AN UPDATE...

It was not quite as I had planned. October 11th became October 10th. 15 months reduced to five days. A languorous circumnavigation of the planet scaled back to what essentially is a long weekend in Chicago.

There are two options. Arrive in Chicago as planned, enjoy the book release party, then fall back into the resigned and defeated state I have existed in for the past month or more, watching my spirit continue west from the Windy City towards Seattle on Amtrak's "Empire Builder" train. Or the choice I know I have to make: let it all go and come back home ready to fight.

To be honest, the former choice sounds like the better option. I do not feel ready to move on, wherever "on" takes me. I still find it hard to breathe some days. Small things trigger emotional breakdowns I have never had to deal with before. Avoidance still seems favorable to facing the music. For the first time in my life I do not feel like I can overcome. I can tell myself that all the extra preparations with research and languages will make the eventual trip even better, and that might even be true, but the only thing I feel is numb.

Originally I had invited all my friends to join me at Penn Station, to wish me goodbye before a very long journey. Instead I arrive discreetly and alone, just wanting to slip away unnoticed. Early enough to catch a train to Washington, D.C. scheduled an hour before mine, I change my ticket quickly and escape the terminal earlier than expected to find myself seated on the "Northeast Regional" to the nation's capital.

In the beginning it is just like a ride to Newark Airport, but the train to D.C. slides by most stations without stopping and is soon in Trenton and then Philadelphia and then Baltimore. The capital arrives without incident, as the train passes and forgets the toughest neighborhoods of the cities it traverses. In rural parts of the country the train station is the center of town, right on Main Street, and everyone knows when the train pulls into town. But in urban centers, the train station usually exists in the part of town that probably makes a lot of passengers wary of alighting.

In D.C. this is not really the case, as a five-minute walk brings me to the Capitol Building. I am unable to take in any of the Neoclassical gems of this grand old structure though, as two nutcases are spewing hate under the cause of spreading Jesus' word. This being the weekend of a gay march on Washington, it was them that these two monsters were using their megaphone to hate. Hate with the goal of love, war with the goal of peace. We are a supremely misguided species.

The rest of my meander down The Mall is less eventful as I waste time between trains, walk some city streets, and take the Metro back to Union Station. Another 45 minutes pass and I am on the "Capitol Limited" to Chicago.

My fellow passengers are a mix of retired couples, people who can't afford planes, and people who do not fit on planes. The fat people mainly keep to themselves. The poor people enjoy themselves with games and jovial conversation amongst their traveling companions. If solitude is what you seek, the retired couples are the people you must avoid eye contact with at all cost. They spread out their maps and ask everyone around them "Where are you going?" The question is usually geared toward showing off their own itineraries and getting involved in history lessons. I hear bits and pieces about the various landmarks, waterways, and towns we are passing.

I am also surprised by the sheer volume of people that seem to be taking their very first and realize the comfort and joy involved in this mode of transportation. But in mid-October night arrives fairly early and as we are crossing the mountains along the Maryland-West Virginia border the sky explodes into bright oranges and pinks shortly before extinguishing until the next morning. The lounge car quickly empties of everyone now that the view is gone and becomes a very peaceful place to spend a few hours before attempting sleep.

I am back before dawn as sleep never comes easy in an upright position. A symphony of snoring from people more successful than me surrounds my seat and becomes unbearable. As light of day finally arrives, a thin blanket of frost covers the fields and cars near the Ohio-Indiana border, fitting foreshadow for my destination city stereotyped for cold temperatures. The Midwest is always somewhat monotonous by interstate but train travel brings you close enough to enjoy the details of each town or pasture you cross.

These and more photos from the train/DC/Chicago are available on my travel blog:

http://jaredcohee.blogspot.com/

NEW INVESTMENT

There was a time when this project was running like a well-oiled machine. Everything fell into place at just the right time in my life. I finished up all other business pursuits and concentrated fully on preparing myself for the trip ahead, making sure I was well-versed on the peoples and lands I would come across. As a full-time job, the research was something I looked forward to each morning. Unfortunately through circumstances not under my control, the book is searching for new funding.

I am not exactly sure about how to pursue such a lofty figure, especially from people I do not know, but if this project sounds like something you would like to support, and ultimately invest in, I would love to discuss the passion behind it as well as the goals of the future writing.

This is a new beginning. The project has so much potential as a marketable work of travel writing, but I see it more in terms of an opportunity to start a new path in my life. My first published book has been so much fun to be a part of, and of course travel for and write, that I hope to continue this momentum further.

If you have not already, I invite you to take a look through the posts of this blog, from back in May when I started doing trip research with a full head of steam. It was a plan that had specific departure dates and time periods at one point, but still could shift to any part of the year for departure, pending cargo ship schedules. I also have a comprehensive budget that I laid out in the beginning to figure out what was necessary for an endeavor like this to take place. Through further research, this document has become a refined prediction of each and every expenditure that will come up. I would be more than happy to share this information and research if interested.

