This is the last of a four-part series on getting to know the local people and their cultures as I travel around the world.
One way of meeting locals that I am not willing to try is to sell everything, cut local ties and go on the road. Without a home base, I would have a serious identity crisis. However, some insights into this lifestyle can be had from two travel books: "Adventures of a Continental Drifter" by Elliott Hester and "Tale of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World" by Rita Golden Gelman.
Hester had been a flight attendant for 20 years but found that this had not given him the opportunity he’d expected when taking the job to see the sights and meet people in the countries he visited. Between flights he was either suffering from jet lag or had a schedule to keep.
In my own case when it has been a professional trip, I always allow at least a day to get over jet lag, which is usually not a problem since I don’t sleep well on planes and tend to arrive at foreign destinations completely exhausted. As to seeing the places I plan at least two days and in most cases longer just to explore the local sites. On a training team trip to Egypt I allowed a full week to cruise the Nile. I’m also fortunate that when our team has run programs the locals take us to many of the most interesting spots to dine and when I’m not running a program I am often free to explore the area.
In his book, Hester writes that the critical moment for quitting the job came when a passenger said, "I ordered a goddamn vegetarian meal." She followed that with a tongue lashing that ended with, "You people are worthless. I’ve gotten better service from vending machines." That was the last straw. Hester sold his car, gave away most of his clothes, donated his books to a library and set off to see 20 countries on six continents with just what he had in his duffel bag. Six continents instead of seven - he decided Antarctica was too cold and had no residents he wanted to meet.
I agree with Hester, six continents have been enough and Antarctica is not on by bucket list. As to quitting my job, with a wife and four daughters that was not possible, but as a professor I was able to take extended leaves to explore the world on my own by living in foreign countries.
On a visit to Pakistan a doctor takes us to visit members of his family who live in the old style.
I had no trouble identifying with his bouts of diarrhea and upper respiratory illness, common hazards of travel, but he goes into gory detail as to the embarrassing consequences. This might give comfort to those readers who will never travel this way. Although much of what he reports was uncomfortable at the time, those seem to be the moments that are the most entertaining to readers sitting comfortably at home.
On a Polynesian island, he pairs up with a local who turns out to be a cow poacher. Hester comments, "Herman Melville lived with the cannibals for nearly a month, and I bet he never saw this much blood."
In Australia, he is seduced by a woman who turns out to be looking for a companion to play Scrabble with, and sex is her bait. Hester then joins a couple of guys who are opal miners and later endures "the attack of the flies" to see Ayres Rock. He falls for scams and learns that a small bribe to a policeman in Bali is a good substitute for a court appearance and a heavy fine.
His four chapters on India mirror my own travels there with the sacred cows, "Delhi belly" and bureaucratic red tape. Having secured a room in Agra, he is refused entry to it later because he does not have his passport that was being held in Delhi. At the moment he is quite ill and needs the toilet. After an extended argument he turns to go and the clerk asks for his card.
On the card below his name it says, "Travel Writer."
The clerk says, “‘Oh, so you’re a travel writer.’
‘Yes, sir, I am.’
‘I am truly sorry for the inconvenience,’ he said, ‘Enjoy your stay in our hotel.’
“I sprinted to my room and leapt onto the toilet like a frog onto a lily pad."
My own experience is much the same, as my Tribune card does open doors to some interesting experiences, such as private back stage tours of certain attractions.
In Prague, Hester is mistaken for the actor Samuel L. Jackson and goes along with the mistake and successfully passes himself off as Jackson at the International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary. In my own case I’ve never been mistaken for anyone famous, but for some reason it is not unusual to be asked if I’m a professor: which I am. Evidently there is a look some of us have.
The book is an entertaining look into life on the international road. The lifestyle would be too unstable and perilous for me, so I’ll stick with travel to places where I have contacts.
Russian women were attracted by what they called my "old Russian soul."
I meet with some children in India whose village
was badly damaged by the earthquake of 2001.
