Gerald
Potts offers some enlelcext insight and offers the perspective of an experienced traveler/vagabond and also the perspective of someone, in his case a well published journalist, who can perhaps use his vagabonding as a means to an end; as a way to support his thirst for the road. I have spent a fair amount of time bashing around over the years and chuckled at his mention of the trustafariens and holier than thous who would like nothing more than to make anyone they encounter believe they have the knowledge, the sensitivity and in many cases the affected accent of the populations and regions to which they have, this month, decided to attach themselves. How Potts suggests preparing for a trip, deciding whether or not to travel with someone or solo, the web sites, choosing the right guidebooks, etc is all very sound advice but I did miss the chapter of how to stay current with the literally tens of thousands of dollars in student loans most who might be inclined to vagabonding are burdened with. I understand about how liquidating assets might mentally and financially prepare one for an extended journey but I don't know too many out there who are interested in assuming someone else's debt to make it happen. I think a chapter about how frequent job hopping is going to lead to a point of diminshing returns might be useful as well. Quitting a job every 18 months or so to support a wanderlust ultimately makes someone unemployable or maybe only employable in those jobs with wages barely enough to cover this month's rent, never mind the airfare to your next destination. Also, let's not forget that vagabonding to many means hanging out there without medical insurance. That's great if you can afford the premium without the support of an employer but if you're making that kind of cash you probably don't need to work anyway. So, in short, many great thoughts about travel from someone who seems to have been able to leverage a career out of it. Oh, and by the way, how many nights in Tibet would the price of this book get me?
Gerald Potts offers some enlelcext insight and offers the perspective of an experienced traveler/vagabond and also the perspective of someone, in his case a well published journalist, who can perhaps use his vagabonding as a means to an end; as a way to support his thirst for the road. I have spent a fair amount of time bashing around over the years and chuckled at his mention of the trustafariens and holier than thous who would like nothing more than to make anyone they encounter believe they have the knowledge, the sensitivity and in many cases the affected accent of the populations and regions to which they have, this month, decided to attach themselves. How Potts suggests preparing for a trip, deciding whether or not to travel with someone or solo, the web sites, choosing the right guidebooks, etc is all very sound advice but I did miss the chapter of how to stay current with the literally tens of thousands of dollars in student loans most who might be inclined to vagabonding are burdened with. I understand about how liquidating assets might mentally and financially prepare one for an extended journey but I don't know too many out there who are interested in assuming someone else's debt to make it happen. I think a chapter about how frequent job hopping is going to lead to a point of diminshing returns might be useful as well. Quitting a job every 18 months or so to support a wanderlust ultimately makes someone unemployable or maybe only employable in those jobs with wages barely enough to cover this month's rent, never mind the airfare to your next destination. Also, let's not forget that vagabonding to many means hanging out there without medical insurance. That's great if you can afford the premium without the support of an employer but if you're making that kind of cash you probably don't need to work anyway. So, in short, many great thoughts about travel from someone who seems to have been able to leverage a career out of it. Oh, and by the way, how many nights in Tibet would the price of this book get me?