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Is travel only for the rich ?
Is travel only for the rich ?
This article will be about money; which is what worries people so much. Unfortunately, it won’t be an easy article, because apart from money and travel planning by those who want it, it will be also be an article about mentality and the will to make your dreams come true. I want to help make your fight easier than mine. Some people will understand me and like me; the others might call me detached from reality and they might be jealous. So, is travel only for the rich, and does everyone want to travel?
Introduction to travel
I decided to write this article because quite often I receive questions about my money, even thogh it is nobody’s business. Sometimes people ask out of curiosity, but more often out of jealousy and hatred to me, as if I owed them something. I get accusations that “I must come from a wealthy family”, that I “might have robbed someone”, but also other very ugly comments which edge over harassement. Nevertheless, I would like to explain how everyone can afford to travel, and I can assure you that it is not a discipline only for the rich. I’m sure you will find this article very interesting.
On the other hand, would this article make any difference? I don’t think so, because human mentality cannot be bought for money. In my opinion, traveling is about the mindset and the willingness to find adventure in your ordinary, gray life.
Are you sure you’re ready to become a traveller
⇒ First of all, ask yourself if you want to be a traveller. Most people don’t really want to, because it’s not so easy. Most people don’t want to wander around remote deserts and jungles with a heavy backpack, and they don’t want to wait for a hitch. Most prefer a cold beer in front of TV in the comfort of their warm flat. People also notoriously confuse a vacation in expensive hotels for a week or two, with travelling alone into an unknown world. So, do you want to be a traveller or you prefer to be a tourist?
Maybe you are so addicted to your smartphone that you don’t have time to travel, and not even for your wife and kids. Maybe you like to travel but just with your finger across the map, and imagine that one day. . . . . Unfortunately, for most people the most difficult decision is to leave.
Most people don’t need adventures, soul enrichment and endless self-education, because they have a full fridge, a place to live, and someone to hug? Of course there is nothing wrong with that, but after my long-term observation of Polish and English people, I have come to this conclusion that most of them have the nature of prairie dogs. (I assure you that this is not a joke, and my opinion, although seemingly absurd at first, is supported by a lot of evidence.)
Armenia – Sevanawank; church on lake Sevan.
⇒ What does it mean for you to be rich? This is not a lesson of economy, that’s why I will stick to the basics, because “wealth” and poverty have many meanings. Considering the terrible poverty I saw for example in the Indian Subcontinent, in my opinion to be rich is simply to be able to live in abundance and be able to provide yourself with the basics of subsistence, and small pleasures. If you are at this level, then I guarantee that comparing to the rest of the world you are rich. The only question is what will you do with it?
For me, wealth is first and foremost about not having serious worries, being free from mean people, beign healthy and being able to make your realistic dreams come true.
The issue of envy!
I also warn against the terrible human trait called jealousy. If you hate your neighbour because he has a better car, a better house, and he dresses better, then work on yourself, not on him. There are many witnesses to all the wonderful things that your neighbor has, but not a single witness to how he gets up in the morning to work each day, and how he comes back tired late at night. Of course, there are those who travel only to the most expensive hotels for months because they were born into wealth, but this is an extreme exception. I, unlike the communists do not believe in equality or in welfare states. In my opinion, a good state is the one which doesn’t give away money for free, but on the other hand it doesn’t steal from its citizens.
‘A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.’
(Solomon; proverbs 14,30).
Usually, those who have more than you are more resourceful, hardworking, clever, and not afraid to take risks (within the limits of law and conscience). Another traveller even advised me to give up the website in a Polish language, because jealousy might eat Poles alive. Unfortunately, I found out a few times that jealousy is a terrible trait of Poles. When I try to talk to Poles about exotic temples or about the natural beauty of Asian countries – they calculate me immediately, as if I owe them something just because I was there. They are not interested in what I saw and what I think, but only: ‘how much I paid and how rich I must be that I was there’. Horrible! The issue of envy is not as extreme as with the Indians because they would cut out a half digested meatloaf out of my stomach if they could; but in many Poles I feel bitterness and envy.
