Dry shoes = Good times

As the title will tell you, my feet have dried. Everyone breathe a sigh of relief now. I'll wait...

OK. So taking up from that morning of wet misery yet lively adventure, here is a brief synopsis from my travel journal, although I realize I didn't really write much about what happened after our flooded night in Peel.

8/22/07

"We made our way back to Douglas from there, got onto couchsurfing, sent out a few emails to prospective hosts on the Man, and met Hanlin in a coffee shop. Hanlin offered us a dry bed at his place for the night and we accepted but only after we met and fielded a hosting possibility from a generous young couch surfer.

Hanlin drove us around that day and we were able to see Castletown and Port Erin before having a couple pints that night.

The next couple days were slow without many noteworthy events but Sunday and Monday nights we spent camped out beneath the stars, first in a restricted area in an old dirt bike race track above Douglas, and then near the beach outside of the old capital of Castletown. We dined on fruit, cheese and bread and stayed up late listening to music by the light of the campfire.

We had come full circle, from the first days of a backpacking trip, to a storm soaked and then boring time, back to living cheap and enjoying the easy life of camping. Thursday morning as we walked to the airport and discussed the Royal family I felt good in my time on the Man. Although my physical journey never bore any fruit, I had traded it for memories of friendly hospitality, lively misery, and finally a contented comfort. I'll probably never return to the Man, but a place that most people don't even know exists has left a small isle of good impressions on me."


Corny, I know. Whatever. I wrote it quickly.

We fly to Alexandria, Egypt tonight and Hala's family is picking us up, although it turns out that me being Whitey and male doesn't agree with everyone. I guess the oldest and boss uncle didn't like the idea of us staying there and so banned it which meant all the family and friends were prohibited from hosting us. Luckily, Hala's friend Mustafa- not a lion like I originally thought- got us a cheap price on a apartment/ dorm place for students and we will stay there until we decide to couch surf or move on. It sounds really nice and only about $7 a night each, so we will see. I was hoping to get by for less. I spent a load of cash on the Man.

I'll keep writing and update you all on my first Middle Eastern adventure in a few days hopefully! Keep your fingers crossed for more misery, strange encounters, and cultural exchanges. I will too.

Isle of Man 1st Half

I have to make this quick because I've run low on minutes and that pound is a real killer. Come on British economic recession!

So I had an uneventful flight to London, easy if not long tube journey to the flat with Hala and Adam and then a few hours wait before our flight to the Isle of Man. These two have been with each other every day since I've left them and it feels a bit weird that I left at all and now am just meeting back up with them on their same trip. They are on their same journey while I am just starting another, but after a few days now, we are back in stride and I feel like I never left.

So we landed in Castle Town on the Man, and Adam's mate, Hanlon picked us up and took us back to stay at his mum's house- where he lives. We hit the pub, had a few pints, grabbed some chips from the chippy and went to bed. The next morning after some preparations we were off and ended up walking about 16 miles which doesnt sound like al ot to some (DAD) but tired us right out. We guerilla camped in a farmer's field and while we were setting up the tents, Adam's knee got really tight so he could hardly walk. It still bothers him and the next day we didn't get very far before we were all really tired- my legs were definitely sore- and Adam could hardly move. Good thing for us Hanlon picked us up with their Irish mate Colm and we met their other friend, Gregg at the far north for some camping by the beach. Of course the object was to get wasted. I had 4 beers over many hours and was never tipsy while Adam proceeded to drink about 10 pints of lager and the Irishman had 15 bottles of Grolsch. The weather was great taht night and the stars were all around us. It was a beautiful night.

