I completed the Tough Guy, and apparently that did not drive my mother crazy enough… so here we go again.
This is the time we have all been waiting for… Dues is leaving the country again in search of… well nothing. I am really just walking around checking stuff with no specific agenda… much like Forrest Gump and his running.
After deciding to do this about a year ago, one would think that I would have every plan nailed down and finalized… all I can say is that I tried.
The variables I can expect to cause troubles or at least make for a good story at some point:
1) I do not have my bus ticket from Minsk to Vilnius… this is the first leg of the trip, and I have to buy a ticket once I arrive in Minsk
2) I do not have my ferry ticket from Tallinn to Helsinki… I am not a strong swimmer and the water is cold, I really hope I can figure out how to buy a ticket
3) I do not have ANY of my trans-Siberian tickets… I am meeting a girl that I have never meet, but sent $410 to a month ago, at a statue in front of Red Square, at 9:30 am November 5, she will be holding an orange envelope with 3 of my train tickets, including the one I need for that night! This is a spy novel quality story.
4) When I arrive in Yekaterinburg, I have to purchase my own ticket (in Russian, which I do not speak) for my hopeful departure that night… that could be frustrating
5) When I arrive in Ulaanbaatar, before I go horseback riding with a nomadic family, I have to purchase my own ticket to Beijing that leaves a few days later… the ticket agents will likely not speak English, and I know less Mongolian than Russian.
6) Beijing… I expect a multitude of issues with that language… if I arrive there from Mongolia on the train, for which I do not yet have a ticket.
But when this stuff goes wrong, and I have to pay extra money to change my plans and potentially skip some destinations all together, I always try to remember one quote, which has held true thus far… "Travel is glamorous only in retrospect."
Why, you may ask, do I insist upon doing such an insane sounding trip by myself at a time of year where you don't know what to expect from the weather, and all while living out of a small backpack?
1) Travelling is one of my addictions
2) I am trying to be to as many countries as my age… I will be at +1 after this trip.
3) The trans-Siberian is the most intriguing train journey in the world
4) I will likely lose the nerve to do this when I get older… I can do the easy destinations then
5) Why not? Seriously, I can think of no reason why I should not do this
Ok, I will be gone for the next month, and will have sporadic access to email, and will likely not have any pictures available for email until I come home, unless they come from my iPhone, which will allow me to email from any wireless spots I may find along the way.
Typically, when I do have email access, I will email something to the following site that I have set up for this… to help keep my mother's sanity.
http://trans-sib-07.blogspot.com/
Spasiba & Dasvidania,
Eric Dues
