Got it!
my first continent crossed completely . Intensive, Intensive!
as I crossed Bosporus by boat one and a half years ago I thought about a lot of adventures. But I couldn´t really imagine what exactly would happen to me out there. All this is now history and seems to be so unreal…
I crossed the path of countless people and I really met some of them. The passing moments sometimes had been inspiring, the intense ones had touched me. They showed me a lot about the country and the people but mostly about the individual persons I met and humanity in general.
The people aspiring for the same things, on one hand basics like happiness, family, comfort and security and on the other hand the things the consumer world tries to convey: Aspiring for things, wealth and appreciation in due to advertising. This part gets stronger and is particularly really disturbing to me.
The ideal of family, in Asia is much stronger than in Europe these days, suffering from progress. The people are forced to fit into the machinery of growth and progress and they try to live up to both: tradition and progress. This is working out just partly, exactly as our values just work partly in Asia. That continent is ticking differently. Time there has the highest value or the importance of time is implicit. A hard lesson for every European to understand if they want to make it in Asia. It doesn´t work right now and tomorrow just maybe…
It´s very easy going when you follow the flow but it is extremely annoying when you have some time constraints. If this mentality is colliding with the western „quality management“ it could get ugly. I spoke to a lot of western people working in Asia talking about this lack of comprehension.
It shows me a good thing, something that keeps me traveling: The world is, in spite of all equalization, diverse and exciting. These differences make traveling so exciting, keep your mind wide awake and make you smile…
…sometimes it is a frozen smile, because the flip side is injustice. Poverty is part of the culture and is widely accepted. Religion is not really helpful to change things. Additionally corruption, that is mostly invisible for traveling people, makes the life of the locals even more complicated. Self-enrichment is high on the aims of life list.
the different development in particular countries is visible. China is moving fast while its´ neighbor Laos is stuck in third world. Thailand is booming while Cambodia is vegetating. Former Soviet Republics quarrel with the stream of history while Iran currently is only blocked by sanctions. All these developments have something in common: the negative excesses (dispossessions, environmental pollution, deforestation…) are all carried on the back of the ordinary people while the „big money“ always prevails.
Capitalism even in communistic countries…
I had a lot of high points on this trip but the word is not the right one because really the little things made me happy… Small gifts from people, a smile of a child or a elder person, Views all around me, Food that tastes the most intense when you worked the hardest for it…
In general the physical demand wakes up senses, tightens the body and makes it tough. I learned about the limits of resilience and pushed them consciously or unconsciously forward. I learned a lot about my physique and my mind. Your will brings you further than you can expect. An exciting process.
After almost one and a half year in the apiary of Asia i had enough for the moment. I felt it in Vietnam and since then I experienced it on a low flame. Definitely an experience that i will continue in the future because a lot of exciting corners are waiting for my visit.
I am looking forward to the challenges in the loneliness of the northern end of the American continent.
At the end, for all who are interested in Numbers,
some statistics about Asia:
length of the journey: 492 days
country crossed: 14
distance covered:
by Bike: 25365km
by Bus: 3420km
by Taxi: 1843km
by Train: 425km
by Airplane: 2874km
by Pickup: 350km
by Ship: 40km
total distance Asia: 34317km
Altitude covered: 197.700m
Accomodations:
in the tent: 224
in the Hotel: 193
with friends: 76
in the Bus: 7
total: 492 Nights
in the detail the whole thing looks like that:
