MID LIFE AT THE OASIS

We’ve been exploring the great city of Kyoto now for 4 days and were treated to a brilliant blue-sky sunny day yesterday after a few days of solid rain. June is the rainy season here, so I guess we’ve been lucky so far to have missed most of it. Well, mostly…

SCHOOL GIRLS GETTING THIER PHOTO TAKEN AT GINKAKU JI IN THE RAIN

We biked all over the city and explored temples, alleys, parks, shrines, gardens and rode along two river pathways checking out the Sunday scene of relaxation, Japanese style.

WHAT? WE CAN’T RIDE OUR BIKES INTO THE TEMPLE!?

Now the Japanese certainly seem to be a fun-loving people, but their relaxation tends to take two major forms: shopping and artistic pursuits. The shopping streets, malls, and districts are always packed with people; everywhere and all the time. It is a sport that makes American material pursuits look like the minor leagues. It’s like it’s December 23rd every day.

CHERYL AND HER SUN UMBRELLA ON THE RIVER PATH – KYOTO

The other thing you can’t help but notice is just how many people here in Kyoto are painting, playing music, or creating other art outdoors. No lying around in the sun drinking beer – the Japanese are clearly doers. Saxophone, drum, flute, and violin players along just one stretch of river, loads of painters, writers, and calligraphers too. Even the kids are DOING things on their time off. It’s a very hip city once you get behind the facade of shops and busy streets.

EVEN THE HOMELESS HAVE THE TYPICAL JAPANESE PRIDE

I’m still mesmerized by how unique a culture it is in the world and I don’t see any signs of drastic changes on the horizon as the national psyche is little influenced by outside forces. As someone aptly said online “Other places like China and India are changing fast, but in 50 or even 500 years, Japan will still be Japan”

STREET IN KYOTO IMPROVED BY NEIGHBORS PLANTS

As for our psyches, well, let’s just say that there is definitely a strange separation and growing feeling of anticipation growing as our return home is only 4 days away! Even if you haven’t travelled for an extended period before, you probably know the feeling from the end of a great 2-week vacation. The last few days are often kind of strange as your mind starts to adapt to the fact that it will be back in familiar territory again soon. Well, multiply that feeling by about 20 and you may get an idea of what I’m feeling now. It’s a strange combination of excitement and anxiety. What will it feel like to be back in the USA? We are already getting some of the US CNN feeds here in Japan on TV and it has reminded us how narrow the focus is of most of the media and dare I day, residents of the great country. Now it may sound like all this travel has made me down on the USA, but that’s not true. In fact I appreciate so many things about our country even more such as clean water and air, free speech, diversity, and most of all, the laid back non judgemental attitude of most Americans towards things they don’t understand. We really are quite an accepting group that has only recently lost our way again in the world. I’m more resolved on my return to speak my mind and stand up for what I believe in politics and the world.

We are also reflecting on our trip and in fact just figured out that in the past year we have visited 20 countries, 12 states, 124 cities and towns, and slept in 154 different beds. Yikes! Now again that may sound crazy and hectic and on one level it is. But the trip has actually been blissfully laid-back and relaxing. We’ve always been able to see what we want, stay longer in a place, and do what really interests us nearly every day. It’s been a job for year, but an extremely rewarding and enlightening one. The other amazing thing is that I can remember and recall every single place we have visited in order and tell you what the city, sights, people and bedroom looked like. Don’t ask me what I did the past 10 years at my desk job, since I can only remember the big things there…most is a blur. Clearly travel to new places taps a different part of your mind that is unused by other activities. So when people ask if the trip is mind expanding? Well, yes it clearly is.

So we are getting on a Shinkansen to Takayama now and this may be the last entry until I touch the sweet ground at SFO and hug a burrito at 16th and Mission.

Bon Voyage -R

So we got the bus to the border of the Czech republic It was COLD on the little mountain pass, but just above freezing as we got off the bus and walked down the street to the border. Unfortunately the little pedestrian entrance was closed (off season), so we had the indignity of approaching the auto lane entrance, which kind of felt like walking up to a drive thru window. I was in my sandals and was way under dressed as we had actually thought that morning while sitting at the bus station that we should stay on the Polish side of the border for 2 more nights, but then noticed the bus we were catching went all the way to the border. So we rethought the crossing as we knew the weather was supposed to get worse in a few days (and it did). Luckily, the border guys were pretty mellow as this is an EU-EU crossing with little action these days, but I did take the first opportunity to put on warmer clothes prior to our hike down to town. We then had a nice hike down into Harranchov, which is a very pleasant little mountain-ski resort town that seems to be about 25% German, as the border of Germany is only 10 miles away. (This is where Poland, Germany, and he Czech Republic meet if you want to get your maps out )

The first thing I realized in the Czech Republic was how close you are at all times to great beer. In fact as I was changing under a little awning, a woman opened the door and asked if we wanted anything (beer and vodka) from a little shack we though was closed. Beer is certainly easier to find than water, gas, or juice.

