tayloretc's VirtualTourist Home Page

Hello! I’m Taylor. I was born on Okinawa, raised in the US and Europe, and stopped counting how many times I’ve moved many years ago. A few weeks ago I moved back to Chennai, India after a few months in New England. I’ve neglected these pages for a while, but will get back to them over the next few weeks.

“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.”

I’m more of a transient resident than a traveler with a home base. Things you might guess from that:
• I prefer to travel solo and unstructured, but I have been on a few tours and understand that sometimes it’s necessary if you want to see and understand a place.
• I rarely travel first class, although it happens sometimes and I enjoy it when it does.
• I only plan trips in advance if it would be really stupid to not have planned.
• I don’t necessarily go to a place because there’s something there to be seen, but I won’t refuse to go to a tourist site just because everyone else has seen it. (This wasn’t always true.)
• I suffer from acute curiosity.

I wish I had done this.

There’s a proverb: “A man has as many souls as he knows languages.” I think that extends to “A man has as many souls as he knows cultures and ways of being in the world.” What better way to know another way of being in the world than to go be in it? For as long as it takes to sink in?

“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.”

I have a lot of Friday-Sunday jaunts in mind and two approximately two-week trips in planning stages: Nepal in May and Borneo in October. Both those longer trips will include trekking, and Borneo will include scuba diving, so both fall under the point above about it being stupid not to plan. Starting now, actually, with aerobics twice a day, scuba instruction (done!), and looking for things like leech socks.

None of these are planned, but all continue to be compelling directions:

• Mumbai, because… well, it’s Mumbai, and I haven’t been.
• The Hampi, Badami, Pattadakal, Aihole ruins circuit.
• Orissa, for temples and dance.
• A camel trek in Rajasthan.
• Thailand and Cambodia.
• Northeast India and Bangladesh.

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”

The first half of 2008 was all about upheaval – shifting flats in Chennai, a whirlwind driving tour of Tamil Nadu, moving back to the US. The second half of the year was quiet thanks to a lack of income, so the few adventures I did have arose from a desperate search for fun in Windham, NH, and a lucky break living on Cape Cod.

Between 2005 and 2008 I did a lot of traveling in India. Most was in the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and in Uttaranchal (Himalayas), with short visits to Agra and Delhi. Also during that time I wound up in Dubai, Germany, Sri Lanka several times, and Malaysia.

Before 2005 I traveled all over Europe, the northeast US, and British Colombia, but it’s mostly undocumented. (And it's better left that way.)

“Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.”

I actually want to go everywhere, but there are some specific reasons for the places marked green on my VT map. West to east:

Alaska – Nature, before drilling in the refuge wrecks it.
Nunavut, Canada – I have a small collection of Inuit sculpture, and I’d like to see the land that inspired them.
Madagascar – Lemurs. They travel sideways – ‘nough said.
Georgia – I saw the mountains and was left speechless. This speechlessness was undoubtedly sleep deprivation, but I’m determined to go.
Oman – The closest I’m ever going to get to what is left unspoiled on the Arabian Peninsula, which I’ve wanted to see since I read The Back Stallion when I was 8 years old.
Iran – I know people from Iran, and I’ve heard wonderful stories.
Pakistan – I know people in Pakistan, and I’ve seen spectacular pictures.
Australia – For all the creatures that looked at western categories and said f- that.
New Zealand – Not just because it looks like the most perfectly beautiful place on Earth – I also speak some Maori, and have to use it once in my life. (Why do I speak some Maori? The short answer is that I was learning Finnish, got to case #8 of 15, flung the book and spun the globe and Maori was as far away as I could get.)

Besides those, I want to spend years and years wandering through everywhere else.

“Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, remember more than I have seen.”

I’m never going to make pages for all the places I’ve been, or even all the places where I’ve spent substantial or meaningful time. I might add photos someday or tips if I think they might still be useful, but if a page says “to come,” well, it probably won’t. View the related photos or tips with my sincere good wishes that you find a more complete story somewhere else.

A lot of people have asked me for what-to-see advice about India, and not to be rude, but I’m not in the travel business and can’t say much more than what I’m putting in these pages. I’ve included links and references I’ve used myself here, and will add to that page as I come across anything useful. Requests for specific information will be ignored unless the request is entertaining.

As long as you’re planning a trip, check out PALS’ page and see whether you can bring his art somewhere new.

The text in these pages is purely my own take on things, not to be confused with anything for anyone to get upset about. The photos are my own unless otherwise indicated, and I’d appreciate if they didn’t show up elsewhere. If you want anything, drop me a line.

“It’s good to have an end to a journey,
but it’s the journey that matters in the end.”

Happy travels!