‘3 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. ‘
Matthew 7 , 3 – 5
⇒ Do you drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes? I neither drink nor smoke, which is why I am able to save money on travel. According to the British organization dealing with cigarette addiction, the average smoker in England spends £ 3300 on cigarettes a year. This means that there are also those who spend £ 2,000 or £ 4,000 in a year. Brits love beer too, and while they can buy the cheapest beer in a shop for around £ 1, in a pub it costs closer to £ 10. (More expensive with a woman). According to the British statistics, the average Brit spends around £ 800 a year on alcohol.
In Poland, an average smoker spends about PLN 3000 a year on cigarettes. An average Pole spends about PLN 100 a month on alcohol, so let’s assume that he only spends PLN 5000 a year; what I doubt very much. Do the people reading this article prefer to travel for months like I do, or do they prefer to drink and smoke? I give 3 seconds to answer! ! ! There are also those who like marijuana from time to time, what raises the cost even more. (By the way, I support using marijuana for medical reasons.)
By my calculation, an average Briton could save at least £ 5,000 a year for travelling, but in order not to trick my dear English people into alcoholism and heavy smoking, let’s assume that they would save £ 3,000 – but that’s only because I’m trying to show them in a good light. An average Pole would have much less per year for travelling, which is only £ 700 per year; although when I look at some Poles I come to the conclusion that if they stopped drinking and smoking, they could even go into outer space. Anyway, an Englishman could have a nice vacation in an exotic country for many months, if he only gave up the booze and fags. On the other hand, a Pole living in Poland and on a Polish salary could go to Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Iran or Jordan for about two months each year. Of course he would have to add money if he wanted to stay longer, but I repeat the question: do you prefer to travel or do you prefer to drink and smoke? ? ?
(I also don’t drink and don’t smoke because it would be a suicide for me, but I don’t want to develop this sad topic. In English there is a term ‘teototalism’, which means absolute abstinence from alcohol and promoting the complete resignation of alcohol consumption. This is me, and I think that prohibition is a great idea.)
The Philippines – Mr. Cigarette with the wonderful dorado fish.
Someone who was a heavy smoker said to me: ‘your advice is pointless because those who don’t smoke haven’t been anywhere too.’ My answer: ‘because they didn’t want to, because they had different interests or they were too narrow minded to decide to go to Singapore.’
⇒ Take a look around your apartment. Are you a minimalist who buys only the essentials and are you okay with it? Or maybe you love consumerism and you can’t stop yourself from byuing more than you need? Do you prefer to go out with your dog, read a book or watch a film in your spare time, or you prefer to go for a walk to a huge shopping centre to buy even more?
⇒ Have you taken out loads of credit cards and personal loans, (like a last moron), or are you immune to advertising? I understand that you need your own flat and a few things in it, but in England there are such creatures, who have already bought so much crap for their homes and have put their credit cards in so much debt, that now they take out personal loans even for holidays; and for luxurious ones for a lot of money.
I don’t know about Poland but here are the data from England which should force Poles to have some deep thoughts:
- 420,000 people who are in debt thought of suicide,
- 100,000 people who were in debt took their own lives,
- people in debt are three times more likely to think of suicide than persons without debt,
- debt also causes stress, depression, mental illness, alcoholism, divorce, and great health problems including heart attacks.
Worthless studies as a way to rob people of dreams and money
⇒ So you’re a young, ambitious person who has dreams and wants to explore the world. Don’t listen to bad advisers that it is a must to graduate from a university. Most universities exist today, just to get young people into debt before they even start to work – and if they find jobs at all. In my opinion, most universities exist only to profit from the dreams of young inexperienced people, and to rob them in the very beginning. Then, those deceived people hang their worthless diplomas on the wall, their invite their friends home, and show them that someone sold them a confirmation of the existence of reason, but for so much money that they are over 40 years old and are still paying off their college loan. In addition, if they are not unemployed, they work in a place which they hate and below their qualifications.
‘A country with too many scribes in white collars becomes a country of parasites, because even the most ambitious project requiries hands to work.’
