Well said.

I've travelled for the wrong reasons before. Ironically to escape a bad breakups up or family problems.

I've actually jacked in great jobs and committed financial suicide by going on long trips that I hoped would somehow fix my life.

I hated those trips as my head was in the wrong place and I usually came home after a month because everything and everyone was irritating me and I was just ruining my bank account and health trying to find happiness.

Happiness, inner peace and enjoyment is something that you carry inside of you. It doesn't exist on another continent. Just like sadness and misery can't simply be left behind.

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

I love the deepness of the talk here, what happens pretty often. Even when I`m missing some parts because my english is not skilled enough to read between the lines!

Wise words!

What lead us to do these trips! How reflected and analytic we should look into it? For shure my Adventure-Travelbug was alway there, did dream about since I was 15-16 years.

Guess my Transafrica did happens because I did get more out of my live, than I ever had expected by myself. Friends, Relationship, Income, Career - I never had guessed that I am able to get there.

Guess I never thought to be still alive at 40 too, to be honest. Had no plans whats next. Wile funds was raising there too a small crisis came - for what do I need that money for? Did not want kids, want adventure - an exchange for those many 60 hours weeks of hard hard work.

I had everything, more than expected by myself. Guess I didnt estimated what I got too.

Guess If my plans would had worked, my travelbug would be smaller afterwards. But out of 1-2 Years and a africa rountrip I just was able to do a transafrica in 2 months. Travelbug was still there.

Will give an long text if I go now through the next trips

Surfy

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About Overlanding, Travelogues, Equipment
Trans-Africa over the west coast

Wonderful post. I love your line up there, papering over the cracks....

The greatest passion of our life, must be life itself....Everything is in service of that - and not just the passion of being alive, but the passion of living for others. I have lived my life fully in the deep knowledge that one day I will pass from this world, and that every moment is precocious beyond measure. So I pursued music, and film, and art - and worked almost exclusively for myself - and my work was my passion...I refused to not LOVE what I was doing, even if the pay was less.....and I continue.

I have no children. I have an 89 year old mother with serious dementia - who I can still make laugh to tears....and see joy on her face when I visit (everyday).

And yes - a girlfriend - who is coming around to the new normal - and its looking like she is going to support me - we are still talking....

I'm not going travelling. I have no intension of returning to this place. I am combining my passions into one thing - an exploration of getting old, seeing the world, music, letting go, living every single second in, as a friend put it - LIFE SQUARED. This whole thing is a fully natural extension of what I've been doing for my whole life....And, again - I'm not on a trip - coming back and going out again.....This is one way. A lifestyle. And a way of being.

Regrets: none. Mistakes many. It has taken YEARS for me to accept who I am, and embrace the good and the bad - to work on myself every moment - but to never be embarrassed about the person I am - even when I'm an idiot...cause I take myself lightly - but the journey seriously.

Grant and Suzan - you have built something really special in this website/forum. Honest, thinking like minded souls - these few days have been difficult - but what an opportunity to learn - and the words and discussion on this have been tremendous.

I bow to all of you - Namaste

Would you be up for her joining you every few months for a week or so?

It could be an exciting way for her to see more of the world and to participate in your adventure without having to take many months off.

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

That's the plan - in places that are safe. And for as long as she wants....But unlike me, she requires comfort and that will mean more hotels, and that is more costly - so balance.....

Back before wife, kids, dogs, mortgage, bad health, unexpected bad luck, it was easy for me to take off and not worry. The more of these you get-and you may well get them all-it becomes harder to do long trips. If you don't have many situations it would be good to go now, because you can never be sure what's going to happen in the next second. As was said, if she doesn't want to go and doesn't want you to go, you may end up with no way to go anywhere. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for the wife and kids, but I remember the exact day it was fix the bike or spend the money on the rug rats. They won out because they were more important.

To sum this thread up
We all (or most of us ) travel for a different reason ...................:

Renton in Trainspotting says it all.

(I'm mildly sorry about the profanities, but we've all heard them....
and anyway the website will edit them out with ****'s)

Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a ****ing big television, Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance. Choose fixed-interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose a three piece suite on hire purchase in a range of ****ing fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the **** you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing ****ing junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, ****ed-up brats you have spawned to replace yourselves.

Choose your future. Choose life . . .

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Hear the challenge, learn the lesson, pay the cost.

Well you only get one go at life and tbh I could write a book on regrets , but when I balance it out with what I have done then I'm pretty happy with it .
My dad is on his last legs now , cancer has won I'm afraid But he travelled the world on the Royal Yacht in the 50s and 60s and has seen things very few people get to see......no he wont make it to 90 but he had an amazing 80 years . Haven't quite equalled his travels but have had a bloody good go .
Basically it's your choice..........dont end up in a rocking chair aged 100 with millions in the bank thinking I'm rich....haven't done anything but I'm rich

I actually did write a book on regrets (or one big regret anyway)


And look what happened to him - either a heart attack in a gym at 46 or best known for riding RTW, depending on whether you're talking about the character or the actor.

I think a lot of people have a disdain for a conventional route through life when the road is mostly ahead of them, particularly if you're at the 'one art O level' rather than the 'PhD' end of the spectrum (Rat Race by The Specials). There's not much individuality in following Renton's list - unless you come from a wealthy enough background to see that it can work to your benefit. Money begets money as they say. However life has a habit of making you re-evaluate what you value. And that, of course, is where this discussion started.