, I noticed myself just walking down the street in Fukuoka, Japan, like it was any city, in any country.  I had to stop and remind myself, holy crap, you’re in Japan!

Our plans for the next six months are mostly the same as our original plans, although we already cut out China because we just don’t have time.  We’ll be in Japan until October 27, when we fly to India.  We’ll then head to Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam).  We hope to finish up the trip in New Zealand, Australia, and possibly some island in the South Pacific.  There’s talk of taking the long way home by way of a cross-country road-trip once we hit American soil, but we’ll have to see.  There is a certain furry gray cat we’ll be eager to be reunited with and friends and family we miss.

Since I know you are starting to miss us as well, don’t forget you can track our progress here.  We’ve updated and improved the map since its creation.  In addition to showing our detailed itinerary by date and city, it also lists the places where we’ve stayed.  Starting with South Africa, I’ve started listing a brief review of each place we’ve stayed.  Finding a place to stay is a neverending task for us, so hopefully it will help someone in the future.

A while back, I promised a packing list and updates to how things have faired.  Since I procrastinated so long, you get two in one.  We’re thinking about ditching some more things before we leave Japan  since we will be in hot weather climates for about 4 months.  I will try to note those deletions.

Thanks for reading along!

On South Africa

At some point during my many ramblings, I may have mentioned that prior to going on this trip, I was more excited at the thought of travelling somewhere than to any place specific.  Perhaps because foreign travel had always seemed so out of reach to me in my life, I never dwelled on the details and just daydreamed about going somewhere.  Upon hearing about our trip, people would ask which country I was most excited about seeing.  Since all of them never seemed to appease the questioner, I usually selected South Africa.

It probably was the most accurate answer.  In college, I randomly took a class about South Africa because it was interdisciplinary and taught by two of my favorite professors.  It was about seven years after the fall of apartheid, and we studied the country from a political perspective and a literary perspective.  When I was done with the class, I thought, I want to visit South Africa someday. But it always seemed so far, so expensive, so foreign, so dangerous.  I didn’t really believe that I would go there.

My 21 year old self was practical and didn’t let myself dream so big.  Of course, my 21 year old self didn’t know my 31 year old self.

When it came to selecting countries to fill our crazy journey, South Africa was always on the list, even though I didn’t even know what there was to see besides Johannesburg and Cape Town.  My 31 year old self forgot much of what my 21 year old self soaked up 10 years ago in the class room.  All I could remember was that South Africa’s history is recent, tumultuous, and fascinating.  And that I wrote my paper for the class on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was a post-apartheid commission designed to grant amnesty and forgiveness in exchange for the truth.  As a young, idealistic pre-law student who was always on the lookout for justice, this was a concept I found strange but gratifying.

So, my jaded, cynical (yet strangely proactive) 31year old self started from scratch in re-educating myself about South Africa.  There is much to learn.  The country is huge – slightly less than twice the size of Texas.  We could have benefited from another week or better planning.  We didn’t allocate our month in the country accordingly.  We dawdled too long in the beginning, and didn’t really start mapping out distances until almost a week in.  The result was that we ended up hightailing it up the coast, skipping Durban, Sodwana Bay, and the Drakensburg Mountains just to make it to Kruger National Park in time for our reservations and our flight out of Johannesburg.

We were never bored in South Africa.  It has world class cities and cosmopolitan touches.  It has groups of people who still retain their traditional ways.  It has natural beauty – mountains, cliffs, canyons, oceans, beaches, flowers, and open spaces.  It has wildlife in their natural habitat, many of which we had never seen before outside of a zoo.  It has friendly, enthusiastic and vibrant people – always singing, always joking.  We saw many hard workers.  There may be many poor people, but we saw very little begging, just innovative methods to make money.  Just 16 years after the official end to apartheid, the country is still changing and working out the kinks.  The all too recent past is fascinating to learn about, especially in the context of the ever changing present.

One man we met from East London said he thought his country is unique.  I think he is probably right.  It is developed, but still developing.  It is unquestionably African, but unquestionably different than the rest of Africa.  There are tribal influences, and there are Dutch and British influences.  It has whites who consider themselves native Africans, with their own language.  It has people who are really, really rich, but it has people who are really, really poor.  My mind is always comparing and contrasting.  I don’t quite know what to compare South Africa with.  I think it stands on its own.  I am glad my 31 year old self got to travel there.

European Wrap-up, Rants and Raves

When we first arrived in Europe on March 31, it felt very much like a foreign land. We spent  many days alternating between a state of confusion and wonderment. We were only supposed to spend three months in Europe, but ended up staying just shy of four months. Some time during our four month stay – probably when we escaped back to Spain after having a tough time in Morocco after getting ill – we came to view Europe as more familiar than foreign, no matter what the country or the language. Sure, every country is unique, but every country we visited is fundamentally Western. Once we adjusted to travelling somewhere that we couldn’t speak the language – which admittedly is still difficult and frustrating at times – everything else fell into place.