Then there was the next day. We got a ride down to Peel which is a gorgeous little fishing town. There is a big hill between the castle which is built on an island and the city which looks like other norse places like Bergen, and we set up camp on it. We met the boys in town for a few beers and we hiked up the hill to sleep. As we reached the tents it began raining heavily. But we made it in time and got to sleep. After a couple hours, around 3 am i woke up to gale winds and rain soaking my tent and me from all sides. i sleep in my own and hala and adam share a tent. Basically from 3am onwards, I was awake and jsut trying to be comfortable in my progressively more flooded tent. The tents are from Tesco, a grocery store basically, so tehy are cheap and about as waterproof as a paper bag. As soon as they are saturated, the crazy winds were blowing water right in my tent. By 5am I and everything in my tent was completely soaked and i was just able to stay warm in my wet bag by curling up and breathing into it. I was trying to brave it through until 8am because everything is supposed to open at 9am. At 730 I'd had it because while i was thinking it was going to get better, the wind and rain only got worse. So I yelled over to the other tent something to the tune of, "Well im having fun but im getting the f off this hill!" I jumped out of the tent, laughing maniacally in my soaked t-shirt and boxers- thankfully not cotton- and grabbed my at-that-point-relatively-dry pants and put them on in what turned out to be quite a storm. I heard the other two stirring but I was freezing and I was switching back and forth in my head about my attitude. One minute I would ask myself, well do you feel alive now you asshole, which would make me smile, again rather maniacally, and I would take the adventurous situation in stride. The next I would realize how god damn miserable I was, shivering my skinny white body off lieing in a freaking pool of water on top of a hill early in the morning on the damn isle of man.

In the end, the second moment lasted longer and I grabbed the stakes from the ground as wind and stinging rain pounded in my ears hurting them. With my soaking sleeping bag, clothes and pack still inside, i folded up the tent which must have weighed about 50 lbs with all that water weight and awkardly carried it down the half out to the bottom of the hill where the wind wasn't so bad. The pair joined me shortly and we made it to a public bathroom where I was able to go through all the stuff and roll up my wet gear and strap it to my pack.

Walking around in the early morning in the now gray town with every cafe closed, freezing my butt off, shivering, and with a 50lb watered down pack on made me not care for Peel as much. Finally we were able to find a cafe that was open and sit and have some tea, although still dripping wet and shivering uncontrollably. Finally we decided a laudromat was the best idea to dry ourselves since we would probably have to camp in the rain again tonight (this all happened last night and this morning). After afew laps around the town we settled in a dry cleaners who pitied us and offered us her large dryer at cost and we stripped down threw everything we owned in the industrial sized dryer and waited in our underwear- which apparently is no big deal. My shoes are still wet. Damn my cold feet.

Greg, Adam's mate, picked us up right when we finished and gave us a ride back to the capital city, Douglas, where there was internet because we were hoping to find some couch surfers to stay with and we knew they were all in Douglas.

So this is the situation as it is now. Our options are varied but not great. Greg already turned down Adam's hints at needing a place for us to stay tonight, which is well within Gregg's rights since he has already driven us around. We are meeting Hanlon for a tea in a few minutes and while he also has already hosted us beyond any reasonable asking, he might extend his grace further and offer us a dry bed. Thats option A. Option B would be a couch surfer and Adam staying at his Nana's who I guess isn't keen on even him staying and wouldnt consider hosting the three of us. Option C, and a distant 3rd place is camping outside again in the rain and hoping we get a place out of the wind and that the tents hold otu better than before. Or we could pay around $100+ for a hotel room. As of right now I don't know what will happen, all I know is my feet are cold and wet. Ok ok, its not that big a deal, but I am very aware of the status of my feet since the rest of me feels much better.

In all so far my time on the Man is similar to what I thought it would be. The landscape looks much like pastoral Ireland which I spent a few days in, and that was no shock to me. Fields of green grass speckled with white sheep flow up and down the hilly island and are interupted only by small villages and towns here and there. We have seen a lot of it recently and although I wish I could continue my quest to walk around the Island, it looks like the weather, adam's knee and my own physical shortcomings have already made that impossible (insert smarky saying from Jerry about how he is in such great shape and I am going to hold him back in Nepal). I still got Mt. Sinai to put my legs in order.

It's great to see Adam again and we are getting on very well. I know it will be hard for Adam and Hala to say goodbye when we leave on Tuesday afternoon but they are already planning- indeed have already booked- a week on Iceland together. What a small world it is when you live large.