I’ll be honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of pilsners and have always thought that many highly touted European beers were overrated, including Pilsner Urquell. As my friends at home know, I am a loyal American microbrew fan, and generally prefer a good Pale Ale. Well, there is something amazing about the Czech beer (and the 60 or so breweries) that is hard to describe, but I think half of it comes down to ingredients, freshness, and volume, They drink a lot of beer here, about 60 liters per capita per year. That is a lot of beer. Well, in order to keep this quantity maintained on a national level, it appears to me that Czech society has developed the following adaptations.

1) Drink Early and Often – We have seen (many) people drinking half liters of beer at 9 a.m. and beer is a staple of lunch, dinner, and of course, beer drinking time (which is always).

2) Local Breweries – I have had about 10 different kinds of Czech beers here and they were all good and fresh. And some are so fresh that you just find yourself sliding glass after glass down without even a small burp. It really is wonderful stuff.

3) Border Collie Bartenders – I have run into 2 marginally neurotic bartenders serving beer in two very hardcore drinking restaurants-bars. One guy in Harranchov was the most dedicated beer artist that I have ever seen in my life, and may ever see.

He poured perfect Pilsner Urquell from 4 beautiful brass taps and twitched like a Border Collie as he watched the entire room drink their beer, just waiting for the next call to serve up another fresh half liter, since it took about 5-10 minutes to properly pour a beer. I had the luxury of siting in front of him at the bar as Cheryl was making phone calls down the street and it brought tears to my eyes. Here is a guy who really loves his work. I think they may have served other beverages in this little bar, but there was no sign of anything like wine, spirits, or even another type of beer. Pilsner Urquell (12 degrees I believe) A very slight angle on the glass, not the heavy tilt used by many lesser beer-tenders in the US to limit the head and pour faster. And he pauses in the middle of the beer as he often is working on pouring 3 or 4 beers at once. And when he is done, you get a perfect mug of beer with the perfect few inches of head rising just above the lip of the glass. Beautiful.

Olomouc is a big surprise and just a perfect little university town to explore for a few relaxing days as we prepare for Vienna and India a bit. It snowed on Friday which made the trees and foliage just glisten in the late fall sunlight. Prague was great too, as our neighborhood, Vinohrady, reminded us of San Francisco with more efficient transit. Wonderful buildings, parks, and wandering around a city that seems to be doing it right. We really dodged the crowds too, which always makes things more intimate and personal. And just to close the loop, we left Harrachov on a series of local trains that ended with the most crowded 4 hour train ride of my life, along with a track construction bus transfer in the middle. We took it in stride though which clearly shows our level of mellowness, and all I could think was that it was good preparation for India. The IPOD really helped here.

LITTLE VISITED STATUE IN PRAGUE CASTLE

So we’re off to Vienna on the train tomorrow and fly to India on Thursday. Luckily, Cheryl just caught a major planning glitch, as I thought I had read that you could get a tourist visa on arrival in India. Doohhh, not true! So we just printed out visa applications and it looks like it will be no problem getting visas in three days in Vienna. It would have been fun to get sent back from the airport or deported as their website states will happen if you land without a visa. Ooops…maybe its the beer…

Visas aside, I am getting a grasp on our next destination after 10 hours on the Internet this weekend. I have booked two overnight train tickets and a place to stay in Varanasi, which is where we are headed on Saturday night from Delhi. There is still only one problem, as I have tried to book 10 hotels-guesthouses in Delhi and they are all full, so we have no place to stay upon our midnight arrival. There are 2 dozen 4 and 5 star hotels (although most are booked) that want 400 dollars per night and up. It’s crazy as I think some event must be going on there. Of course, there are tons of places in the 10 to 25 dollar range, but each one I search on the web about comes up with horror stories. There are virtually no places to stay between 25 and 400 dollars a night which I guess sums up the imbalances in wealth in India quite well. I’m freaking out a bit about this, but I know it will work out. Worst case, we just take a trustworthy tout to a lousy place our first very short night and then find something better the next morning by walking around a bit. We thought about sleeping in the airport until a morning train, but it seems a shame not to at least spend a day or two experiencing the chaos of Delhi. Clearly things will be better once we are out of Delhi.

