If Italy is your dream destination, we're probably not compatible travel buddies

I think I first realized I wanted to travel around the world when I was 12. For my birthday, I asked my parents to buy me the "Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego" video game. (This, along with my huge glasses solidified my status as a dork and likely explains why I didn't have a girlfriend in junior high, or in high school for that matter)

Even though I've had a passport since I was a baby, for my first 20 years, I only had a handful of stamps in my passport. Basically, all my international trips were visits to India to see family although there was a one week vacation in England along with a couple of trips to Niagara (a prerequisite for any Indian family within a 500 mile radius).

Despite a desire to see the world, I was perpetually stuck in Ohio. However things changed in late 2003 when I was browsing my school's website and ran across the study abroad page. Borrowing a page from Truman in "The Truman Show", I decided to find a place as far away and as different as possible from Cleveland. My eyes settled on Hong Kong and before I knew it, I was on a plane to SE Asia in the summer of 2004. In order to maximize my time in Asia, I only took 2 classes and decided to use HK as a springboard around Asia. Since August 2004, I've been on a rampage around the world and have visited 25 countries.

My friends and I have always had a simple criteria for picking out trips… only go on trips that we can do now, not when we have a wife or a family. Much to my mom's dismay, this means my friends and I have been trying out more adventurous trips over the last few years...each one riskier than the previous one.

After Jon and I nearly died in Ladakh last year, I swore off hiking vacations for the foreseeable future. We tried to figure out how we could top our Kilimanjaro hike when I read an article about people riding motorcycles along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Vietnam and Laos. Based off that brief article, our motorcycle trip to Laos gained full steam and before I realized what was happening, everything fell into place.

When I told people about this trip, the first thing they would say was “I didn’t know you could ride a motorcycle” Well, I actually didn’t know how to ride a bike, I figured my driver, who owned a motorcycle, could teach me. Somehow, I managed to procrastinate for 6 months and before I knew it, I moved from India to China where it would be impossible to learn. So in May, several weeks before my trip, I decided to train…by playing a motorcycle game at Dave & Busters. I literally tried to shift gears and steer my bike properly but left realizing this isn’t the best way to learn. With no other valid options (not saying the video game was the smartest thing), I found myself on the morning of my flight to Laos via HK on YouTube typing “How to ride a motorcycle” I watched a 5-minute tutorial and figured that was good enough.

While I was incredibly nervous going into this trip, I was somewhat calmed knowing that no one in our group minus Ben (who took a 2 day course) had ever ridden a motorcycle.

However before Laos, I had to meet the group in Hong Kong since Jon, Ben and Arun were flying in from the U.S. When I got to the hotel I was told I could not check in since the rooms were under Arun’s name. It was 3 PM in the afternoon and I had 5 hours to kill…I did the only thing I knew that a person could do in Hong Kong… I went to Lan Kwai Fong. I literally spent my afternoon and early chunk of my evening drinking beer and responding to work e-mails. Amazing that after 6 years, my primary activity in Hong Kong hasn’t changed. Luckily things got more exciting when all the guys showed up. After a night of partying in LKF, we headed to Bangkok to catch a train to Vientiane. When we got into the capital, our guide wanted us to get a feel for our bikes.

After a solid 10 minutes of stalling the bike, I managed to get it in gear and ride down the street. When it came to turning I slowed down and….toppled over. It’s always a good idea to start a 5-day motorcycle tour by dropping your bike and scrapping your ankle in front of a handful of Laotians.

After viewing our dismal performance, our guide decided to ‘amend’ our itinerary by scrapping it and finding us something much easier. The goal was to ride about 600 KM north and then loop back.

Driving in Laos is like driving in any SE Asian country…there are lots of road obstacles. On any given stretch, we’d encounter cows sleeping in the middle of the road, kids running onto the highway, cars/trucks not signaling amongst many other things. At one point, I nearly hit a pig that darted out in front of me. We usually averaged 60 kmh although at some stretches we were hitting 110 kmh. This might not sound fast to someone living in America…but going 110 kmh in Laos is terrifying. I’ve driven at roughly 180 kmh in America…but in America, I don’t have to worry about a cow wandering out into the middle of the road. Even when I’m in India, I don’t think Harsha ever topped 100 kmh, at least with me in the car. As for the scenery, the country is spectacular. I put up some pictures of the landscape, along with a bunch of other pictures, on my Facebook page...I have a bunch more landscape shots on my computer but I figured no one ever clicks those on FB.

The Laos portion of our trip did have one big set-back. After all our years of traveling together and going on some rather risky trips (i.e. climbing up a glacier with ice picks), we have never had a real injury. However, our streak sadly came to a halt when Ben flipped over his handrails and broke his collarbone. While it stinks to break a bone, how many people can say they’ve experienced the Laos healthcare system? It’s truly a unique experience and I’m sure Ben can go the rest of his life without meeting a person who has gone to a Laos hospital. You’re welcome Ben!

We spent a night in Bangkok on the way back and then an additional 2 nights in Hong Kong. Nothing too eventful to report…Bangkok never changes and all that’s changed with HK is that our favorite bar is now closed and there are even more 7/11s in LKF.

And since I’m lazy and have always been told that my writing has a choppy flow, I’m going to give you 3 observations I made on this trip:

1. I might be the American working for an Indian company in China but my friends are way more international than me. Everyone in my group seemed to know someone in the cities we were visiting or had friends who also happened to be in the area. Arun is probably the most extreme, he randomly ran into a friend while wandering the streets of Hanoi. This is in addition to meeting up with his friends in Bangkok and him mentioning that some friends were also in HK. I used to get exciting running into a friend at Beachwood Mall…slightly different.

2. I’ve discovered that I truly hate backpackers. Anyone who has ever traveled knows what I’m taking about…backpackers are basically hipsters who travel. They think they’re cool because they’re reading “The Killing Fields” in SE Asia or because they ‘interact’ with locals. They lament how Western civilization is ruining the local culture…as much as you like watching locals in subpar living conditions, I’m sure locals appreciate some modern amenities…such as toothpaste and mobile phones. Backpackers also love to judge people who can afford to travel better than them. Listen all you stoner backpackers…it’s one to backpack when you’re out of college, but when you’re 28 and judging people for spending an additional 3 dollars/night for an A/C room, you’re the douche bag, not me. If you can only travel for a week, you’re not ‘keeping it real’ by taking an overnight bus instead of a train/plane, you’re just being inefficient with your time. And before anyone calls me out and says ‘slow’ travel is a rewarding experience…yes, I agree it’s appropriate at times…after all, I did take a train from St. Petersburg to Hanoi but more often than not…it doesn’t make sense.

3. I’ve traveled with Jon on a good chunk of my trips and even joked that I’ve shared way too many life moments with him. I only got a bit concerned last weekend when Jon and I had a very interesting exchange.

Jon: Are you dating her?
Me: No.
Jon: Good, I was getting concerned she’d break our traveling. This means we can still keep on traveling together.

Ever watch Fatal Attraction? Jon could turn into Glenn Close.

So after all this, what’s the next big trip? Either going to the Amazon or hiking/cycling through Tajikistan.