Is the backpack cliche? Or is the backpack really the tattoo of the traveller? Like the coveted wristband of an all inclusive resort, this could be the signature of the traveller...
I would like to begin by describing my 'umgebung' (a perfect German word for right now), my environs & mood. We are sitting on the rooftop patio of our hotel, "Harold's Mansion', which is of course, no where close to being a mansion, a play on words one might say. The lighting is rather low, in fact it is down right dark. We have added light to our table with our 'Luci', a Lee Valley prized posession. There isn't any music playing. Rather, the sounds of the streets below (motorbikes, screeching breaks) can be heard just below the higher pitched sounds of travellers chatting.
(Side note: as I was writing, a musician picked up his guitar and starting playing. Great acoustic music with perfect choice of songs. Appropriately, "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman is being sung now... Appropriate because, like the lyrics, many travellers are moving around, "feeling like I belong here", quite lyrical telling the story of escaping...
At another table, there are eight people talking about their diving while in the Philippines. Many people come to the Phillipines, especially the Visayas and Cebu region for diving. While I am not a diver, I completely understand. Today we snorkelled off Apo Island. I have never seen such beauty under the sea. No need for diving, the snorkelling is awesome. But I digress.
The chit chat at the table beside us is all about where one should go, what you can do there, and why you should avoid other areas. This is travelling. It is (likely) how LP started. Travellers sharing their tidbits of info gained while moving around. Info gained while eating at the little corner spots run by a family, while trying to find bus stop in a country where there are NO demarcation of public transit stops, and while trying to find a place to sleep. All the most valuable and up to date information comes from these exchanges.
These exchanges also provide the fodder for future trips. They instantly raise the endorphins for travelling. When you hear a story of an experience that had the ability to move you in such a way that you believe that you have to be there now, that's when the planning begins. When hear stories that start with "it was so .....," this is when the traveller in you is instantly intrigued. And THIS is what I love. The lust for travelling, the lust for life, and the lust for adventure is why I, or we, (good thing my Jonny Ball agrees) are still travelling with a backpack.
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