Greetings!
I write to you all about one of my passions, travel. I am afflicted
by what is likely the most amazing affliction possible, wanderlust. I
am fascinated & fixated on exploring this planet as often as possible.
Being able to see & experience places that are vastly different from
where I've lived puts everything in a new perspective. You learn to
appreciate what you have, or to realize that there are better ways of
doing things. You understand why some places are the way they are, or
learn that some parts of the world defy understanding. Travelling to
new & unfamiliar places makes you a better person.
I know that not everyone has the means to travel to distant lands.
But you don't need to. Sometimes going somewhere unfamiliar means
driving for a few hours to a place that is unlike where you live
(different scenery, different culture, different language, etc). Or
go hiking & explore a forest, desert, beach, or grassland that you've
never seen up close before. Wander to a new part of your town or city
that you've never been to before, or get on a public bus, subway, or
even a taxi, and check out a part of your city, province, state or
region that is unfamiliar to you. Just go somewhere that is new, and
take it all in. Additionally, travelling does not have to be a group
activity. While there are benefits to travelling with one or more
friends or loved ones, travelling solo has its own rewards & benefits.
Sure, it requires some more courage, it can put you much further out
of your comfort zone, but in the end, you'll learn more about yourself
(and if you learn that you simply hate travelling alone, that's
worthwhile knowing from experience too).
My favorite/recommended travel destinations:
* South Korea: China & Japan get a lot of the hype & buzz, but this
small nation is amazing. The people are friendly, the culture is
interesting, and the food is delicious
* Estonia: western Europe gets all the attention, but this ex-Soviet
era country is quirky, fascinating & fun
* Australia: I spent a month, a year ago, driving a campervan over
9000km all around, and had the most amazing time. Its a huge place,
with so much to see & experience
* Tanzania: my first experience in Africa, and I'm yearning to return.
Its wild, wonderful & unlike what most expect
Where to next? Oman & Dubai in September, quite likely Cambodia in
January, and I'm hoping to get to Antarctica in December of 2015. If
you've been to any of these places already, please share your tips,
warnings, & recommendations (places to see, sleep or eat, people to
meet, etc).
Almost as much as I love to travel, I enjoy hearing about other
people's travels. The next best thing to going somewhere new, is
hearing about your adventures. I'd love to hear from any of you with
a great travel story:
* Where have you gone that absolutely amazed you (and why)?
* Where have you gone that didn't live up to the expectations (and why)?
* If you have photos of your travels online somewhere, I'd love to see
them. Even better if there are stories to go with them.
When I'm not seeing the world, I'm an engineer at a Silicon Valley
tech company. Want to chat about anything? I'm on twitter
(@netllama), or try simply googling for "llama land linux-sxs"
(without the quotes), and the first few results should point you to my
website.
thanks & happy travels!
Lonni Friedman
[email protected]
San Francisco Bay area, California, USA