3. Solo Safari
Nature is the art of God.
—Sir Thomas Browne
The lion was so close, I could see its fine whiskers move. My guide had no weapon and we were in an open-air vehicle. The lion looked regal and fierce. He looked satisfied, as if he had recently had a big meal, I told myself.
It was exciting, beautiful, and educational to be out in the wild, at the mercy of the majestic creatures whose habitat we visited. Animals emerged unexpectedly, and my senses were on high alert. There was an air of danger about, and I imagined predators sizing me up as we meandered around the wild terrain.
I wanted to take a photographic safari. Being in nature feeds me, and I find animals to be fascinating. Even observing my dog reminds me to stretch before physical activity. Nature can be a potent instructor.
I looked online, read reviews, and booked one on the low end of the pricing scale. It was a bit of a gamble, in that I did not know who else would be in the group. I had some fear, as well, about traveling alone as a woman. A small woman. I am not even five feet tall. But I am fairly feisty!
I lucked out. I found a reasonably priced safari to Kruger National Park, one of the largest of South Africa’s game reserves. It is about the size of Israel or Wales.
There were two couples on the trip, one of whom was on their honeymoon. The other was from England and very jolly. I was the only solo traveler, but did not feel uncomfortable about that. Our guide was a grizzled old Afrikaner with a mischievous sense of humor. He was a big flirt, but harmless. He counseled us not to “donate” ourselves to the ferocious Cape buffalo we encountered, and jokingly tried to get me to stay in South Africa and be his companion.
I did a lot of research to find the lowest airfare and safari accommodations. After my time in Nepal, I was fine without many creature comforts.
The scenery and wildlife we saw were breathtaking. Witnessing the circle of life and survival of the fittest was perspective altering for me. I felt tiny. I felt amazed. I reveled in the wonders of nature in a way I seldom did in my adult life before this chapter.
I learned about the history of South Africa while on this safari, and could observe en route the remnants of the Apartheid era. Even in the bush, the white Afrikaners appeared to have the better jobs. The culture is an amalgam of Dutch, British, and tribal influences. It is financially more stable than most of the other countries on the continent, which inspired some xenophobia when outsiders tried to take South African jobs. Tourism plays a large role in the South African economy.
I stretched myself by going on an adventure on the other side of the world with people I knew nothing about. I could hear wild animals roaring around me at night, reminding me of nature’s pecking order. I left with a greater understanding of one of the world’s newest democracies and of African wildlife, which is so different from that indigenous to our continent. The adventure fed my spirit.
Of course one does not have to go around the world to experience adventure and stretch oneself. The theater of natural beauty can be found in many, many places you have never been. One of my friends takes daily walks along the Potomac River, marveling and posting about the never-ending discoveries of flora, fauna, and insect life she comes across. Another volunteers at a girls’ camp each summer to get her dose of outdoor adventure. I have explored trails and parks with my dog that are close to my home, but make me feel far away from my usual environs.
Being outside and close to the earth can feed your spirit. Go. Now.
4. I’ll Take Manhattan
Cut off as I am, it is inevitable that I should sometimes feel like a shadow walking in a shadowy world. When this happens I ask to be taken to New York City. Always I return home weary but I have the comforting certainty that mankind is real flesh and I myself am not a dream.
—Helen Keller
It is a life regret of mine that I never lived in bustling, captivating New York City. It is a city that never sleeps, filled with culture and excitement, where one can find whatever they want, 24 hours a day. I visit often, taking a $20 to $30 bus from the D.C. area and staying with a dear friend from high school, who lives in a rent-controlled walk-up on the Upper East Side.
It feels as if I have walked almost all of Manhattan via my trips over time. The island is fewer than 23 square miles, and I have spent a multitude of hours meandering along its grid. I ran the New York Marathon through the five boroughs when I was younger. There are so many distinct New York neighborhoods, each with their own special flavors and ethos. Some New Yorkers have told me they rarely leave a 10-block radius of where they live because they have all they need there.
Walking, for me, is the best way to get to know a place. Architectural details are more noticeable, and encounters with local people add color and understanding about a place’s vibe.
There are many free walking tours offered in New York. You can find them online.11 I availed myself of a free walking tour highlighting the city’s graffiti as art and social commentary. I have a completely new appreciation for the artistic graffiti that mysteriously blooms on New York City’s surfaces. Most of it is placed illegally. Serious graffiti artists are well known, and sometimes commissioned. There is a famous graffiti work by the artist Banksy at 79th and Broadway that I doubt I would have noticed had it not been for my tour guide.
Some graffiti artists enjoy “bombing” the city with their work. Some create “brandalized” art, or branded but not necessarily permitted. “Yarn-bombing,” whereby artists create pieces made of yarn interwoven into fences, is another graffiti method I came to know while on this tour. The tour underscored my belief that art does not have to be expensive to be good.