Ill let you know my status on the rest of my trip to the man when we return to london on Tuesday, hopefully the weather will turn for the better again, and my shoes will dry out by then.

I miss you all, I apologize for my britishisms, and although my langauge my sound whiney, I really do realize that these lows make me feel alive and the adventurous.

One week to go...

With one week to go before my departure on my latest journey, I will take the time to reflect on my pre-departure thoughts:

I am in a difficult transitional phase in my life. I have just graduated from the University of Washington and it seems like every week I say goodbye to a close friend whose friendship is not guaranteed to remain close. Michelle left at the end of May for grad school in Notre Dame which keeps her busy all summer and then leaves her to teach in Florida the rest of the year. Seema has begun her career working for Accenture Consulting in San Francisco. Dave is finishing his education at Montana State University and Patrick has returned to his side of Washington state to fight forest fires over the summer. Then soon my roommate and one of my closest friends, Danielle, will move home to San Francisco in search of a job.

Then there is of course those who, like me, are leaving or have already left the country to test their wits abroad. As I write, Nate is leaving Greece for Eastern Europe, Matt toils in Ghana, Lauren is busy learning and volunteering in Guatemala, Hala awaits my arrival having just returned to London from India, Josh is visiting family before heading down to Peru, and Brian enjoys his time before reporting to the Peace Corps for his tour in Cameroon.

Although staying in touch with people long term is difficult given the diversity of our life goals and immediate plans, it is something worth fighting for and hopefully I will see everyone in good health in the not too distant future, and maybe will even meet up with others on a trip sometime soon. I'd also like to say that I feel very fortunate to associate myself with such a group of world travelers, and wish them all an adventurous journey abroad and a safe return home.

One week to go. I have begun to pack up my belongings but it still doesn't feel like I am leaving. Last year I didn't realize the weight of my undertaking until I was on the plane, flying alone to Beijing. "I'm going to China," I remembering thinking. "What the HELL am I doing going to China?"

I think back on the lessons that I have learned since that first day of my trip last year, and I realize how much I have grown as a traveler, a person and a man. I expect a similar reflection taken next year to yield similar results stemming from my forthcoming trip. The learning process is so steep when one is forced to adapt to survive. An intrapersonal survival of the fittest.

I read about travel in a lot of resources and since I constantly hear about places I am going or want to go, I realize that some novelty is lost with the idea that the trip I await to begin has already been completed by thousands of my predeccesors and that many places I yearn to visit and explore are alreay overrun by white tourists. I recognize this but move on past it and try to stay as original as possible. To most people I meet before I leave, however, novelty is not lost. I tell people at my jobs that I am traveling and predictably they ask to where. Of course it takes a minute or two to explain the complexities of my hodge podge trip.

"Oh well I am going to the Isle of Man- thats an island between Ireland and England-, a friend of mine lives there and we are going to backpack around it for a week, then I'm going to Egypt for a month, I have a close friend who is Egyptian and she have family there and so we will stay with her family and travel around, then I'll meed my dad in Nepal for a month of trekking to Mt. Everest, then I'll cross the border into India where I was last year for 3 months and will volunteer there, teaching English and other projects, then in January I will meet my girlfriend in Bangkok and we will travel through Southeast Asia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos."

I've had to rattle this speech off dozens of times in the last couple months. And usually I either get to "then I'm going to Egypt..." and people lose interest, or harp in on that and make a comment about their own desires to visit the sands of Egypt. Learning my lesson, I sometimes shorten the rant to include only country names, but this still more often then not falls on deaf ears.


I have found that traveling is entirely an internal endeavor and any attempt at trancedence to a point where it can be shared with someone ignorant of travel or of the places in question, only works to cheapen the event by trivializing that which is in the traveler's eyes an infinite experience. Like one's loss of interest during a friend's detailed relation of a dream, a travel story is always incomparably more important to the one doing the telling.

