The end of an adventure

I wrote this in Rome (subsequent note from Seattle below)

Well this is it. The inevitable finish line has been crossed... the end of my trip and with it the end of this blog... but what a trip it has been. I have spent the last several days sitting next to the Colosseum and doing nothing but thinking back on all that i have done, and seen, and people met and... what an incredible journey i had. It still leaves me speechless about all the places i have been.

My memory goes back to a thousand and one places in time – and i realise that its futile to attempt to share the lessons learned or experiences shared. I feel that trying to describe my trip in a few short paragraphs is like asking Leonardo da Vinci to paint the last super using only stick figures. Yeah, it can be done... but kind of stupid to look at.

People ask me what my favorite place was or something to that extent and well... the short answer is Thailand (I think everyone who followed along with me on my blog should go to Thailand once in their lives) ... but the question is too simple for such a huge and immense answer. its like asking a parent which one is their favourite kid. Every place was great, but no matter where you are… it’s the people you are with that make the huge difference (kind of like life eh? – un oh… Canadian influence sneaking in)

On looking back on what i learned...I would have to say learning how to cross the street in Rome has to be at the top (side note - i have become a street crossing master, if there were a draft for strongest ability to stop traffic and cross the street, i would easily go in the first round... its something im proud of and love helping big eyed tourist timidly standing on the curb waiting for a break -which never comes... ), but this lesson is a little hard to demonstrate on talent night.... this trip has taught me how even incredibly independent and stubborn individuals like myself need others for help every once in a while (though hesitate to admit it). I think learning how to dive and surf were some of the coolers things I mastered on this trip... Im still working on learning how to spell kareokee though. Maybe one day.

Seriously though, if anything... i do feel like i belong to a new found fraternity of people whom have been given a glimpse at the awesomeness of mankind. Above all the observations i have made on this trip, my hope in the future is what stands out most. I look back on ancient ruins i have seen and walked through, i think of all the different religious temples and churches i have knelt at, I think about the ancient artifacts and tombs that i have actually touched and admired and think how incredibly far we have come as humans. I recall all the architecture and paintings and statues that have made my jaw literally drop, i recall the massive pyramids of giza and the majestic Great wall of China and the holy Ankor Watt temple of Cambodia and the simply surreal Taj Mahal in India and shake my head as i think how we can create such beautiful and magical things. I fondly remember all the strangers that have helped me and supported me along the way. From my host families who took in a complete stranger and treated me as a trusted friend, to the every day person on the street who simply pointed me in the right direction, and also to all the people whom read my blog and sent me a simple email giving thanks or encouragement which meant so very much to me.

This being said, my trip has not all been roses. I have been pricked by many a thorn along hte way. Loneliness was a demon that i seriously wrestled with a couple of times. Travelling so fast and in so many cities i was always on the go and it was a lot harder to meet people to travel with than my previous trip through Europe. At the end of this trip in Europe it was a lot easier to meet people (Rome was flooded with recent American college grads) but at that point I was a little burned out and mostly wanted to go home more than go out an party every night.
Journeys, whether around the world, or through the course of a life, end just as abruptly as they start. Like wisps of smoke... one moment its there and readily apparent to all, and the next completely gone. Blink and you miss it. Time, when you have it feels infinite and overflowing; more abundant than you know what to do with so it becomes unappreciated and thus wasted. When its gone, its gone forever, and when looking back on it, it seemed so fleeting and short, if you only had one more second, one more moment. But memories like scares, may diminish or fade over time… but the good ones stay with you forever to remind you where you have been and who you are.
Six months in the span of my life is small and almost unnoticeable… but forever will i remember all the incredibly places that i have seen on this trip. It is said that the more you know the less you know.... in a way i also believe that the more you see the less you see. I have come to realize that there is no way I or any other person for that matter can see everything great and wonderful on the face of Earth... there is just too much how there. The world, while shrinking with modern technology is still a vast and gigantic place filled with wonderful sights and people.


Absolute Highlights
>Climbing the pyramids – took my breath away
>Walking the Great wall of China – gave me chills
>Sleeping under the stars on the Great Barrier Reef
>Strolling through Ankor Watt – incredibly amazing
>Volunteering in Koh Pi Pi was so such a rewarding experience (go karma)
>Egyptian museum – for me, being the person with the least patient EVER, is really a testament to this holy grail of museums.
Seeing Berlin and the remains of hte Berlin wall was really cool actually
>Sleeping on top the ancient castle over looking the city light in Jaislmer India was stunningly tranquil.
>Sleeping under the stars in the Indian desert was very surreal.
>Sun rise at mt siani. I don’t think I will ever see another quite so beautiful again, even though it put me out of commision for a while.
>Jesus' tomb – I mean... how many people can say they have seen that.
>Prague architecture - exquisite and amazing.
>Bali – surfing during the day and partying at night (Bali Bintang is the best beer in world)
>Full moon party – I mean i drank four litter of rum in six days... how is that not a highlight... and i remember most if it too.... even more amazing.
>Having a giant sea turtle brush my leg during a night dive on the Great Barrier Reef.


