therefore i travel.

I found a brilliant book this past week while roaming through the travel section at the foreign book store. I am so inspired by the author's thoughts and wanted to share a few of my favorite quotes...

"If our lives are dominated by a search for happiness, then perhaps few activities reveal as much about the dynamics of this quest--in all its ardour and paradoxes--than our travels. They express, however inarticulately, an understanding of what life might be about, outside of the constraints of work and of the struggle for survival. Yet rarely are they considered to present philosophical problems-that is, issues requiring thought beyond the practical. We are inundated with advice on where to travel, but we hear little of why and how we should go, even though the art of travel seems naturally to sustain a number of question neither so simple nor so trivial, and whose study might in modes ways contribute to an understanding of what the greek philosophers beautifully termed eudaimonia, or "human flourishing."

"The plane a symbol of worldliness, carrying within itself a trace of all the lands it has crossed. Its eternal mobility offering an imaginative counterweight to feelings of stagnation and confinement."

"Journeys are the midwives of thought. Few places are more conducive to internal conversations than moving planes, ships, or trains. There is an almost quaint correlation between what is before our eyes and the thoughts we are able to have in our heads: large thoughts at times requiring large views, and new thought, new places. Introspective reflections that might otherwise be liable to stall are helped along by the flow of the landscape."

"If we find poetry in the service station and the motel, if we are drawn to the airport or the train carriage, it is perhaps because, despite their architectural compromises and discomforts, despite their garnish colours and harsh lighting, we implicity feel that these isolated places offer us a material setting for an alternative to the selfish ease, the habits and confinement of the ordinary, rooted world."

-Alain de Botton, The Art of Travel

life along the mekong.

I recently finished reading a book titled “The River’s Tale: A Year on the Mekong” and have been thinking a lot about this part of the world lately. The author writes about his journey along the Mekong River from the mountains of Tibet, through southern China, Laos, Cambodia, and finally Vietnam. It was impossible to read about his experience without thinking of my own.

I can so vividly remember the hours, and sometimes days, spent traveling on buses from one Southeast Asian city to another. I will never forget the feeling of arriving in Luang Prabang, Laos at night and being greeted by vendors selling freshly made chicken baguette sandwiches, monks walking the streets dressed in bright orange robes, and a guesthouse over-looking one of the city’s most beautiful Buddhist temples. I remember the days spent strolling the perfectly restored alleyways in Lijiang, China and watching Naxi men and women perform traditional dances in the town square. My mind wanders back to the hot afternoons in Saigon, Vietnam where my only plan was to shop in one of the many markets full of men and women eager to bargain over the price of imitation goods. I can almost feel the crisp morning air as I hopped on the back of a motorcycle taxi at 5 am to watch the sun rise over Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that it was actually me in all of those incredible moments. I must be the luckiest person on earth.

Reading this book about the Mekong River has been a reminder of my love for this part of the world. You won’t find fancy shopping malls or expensive cars in most of these places, but you will find a simple, unexplainable beauty in the land and on the faces of the people. Traveling through these war-torn countries awakened my understanding of the world like never before. I have seen landmine victims struggling to make ends meet, played with children whose growth was stunted due to malnutrition, watched wealthy western men take advantage of young Asian girls forced into prostitution, and seen killing fields where thousands of innocent people died at the hands of brutal leader. However, I have also witnessed singing and dancing, children's laughter, and a deep appreciation for life's simple pleasures. Many of these people have not forgotten their past, and still struggle to survive, but remain hopeful for a better future. Their outlook on life has radically shaped my own. I have never seen so much beauty in the world. I long to return to the simplicity of life along the Mekong.

These photos were taken during a 6-hour boat ride along the Mekong River from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I traveled through this part of the world in February and March of 2007. It was an experience I hope to never forget.





"Yes, there is a genuine emotional and intellectual rush that comes from travel and discovery...in understanding, in seeing societies change, adapt, create, struggle, survive. And there is a rush of travel itself, a 'wind in the hair' sensation that comes from hefting a backpack and heading into what is truly unknown."
-Edward Gargan.

thank you, mr. vonnegut.

My friend, James, and I began our very own Seoul book club a few months ago...we are the only members. Nearly every weekend we get together at a random coffee shop in the city to read, talk, and consume endless amounts of caffeine. Its been a great way to continue learning now that we are out of college and in the "real world" where reading books isn't quite as commonplace. It's fun to have a friend in the city with similar interests who is ridiculously smarter than me and enjoys lazy Saturday afternoons spent at the Coffee Bean...and he's a Texan! So far we have read "Slaughter House Five," "Lolita," "A Man Without a Country," and are now working through "On the Road." I feel smarter already.

Yesterday afternoon we read Vonnegut's last work, "A Man Without a Country," at the coffee shop overlooking Itaewon. This book was written as a sort of memoir to his life and throughout he discusses his opinions on politics, modern America, life, art, etc. I love his way with words...humorous, introspective, witty, and real. I feel like I learn more about my own life just by reading his thoughts. Yesterday, one phrase in paticular caught my attention. Vonnegut was talking about his Uncle Alex whose biggest complaint was that people seldom noticed when they were happy. His uncle would frequently interrupt conversations and exclaim, "If this isn't nice I don't know what is." In response, Vonnegut stated, "So I do the same now, and so do my kids and grandkids. And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, 'If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.'"

This morning I woke up, layed in bed for a few minutes, and read those words again. I want to notice when I am happy. I don't want to go through life numb to the joy and beauty that surrounds me each and every day. I want to take notice, and appreciate, even the smallest details that make life worth living... good conversation that last for hours, friendship, the cool air blowing past as I ride my bike to work, sunny mornings spent journaling and listening to music in Olympic Park, laughter, dancing, music that inspires thought, flags representing nations around the world, poetry, capturing the perfect photograph in an exotic country, hot coffee on a winter day, a morning message of encouragement from a best friend, an email written just to say hello, a quiet night at home in my apartment, a good movie, being surrounded by nature, streets filled with people and neon lights, and so on. The things I have to be happy about are far too numerous to list.

One of the most vivid images in my mind of someone who truly knows how to enjoy and appreciate life is of my friend, Nicole. Exactly one year ago we were in Koh Phangan, Thailand together traveling Southeast Asia. One afternoon we look a long-tailed boat out with a small tour group to snorkel, tan, and see some of the surrounding islands. The sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds, the ocean a rich shade of turquoise and blue, and the sun was hanging high above us. The perfect afternoon. I remeber looking over and seeing Nicole sitting at the edge of the boat with her face to the sky, eyes closed, and long hair blowing in the wind. It was almost as if the rest of the world ceased to exist for her in that moment. I couldn't help but think that she was someone who truly knows how to make the most of an afternoon spent in paradise. She seemed so aware and overwhelmed by the beauty surrounding her that all she could do was close her eyes and soak up the happiness. I'll never forget that image. That afternoon Nicole showed me a self-assuredness, contentment, and joy for life that I can only hope to one day have.

"I urge you to please notice when you are happy."