California Dreamin’
<center><img src=”http://www.saorrento.com/images/topgearvietnam.jpg” alt=”TopGear in Vietnam” /></center>
My obsession with travel began back in 1997 where a family holiday took me for the first time out of Australia and to the likes of Singapore, England and United States. Since that time I have made a small smattering of trips of my own; revisiting Singapore a number of times and returning to LA/Hollywood and visiting Las Vegas. On the domestic scale I am no stranger to the wide open roads, having driven numerous times to Denmark and Esperance essentially covering the south west region of Western Australia. I have also had the fortune of my work taking me to places such as Newman, deep in the Pilbara of Western Australia and across to Sydney on the east coast.
There are many aspects of travel I enjoy, the first of which and probably still the most significant of these is through my hobby of photography; in my opinion nothing makes for better photography than foreign landscapes and cultures. By foreign, I am referring to anything other than local to the viewer. However in recent times I have discovered how much I enjoy the challenge of learning languages. In anticipation of doing a Russian Trans-Siberian tour in late 2009 I began to learn to speak Russian. To this date I have only a few short phrases to show for my efforts, such as ordering beverages and saying please and thank you – but that is simply because I haven’t really been putting a great deal of time into it. So imagine how good I will be when I do actually start studying it. However my Russian has been put on hold for now in light of a new challenge – learning basic Vietnamese all thanks to my girlfriend / partner in crime who bought me an audio disc and book.
New Years 2007/2008 I made a resolution; to go abroad at least once a year. This year I plan to do a double-whammy (to make up for past years if nothing else) starting with a tour of Vietnam in May.
I am very much looking forward to this trip; lately I have begun to feel somewhat overwhelmed by western culture, though this can possibly be attributed to my recent increase in watching TV – being swamped by western-dramas. I close my eyes and picture the solitude of the Vietnamese country side; through all the hustle and bustle of an over populated country with swarms of mopeds and bikes coming from all directions lays a simpler lifestyle; dramatically different from the lifestyle that I have become accustomed to over the past 25 years. I really am looking forward to experiencing and embracing the change that the Vietnamese culture has to offer.
Later in the year, around late September to mid October dream of a Trans Siberian adventure is starting to form. The month long journey through Siberia will most likely begin in the Far East province Vladivostok and journey on through to Moscow and St Petersburg, making stops at local villages on route.
For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to visit Russia. My fixation with history, particularly World War II has undoubtedly played a strong part in this, as from very early on I became enthralled by the battle of Stalingrad the pivotal turning point in Soviet history and their stand against Nazi Germany.
So much adventure planned for 2009.. Recession be damned!