Martin Malik
My advice: Learn how to lay bathroom tiles, how to repair boilers, or learn about carpentry or dental help; and do this work on contracts. In the meantime you can always read about ancient Greeks, study the history of the Roman Empire, or take a programming course. This way you will have more freedom, more time to travel, and you will not let clever leeches to profit from your dreams.
Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
– William Butler Yeats
There are a lot of worthless universities in Poland, which only play the role of legal robbery, which fulfill the dreams of credit companies, and they also function as Marxist indoctrination platforms. These are universities that I would best compare to shopping malls, because they also treat everyone like clients. When young people graduate, they think that they have conquered the world, and then such a graduate becomes a waitress, pours beer, collects fruit or mixes cement. . . . . abroad; and they ask themselves: why? Well, precisely because they were fooled by hyenas who trod on their dreams.
Photo on the left: Julie finished marketing and management. It took her many years to study, and she took out such a loan that even though she is over 40, she still continues to pay it off. She also pays rates for a flat, car, and she works beyond her strength, and there is no guarantee of a permanent job. The boss knows it, and that’s why he uses her. Julie wanted to feel important and have a paper confirming the existence of a brain, and now she is either a paid slave or she’s unemployed. Julie doesn’t have time for a family, she doesn’t go on vacations and she doesn’t fulfill her dreams, but she has a diploma which is worth nothing. Still, everyone who has not a college graduate, Julie considers to be an idiot. That’s all Julie has.
Photo on the right: John is an electrician. John didn’t graduate from any university, but he does what he likes and has plenty of time. In his spare time John reads about the history of the Roman Empire, but no one will ever give him a diploma for it. John has a job, he has a family, and he doesn’t stress himself. John is not worried about work because he has private assignments too. John spent a month in Thailand and a month in Sri Lanka. He doesn’t know much about Buddhism (same as Julie), but he liked the exotic nature and he liked Asian beer. In this picture John disconnects Julie’s electricity, because she has paid any bills for 6 months. John thinks that everyone who graduated from a university must be very wise.
Only outstanding people should go to universities, and don’t feel bad about it if you aren’t. Therefore, instead of going to worthless and expensive studies, which is the shortest path to unemployment and debt, blow on the sails and explore the world, and then even without a diploma you will be better educated than those who graduated from the High Colleges of Reading and Writing. Unless you have a specific vision, that you want to save lives and you have talent for medicine. Then be a doctor.
My list of worthless colleges in Poland is: marketing and management, human resources management, economics and organization of enterprises, archivistics and office managament, office IT, tourism and recreation, public administration, psychology in business, law (for students with a good memory, those studies are just the beginning of the struggle for survival). I wonder how many of these boring college professors and how many economical and financial advisers in the government have ever run their own businesses? I decided to award myself with MA diplomas in all of the above-mentioned fields. (‘Archivistics and Office Managament’ – good!) It is also sad that the certified specialists in ‘Human Resources Management’ work in the worst physical jobs, and are managed by peasants in tracksuits who only finished elementary schools. I believe that it would be better for many people to choose themselves educational interests, such as for example travel, which is much cheaper and it really educates. Poland – a country of educated idiots with fulfillment of self-esteem.
‘There is nothing permanent except change’.
Heraclitus of Ephesus
I support the views of Heraclitus, based on the philosophy of pantha rhei, which is the concept of a constantly changing world and instability of a human nature. I also believe that for this reason alone, many expensive universities issue diplomas which expire after few years; because technology, laws, and people’s worldview also change rapidly under indoctrination of social media. It’s a FRAUD which parasitizes on people’s lowest feelings, treading on their dreams and giving no guarantees. Students, who are clients of universities and nothing more than that, should sign a contract of guarantee and they should also ask questions before they pay, in their own interest. Then universities would become cheaper and there would be fewer people for each place, and the students themselves would be also more respected. When you buy a mountain bike, you want to be sure you can ride it in the mountains, and you want a guarantee because you paid for it.
Other things that keep you from travelling
⇒ You cannot take leave because you work. So quit your job. However, this was never my problem, because I was already fired from every job. Sometimes because I didn’t let them to put a muzzle of political correctness on my face, and sometimes for being too honest. After a few days I was already sitting on the plane to the end of the world, and I was back when there was work for me. Once, I was supposed to travel for two months, but I stayed four months. Someone offered me a job in London while I was sitting in a bamboo hut on the beach, so I wrote back to let him know to wait two more months for me, because I was still in Borneo. That plan works only if you go away to very cheap countries for longer periods ot time, and I ensure there are a lot of them.
