Reflections of a Frustrated Traveler and Nomad

(Note: Originally posted in my Facebook Slate)

I just saw this documentary on the National Geographic Channel on a family of nomads/shepherds in Iran (I think it's a part of the "Top 30: Last Chance Journeys" program). In the documentary, I saw a very fascinating landscape of mountains, rough terrains and trails, fields of poppies, streams and their herd of hundreds of sheep; I didn't really think that Iran would be this beautiful. This family, as led by the father, is about to move north to Kakan from Garmsir since that summer has set in. The migration will take months and higher altitudes, but despite those, their destination holds their preferred pastures. Its' their home during the summer, and they make a 180 degree turn before the snow falls. They travel about 15-20 kilometers per day, on foot and on donkeys. They worry about robbers on the road who are now equipped with vans and can now steal about 70 sheep. The landscape is fascinating but it's a tough journey.

I have to admit every time I see such documentaries I feel really envious. I've seen those who have managed to join Mongolian nomads, those who have lived with fishermen and farmers, and those who have disappeared into their chosen societies, living the life they truly want. I admit as a city girl, all I can do is travel, and the idea of becoming a part of such journeys and everyday life will be difficult. As a girl also raised in a society that usually sees a radical sabbatical is irrational, it is also hard to get out of the rat race despite my continuous efforts.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Somehow, I thought of my travels and the treatment I received as a traveler. Here in the Philippines, I am the girl from Manila. I don't speak other local languages other than Tagalog. When I travel I also become the source of income. I have been ripped off and treated as a tourist. I was constantly required to hire a guide even though I didn't really need one. When I went to Sagada a few months ago, I was scolded on my way to the Bomod-ok Falls because I managed to get there without a guide and renting a jeepney, just like how the tourists would usually do it. It's not that I prevent them from earning tourism income, it's that in that instance I did not find it necessary. After getting scolded at, I encountered a local woman and when she found out that I was from Manila, she accused Manilenos for thinking that the Igorot (the locals of Sagada) have yet to outgrow their tails. My jaw couldn't resist from dropping in bewilderment.

I also had this interesting realization. When I traveled in other parts of Asia, I was also treated as a tourist. In Vietnam I got ripped off by this cyclo operator, in China, you couldn't help but give in to the local tour operators due to the language barrier. In Bangkok, a tu-tuk driver begged me and a friend to at least feign interest in the wares of the shops where he forced us to make a stop since, apparently, bringing in potential customers meant fuel coupons for them. I did not have to complain; despite the hassles, I got to visit too many temples in the city for 10 Baht. Why not.

And then I remember the time I went to Europe. Now this time it was different. I was very much left alone. However, I did get some attention since I was this Asian girl who was lugging two suitcases between stops in the U-Bahn who also did not know how to operate the doors. The guy behind my favorite grillery would always keep himself from laughing everytime I would order bratwurst mit pommes ... in German. I also got attention on the Dutch railway when I followed my Dutch friend who put a foot up on the seat across, and the conductor handed me a newspaper to cover the seat I was obviously spoiling. In Europe, finding myself mostly alone, I was not a tourist. I merely disappeared and floated over the experience. A French ground stewardess in Charles de Gaulle refused to speak to me in English when I asked her how to get to the next terminal without suddenly finding myself in a secret passage to Leonardo's supposed secrets at the Louvre. I was tempted to say, "Are you some kind of moron? Why the fuck are you working in an international airport --- in a Western European country at that --- if you don't speak English, you French bitch?" Now that I think about it, I should have said those words. She wouldn't understand anyways.

At 29, I feel pressed for time. I haven't seen much of the world. I want to go to Iran and join for one season the dwindling number of nomadic families traveling north-south-north. I want to go to Mongolia and live in yurks for a few weeks. I want to spend time with Korean monks living in isolation in lakes, like that monk in that wonderful Kim Ki Duk film. I want to understand more the mysteries of the Mayan civilization, the Easter Island, the Galapagos. I want to pretend to be Gandalf's lost apprentice in New Zealand. I want to float on the Amazon and try those unheard-of concoctions. I want to go to Africa and spend time with the children with disease and ailments, I want to volunteer and help the victims of calamity in China and Myanmar. I want to walk on icebergs and chase the geysers in Iceland. I want to go to the Wailing Wall and see if I am allowed to wail too. I want to get high on the poppy fields of Afghanistan, I want to remain calm in that temple in India where rats are gods. I want to get married in Tibet.

Financial-wise, I need to be incredibly rich in order to do these things. Despite the fact I earn an income that is, say, pretty decent, I still can't afford to do all these things. It will take years. Ironically, my friend, who works as a waitress in an Irish pub Berlin, can afford to spend two months traveling in Asia and chilling in Thailand without that much care in the world. Global and social realities, man. No wonder Filipino professionals --- doctors, lawyers, etc. --- study nursing just so they can move West. I wonder if the demands of their life in the other hemisphere will allow them to really enjoy their travels.

Well, what else can I say. I am thankful for the stuff I see on TV. Thankful that I have National Geographic, the Discovery Channel, and even The Amazing Race. And maybe a taste for foreign films. Maybe by the end of the year I'll get to at least visit some of these places. Though unfortunately, as a "tourist" with funding and visa restrictions, I may get stuck in the city and can only afford to stay for a few days ... because I need to go back and work.

But who knows? Maybe I will eventually write my blog entries here in the middle of a journey, between borders and seasons, and a part of something really different.

Going back to the documentary, the head of the family shared that he's been thinking of selling his herd, buy a house and settle. Although this may seem it diminishes the romance in the idea of the nomadic life, I don't see anything wrong with that. I think real travelers do not just go around for the purpose of getting lost in a different environment and learning about new things. I think what goes with traveling is the searching. Finding something that is permanent, in any form from any place in the world, is the real reward.