Thank you for reading about this project. I hope to be able to share with you the final product in book form very soon, as it is an adventure through this world that could be an amazing story. To contact me, please write to jaredcohee AT gmail DOT com.

I KNOW NICE PEOPLE

Recently I was gifted two very nice books from two very nice friends. I had "My Country and its People" on my reading list, and one day it arrived in my hands, delivered in person. Thank you Rain! Soon afterwards I made the comment that I should probably take along a guidebook for China since it is the first extensive travel I will do in one country and I won't have to lug it around much beforehand. Shortly thereafter a box from Amazon.com arrived with the Lonely Planet. Thank you Candy!

I know nice people.

BOOK PUBLISHING, A FIRST

A little off the topic of this trip, I would like to just briefly share a link:

http://www.blindsidedbooks.com/calmoftheniger/

My first book about last winter's travels to Senegal and Mali has gone on sale, and is only $6 for a couple weeks during pre-order. Hope you enjoy!

A QUICK RECOMMENDATION...

Don't study Russian and Mandarin at the same time. The sounds of one are so fantastically different than the other, that it takes a full 10 minutes to contort the inside of your mouth in the right direction to switch.

DETAILED MAPS: NORTH AMERICA (#1)

Back to the beginning... the first phase of the journey will travel from the east coast of North America to the west coast, crossing 11 states and one Canadian province (British Columbia). As mentioned before, I will be stopping in Chicago to check in with Blindsided Books, and hopefully some sort of book launching event in an independent bookstore. More on that later.

Click for a larger view

I am also going to be stopping in Seattle after two nights on the "Empire Builder" train from Chicago. This weekend I will meet my host, who I found through Couchsurfing.org and will actually be my guest here in NYC. I am looking forward to that, as well as a couple more days in the Emerald City.

As you can see, borders will not be a big part of the first few weeks, with only a simple United States to Canada crossing on land, and maybe some customs formalities on the cargo ship before leaving.

DETAILED MAPS: AFRICA

Have I ever mentioned that I like maps? A million times?

I realized that a lot of people were asking me about specific routes and that I had not explained it any better than with this very rudimentary map a couple months ago.

So I decided to start making better maps of how I think the journey will go. It's too much fun and a good break from redundant research. I have a keen interest in borders and movement, so I have color coded red the travel and borders that I will cross on land, and blue for water. I start with Africa:

Click for a larger view.

DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS...

I apologize to anyone that has actually missed my posting recently. I've spent quite a bit a time the last two weeks in bookstores copying out minute details from Lonely Planet guides and the like, and none of that is particularly interesting like stories of places and people accompanied by photos can be. I've also had some other things on my mind recently, and not this. I'm steadily working hard though. It's coming together. I started my first Russian lessons last week and kicked myself in the ass to work harder with Mandarin.

The good news though, is that I have a gigantic spreadsheet now full of information about schedules and such for all the places I will travel in Asia, Europe, and Africa, the culmination of a lot of work! I still need to work on all of Latin America, but I feel momentum on my side.

The realities of all this detail has caused a couple small changes in my routes, and put into higher definition some other places that I only vaguely thought about, especially in Africa. As stated before, I am hoping to avoid large cities as much as possible, and Africa is by far the best continent to do this, as rural life is altogether more interesting than urban, not to mention more genuine in my experiences so far. It will be hard to limit myself to the four months I have alloted to reach Cape Town from Tunisia, mainly because of all the interesting possibilities I have read about and most certainly will run across when traveling.

Movement has to be a priority though.

A BUMP IN THE ROAD

When I woke up Monday morning my laptop did not turn on. This computer has most of my research notes and information, and I've spent the last two days first diagnosing the problem and then deciding what to do about it. It's also been a time of no productivity through the simple sense of defeat this has caused in me.

So I'm back to the grind today, and will get the hard drive extracted as soon as I can.

The first of many setbacks I assume, but I'd rather have "real world" ones. 15 months after purchase a motherboard fries itself. Nice.

Yes, I should have been constantly copying the files somewhere else and/or emailing it to myself to save progress. I know.

FOCUS ON ASIA

I realize a lot (read: most) of my posts to this point have focused on Asian countries and territories to this point. It's simply because I am doing all my research in the direction of my travels. I don't expect to be done by the time I leave, so it is obviously more imperative for me to know what I am getting myself into in the first locations I arrive. I will have plenty of down time, and the facilities to do research along the way. I fully expect to be working ahead on ideas and routes through Africa while I am resting up on train rides or in hotel rooms in Asia.

I'll keep posting my thoughts along the way, as well as photos and tidbits of what I am coming across and the progress that is being made. This blog has already helped me a great deal in making me question my initial thoughts and ideas, so I fully want to keep taking advantage of that during the trip as well. Even if no one was watching I would still do this for myself, to keep the pressure and skepticism on my own preconceptions. Please feel free to question my thoughts here too, as any challenge of good nature will only strengthen the final product that I will eventually write when a book comes out of all of this.

But, if you are already tired of Asia, I promise you there is a change of scenery soon coming...

Thanks for reading!