The wild side
>Koh San Road Bangkok
>Skinny dipping in 7 degree water in NZ
>My Cambodian stalker
>Riding an elephant, a camel, and a 24 hour train
>Partying until 9am in Bali
>Full moon party for six straight days
>Fitting 12 people into a hot tub in NZ
>Bungee jumping off the original bungee bridge

The stupider side
>Initiating an absinth shooting contest in New Zealand (very dumb)
>Drinking whiskey in the dessert which lead to A) who can do the best stunt man roll down the sand dunes... which lead to B) a giant wrestling match at the bottom of the sand dunes, followed by C) who can catch the biggest desert spider with their bare hands (still shaking my head over that one).
>Cutting line at the Vatican( I’m sure I’m going to hell for this one... but since I’m already going for other stuff it seems kind of moot doesn’t it).
>Having to be rescued by the dive instructors from the anchored dive boat after unknowingly getting caught in an under water ocean current and popping up about half a mile away from the dive boat... (at least my buddy and I weren’t the only ones to do this)
>I don’t know how many times I sang wonder wall with a microphone in my hand.


Things I hated
>Monkeys – evil little hairy beasts.
>No money- poverty sucks
>Seeing children playing in the dirt with no clothes
>Autorickshaw drivers – Dante missed these demons in his little inferno book.
>Losing cameras
>Being depressingly lonely – yeah this one sucks a lot too
>Walking around all day with my fly down – I can be such an idiot sometimes
>Sun burns



Books read on this trip
The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
Victoria wants to die - Coelho
Manual for warriors of the light - Coelho
The Valykeries - Coelho
By the river I sat down and wep - Coelho
Memoirs of a geisha - someone
Angels and demons - Dan ‘repetative’ Brown
Interview with a vampire - Rice
The vampire lestate - Rice
I-robot - Asimov
Well Of Darkness – Margaret Weis
Guardians of the Lost - Weis
Journey into the void - Weis
Mistress of Dragons - Weis
Aquatine Progression – Robert Ludlum
Tuesdays with Morrie
Harry Potter 4
Harry Potter 5
Baudolino - Umberto Eco
The Count of Monte Cristo - Dumas
Sherlock homes book 1
Sherlock homes book 2
Sherlock homes book 3
Bear island - Alister Mclaine
Guns of Navarone -Alister Mclaine
Ice station zebra - Alister Mclaine
The shadow of the wind <- awesome book ; Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The partner - Grisham
Collection of works by the dalhi lama
The bear and the dragon – Tom Clancy




Back in Seattle
For the last seven days I have slowly and with a bit of struggle, been trying to re-acclimate to what some call reality and what others call my previous life. It has been much harder and more difficult than I would ever have guessed. Its not exactly intuitive… but coming back has felt…. Very foreign and uncomfortable.

Tonight before dinner time, I sat down at the table with my buddy Kjell’s father, whom is going through cancer treatment… and I felt so comfortable and relieved to be able to talk about my discomfort and confusion with him. Maybe because he himself is going through a difficult and confusing process, and I can some how relate (not really but whatever)… but I knew that even though my feeling were a jumbled mess of thoughts in my head, if I could make a stupid and inarticulate attempt at explaining what return was like, he would never judge or think less of me, so it made it a little easier to precipitate my thoughts and concerns from emotions into words (I’m waiting for the heaven sent day that a computer program is made to help men around the world transform emotions into words… ).

I think that I spent so much time some what mentally in seclusion that I had become accustomed to fleeting friendships and solitary travel that when I came home to all my friends… I was a little scared to see them. I still don’t know why but…. Its been really overwhelming. Luckily I have been staying at two long time friends place so that when they are at work I’ve had time to grow more comfortable with the thought of being back. Finally seven days later I feel like im over the initial strangeness and ready to start catching up with all my friends. I don’t know why I wanted to write about this…but I guess it is part of my trip and in a way a personal end to the adventure and start to the future.

At the close of this blog I have to say that doing this (the blog) has been way more fun and enjoyable than I could have ever guessed. But more magical and where my most heartfelt love and thanks goes too…… is all of you. The people whom I, unfortunately, will never met. Thank you for your interest and your emails. I can never explain how much it touched me… as well as surprised me…. that anyone would be interested in my adventure. It was like 20 coaches cheering me on :).


Thank you for your support everyone… I wish everyone the best of luck in following your dreams, but most of all…. don’t forget to get out there and see the world.

Take care,
Ciao for now
Ryan Kuzn