In light of this I have created this blog not to relate the stories of my adventures in hopes of appreciation by the reader, but for a couple other reasons. First, simply, some people like to know where and in what frame of mind I am and consistent update of this site affords them comfort that I am sane and healthy. Second, I see an upkeep of a blog as a first step in something larger in the future which truthfully I hope will be unique and marketable enough that I can make a living by living my dream. Lastly, I feel it is my duty to promote travel to those who feel it is beyond their reach.

Every day I speak to someone about my trip and they offer their envy to me as if that were why I was going. On the contrary, I do not take pleasure in hearing that others wish they could do what I do but instead find amazing delight in learning that they themselves are taking their own journey soon, no matter how limited. I have found so much freedom and contentment in wandering, exploring and learning about other places that I can't stress enough how important it is to people who are considering a trip of their own. If I could give advice to every incoming freshman to the UW each year, it would be, "This is college, not the last judgment, oh, and study abroad. Twice." I can think of dozens of times I have met an underclassmen and wantonly told them that the NEEDED to study abroad, and to do it early and often.

No matter what I preach, extended trips such as my own are difficult to plan, save for, and carry out. Most would tell you that to do so requires time, money, and more than a little ambition. But I feel there are a separate three requirements that stand true to any longterm personal endeavor: passion, priority and sacrifice.

No one will dedicate three months, much less three years to a trip if they are not passionately involved. Luckily for most, this is the easiest of the three requirments, its as easy as falling in love. And just like being in love, its what comes after that is difficult.

I'll tell you that the biggest difference between me and someone who has always dreamed of a overland trip from Turkey to India but has never done so, is our biggest priority. Every day we make decisions based on an overreaching number one priority that shapes how we view the world. Someone might be driven to one day become a senator or a doctor or just to have children, and their decisions they make, including their education, friends, jobs, careers, and every financial decision is based on their aspirations. Every decision I make is based on the fact that I travel. Not that I want to travel, or would like to travel, but I do travel. Ask me to give a basis of reason for any thing I do and it will come down to that one point. For example, why do I work so much. That one is easy, because I travel. But why do I eay frozen pizza and pb&J sandwiches almost exclusively? Because I save money to travel. Because I don't have a lot of time or money to cook because I work so much because I travel. And so on.

This brings me to the last requirment. After a passion is identified and made a priority above all else, sacrificing those things that now seem less important becomes easy. I give up time to work, money for toys to lodging, food and airfare abroad. I dont make committments I can't fulfill given the fact that I travel over half the year. I lose contact with friends, I leave my teeth uncleaned by a professional, and my gastrointestinal system in a constant state of shock. Because I travel.

I don't really have a way to conclude my ramblings on traveling one week before I set out, so I will close with an appeal to all those reading. Have you ever wanted to take an African Safari? Sail a boat in the Mediterranean? Walk along the Great Wall? These things are less than a commitment of time and money, both of which are of short supply to all and shouldn't be wasted, but are more a set of choices than you may think. It is never to late for an adventure.

The Usual Suspects

The following are the short profiles of the people with who I am sharing my upcoming trip:

Hala Megahy

I met hala last spring when she couchsurfed at my apartment in Seattle with her roommate. They were on a roadtrip from Chicago across the northern US and then down to LA. She and I became friends immediately.

Perhaps the only person I have met with a passion to wander to match my own, Hala is terrific as a travel partner. When my pride prevents me from admitting to perfect strangers who I will never see again that I need directions, she has no problem in asking. Long bus rides are more enjoyable with endless ridiculous conversations held as if it we were talking about the weather. "If you could have 3 magical powers, what would they be?" "Could you take 40 squirrels in a battle to the death? What about a hyena? 30 4-foot tall penguins with 3-inch fangs?" The list goes on. I still think about writing a book including all the zany conversations and fun games we came up with to pass the time on the seemingly infinitely long travel times in India.

