Travel Thoughts... Plan B

So off I head into the next part of my adventure. Plan B.

On the one hand I feel much more prepared for travel than I did when I left Australia at the beginning of Plan A. I'm not stepping into the unknown as much as I was, and it doesn't worry me that I have no fixed plan. I'm not sure if I'd consider myself a "seasoned traveller" yet, but I can slip into a nice travel routine pretty easily these days. I don't need to go hunting through my bags to find anything any more, everything has it's own place and I can find anything in 2 seconds in the dark. I even have about 5 different pre-set packing layouts depending on the mode of transport (plane, train, or ship) and whether it's an overnight trip and if photography is a priority along the way.

But constantly being on the move is also wearing me down. Both physically and metaphorically.  I've been living out of a suitcase for so long now, I'm beginning to miss many things about home. I miss the convenience of having everything at hand, of course my friends and family, the familiarity of knowing where to go to get stuff done, being able to communicate easily and effectively, my pets, bikes, home cooking, and a bunch of other things. But most of all I crave the space Australia has. All these tightly-packed cities are making me claustrophobic.

I know I vented in a previous post about how Australia needs to combat the urban sprawl and adopt to high-density living, and I still believe that.

But I can't wait to walk back into my house in Australia and spread as much junk out in the spare bedrooms as I like, then sprawl out in the lounge room, walk out into the big sandpit I call a back yard, build stuff in my shed, then jump on my motorbike and leave everyone and everything behind and get somewhere without a sign of human existence in sight. Australia, and especially Western Australia is big. Huge. And after spending this long in crowded cities and tiny hotel rooms, and fitting my entire life into a suitcase, I find myself fantasizing about being back in my kombi in the middle of the Nullabor plain, or lost in the Kimberley, or maybe just chilling somewhere on the Tasman Peninsula or riding on some great Tassie roads.

I know my dad is going to roll his eyes and sigh at this, but I've been toying without the idea of coming back to Perth a bit early, buying a cheap-but-reliable motorbike and then spending a couple of weeks riding it to Tassie with the intention of leaving it there when I fly back to Perth. Then I'd have my own transport whenever I came to Tasmania in the future. And Dad, if you're reading this, think of how much easier that would make life for you, and how a bike would take up a lot less space than, say, an old HR Panel Van! It only takes up about as much room as a wheelbarrow. And it would give me another reason to come visit you in Tassie more often. I've already mentioned most of this plan to him, but I never got to the part of the plan which involves me leaving the bike when I go back to Perth.. So.. umm.. yeah...

Of course it depends a lot on the bike. Something old and cheap enough so I won't care much about leaving it for long periods, but it still needs to be reliable enough to get across the country and then be ridden very infrequency after that. Something resembling what used to be just a standard motorcycle. A balance of comfort, practicality, and handling, and I'm thinking a V-twin would be nice as I already have an inline-4 sports bike in Perth. A naked would be cool, but fairings give better weather protection... So maybe a bikini fairing. It doesn't need to be fast, but I still want some fun on twisty Tassie roads.

So far a Suzuki SV-650S is on top of my list. It ticks all the right boxes and can be found cheaply second-hand. But it's not the only choice, so I'll just keep an eye on the classifieds.

Just a thought... Stay tuned, you might hear more about a Plan C.

But in the meantime, Plan B will continue as per normal.  TRAVEL EUROPE AND ASIA!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Barcelona, Spain

None of the photos shown in this post are from my current trip, but all are photos I've taken in either Western Australia or Tasmania.

A Tale of Two Cities

"It was the best of times,

it was the worst of times,

it was the age of wisdom,

it was the age of foolishness,

it was the epoch of belief,

it was the epoch of incredulity,

it was the season of Light,

it was the season of Darkness,

it was the spring of hope,

it was the winter of despair,

we had everything before us,

we had nothing before us,

we were all going direct to Heaven,

we were all going direct the other way."

- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities.

I was reminded of this opening passage from A Tale of Two Cities the other day and it struck me as being somehow appropriate to my circumstances both right now and for about the last six months of 2010.

I've had the absolute time of my life on this trip. But it hasn't all been fun and excitement. There have been a few big spanners thrown in the works along the way with significant implications both here and back in Australia. In fact the reason I've been so quiet lately is because I've been working through some personal issues for the last few weeks that will have a big effect on the remainder of this trip for me.
No matter who you are, things happen in life from time to time. They don't choose a convenient time to happen, they just do.  This is one such time for me.
But this is a travel blog, not a personal diary or a gossip magazine.

Being the start of a new year, it's also a time for reflection on 2010. I'm left feeling many things all at once. But strangely, despite being in such a difficult time, bitterness isn't one of those things. I've had my share of dark moments, especially recently, but I'm now slowly turning that negativity into a strong determination to get back into my travel and really make the most of it before I return to Australia, and then be ready to hit the ground running with momentum when I do return.
All my old travel plans are now tossed out the window though, and I'm in the process of making new plans.

For the first time in a long time, the rest of my life is a blank canvas waiting for me to make my mark. It's daunting to think how much work I have ahead of me, but the infinite possibilities are also very exciting.
And it all starts right now.
I don't know what country I'll be in this time next week, but I doubt it will be France.

The last time I felt this liberated was when I was sitting in my Kombi van in Devonport in 1997, waiting to drive onto the ferry to Melbourne. I had $1000 in the bank and all my worldly possessions in the kombi, with no plans except to drive around Australia until I found somewhere I wanted to live. It was an incredible sense of freedom leaving Tasmania with no real destination in mind.
Six months and many adventures later I arrived in Perth with a couple of old friends I'd picked up along the way (a big hi to Kath and Chrispy if you're reading this). We were to stay in Perth to earn some money and then head north up Australia's west coast, but 13 years later I still find myself living in Perth. I guess I found that place I wanted to live.

My current situation isn't exactly the same, as I do have a few responsibilities back in Australia (property, vehicles, cats), and there is of course some sadness about what I'm leaving behind, but on the positive side I have the opportunity and means to do things I couldn't do back then.
But in both cases I have the excitement of a completely unwritten destiny, the means to travel, and the luxury of time.
Let's hope I can do something worthwhile with that.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Paris, France