Travel Tips

I grew up in a middle class family in suburban California. Compared with the majority of people on our planet, that makes me a priviledged person. Very priviledged. I have never been deprived of anything, never been hungry and rarely told that I cannot do something or be something I want to be.

I did grow up in a sheltered environment though. I never thought twice about the hardships ordinary people all over the world face face on on a daily basis because it simply was not part of my upbringing. To me, and many others, the outer world, beyond the boundaires of my country, seemed threatening and dangerous. I used to look at maps of the world as one might look at a map from some comic book fantasy world, hardly considering that real people, just like myself, lived there.

Travel has become a great educational tool in my understanding of the world. Little by little, the more I have seen and experienced life in distant places has taught me about my place in the world and my responsibility. Meeting people has become a cornerstone of my motivation to experience more.

Here are some locals I wish I met more often!! This was taken at the Imperial Hotel in Delhi in the grand ballroom, just following a wedding.

You know, I feel guilty walking around with my discman, jamming to music in 3rd world countries, but I can't help myself. I figure that it's one of the best ways to cope with stress and it brings me closer to the music. I can listen to songs at home and remember when I played them constantly on long bus rides or train trips and the like.

The funny thing is that in places like India, the discman makes me a special attraction. Not only for theives, but for young kids! I find that they invariably NEVER look at me in passing... they look at the discman! They approached me and would say: Where is it made? Is it MP3? How much do you want for it??

And funny enough, they love to be photographed with it. These kids are from Fort Cochin in Kerela, India. They were super impressed with the discman and gracious enough to let me take their picture (with the dog!) for myself.