Day -6: Trip Evolution

            I am backpacking in India, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia this summer. I will also be visiting London, England for the first time.

            I have thought about traveling for a few years now. I knew I would be traveling somewhere for up to a year following the completion of my military service. All Israelis venture of the to world’s hinterlands after their service. They predominantly travel to Asia or Central and South America. I knew I would be taking off on an adventure. At the time I was in Israel, I thought I would go for a challenge rather than relaxation. Hiking the Israel trail could have provided me with a journey to historical sites. However, my ill-fated service led me to look elsewhere.

            I sought a trip a year after my college graduation. I planned an extensive trip originating in India and terminating in Western Europe. I would travel east through the Southeast Asian peninsula, move north thru China before embarking on the trans-Siberian railroad from Beijing to Moscow, a ride lasting more than a week. From there I would snake through eastern Central and Western Europe. I would only need a few days in the smallest countries, five to seven days in the larger countries and a few weeks in the the biggest and most important countries

            As time passed, monetary and time factors began exerting their influences. Reality began to set in. I decided to pass on the millennia old histories of ancient Rome and Greece. Visits to concentration camps, including Auschwitz in Poland, given today’s historical parallels were discarded. Countries fostering high rates of Anti-Semitism and exhibiting virulent and relentless assaults against the Jewish state no longer interested me.

            Asia became the focus of my attention: India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar/Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, China and Mongolia; the Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan were also options (albeit expensive to reach since they are islands or a virtual island in the case of South Korea). Six months could get me through mainland Asia. However, I have obligations.

            Ultimately, I can only travel in the summer. I am leaving a few days after the the Palm Beach Country School District’s final day for students (as I am a substitute teacher, this is the last possible work day for me). After intense negotiations withy my mom I settle departing and arriving in Miami on weekend evenings for the convenience factor in provides my parents.