When I returned from Traveling across the former Soviet Union this summer I could not help but ponder that incredible experience, hidden to so many for decades behind the Iron curtain.
The Iron curtain has since been lifted, and actually for more than 20 years now, but psychologically it is still there for many. I will never forget while waiting in line for customs at Moscow, I met a women with a diplomatic passport for Canada, and she said to me,"You are going to Russia... ALONE!?, are you not scared?", and this women works for our government, an educated person. Oh well, I had the experience of a life time.
I know now that what Russia did for me was strike an inception, an idea in my head that I could not get rid of. What lies beyond European Russia? I always remember in school we learned about the concept of EURASIA, which is bridged by Russia. When I went to the museums in Moscow and St. Petersburg I saw robes of Silk, Asiatic designs, jewelry from the far corners of the Russian empire. I also learned of the scale to which this empire reached, edging towards India and rivaling the all powerful British and American empires we learn so much about in school.
It was here that I got a taste for the unknown riches of Asia. I decided that rather than leave Russia after only visiting Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad I would venture back to the land of the Tatars, to the edge of Kazakhstan, to the southern reaches of the Caucasuses region. It was here I discovered only a fraction of the hidden gems within the world largest country and I could not help but wonder what lay beyond its borders in the countries "Between the Lines of Asia".
And so it began. I returned and began planning on how to visit these countries. I thought well maybe I will start in Turkey and make my way to the southern Caucasuses and then into Iran. But then I thought, well if I have come this far why not Pakistan or even Afghanistan? Why not beyond to India and Nepal? Then I was tempted by my brother to explore North Korea earlier this year and I made a few calls, got the tour booked and Kim Jong Il died. Not to worry, his son seems totally OK with tourism, I guess I will find out.
So I reversed the trip, and in order to pick up my visa for North Korea, I had to stop in China. And I figured if I came ALLLLLL the way over there I had to stop in South Korea and visit my friend Alisha. The trip continued to grow, adding Malaysia to re-connect with my grandfathers service in the British army there and then fly up to Nepal to begin the overland journey.
The trip will continue to take shape, as regions like these can be volatile and situations can change quite quickly. I look forward to the evolution of the trip and the dynamic people I shall meet along the way.
One of the primary purposes behind this trip was the latter statement, the people I will meet, the stories I will hear, the things I will see. For the perceptions so many of us have of these places are influenced by what the main stream media tells us. The words of that Canadian diplomat in Moscow still stick in my mind, the FEAR that so many of us have of the unknown.
I look forward to through this trip and our access to technology and information in the 21st century to bring to life the experience I have in these countries. For everywhere I have been that the media and government tells you not to go, I have had the best experiences of my life! You meet real people, with real stories and the perceptions and stereotypes that you had before you left are broken down right before your eyes. So the message is when we read about a place, a people or a situation, always look and try to see what is NOT being told or read and look between the lines. I have researched very thuroughly into this region and contacted as many people as possible in the places I will be going, but I know no matter how much research I do or preparations I make that the experience will be unique.
Nothing is as simple as it seems and I hope to show this on my journey this summer.
I hope that all of you out there that are part of this group or are just reading about this trip will share and benefit from this experience as well.
I look forward to writing about this journey and updating all of you at home and all across world with what I see "Between the lines of Asia".
The Iron curtain has since been lifted, and actually for more than 20 years now, but psychologically it is still there for many. I will never forget while waiting in line for customs at Moscow, I met a women with a diplomatic passport for Canada, and she said to me,"You are going to Russia... ALONE!?, are you not scared?", and this women works for our government, an educated person. Oh well, I had the experience of a life time.
I know now that what Russia did for me was strike an inception, an idea in my head that I could not get rid of. What lies beyond European Russia? I always remember in school we learned about the concept of EURASIA, which is bridged by Russia. When I went to the museums in Moscow and St. Petersburg I saw robes of Silk, Asiatic designs, jewelry from the far corners of the Russian empire. I also learned of the scale to which this empire reached, edging towards India and rivaling the all powerful British and American empires we learn so much about in school.
It was here that I got a taste for the unknown riches of Asia. I decided that rather than leave Russia after only visiting Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad I would venture back to the land of the Tatars, to the edge of Kazakhstan, to the southern reaches of the Caucasuses region. It was here I discovered only a fraction of the hidden gems within the world largest country and I could not help but wonder what lay beyond its borders in the countries "Between the Lines of Asia".
And so it began. I returned and began planning on how to visit these countries. I thought well maybe I will start in Turkey and make my way to the southern Caucasuses and then into Iran. But then I thought, well if I have come this far why not Pakistan or even Afghanistan? Why not beyond to India and Nepal? Then I was tempted by my brother to explore North Korea earlier this year and I made a few calls, got the tour booked and Kim Jong Il died. Not to worry, his son seems totally OK with tourism, I guess I will find out.
So I reversed the trip, and in order to pick up my visa for North Korea, I had to stop in China. And I figured if I came ALLLLLL the way over there I had to stop in South Korea and visit my friend Alisha. The trip continued to grow, adding Malaysia to re-connect with my grandfathers service in the British army there and then fly up to Nepal to begin the overland journey.
The trip will continue to take shape, as regions like these can be volatile and situations can change quite quickly. I look forward to the evolution of the trip and the dynamic people I shall meet along the way.
One of the primary purposes behind this trip was the latter statement, the people I will meet, the stories I will hear, the things I will see. For the perceptions so many of us have of these places are influenced by what the main stream media tells us. The words of that Canadian diplomat in Moscow still stick in my mind, the FEAR that so many of us have of the unknown.
I look forward to through this trip and our access to technology and information in the 21st century to bring to life the experience I have in these countries. For everywhere I have been that the media and government tells you not to go, I have had the best experiences of my life! You meet real people, with real stories and the perceptions and stereotypes that you had before you left are broken down right before your eyes. So the message is when we read about a place, a people or a situation, always look and try to see what is NOT being told or read and look between the lines. I have researched very thuroughly into this region and contacted as many people as possible in the places I will be going, but I know no matter how much research I do or preparations I make that the experience will be unique.
Nothing is as simple as it seems and I hope to show this on my journey this summer.
I hope that all of you out there that are part of this group or are just reading about this trip will share and benefit from this experience as well.
I look forward to writing about this journey and updating all of you at home and all across world with what I see "Between the lines of Asia".