Hala arrived in India a month after I did, but when I left in March, she stayed to travel the rest of the country with a friend we met, Adam. They returned to the west (although still far from home for Hala) only yesterday, August 1st, when the flew back to London. I will meet Hala and Adam there and we will travel together to the Isle of Man for a one week backpacking tour around the small British Isle. Then Hala and I will fly to Egypt to spend a month relaxing at her villa on the Mediterranean in Alexandria, walking amongst the giants in Giza, and enjoying ourselves along the Nile and in Sinai.

Whats the Isle of Man you ask? Good question. See the link below for more details.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_man

Adam Kendrick Kewley

Adam's and my friendship was dubious from the beginning. One critical issue divided us and I would have normally thought that it would be difficult to reconcile and remain friends. Adam hates traveling.

I know what you are thinking, "that doesn't make sense, Evan, you met him in Calcutta. That is in India, Evan! If he hates traveling, why was he in India!" I have no good answer for this. Just a few bad ones.

Adam is a Beatle maniac. He loves 'em. And deep down, I believe he wishes he were them. Or at least he tries to emulate them. Furthermore, Adam's Dad is a bhuddisht, and his brother a big hippy. And it is no coincidence that The Beatles, his father and his brother have all spent time in India.

The Manx man has spent a year in the Subcontinent and traveled with Hala and I from West Bengal, through Nepal and back down to Varanasi. When I left Hala in March, he has been by her side through their journey through the south of India, and back up to the far north into Jammu and Kashmir.

Also, Adam is a musician. A guitarist. And for a few weeks in Varanasi, a sitarist. He came to India for inspiration and has completed writing the music and lyrics to his album which he will now dedicate himself to produce and record. Formerly known as the Hundreth Monkey, he has since changed his name to something I can't remember. He is perhaps my only chance at having a claim to fame. He joked with Hala and me about naming his album my favorite Hindi phrase, mei chammach hu which means "I am a spoon" and we also flirted with starting our own band, Monkey's on Leashes, inspired by our walk through the Maiden park in Calcutta on the first day we met.

Adam makes his home on the Isle of Man, although he has also lived in London, and it is there we will travel together hopefully not for the last time. Despite his hatred.

Jerry Murphy

My father, Jerry Murphy, has been my father for as long as I can remember. And just slightly longer than that, we have gone out together hiking, backpacking, cycling, and climbing mountains and rocks. In 2000 we summited Mt. Rainier together. In 2002, we finished the Seattle to Portland bicycle ride. A broken attempt by us to backpack the 200+ mile John Muir Trail in California has been revenged as he has been dedicated to section together the entire Pacific Crest Trail running through the west from the borders of California and Mexico.

When I was in the mountains of Tibet, Nepal and India, I thought every day about how much my dad would love to be here. When I was growing up I never had a shortage of books on climbing in the Himalaya to read, as the pile my father had finished and saved for me constantly grew and grew. He knows every classic climb in detail and if he doesn't, he'll make something up. Good luck proving him wrong.

Finally when Hala and I took a short trek through the isolated region of Sikkim last winter- which means it was COLD- I thought that here is something that he couldn't miss. I spoke to my mom, Faith, about the idea of bringing my dad back to Nepal with me and for us to trek to Everest Base Camp together. She was incredibly supportive from the beginning, moreso than he was when I broached the topic. There are always a million little excuses not to do something, but I kept reminding him of the big reason to do it. "Mt. Everest, Dad. Mt. Freaking Everest." I rest my case.

Finally he agreed and is now as excited as I am to walk long distances through Sherpa villages, eat noodles, drink chai, and shiver in the cold all night for three weeks starting at the end of September.

Laura Zanzig

My girlfriend, Laura, and I met in a history class we took winter quarter of 2006. She immediately fell into my trap of being courted with food when she agreed to a weekly friendly get together at my place where I would cook. At least momentarily trapped by her love for my ability to chop a vegetable, saute it with a piece of frozen meat and tell her its gourmet, she will accompany me on the (probable) final leg of this journey. And I wish I could say it was my idea.