ETHNIC MINORITY REPORT?

This trip in a way seems to be developing some sort of back-up theme. If Movement is the major of my studies, than ethnic minorities seem to be the minor, at least in Asia. As reported a couple times already, I plan to visit some communities within Vietnam, Laos, and China that are villages of some of the ethnic minorities there. There are also numerous autonomous regions in Siberia that warrant mention and are composed of significant minority populations. I've put together a list of those that I have decided to go to so far:

China:

The Dong peoples in Tongdao county, Hunan and Guizhou provinces.

Hmong in Guizhou and Guangxi provinces.

Yao in Yunnan province.

Vietnam:

Hmong, Tay, and Yao (Dao in Vietnamese) in Lào Cai province.

Laos:

Hmong and Akha in Luang Namtha provinces.

Russia:

Jewish Autonomous province.

Buryat Republic.

I will in the future go into more detail about my plans to visit these places in Siberia, including both of the places above. They each have unique stories and histories that are fascinating to learn about.

If anyone has suggestions for others along my route, please let me know!

JAPA-WHAT?

Apparently there is a phenomenon in Vancouver like no other. It involves street carts, hot dogs, mayonaise, and miso. Wait... miso?

(Image courtesy of japadog.com)

Through a tip from a fellow food-blogger from Vancouver, I've been lucky enough to learn about Japa Dog, a hot dog vendor that attracts celebrities and all sorts of Japanese media. Check out their website at:

http://www.japadog.com/en/index.html

Hell, if Ice Cube loves it, I'm sure I will too!

There are some better photos HERE that you need to check out.

Thanks to Eagranie at The Well-Tempered Chocolatier for the fantastic recommendation. I can't wait! You can be assured that I will be writing about this one as soon as I try it.

NORTHERN VIETNAM AND THE HMONG

A few weeks back I spoke about my plans for northern Vietnam and Laos briefly, and my intentions to visit villages of the Hmong people here. It is an attraction that has been fueled by reading and research, but overcome my usual boundary of not going on cultural tourism.

In the past, I have stayed away from this type of thing simply because I was unsure of how to think about it all. On one hand, these cultures are so different from mine and interesting that I of course would love to meet the people and see their lives outside of books. The reason I stayed away was the simple fact that the opportunity existed solely because of tourism, and would I really be benefitting myself or them by partaking?

(Black Hmong women. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons/Bob Tubbs)

The more I prepare for something like this, the better I can feel about it all, and the more I can take out of it as well as give into it. In Vietnam for example, my visits to the far north mountains in villages surrounding Sa Pa, Lao Cai, and Bac Ha, I have read about some people employing the services of local Hmong guides that can take you on tours through the valleys and villages on your own. This will afford countless more opportunities to be of as little impact on life as possible, rather than as part of a daytrip or package tour that rolls through town and takes over a village for a brief time period before rolling out just as fast.

I'll be spending about three weeks in the region here, the majority of which will be in and around small Hmong (amongst other ethnic minorities) villages. It shouldn't cost much even to employ the highest-priced guide, so I plan to take advantage of this opportunity the best I can.

(Flower Hmong girls. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons/Brian Snelson)

I do not have grand plans for any particular place I am visiting, nor any hypothesis I am trying to prove, but I do think the way a minority group is treated within a country tells a lot about its people. I hope I can see a little of this while there both in these villages and when speaking to majority populations when in transit or elsewhere.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?

It's happened a couple times along the way, but today in Barnes & Noble my jaw dropped from absolute shock as I discovered that a border crossing I planned to make between northern Vietnam and northern Laos was actually closed to foreigners. The closest (and most northerly) border open was actually not close at all and would necessitate an extra couple days of travel.

Both the Lonely Planet and Rough Guides mentioned that there has been talk of opening this border to tourists, but nothing had been done yet. Both guides were also over two years old, so I thought I should double check on some traveler forums, and what do you know? The border opened to foreigners in May of 2007 and has remained open since.

(Orange is desired, green is next closest, image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)

My main plans in northern Vietnam center around the Hmong peoples (among other minorities) and the town of Sa Pa near Lao Cai (click on the map for a larger view). To get down to the green border post, coming all the way back to Hanoi would have been necessary. This route goes in another direction towards Dien Bien Phu, saving time and avoiding backtracking. If I have ever learned anything about myself during travels, it is that I despise backtracking.

The even better part of it is that it also has visa services available at the border, so if obtaining my Laos visa is a problem in Hanoi, I can put it off for the border. A couple posts I read mentioned how one foreigner can hold up the entire bus for three hours at the border waiting for the visa guy though, so I will do my best to prepare ahead so as not to have a busload of locals angry at me.

SHORTWAVE RADIO ANYONE?

I'm not sure why I have never invested in a shortwave radio before (called a "world band" radio for anyone that consistently watched Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego), but I figure now is the time. 14 months will afford a bevy of time in which I am bored of whatever book I am reading and also need to hear world news and languages I can understand.

Anyone own one that they recommend? The smaller the better obviously...