Finally some real world travelling. Man, we've done some miles to find a different place. Christmas and Cocos Islands were - as exotic as they are - still Australia. Thailand was exotic enough but the the novelty was mostly smells, sounds and flavours. Stopping in Phuket really is like going to London, Paris or even Bankok and then claim that you've seen England, France or Thailand.
Chagos was lovely but there was only a yachtie culture to be explored. Mayotte was certainly different but still not what I wanted. Madagascar was the first place where even the shy, lazy or otherwise "foreign-culture-exploring-challenged" visitor could not escape a real experience.
You see, many people "travel" the world but see very little. Of course "a little" is a very relative word. Okay, they see relatively little. It takes a combination of courage, time, money, effort and devotion to really expose yourself into the foreign culture you're visiting. We are living in a world where distrust to fellow human beings is becoming the norm.
If a man you have never met would ask you to step into his car and stay a night in his home, would you go? When we go to foreign lands and foreign cultures, we became even more cautious. There's nothing wrong in being cautious but every bit of caution we have is also robbing us from an opportunity to experience life. We are as afraid to Love as we are afraid of being hurt. We are as afraid to trust as we are afraid of being betrayed. We are as afraid to Live as we are afraid of dying. As afraid to explore as we are afraid of some bad thing happening to us...
So, most people stay home and read about the world in the magazines. Some people go overseas but only meet hotel and restaurant staff and taxi drivers. Some go cruising and perhaps experience a little more of the world. Some more, some less.
I still have much to learn about travelling, much courage to be gained, a lot of caution to be thrown away. Perhaps when I'm older, I'll be less afraid of dying. Let me raise my hat to those rare individuals who really go travelling. The hard-core backpackers and explorers who do not carry 2 tonnes of household comforts around them, like I do. Anyway, one step at a time.