Wish us luck……but we ARE excited! And this is what it’s all about.

Now wait a second…..what the hell am I doing sitting in this Internet cafe on our last night in the Czech Republic? There is a place here in Olomouc, Czech that also has a crazy beer server, so we might just head back there tonight.

So much beer and so little time.

This is the Day! Well, oh my gosh, how time creeps up on you when you’re out living life on the Road!  As you can read in Cheryl’s blog, we had a fantastic trip biking over the Rockies and quite an experience on Amtrak.  I promise to write more comparisons and contrasts on Amtrak and the rail systems of the world that we experience in the next 10 months or so.

 The past few days have been intense as we are down to the wire; packing up EVERYTHING today and taking two final loads to the storage bin.  Throwing things in boxes and final packing decisions are what it all comes down to after 10 months of planning.  There is never enough time and there are always a few things you wish that you did or checked on, etc…  It’s a great feeling to finally be done with all the planning, packing, and logistics; which are not an easy task.  I fear I may have overpacked an item or two; but I can always send it back from Europe if needed.  Tickets…check, passports…check, money….check, and of course, Cheryl….Check.  (Biking in Colorado below) That’s all we really need.

 Every goodbye the past few weeks feels very final as we venture out into the unknown; although we know we’ll be back before we know it.  We will miss all our friends and this experience really makes us realize how many great friends we have here in the Bay Area.   As we have determined, there is no perfect time to plan a trip, so sometimes you just need to make a plan and stick with it and hope for the best.  Everything will be o.k..we will meet new people too, and we will even like some of them.

 Our bikes, one duffle, and a small carryon each is all ready to go and we head to the airport tonight.

 We’ll catch up in Geneva,

 Bon Voyage and Hello World

 -Rich

I must have some good Karma left, since the elusive Box “X” was right in front of the storage unit!  Of course, there are other things already in storage that we “might have liked to have access to” in the next year, but that’s that.  We’ll live with what we’ve got outside the steel box.  My advice to others trying to do this is to:

1. Label everything in your boxes (we did this)
2. Use tags to prioritize access to things (we did NOT do this)
3. Take photos of each archeological layer of your storage unit as you fill it up (Nope)

If you do tasks 2 and 3, then you can tag boxes and containers to stay near the front of your unit.  We just relied on the fact that the last bit of stuff we still have to pack is most of the stuff we may want shorter term access to.  The photos would really help if you absolutely need to get something out.  -R

All right, yesterday was the big day where we moved 95% of our stuff into a 10 x 15 foot storage unit with the help of “Starving Students”.  Well, I’m not sure that Miguel and Juan were students, but they were two extremely nice, hardworking Hispanic men and had a big truck.   It was hell, and way more work than you ever expect (as any move generally is, unless you get the professional complete move)  Over the past 4 days we have diligently sorted our stuff into 50 boxes that were going to storage and had both created separate containers for our “A” clothes that we might want in the near future, on our trip, or soon after we get back.  We also have a box for stuff definitely going RTW. 

We have kept our computer out, a mattress, some basic kitchen essentials, two lawn chairs, a folding camp table, and still have a smattering of  art on the walls and other odds and ends that will probably add up to two trips in a City CarShare Honda Element (which are amazingly good moving vehicles with the seats removed).

Our glamorous life for 5 days.

 The first issue was trying to park a 30-foot moving truck on a street that has 10-feet between 2 rows of parked cars, one of the narrowest in the city.  This was my first clue that Miguel was a bit of a drama queen, as he made thee situation seem somewhat unworkable.   But after some discussion with our neighbors with 3 cars and a bit of tree trimming (accidental), Miguel made it work.  So we started loading up and Cheryl headed off to work (she is doing a bit of short-term contract work at McKesson), as it seemed things were under control.  We had put stuff not to move in the closest, bathroom or labeled it “NO” if it was not to go.  Or so we thought.    After filling the truck and hearing Miguel state over and over, “Man, you got a lotta stuff”  and me responding “Yeah, but we used to have  a lot more”  I think he was amazed how much stuff came out of our little cottage.   After joining them in the truck (always fun being one of the crew) This of course was after Miguel portended more doom and gloom due to painting awnings blocking the entrance to the storage unit.  We got that resolved in about 15 minutes.     OUR SQUATTERS QUARTERS!