On one of my walks, I crossed the Brooklyn Bridge. It was beautiful. I explored the part of Brooklyn by the water and then figured out how to ferry back to Manhattan for a few bucks. Brooklyn has undergone a renaissance and is a hot spot for young people and artists now. Definitely check it out if you are near that part of the country. People have told me that there are less expensive Airbnb accommodations in Brooklyn if you want to visit New York City overnight.
I also have availed myself of the bike rental stations that have popped up around Manhattan. I often beat the traffic by biking somewhere. Biking in Manhattan is not for the faint of heart, however. Ultra-crazy drivers, especially taxis, have come uncomfortably close to my two wheels. There are more and more bike lanes, which helps cyclists gain a bit more safety and room. My New Yorker friends think I am out of my mind to ride a bike on these mean city streets. I like it.
New York is unlike anywhere else I have visited. There is always something to see or do, and many events are free.12 I Google free events in New York before I visit and invariably find concerts, tours, festivals, and other activities that do not cost anything. I particularly enjoy the free concerts and Shakespeare productions in Central Park in the summer. On any given summer day, a walk through Central Park has yielded an entertaining surprise.
The most quoted and astute prose ever written about New York is by E. B. White in his essay, “Here is New York”:13
A poem compresses much in a small space and adds music, thus heightening its meaning. The city is like poetry; it compresses all life, all races and breeds, into a small island and adds music and the accompaniment of internal engines. The island of Manhattan is without any doubt the greatest human concentrate on earth, the poem whose magic is comprehensible to millions of permanent residents but whose full meaning will always remain elusive. At the feet of the tallest and plushiest offices lie the crummiest slums. The genteel mysteries housed in the Riverside Church are only a few blocks from the voodoo charms of Harlem. The merchant princes, riding to Wall Street in their limousines down the East River Drive, pass within a few hundred yards of the gypsy kings; but the princes do not know they are passing kings, and the kings are not up yet anyway—they live a more leisurely life than the princes and get drunk mor
e consistently.
White notes in this essay the curious ability of New York to “bestow the gift of loneliness and the gift of privacy” to any person who “desires such queer prizes.” That may be true, but it also exudes an electricity found nowhere else and appeals to my taste for possibility. And I sometimes relish the anonymity the city affords.
Pick a new place to learn about—on foot. It could be the town next to yours, or even the neighborhood that borders yours. Note what you discover that you would not have noticed while in a vehicle. I am interested to know what you find.
5. Traveling Shoes
Travel is fatal to narrow-mindedness.
—Mark Twain
While walking around by myself in Ubud, Indonesia, I came upon the town’s cremation ceremony. It was not macabre in the least. It was a cacophony of music, chanting, pungent smells, and abundant offerings as the families bade adieu to the loved ones who had died over the past five years. It was fascinating to witness the rituals surrounding death in a country on the other side of the world, even when a half-dead chicken fell off an elaborate offering tower and unceremoniously plopped onto my foot.
I endeavor to go off the beaten path to be a student of the world. Travel is a mind-expanding opportunity for me, and I have learned how to travel on a low budget. I realize that my preferred style of travel is not for everyone. Once, when backpacking around Asia, my traveling companion lasted two days with me in China before ditching me for Club Med in Bali. She did not want to take public transportation. The Chinese—at least in 1988 Beijing—had public workers whose job it was to physically push as many people as possible into the buses. There seemed to be no appreciation of personal space.
My travels in this chapter of my life have included the Grand Canyon, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Nashville, Nepal, Gettysburg, Venice Beach, Montreal, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cape Cod, the Adirondacks, Munich, Doha, Chicago, Boston, and the Northeast Kingdom. Airbnb has increased affordable accommodation options in almost every venue.
All trips have enhanced my life in a different way. I try to hit a 12-step meeting every place I go, and I am lucky to have a boyfriend who likes to do the same. The people I have met along the way taught me various things, and I have learned not to judge a book by its cover.
I also have used travel as a means to learn more about my cultural heritage. My mother treated my children to a trip to the country of her youth—the Philippines—after my daughter graduated from college, and invited me to accompany them. I had only been to the Philippines once before, 30 years ago, as a gift for graduating from law school. It was a much different experience this time around. I possessed more context, cultural pride, and life experience at this juncture. I appreciated more of the nuances I observed.
The Philippines are an amalgam of Spanish, Malay, and American influences. It is unlike other Asian nations because of the colonial remnants. The joie de vivre and vibrancy of its people are infectious. Smiles and laughter come easily in this culture, as does singing. We were greeted and sent off with songs at a resort we visited. Karaoke and singing competition shows are popular there. Highly decorated, sometimes garish, Jeepneys are a common form of transportation. The Manila traffic, however, is not something I care to experience again any time soon.
