A new level

Recently, I have been spending all my time trip planning. I have stopped reading, cut back on cooking/baking, and even halted my Spanish lessons. But finally, our route is almost complete.

Now I am worried about two things.

• First, we are going to get robbed at knife point or have our backpack slashed on the bus. Not that I am into fear mongering; however, during my planning I would be innocently perusing travelogues for hotel recommendations or bus connections, and accounts of robberies would pop up like landmines.
• Second, I am going be debilitated by my altitude sickness. I was so pathetic in Lhasa, Tibet that I was faltering like an 80-year-old lady in poor health.
  

I must have arrived at a new level. Before, I would be concerned about finding nice rooms, hot showers, and vegetarian food. Compared to my new worries, I was so frivolous before.

Many times I have been asked and have asked myself what this ceaseless traveling is about. I now know it is not about pleasure or escape. I am seeking. But what? New experiences? I don't always know. Even when it happens, I may not recognize it. Later after some pondering, I may realize that I have come across it.

For me, travel has always been a metaphor for life. But what is life about?!