Then the major panic set in as we got to up to the storage unit. I forgot to tell him that we already had 20 boxes in there and that there is a big column in the middle!  We opened it and he immediately shook his head and said he didn’t think it would all fit!  Moments of panic, as we had already paid for the unit for a year, and we had no way to get some excess somewhere else.  Luckily, we scratched our heads and started to plot out how we could make this work.  This is where the bonding occurred as we both agreed that we could make it work with some careful planning.   It turns out, Miguel and I shared a gene for special arrangement and it turned into a 2-hour 3D tetris game.  By the way, the best way is to mix boxes and furniture as you go with boxes filling in above the strong furniture and vice-versa for the “light” furniture.  Then jam odds and ends (art work, skis, backpacks, lamps, etc) into the little gaps and high spaces on top, right up to the 8-foot chain mesh roof.   After 2 sweaty hours, things started to come together, and we had managed to fit almost everything into only 75% of the unit, leaving just enough room for the rest of our stuff later (incl. bikes).  No problem, and we both congratulated each other and I paid them (with a nice cash tip) and headed out onto the street with a great feeling of accomplishment (and a vow not to move again in at least 5 years, right!) So I got home, relaxed in our spartan cottage and was looking forward to a much needed shower and change of clothes…..but wait, where is the tall blue plastic storage container containing my “A” clothes?  Not in the bathroom, not in the closets, not downstairs in the basement?  Oh no…no frigin’ way…..yup….it went into storage…..I took photos of most of our rooms as we were prepping for the move (as a digital inventory) and I just looked now and there it is (see below on top of boxes).  I guess it didn’t get into the bathroom or closets prior to Juan starting to move things, as we were negotiating with neighbor to move their cars.   Bugger.

The transition has begun away from the cubicle (o.k. an office in my case, but cube sounds more like corporate enslavement).  Things look different and my interactions with people feel different.  I think I am becoming more patient.  I hope so.  One year off is a long time and I’m determined to make the most of it.

The past three weeks on the east coast were great.  As we flew in and out of Washington DC on free tickets, we had a bit of a drive up to New England, but no worries, we had the opportunity to stop at Gettysburg, which was interesting, but not a recommended destination on its own unless you REALLY like Civil War History. 

(Read: like to dress up in funny hats, brandish muskets, and reenact the battle monthly)  It was educational and thought provoking in that so many soldiers (57,000 in three days) died IN America; something that has not happened in any of the subsequent wars.    

We then headed up to my old alma mater, Lehigh University, which looked sharp and pristine, even more beautiful than I remembered; with a new fitness center, dining hall, and performing arts center, just to name a few improvements.  Wow, the kids have it good today; ‘cause back in my day we just lugged engineering textbooks up the steep hills of campus for a workout and ate in the plain old cafeteria.  (with no celebrity chef sponsorship)……it was rough I’m telling you..  One thing that that was very disappointing was the fact that they built a 4-story parking garage right behind the beautiful Alumni memorial building and right next to my old fraternity house (We were a mellow bunch of lads, so forget some of the stereotypes about frats, but not all…) The garage ruins the view from the building and forced the removal of some beautiful old trees. 

Enrolment is about the same as when I went in the 80’s, so why the sudden need for parking.  I think people are just getting lazier and more car dependent by the year,….but don’t get me started; you’ll hear enough about cars ruining the world in the next year of our travels, so no worries now.  I bet most kids still walk to classes and such, but I bet car ownership is still way up; people have so much freakin’ money, especially when considering the $40k/year tuition.

[read on]

So I’ve been asked many times recently “How do you decide where to go for a year?” It’s not easy to decide and our plan has evolved over the past 10 months. But here are some of our goals:

    1. Travel to places that we would never go in a “normal” two week vacation

    2. Visit places and cultures that are changing

    3. Meet and interact with locals as much as possible

    4. Relax and reflect on our lives

    5. Visit as many friends as possible

    6. Live like Anthony Bourdain (Be travelers, not tourists and try just about anything once)

So this is what we’ve come up with base on these criteria:

EASTERN EUROPE (~2 MONTHS)

It’s changing quickly (some areas faster than others) and has some stunning scenery and amazing history.  We fly into Sarajeveo, Bosnia and then plan on heading to the cost of Croatia and Montenegro (the world’s newest country!).  Sarajevo is a dynamic city where cultures interact and sometime collide (as we all know).  The Croatian coast is often described as “Italy in the 60’s”  Laid back, beautiful, and very friendly.  We then plan on heading North through Slovenia, Hungary, Ukraine, Poland and back to the Czech republic, ending in Vienna, where we fly out of to India> [read on]

Greetings Friends Old and New:

