Traveling has always been my passion. From the days of my youth when my family crowded into a station wagon and drove around the northeastern United States, to my college summers spent hitch-hiking across the country, to fourteen months in Alaska after my college graduation, to my first global sojourn around the world, traveling has and will always be my greatest love. It is exciting, enthralling and my raison d'etre.

Unlike most travelers, the luxury I have is time. Visiting a place for a week or two is wonderful but the impression felt is somewhat fleeting. Visiting a country for one, two or three months enables the traveler to forego a schedule, experience a new culture, to occasionally be a participant rather than simply an observer and leaves indelible memories. The beauty of travel is to venture off the tourist path, to walk the road less traveled and to interact with those who rarely see outsiders. From them, marvelous things are learned and life itself takes on a new perspective. These type of experiences can forever change your life. Indeed, they have changed mine.

My father always asks, "What do you do all day?" knowing the villages I relish visiting do not have televisions, radios or theatres. What is amazing is that in these remote places the entire day is filled with wonderful activities, events and surprises. To me, it is important to relax, enjoy and smell the flowers!

I still get excited when flying to a new country (or revisiting a country for the second or third time).  After years of traveling, the difference is that I now find myself a senior member of the backpacking fraternity.  I don’t sleep outside anymore (unless in a tent) and when visiting a city occasionally splurge for a hotel with a bathtub and hot water!

Are we (citizens of the USA) despised by the world?

I don’t think so. Yes, people around the world may loathe the policies of our government but they usually make a distinction between the government and its citizens.  Thankfully, they do not hold me responsible for the misguided policies adopted by the politicians in Washington, DC.  Moreover, when I am with   travelers from other countries, I still believe the locals are more interested to speak with me – the guy from America.  For many foreigners, the USA still represents the land of opportunity, equality, justice, freedom and democracy.