Around the World

When I was younger,

That phrase, “around the world”

Seemed to be like mere aimless fantasy.

That “world” we’re talking about is a real deal. It’s big. With so many places most of which are even untouched. So I took it for granted, treated it like another popular term I never considered seriously, and lived on believing that it’s just a beautiful proverb too good to be true.

But as I grew up, as my thirst of exploration deepened, and as the trend of traveling bloomed, somehow that so-called proverb seems...

Possible.

It’s been four years since my first ever solo trip abroad. And it hasn’t stopped. I’ve been here and there, slowly crossing places I’ve been dying to visit off of my list. The plans were neat and carefully thought, leading me to bigger journeys and greater places. Making me able to actually start dreaming of traveling around the world—no longer treating it as a fantasy.

It’s a big deal, yes, but I didn’t notice about it,

Until I got in touch with this masterpiece. A book.

“Around the World in 80 Days”

Pic's from here.

You must know about this one. It’s a classic. From around 1800s, talking about a wonderful adventure of this guy around, well, as the title suggests, the world.

Let’s not talk about the book. It needs a separate post because, God, I really loved it. The guy, Phileas Fogg, is basically me. With all his plans, all his calculations of departing from one city and arriving in another to catch trains or steamboats to even further places, yea, that’s what I’d do in each and every single trip of mine.

So following his journey, from London crossing mainland Europe to Greece, sailing the strait to the gulf countries towards India, riding trains and elephants to reach the border of Southeast Asia, entering Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and China to cross over the Pacific Ocean and land in America, only to head back to England it was like, damn—if he could do that, in just 80 days, and it was for God’s sake the year of 1800s where even no one dared to dream about flying, well, how could I not do the same??? It makes much more sense to do it now, to actually live my long lost dream.

But then you can’t call it a dream if you don’t have any obstacles.

I have a life. And responsibilities. Traveling for 80 days is actually possible, but, maybe not now. I did travel for nearly 80 days in Japan two years ago, but it was partly business. While for pure exploration, I don’t know, I should’ve done that in three years back or so, when I was free as a bird. But then I didn’t have the money. Now I have the money, but responsibilities got me caged like a... bird.

Well I’m not that trapped though. As I said, I have travel plans to do. Even now as I’m typing this, I’m currently lying down on my capsule bed in Malaysia, just finished a chapter of that book I’m currently loving, now trying to get some sleep because I have to wake up early and head to Sepang for an F1 race. So yea, I’m not THAT trapped.

And something inside of me is convincing me that, what I’ve achieved since 2013, it deserves a massive recognition.

So I made a deal with myself, right here when I’m on a trip, and with Jules Verne’s travel bible on my hands. A deal to complete my exploration of the world, just like what Mr Fogg did—even wider, but with a twist.

“Around the world, in 80 months.”

These are the witnesses of my oath.

Just because I had to keep my lust to travel always on, yet I had to be realistic.

Let’s do the math. I began all this traveling thingy on January 2013. 80 months from that, and my deadline would be on August 2019. Nice, I still have time.

Now let’s do geography. Mr Fogg’s journey may be damn long, but he didn’t reach Africa and Australia. Yet his book is still called “around the world” anyway. My story, therefore, should be complete for me to be able to call it “around the world”. Well of course by ‘complete’ I didn’t ambitiously vision myself to visit multiple countries in one region.

So my version of "around the world", is to complete my continent visit. The number of countries won’t matter, it’s the continent that I’m counting. I’ve been around Asia many times. America once, to The US, and Australia just this year, visiting three states. I’m traveling to Europe for Christmas New Year so, right, there I am! I only need to land my ass in Africa!

God I'm so excited about this project!

Excited because I never realized I'd actually make a phrase I took for granted 15 years ago to actually come true. Excited because all the jealousy I felt towards all the characters inside Jules Verne's book will soon pay off.

Excited because I'm on the verge of telling the world

That there's no such thing as "Impossible", to travel

Around the world