"What you see is not the truth..." Personal Page by knerten

is a very crude translation of a Korean proverb, as it was explained to me by a Korean colleague. He had taken me to a Korean restaurant and was explaining about the "hidden taste" in Korean food. It is only when you are able to see (taste) through the food and sense the "hidden taste" behind it that you will truly enjoy your meal and only then will the meal make you a happy person. I'm not sure I found the hidden taste, but I had my best Korean meal ever at that restaurant.

I think this proverb applies to so much more than just food. It applies to life itself. How often do judge by face value only? How often to we take things for what they seem to be? How often do we actually try to go behind and find the "hidden taste" in our lives, how much DO we care, about ourselves, about others, about our loved ones, our country, the world, our friends (VT for that matter)?? Do we really know the truth?

There is a sad connotation to the proverb in that we will never be able to see the truth anyhow. But...if we're not even trying we'll never have a chance at getting anywhere near it.

Don't travel (or live) just with your eyes. Use your heart and mind. See, taste...and maybe find...

Happy travels!!

Travelling is an eye-opener, indeed. It's a unique chance to see a foreign culture, an opportunity to meet and talk to people from a different world, a good way to have your own opinions challenged. I had mine challenged, for sure. Travelling and meeting different people creates a sense of unity, and sense of belonging, of no borders. To me it does. You're no longer alone. Political, cultural or economic divisions dissapear. We are all one people. Alright we may not all get 100% along, but we all share the same planet. The friends you meet and make while travelling are with you for the rest of your life, and without them the world is a poorer place.
So far in my halfway journey through life, I've spent a most of it in the Western hemisphere. I've been to most of Western Europe and Scandinavia, particularly Germany and Norway, which is where I grew up and where I live (in that order). Too bad it's only now, at mid life, that I have come to see the other side of the world.
Well, going back to the European sphere, I can truly say that the world will never be the same again. There's so much of it to be seen and I realised that I want to travel more and learn more about foreign lands, that's for sure.

When I went to NZ for 2 months in July and August 2004, I knew that I would be doing some some sort of online travel diary. Why I am glad to be on VT became clear to me when I found a huge rotating globe at the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch, NZ. Nothing special about it, besides the fact that I love maps and globuses and can spend endless time looking at maps for no apparent reason. I spent the early years of my career as a land surveyor, maybe that's why. Anyway, I couldn't stop looking at this globe while it slowly rotated and rotated and rotated...I suddenly realised that being on VT meant I would meet people from all over this globe, and actually having met 3 already as I write this made me very happy to have chosen VT and not some blog for my travel adventures. I'll try to do my best and live up to the VT spirit and any emails or questions are very welcome. Because I started building this page while being away from home, there's not much info on my hometown Molde or my home country Norway/Germany yet, but there will be one day. Be patient...