By Troy Headrick
In just a few more days, I’ll be traveling to Egypt with my spouse. We’ll do typical tourist stuff but also spend time visiting in-laws and hanging out at some of my old haunts. I’m really looking forward to the trip.
Azza, my wife, is from Cairo, but we’ll go to lots of off-the-beaten-path type places. For example, she and her family own homes and property in a region called Wadi Gedid, which translates to “New Valley.” To call the place “new” is a misnomer because the area is an ancient oasis in the south-central portion of the country, in a very rural part of “Upper Egypt.”
Since I’m so preoccupied by my upcoming travels, I want to ask the following questions:
What is the coolest trip you’ve ever taken? Where did you go and what did you do there? Did the trip change you in some way?
I’m looking forward to hearing about some of your travels! Thanks very much for sharing!
Troy Headrick’s personal blog can be found here.
If you’d like to see some of Troy’s art, have a look.
In 1986 I rode along on a family road trip in a motorhome- Through California, Oregon, Washington to join in the Expo in Vancouver saw Butchart gardens continued across British Columbia into Alberta stopping in Jasper, Lake Louise, and Banff, with a combination Horse trail ride with white water rafting. Then to Calgary and a day at the big Stampede
culminating with a family reunion in Lethbridge AL meeting all my Canadian family
That sounds like a great trip and a lovely area to see. It was extra special that you were able to travel with loved ones. I’ve never actually traveled by motorhome. Did it have beds, a bathroom, and a kitchen? I guess that sort of frees you up from always looking for hotels and motels all the time. My favorite way to travel is by train. I’ve done hundreds of train trips, long and small. It’s such a romantic way to travel. Thanks for sharing your story.
It did have all the “comforts” but we still camped and stayed in hotels where necessary
You had the best of both worlds then!
Certainly not the coolest, but definitely the most revealing trip was a walk through the poverty outskirts of Manilla in the Philippines.
There, living in tin and cardboard makeshift shacks, friendly, smiling faces greeted me and had me thinking, ” How can these people with so little be so happy? What is their problem?”
A sobering thought struck me . . . perhaps it was me, the ‘If I had just a little more American’ that had
the real problem.
In a world where I pay more for entertainment TV subscriptions than half of our planet’s fellow inhabitants earn in a year, I realized how underservedly blessed I am.
I would say that being an American is both a blessing and a curse. True. We are blessed to be able to live in a country that is rich in relation to many other countries. Many, though, have been trained to believe that consumption is the only way to live and so they constantly chase dollars and the latest bauble. I have lived in poor countries. We think they are poor in the pocketbook but they are rich in the tightknit nature of their families and such. (There’s more than one way to be rich.) Why were all those poor people so seemingly happy when so many Americans seem dour or angry? Such folks don’t become obsessed with work. Look at the suicide rates in America. There’s lots of real unhappiness here. We are currently a democratic country and such. Let’s hope we stay that way. Thanks for your comment. You touched upon a topic I love to write and think about.
Japan, Tokyo. This was my coolest trip. I learned a lot about Japan, culture, lifestyle and traditions. Absolutely love the country and can’t wait to go back to see more.
I’d love to go to Japan. I’ve lived in five countries but haven’t been to that part of Asia or to South America. I bet the food in Japan was great too. Thanks for sharing your travel story.
Incredibly amazing country and a stunning combination of technology and tradition.
Food was very good.
I’ve been watching two short travel series about Japan. Some of the episodes include scenes of guys riding bicycles through the Japanese countryside. That one focuses on little towns off the beaten path. The other show is hosted by non-Japanese European women who speak wonderful Japanese and spend a lot of time talking with people about Japanese cuisine. It looks so healthy and delicious. Like I said in the lead up to question, I’m traveling to Egypt in a few days. One of my wife’s nieces has already invited me out to a sushi restaurant. I could absolutely eat sushi three meals a day. It might surprise you to learn that Cairo, Egypt has an amazing restaurant scene.
I’m sure there lots of restaurants with delicious food.
Enjoy your trip and stay safe!
I’ve got to stop with these comments because I’m beginning to salivate (unnaturally).
The most memorable trip I’ve been on was an LSD trip. I was talking to the flowers in the garden and watching them grow and bloom, with their colours becoming the most vibrant and mesmerising kaleidoscope I’ve ever seen. I was at one with the world and everything around me. Everything made sense and I had total clarity in my thoughts
I hope you’ve written something about that trip. If possible, I’d give it a try. I know more and more people are turning to drugs of that sort to help with psychological issues and such. Reading your story makes me think about how cool it would be to escape this oppressive and limited reality we live in. I bet, in the near future, psychedelics and hallucinogens will become more and more mainstream. By the way, if you have written about that experience, come back and post a link here. I’m certain you’d find interested readers.
I’ve not written anything under the influence of LSD. I’ve only been able to write at certain times and when I have a period of clarity.
https://livingthebipolardiary.wordpress.com/2021/02/25/thought-of-the-day-%f0%9f%a4%94/
Hi Troy, I wish you a very good trip! The coolest trip I was ever on did change me. In 2019 we traveled through my wife’s country of Panama. She is from Panama city, but we were travelling through the mountains in the western part of the country close to the border with Costa Rica. While driving up a windy mountain road I saw a house that had tables with plants on outside and a sign that announced “Vivero” or nursery. From that second on I knew I wanted to start a nursery. I had already been starting seeds and giving them away to friends for years, but had never considered making it a business, let alone doing it from home. I’m still not firmly established as a business and still have another 9-5, but I’m well on my way. That’s why I’m blogging today, recording the journey. Great question, thanks for asking.
I wish you a profound, safe, and life changing journey.
Best wishes,
Scott
One cool trip I did was to Iceland, with my sister. We went for a week and rented a car, to go explore around the country. We found some really cheap tickets (because it was during the winter months). The days were pretty short, and we spent a lot of time driving, but we got to see some really cool places. The trip did change me. We had mapped out a bunch of stops and places to visit, but did not account for the conversion to driving in Kilometers vs. Miles, so getting from one place to the next took longer than we expected… Therefore, we had to modify our plan, scratch some destinations, and search for other options that were on the way. So one improvised plan was visiting this rock called Hvitserkur, which is a natural rock formation protruding out of the ocean that looks like a creature. In photos it looked pretty cool, and it was kind of close so we went to check it out. After driving down a remote road for 20 or 30 minutes we started getting a little worried that maybe we were lost, or going the wrong way… My sister was driving and I said: “You know, it’s ok. We can probably turn back and keep going. it’s just a rock.” It had been my idea to venture that way, and I felt a little bad that it was taking so long to get there, and taking away from our busy trip. My sister was quiet for a sec and then she said “It’s not JUST a rock.”
I felt better knowing she didn’t think we were wasting our time. Her saying that had an impact on me. Now I watch out for times when I’m about to “play it down” and act like I don’t care about something for X or Y reason. Now I ask myself: Is it really worth forfeiting? DOES it or DOESN’T it mean something to me?
We kept on the road for another 10 minutes or so, and finally found the rock and it was AWESOME.
You have reminded me I must write that blog about my travels to Ireland and England!
Definitely the best trip I’ve taken in my life so far. Spending a lot of time with my brother and sister seeing beautiful countryside, taking in brilliant music in local pubs, hearing stories from locals who had many of them to tell – it was brilliant.
I got your trip to Egypt was/is a fruitful one. 🙂