A Month-long European Solo Backpacking Trip in The Planning...
The winter break at the LSE officially begins on the 10th of December, and with it my month-long required absence from London (my dorm building, unfortunately, would not accommodate its residents without extra fees for the duration of the break). Instead of paying extra to stay in a London without classes and assignments, a long-needed temporary exodus from the rainy metropolis is being "planned," or more in line with reality, itching to be enforced as a matter of purely spontaneous exploration of epic proportions.
Week-long solo backpacking trip for me is not anything new for me, but the ambition regarding the upcoming trip due to begin in days, even in my mind, tops all previous ventures by its sheer magnitude. The longest previous trip was mere 2 and a half weeks affair (San Diego to Fairbanks, Alaska by bus), and the most number of borders crossed was no more than 4 (A southern China bus/boat trip that also involved Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). But this one, with 4 continuous weeks of on-the-road action, will, at the last attempt to count precisely, involve no less than 22 countries across the European continent.
Here is a brief outline of the trip. Starting from London, bus to Brussels, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm (week #1). Then, ferry to Helsinki and Riga, and bus south through the three Baltic states, Poland, and Ukraine (week #2). Then, from Kiev, down through Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Istanbul, and finally to Athens (week #3). And finally, the trip would hopefully push me back up north through the Balkans into Vienna, Budapest, Prague, and if possible, Berlin. A flight will hopefully take me back to London in time for the first class of the next term.
And of course, as with every previous backpacking trip, the use of airplanes as a form of transport, except for returning to the home base (in this case, London) is banned. Traveling, after all, is about the beauty of the journey, not necessarily speedy arrival at a certain destination. It is about finding that personal freedom and flexibility on the road, not being restricted to predetermined courses undertaken by many others in previous years, decades, centuries. After being holed up in static London for so long, the beauty and the freedom are the very things I miss the most...
And this trip will represent nothing that academic life in London has represented so far. On the road, I am free from the curses and pressures of diseases, assignments, and job hunting. I am free from seeking happiness out of bottles of alcohol. I am free from the social constraints that make our academic and post-academic lives so depressing and miserable-sounding. And most of all, the trip will be the purest form of energy, injecting excitement of witnessing something completely new, and spurring on inspirations for further writing. It is an opportunity to write on the road, something I cherished so much when I was travelling in Japan.
But at the same time, the trip is bound to be a learning experience just as it is a mentally uplifting one. For too long, Americans and Asians alike have been accustomed to seeing "Europe" as a monolith, a region, despite historical conflicts and linguistic differences, tend to hold similar interests and mentalities due to common experiences and geographical proximity. The trip shall be a series of observations to thoroughly debunk that stereotype. Too much different people reside in too much different conditions to "Europe" anything more than just a geographic name like Asia.
As 2/3 of the continent is explored from northern winds of Scandinavia, to the Soviet and Muslim lingerings of the eastern edges, to the troubles brewing in Greece and the Balkans, the diversity and the sometimes loving, sometimes harsh realities of the European mosaic will be revealed. To see all that firsthand, in perhaps an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, is definitely worth the difficulties of communication, financial troubles, and countless dangers and annoyances on the road. To preserve my reputation as a firsthand observer of societies, the trip simply have to be done.
And the trip, in the situation allows for it, would not be the only undertaking of mine on the European continent. One trip, even if a month long, cannot cover all of Europe. The subsequent one, sometime in the spring, will focus on the British Home Isles, Switzerland, the Iberian Peninsula, and even Morocco. A whole new set of cultures and adventures awaits and I can only hate myself for not being able to secure more time and resources for such trips. The last adventures before going back into the dreary world of real work better be good ones.
Week-long solo backpacking trip for me is not anything new for me, but the ambition regarding the upcoming trip due to begin in days, even in my mind, tops all previous ventures by its sheer magnitude. The longest previous trip was mere 2 and a half weeks affair (San Diego to Fairbanks, Alaska by bus), and the most number of borders crossed was no more than 4 (A southern China bus/boat trip that also involved Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). But this one, with 4 continuous weeks of on-the-road action, will, at the last attempt to count precisely, involve no less than 22 countries across the European continent.
Here is a brief outline of the trip. Starting from London, bus to Brussels, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm (week #1). Then, ferry to Helsinki and Riga, and bus south through the three Baltic states, Poland, and Ukraine (week #2). Then, from Kiev, down through Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Istanbul, and finally to Athens (week #3). And finally, the trip would hopefully push me back up north through the Balkans into Vienna, Budapest, Prague, and if possible, Berlin. A flight will hopefully take me back to London in time for the first class of the next term.
And of course, as with every previous backpacking trip, the use of airplanes as a form of transport, except for returning to the home base (in this case, London) is banned. Traveling, after all, is about the beauty of the journey, not necessarily speedy arrival at a certain destination. It is about finding that personal freedom and flexibility on the road, not being restricted to predetermined courses undertaken by many others in previous years, decades, centuries. After being holed up in static London for so long, the beauty and the freedom are the very things I miss the most...
And this trip will represent nothing that academic life in London has represented so far. On the road, I am free from the curses and pressures of diseases, assignments, and job hunting. I am free from seeking happiness out of bottles of alcohol. I am free from the social constraints that make our academic and post-academic lives so depressing and miserable-sounding. And most of all, the trip will be the purest form of energy, injecting excitement of witnessing something completely new, and spurring on inspirations for further writing. It is an opportunity to write on the road, something I cherished so much when I was travelling in Japan.
But at the same time, the trip is bound to be a learning experience just as it is a mentally uplifting one. For too long, Americans and Asians alike have been accustomed to seeing "Europe" as a monolith, a region, despite historical conflicts and linguistic differences, tend to hold similar interests and mentalities due to common experiences and geographical proximity. The trip shall be a series of observations to thoroughly debunk that stereotype. Too much different people reside in too much different conditions to "Europe" anything more than just a geographic name like Asia.
As 2/3 of the continent is explored from northern winds of Scandinavia, to the Soviet and Muslim lingerings of the eastern edges, to the troubles brewing in Greece and the Balkans, the diversity and the sometimes loving, sometimes harsh realities of the European mosaic will be revealed. To see all that firsthand, in perhaps an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, is definitely worth the difficulties of communication, financial troubles, and countless dangers and annoyances on the road. To preserve my reputation as a firsthand observer of societies, the trip simply have to be done.
And the trip, in the situation allows for it, would not be the only undertaking of mine on the European continent. One trip, even if a month long, cannot cover all of Europe. The subsequent one, sometime in the spring, will focus on the British Home Isles, Switzerland, the Iberian Peninsula, and even Morocco. A whole new set of cultures and adventures awaits and I can only hate myself for not being able to secure more time and resources for such trips. The last adventures before going back into the dreary world of real work better be good ones.
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