We traded going to Europe for going to South America, which we’ll save for the future. Going to Europe definitely ate into our travel budget much, much more than if we had gone to South America, but it was worth it. We had never been to Europe before. The European countries have had and do have such a dominant influence on the rest of the world that it would be difficult for us to understand other countries and cultures without first experiencing Europe itself. We tried to minimize costs by going to countries that are rumored to be less expensive – Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, and Poland.   None of those countries were as cheap as we hoped, but costs are definitely lower than some European countries. We did slip in a few countries with higher costs – France, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, and Northern Ireland – but tried to counterbalance those costs in France and Germany by staying with friends and in Germany and Belgium by only staying a short time.  If you missed it, I posted about our average daily cost to travel through Europe yesterday.

Even with four months, we barely scratched the surface of Europe.  I know we will be back someday – I still need to eat my way through Italy after all.  As we move on to the rest of the world, I thought I’d close out our experiences by sharing our rants and raves about Europe:

Raves

• Canine freedom.  Dogs lead a much better life than in the United States.  They seldom are leashed and typically have the freedom to roam courtyards, restaurants, and beaches.
• Lax liquor laws.  Particularly because we live in Pennsylvania, one of the states with the strictest and asinine liquor laws (god forbid you buy a beer in a grocery store or drink outside in public!), we appreciated the freedom of Europeans to have a drink essentially whenever they want where ever they want.
• Plethora of bakeries.  Even outside of Paris, where they elevate baking to an art form, much to the delight of my sweet tooth, bakeries can be found on almost every street.  Besides providing constant dessert, the savory items, such as empanadas and the like, made for cheap eats.
• Free time.  While it endlessly confused as to why no one ever appeared to be working, Europeans’ love of sitting around in cafes and in parks, doing nothing, fit in well with our new hippie, jobless lifestyle.  Once we return to the States and re-join the “real world,” I need to remember to incorporate in more time to perfect the art of doing nothing.  I think it does wonders for the soul.
• Runaway trains. The ease of train travel in Europe is amazing.  Small towns, big cities, new countries: you can reach almost every place in Europe by train.  It is hard to suppress the urge to keep on rollin’ when it is as easy as going to the center of town and hopping on board.
• Urban love. Most European cities have compact city centers.  Life is centered in the middle, and radiates out from there.  There are no such thing as a true suburb in Europe.  There is just the city, the outskirts, and the country.  The cities are full of life.  This is most likely related to a corollary love:  ease of getting around.  Most European cities can be traversed by foot or by amazingly efficient public transit systems.  Transit for the masses in Europe is the polar opposite of the Pittsburgh Port Authority.  Most cities have subways or trams.  Even buses are better: most have digital read-outs at the bus stop indicating how long you’ll be waiting for the next bus.  Having a car in not necessary in many countries, and in fact, can even be a hindrance in many of the cities.
• Blurred edges of different cultures.  I love that crossing borders is as easy as crossing into different states.  Because each country has its own language, food, and customs, it never lost its luster to change countries.  Most jarring, and exciting, was the flights we took, which meant we switched from Spanish culture to Czech culture in the same day or, later, from Polish culture to Irish culture.   But just as interesting was travelling overland, where you could watch separate cultures swirl together, always retaining their own subtle differences.
• European green. Throughout Europe, we spotted solar energy, windmills, and recycling bins, which made my tree-hugger heart happy.
• No need for a DVR.  Though it is rare that I watch a commercial at home anymore due to the world’s greatest invention, you still can’t avoid them, such as during a live sporting event.  We met a German woman living in Portugal who just could not wrap her head around the number of commercials in the United States.  After watching television in Europe, I’m with her.  It is nice, however, to have an occasional commercial during a sporting event for a bathroom or snack break.  No need for one after practically every play, like American football, but I don’t have the undivided attention span required to watch European football!
• Beautiful things all around.  Between the architecture and green spaces, your eye always has somewhere to linger.
• Disappearing taxes.  If I had to pay as much tax as the Europeans do, I wouldn’t want to see it all broken down either.  Prices in Europe already comes with the tax included, which makes it easier to figure out how much damage you are doing to your wallet.
• No tip jars for performing your job. Tipping culture in the United States can get out of control at times.  Tip jars in Europe are a rare sight.  Waiters and waitresses are paid better than their U.S. counterparts, so tips in Europe are either nonexistent or drastically reduced.
• Living life outside. One of the worst things about working is shuffling between a dark, stuffy office and a dark, stuffy restaurant for lunch on a nice, sunny day.  There is never enough outdoor seating at home, but this is not a problem in Europe.  People live their lives outside: with open, screenless windows; at outdoor cafes and restaurants; in public squares and parks.
• Markets.  It is typically not hard to find farmers and artisanal vendors selling their wares in a market.
• No unnecessary 9.99s. The jig is up; we all know 9.99 is really basically $10.  The Europeans don’t try to fool us and just charge flat amounts.
• Casual breeziness.  Even in fancy Paris, women always looked so pulled together in a casual, understated way.  No sweatpants in public here.
• Appreciation of eating and drinking. I’ve alluded to this above, but Europeans in general have a sincere appreciation for food and drink.  My taste buds were happy there.