It is also a country of great financial disparity. There appears to be not much of a middle class. We stayed in Manila with family friends who live in a lovely, large house, in a guarded walled community, with a staff of domestic help and drivers. Certain things that we take for granted in the United States, however, are lacking in their grand home. Because the price of electricity is very high, central air conditioning and clothes dryers are a luxury that is too dear for most. What is not expensive, however, is labor. Employment opportunities are such that a great deal of income in the Philippines comes from relatives who go off to work in the cities or other countries and send money home to their families. Remittances account for more than one-tenth of the gross domestic product of the Philippines.14 The country’s biggest export has become overseas Filipino workers. While a financial salve, the effect on separated families is quite deleterious. Witnessing this and being made more aware of how much of the world suffers to make ends meet is a sobering experience that helps me not take for granted the many blessings in my life.
I strive to see how the locals live and to experience a venue like a local when I travel. The way someone travels can reveal a great deal about a person. I parted company with one travel companion after I observed some “Ugly American” tendencies in his foreign travel behavior, such as assuming that everyone who sounded American was American when many times they were Canadian. Or expecting certain modern amenities in third world countries. Or simply speaking very loudly in a way that disturbs those around us.
Other world citizens, especially from Europe and Australia, do vacationing well. Americans typically take two weeks of vacation. Months off are not uncommon for European holidays.
I am encouraged to see the practice of sabbaticals taking hold in some parts of our country. Extended time away from the daily grind elevates our thinking and well-being. Any time away from daily routine is good for us, both for relaxation and reflection.
Sometimes, when I cannot get away physically, I read good work by travel writers. This practice is even more enjoyable while soaking in a warm tub or lying in a hammock. Author Peter Mayle has transported me to Provence with several of his books. Beryl Markham’s West with the Night infused me with bravery for solo travel and a desire for more adventure.15 In the mood for a wild road trip? Pick up Jack Kerouac’s On the Road16 for some explosive ideas. Enthusiasts of train travel might enjoy Paul Theroux’s The Great Railway Bazaar,17 recounting a journey across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. A book like Diners, Drive-ins and Dives18 may inspire you to plan your next U.S. venture. Someday, I plan to tour the United States in a recreational vehicle. Hopefully, I can finance that trip with some travel writing pieces. The world can be our oyster. There is so much more of it that I want to discover. Road trip, anyone?
6. Appreciating What’s in My Own Backyard
The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do, and the more genuine may be one’s appreciation of fundamental things like home, and love, and understanding companionship.
—Amelia Earhart
I was born in Washington, D.C., and have lived in the D.C. area for most of my life. Our country’s capital is filled with national treasures and unique opportunities. I realized in my fifth decade, however, that there were many D.C. venues, like museums and embassies, I had never seen. Maybe it is because there is such a wealth of such places here, that I had grown complacent that I would eventually get to them all.
It is easy to take for granted the natural and man-made wonders that grace our environs. One step I took to remedy this was to join a women’s group that regularly visited embassies. They did the leg work and I went along for the ride. This group of mostly middle-aged women wanted to learn more about the world, and found a way to get embassy personnel to give us insight. Some embassies include a sampling of their traditional dishes when we visit.
The embassies also open their doors to the public on various Embassy Walk days. I took my daughter’s Girl Scout troop to see some embassies years ago. The women’s group gave us a more intimate and detailed view of the embassy and the country represented.
I also took a Segway tour around the Washington monuments and museums. I will admit that it took having an out-of-town guest visit to move me to do this thing I have wanted to try for a long time.
Riding on a Segway felt like floating on a hoverboard. Because they are electric, they make no sound. They are easy to control by using foot pressure—press on the balls of your feet, and the Segway goes faster; press on your heels and it slows and stops. We were given a lesson before setting out, and it felt very comfortable. I even learned a few historical tidbits that I did not kn
ow, such as that President Taft was the only U.S. president who also served as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and that the U.S. Capitol dome is made of cast iron.
Most of the museums in our nation’s capital are free. The spectacular National Museum of African American History and Culture recently opened and is impossible to absorb in one visit. Most museums have changing special exhibitions, so there is always something new to see.
What have you not seen in your locality? The Internet, with travel sites such as TripAdvisor, makes it so much easier for us to discover and enjoy the banquet of delights around us. We are no longer in our dress rehearsal days. Life is happening right now. Get out and about before it is too late.
7. Food, Glorious Food
He was a bold man that first ate an oyster.
—Jonathan Swift
Food, for me, is one of life’s greatest pleasures. I have a friend from law school who once said she wished there was a pill she could take every day instead of having to eat to stay alive. I was so startled by that notion that I remember the comment 30 years later.
I have another friend, Trisha de Borchgrave, who is a columnist on current affairs. She also is a talented artist and her intricate paintings of food reveal a deep respect for the natural fruits of our world. One of my favorites, a portrayal of leeks and garlic cloves, adorns my kitchen wall. Trisha’s passion for a healthy-eating lifestyle is eloquently expressed:
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