Laura loves playing softball but not so much coaching it. She has become very good friends with my roommates, Melissa and Danielle, which means she fits right in at my apartment. Laura never tires of taking me and picking me up from work, often after 1am, and although she gets antsy watching long movies (and hence has never seen the Lord of The Rings) she is always available to spoon feed me a scoop of humble pie by finishing my crossword puzzles when I get stuck.

Laura spent last Winter quarter studying in Rome and returned home almost as ready as I was to travel again. She looked at programs in South Africa, Thailand and Vietnam and questioned aloud the reasons that the programs in SE Asia were even more expensive than her time in Rome, especially since these are some of the cheapest countries to travel in the world.

Laura then considered taking the quarter off, as she would still be able to graduate in time the next June. It wasn't hard for her to talk me into coming along and I can't wait to bring out the most adventurous side of her.

Ashish, Deepa, and Vanya Arora

Ashish and his family manage the Himalayan Village resort at Sonapani which hosted our univeristy program for three months last fall. Thanks to the efforts of this gracious family and the hands working the resort, we all felt right at home and some of us never wanted to leave.

Ashish was a self-proclaimed slacker in college, attending one class in four years. This, however, didn't stop him from having the best grades of anyone in his graduating class. Now a successful business and family man, he is always thinking of sustainability, the environment and a chance to make a new friend for life. He has since began a company to sell chutneys made from fruit grown organically on the property and has supported the arts by producing a play in Mumbai. Proving to be immediately one of the gang, Ashish once claimed that he had to take his matress and sleep outside after staying up late and drinking with the students during a birthday party early in the program. Apparently, deepa had him "in the dog house."


Deepa is the perfect counterpoint to "The Don" as we affectionately referred to Ashish for his stature in the community. She and Ashish make incredibly caring and thoughtful parents to little Vanya. Always helpful with advice or even help with Hindi homework, the students adored Deepa's sweet nature. And the girls on the program also enjoyed the fact that she is a bit of an artist, and gave them henna tattoos on thier hands and arms. Rumor has it that Deepa is pregnant again.

In the running for the single cutest thing ever put on the planet, Vanya baby was a treat. Although she was at first daunted by 19 tall white strangers who didn't speak her first language, she warmed up to us slowly and by the end was hugging everyone and flaunting her English skills. The saddest part about my trip to India was watching Vanya scream and ball her eyes out in Ashish's arms as we said our goodbye's and headed down the trail on our walk to the jeep which would take most of us away forever. I feel extremely fortunate to be able to say that I will again walk up that trail, and see Vanya playing with her parents, two of the most authentic and genuine people in the world.

Evan's Journey 2007-2008

Hey All!
I will be leaving the good ole' US of A in less than two weeks time now. Below is a map of my route.

I will fly into London and meet my friends Hala and Adam with who I traveled in India. Although a week of backpacking on the Isle of Man- where Adam calls home- won't be enough, Hala and I head back to London and onward toward the ancient and modern riches of Egypt.

After a month of living the good life with the help of Hala's friends and family in Alexandria and Cairo- and after a few side trips down the Nile and to the Sinai peninsula- I will trade the camels, heat and sand of the desert for the yaks, cold, and snow of the Himalaya.

Meeting my Dad in Kathmandu, Nepal we will take a short flight into Lukla and begin our three week trek to Mt. Everest. After my dad flies home mid October, I will return to where I studied last fall in the Indian Himalaya just over the western border with Nepal.

I will be teaching English and hopefully volunteering in other programs while there, on the road between the cities of Nainital and Almora, and hopefully will have time to visit some friends I made last year. As the new year comes, so does the end of my second visit to India.

Soon after celebrating the begginning of 2008, I will fly to Bangkok to begin the last leg of my journey with my girlfriend, Laura. We will travel overland making a loop from Thailand to Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos and back to Thailand.

If things go as planned, I should return to the US- with much fanfare- late March 2008. If not, who knows when. Malaysia is calling, as are Taiwan, Mongolia, Indonesia...

Coming soon:

Snapshot profiles of the characters accompanying me on my upcoming trip

AND

Buy shirts to help support my trip at http://www.evan.shirtcity.com/

I live to travel. I travel to live.