Rants:

• Smoky hazes.  Although some countries are getting on board with smoking bans in public buildings, the smoking habit in Europe is alive and well.
• Tiny drinks.  This was particularly Sean’s pet peeve.  The drinks in Europe are absurdly tiny, leaving us constantly thirsty.  We agree that supersizing is excessive, but how do they get away with charging 3 or 4 euros for a 6 oz. coke?
• Is this the Sahara desert or something? As a corollary to the rant above, contributing to our constant thirst was the fact that very, very few restaurants served tap water and insisted upon making you pay for fancy – and often tiny – bottled water.  My favorite is when we would be told that they flat out did not have tap water.  Right.  If we would get tap water, the chances of getting a refill was slim to none.  Related is the Europeans’ love of sparkling mineral water and my corresponding hatred of the same.  Sean still laughs at the memory of me uncouthly spitting out mineral water on the sidewalk on a 90 degree day when we couldn’t figure out, for the second bottle in a row, what meant still water in Hungarian.
• Lack of customer service.  Although our pocketbooks liked our love of tipping less, this all too often was accompanied by little desire to please the customer.  See note about no refills of water, above.  We quickly understood the cultural difference of needing to ask for the check, but never got used to being completely ignored once the food arrived.
• Sleeping like old people.  We probably had one queen bed the whole time we were there; otherwise it was two twins pushed together.  Although, I think Sean actually secretly liked having more room in a bed to himself.
• Runaway shower heads.  I cannot stand the hand-held shower head.  When there was a holder than worked, they weren’t that bad, just less water pressure than I’m used to.  The rest of the time, I never could figure out where you are supposed to set the shower head whenever you did anything else, such as wash your hair.  I’ve squirted many ceilings, walls, and my eyes when the shower head, ever so carefully laid in a resting place to soap up, suddenly surge with water.
• Confounded locks.  While the old-fashioned keys are cool to look at, use of them befuddled me 9 times out of 10.
• Lack of air conditioning.  I know that old buildings make retrofitting them for air prohibitively expensive, and excessive use of air is bad for the environment, but there is NO respite from heat in certain cities in the dead of summer – not even in the grocery store or restaurants, two notoriously freezing places at home.  When there is air, it is usually a room unit, extremely undersized, that chugs weakly in a huge space with open doors and windows.
• Tiny, tiny, tiny Speedos. Not an original rant, I know, but really – why?
• Subpar chiclet.  When I was an office drone, I chewed an excessive amount of gum.  I haven’t completely broken the habit, but the tiny, hard pieces of gum will likely help.  Where is the spearmint Orbit when you need it?
• Never having exact change, yet always having a ton of coins.  Without fail, every time we tried to pay for something in cash, the cashier would declare our tender to be too large and request exact change.  Nothing is ever good enough.  Once I tried to pay for a 19 euro bill with a 20 and was rebuffed and interrogated about the change in my possession.  Yet, because of the 1 and 2 euro coins, we were constantly weighed down.  On a related note, if I had a euro for every time the machines at places that purportedly accepted credit cards was mysteriously “broken,” I wouldn’t need to use credit cards at all.
• Paying crazy taxes as a tourist.  I know someone’s got to pay for all of the fabulous things in Europe, and you can sometimes get a refund on big-ticket purchases, but ouch!  No wonder they bury all of the taxes.
• Graffiti.  For some reason, many of the beautiful things in Europe are covered in ugly, messy graffiti.  It makes me sad such beautiful, historic items are ruined.
• 80s on steriods.  For the life of me, I cannot understand why anyone would wear those baggy, droopy pants that sag in the butt and crotch and taper at the ankles.  They didn’t look good on MC Hammer, and not even skinny European girls can pull them off now.  Please, for the love of God, tell me that these have not made an appearance in the United States.  Please.

So there you have it!  Traveling in Europe is a fabulous experience.  I can’t wait to go back someday, but it was great to move on after spending so much time there.  Stay tuned for posts about South Africa and Jordan in the weeks to come, then it is Asia time!