Sold the condo, gave notice at work, and now we’re getting ready for the trip of our lives. It was over 9 months ago that this idea was conceived, and I can’t believe that we’re actually getting so close. (twitch, twitch from excitement) I will always remember the morning of Sunday, August 21st, 2005, about 9 a.m. (while reading the travel section on yet more places we don’t have time to visit) my wife, Cheryl, tired of my bitchin’ and moanin’  about work, the lack of time, the condo association, the new neighbors upstairs, etc, etc…rather mildly suggests “Why don’t we just sell the place, quit our jobs, and travel for awhile…..” She then waited patiently for my customary cautious response such as “no way, we can’t do that now for x,y,z reasons….” After all, we’ve been working straight since we’ve been together (14 years, 9 married, all happy) Work, work , work like a good American. 

We were in deep, but there was still hope.  We owned a nice (pricey of course) condo in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of SF.  It took us nearly 10 years to buy a place we liked and could “afford”, but the huge mortgage, HOA, and just the worry about the place added a whole new level of complexity to our otherwise “simple” lives.  The marble countertops and stainless steel appliances just didn’t fit our soul.   We have lived a simple city life without a car and with many bikes for years, but we were convinced that perhaps the “yuppie” renovated Edwardian condo would change our happiness level.  Although we enjoyed living there, entertaining, and even fixing the place up, it didn’t really change our outlook on life.  

So stuff doesn’t really make you happy, it just complicates life.   It’s like the studies that have been done about lottery winners.  The overall happiness level of big lotto winners six months after they win is nearly the same as prior to winning.  We are happy now, so why get sucked into the “live to work and aquire more things” mentality.  Of course, this is not retirement (by any means), but it does feel like an important revelation relatively early in life.  We’ve had all the things we could want, except time to visit friends, family, and new places.

So suddenly after years of saving, living modestly, and trying to do our part to minimize our impact on the planet; we have the opportunity to trade in some “stuff” for some precious time.  People, experiences, and satisfying work can make you happy; but stuff is just stuff.  Goodbye stuff and goodbye condo.  Luckily, the market had gone up in the past few years which made selling easier, especially since my wife and I both feel the US is heading for a rough patch with debt, wars, and misguided leadership.  Did I mention the debt?  I feel that we are headed for a serious day of reckoning in the ol’ US of A with interest-only loans and a negative savings rate.

So for now, these are the easy steps we have followed to achieve some mid-life bliss….

STEP 1 – Downsize from 1900 sq ft. yuppatorium to 600 sq ft rental!  Half our stuff is gone (sold, donated, passed on to friends, etc) We haven’t looked back.  We are going to shed even more load prior to putting things into storage.

*********SOLD********

STEP 2 – quit jobs (Almost there)

So here we are in the middle of June with a few weeks to go until we quit our jobs!  It should be easy, right.  But there is so much to think about….health insurance, aging parents, moving our stuff into storage, finances, wrapping up at work, but most of all….how the hell do you plan for a one year trip?  The short answer is, of course, you can’t.  I’ve been digesting travel blogs, forums, websites, and now have a Lonely Planet collection that rivals the local library branch.  So what have we learned so far…..

1) Giving notice at work is sweet! But having to endure a few more months after that is a combination of bliss and sheer torture.  People will simultaneously get on your nerves when in the next moment all you can think is “This is totally meaningless, there is a whole world out there going on right now”   All you can think is about the ability to make everyday the adventure it should be without the constraints of a 40-hour work week. 

2) Read, read , read, and learn about the world.  Then go meet these people.  We have so many advantages living with prosperity in the U.S., but there are drawbacks and responsibilities.  We need to try to help those in need and make an effort to understand other cultures.  We are a nation of rednecks and I fear we are a nation that is simultaneously heading towards more cultural isolation and expanded cultural imperialism.  The real imperialism may be coming to an end soon.  (Too much debt, too many dead, and too much resentment building in the world) 

3) Some people just won’t get it.  We’ve had a few people (one parent) who think our whole approach to this is crazy.  Selling the condo was perhaps not the most financially prudent thing to do (but who knows if there is a real estate crash; I’ve met people recently who really believe that real estate CAN’T go down in value!  Read about Japan in the past 15 years, baby…99-year mortgages, and people immobilized by depreciated assets.)  Most people do get it and almost all say to a tee, “I wish I could do that”  Many of them can, but it will take a change in perspective.  And it’s not “easy” to do in the middle of your lives; otherwise, there would be lines a mile long at the airport.

STEP 3 – Travel wherever the winds blows!  (Visa permitting)

More on “the itinerary” in the next installment of MLATO.

Peace