Twenty-eight years ago I had a dream, that one day I would
visit an exotic place, somewhere out of the ordinary and off the beaten path.
My travel experience at 14, was limited to having only visited Hawai’i, British
Columbia, Canada and Alberta, Canada. Often when I had free time I would
practice my travel skills by navigating the Seattle bus system visiting such
far-flung destinations as, Auora Village, SeaTac Mall and Southcenter Mall. My
grandfather was a retired airline pilot and often told me fascinating stories
of his travels around the world to exotic destinations, only fueling my desire
to escape the mundane and visit these far off places.
Anyways, I digress, back to my “dream”. While at a friend’s
house one day he started telling me about how his next-door neighbor’s sister just
retuned from what was then the Soviet Union. Turned out that because she was
taking Russian language at our local high school, she had the opportunity to go
there on a two-week trip during summer. Suddenly my ears perked up and I could
see a long shot opportunity to fulfill this dream coming into sight!
To make a long story short, barely a few weeks went by
before I started to lay the groundwork to fulfill my dream. I started to study
Russian, even though high school and the “big trip” were still two some years away.
Eventually I fulfilled “the dream” and was ready to move on to bigger and
better things. Each summer until I entered college I would return to Russia to
visit a host family only deepening my love, passion and desire to continue my
travels.
Throughout the years I’ve continued my travels visiting such
places as, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, the politically charged war zone of
Kashmir, India, Southeast Asia, The Pacific Islands, Australia, New Zealand and
many places in and around European Russia. Although I’ve visited 44 nations,
there’s been one place that’s been missing from my list, a place that sends
shivers down peoples’ spine (literally), elicits fears, and stops people dead
in their tracks when they hear the name……………SIBERIA!!!
On April Fool’s Day (and yes, this is no joke!)
I will begin my journey to this mystical frozen land of Siberia! Stay tuned for
updates as I begin my journey around the world in less than 80 days starting
from Seoul, South Korea taking The Trans-Siberian Express and eventually ending
back in Seattle!
