the wrong book to read ...

does it really exist, reading the wrong book, or is it just me trying to convince myself that I should not be reading the book I’m reading right now.

what is it that i'm talking about. well, some time ago I read Jupiter’s Travel, a transcript of Ted Simons travel around the world in I guess it was 1973. He packed his bags and set off on his Triumph to go from London down to Africa, cross the ocean to Latin America, up to North America, crossing to Australia and than heading back over India to Europe again. Not that Ted was so experienced as a bike rider, but he described in full color the dream I was chasing before I went to Morocco ....to experience from close by other cultures combined with a true sense of freedom, to break away from my comfortable habitat and to feel, smell and see cultures that seemed in a way so close by but at the same time far away ....

He gave a new sense to motorcycle traveling, not the sense of achievement, but the sense of experience to ride on your own and to be open to others ... Although I was also very much charmed by the adventure of Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman on the Lond Way Round, they could never reach the level of adventure of Ted since they were supported in a whole different way ... They had 2 support vehicules, technical support, financial backing, sat phones and all the bells and whistles one could imagine .... Ted did it on his own, scraping the funds together and solving his own problems without being able to rely on a home crew of 5 people doing the admin work and 4 guys following you in case something went wrong ...

Now our dear Ted, who left in 1973 when he was 42, did his trip again, but now in 2001 as a 69 year old veteran .... and again , although he tried , the material backing and support was minimal ... nevertheless he did it, fueling my hopes that is still could do my trip ... (read his story on www.jupitalia.com) ...

I'm gazing at the map of Asia that decorates my wall in the living room ... dreaming along the yellow lined that marks out a trail : Brussels - Beijing - Bangkok - Bombay and back .... wondering if I ever will put this into reality ... but who cares in a way ... the mind travel along the marked line already fills me with the feeling of achievement, just daring to dream about the adventure ...

so in a way no, reading the wrong book is not possible ... its just that the books confronts your current reality with your aspirations ... it is merely the bridge between reality and the daydream that makes it scary ....

Happy travels