Once you get to Sri Lanka, you will understand that others have a harder time than you. Tea fields in the Hill Country area.
⇒ Another case is an ‘irreplacable employee’. I met a bank clerk, who did boring hours in a boring job, and he was convinced that as soon as he goes for a holiday, the bank would not be able to cope without him. In addition, he dreamed of a great career, respect from other employees and becoming a boss. I suspect that this ‘irreplacable employee’ might end up on the pavement at any moment, and the bank without him would be just fine. They will get rid of him like dirty underwear. Unfortunately many people need approval in the eyes of their Lord.
⇒ You cannot leave because you run a business. I will never forget the Canadian I traveled with in Burma in 2004. He said that he had wasted many years of his life because he was running a business that didn’t make a lot of money anyway, and it wasn’t worth the effort, stress and responsibility. After a while my Canadian came to the conclusion that he didn’t owe the the business, but that his business owned him. At some point the Canadian closed the business and began to travel around the world. Later he sais that it was the best decision he had made in his life. How is it with my readers? Do they have a business or the business has them ???
Sometimes it is also the case that someone runs a business not for money nor for personal development. Someone works for fame, so that they can feel important around their employees, and so they could make him feel intellectually valued because they depend on him financially. Such an individual will not go anywhere and he probably despises me as well. But he would shake my hand after seeing my website, because he thinks I’m rich. After all I’ve been to so many countries, so ….
⇒ Work during your trip. Think about your talents. I spent most of my life in England, I passed my TEFL exam and I taught English. Perhaps they need a teacher in some beautiful, interesting country, and they offer housing, a bowl of riece, a few hundred dollars and long holidays. That salary would be nothing compared to what you could earn in Poland, but it’s not about money. You teach for a few hours a day and then breathe in the atmosphere of that amazing country. When schoolchildren are on vacation, you are also on vacation, what means that you can fly to a neighboring country during this time for a jungle expedition. I know that it’s very easy to advise someone else, but think about what you can do over there to stay longer, and how to be useful to local people. You can always collect rubbish in the Maldives for a few days in a week.
(I would like to remind you that my article is about adventure and making your dreams come true, not about making money. I don’t know how I would mentally survive in Kuwait or Saudi Arabia on a one-year contract, even if they paid a lot of money. It is not about radical Islam, but about the heat, boredom and depression related to loneliness, because people are not very entertaining there. When I was in Dubai, I left quicker because of the terrible heat.)
Hanoi rickshaw driver. Vietnam
⇒ You must be very rich if you travel to the end of the world for so many months ! ! ! Actually not, because at the ‘end of the world’ it is much cheaper than at home. I don’t want to present a price list for holidays in the European countries, but I will say that for a few days by the Polish Baltic Sea you can spend as much as on a return flight to Thailand. You don’t have to go skiing in the Swiss Alps or visit the southern beaches of Europe to see how expensive it is. Simple holidays at the seaside in Poland or England for a few days are so expensive that people prefer to fly abroad. There is a guarantee of weather, lower prices, interesting culture and exotic nature.
There is a rule in my travels around Asia. If I want it to be cheaper, I go away for a few months to make the payment for the flight ticket economical. I flew to Thailand for around £300- £350, and to India for £250 return. I also had entertainment on board and meals included. There are also more expensive destinations, such as Sri Lanka or Vietnam, but fortunately Asia has a network of cheap air connections between neighboring countries. I paid an average of £4- £6 for cheap hostels, £2- £4 for meals, up to £1 for a bag of exotic fruit, and £5- £6/h for occasional massages on the beach. You can of course spend a lot more if you want, but I am write about budget travels only.
To me, the most important things were always the exotic nature, unknown culture, contact with people, beautiful temples and ancient cities. While in India, Goa, I slept on Palolem Beach in an attic, without a roof. While falling asleep I saw stars, and when I woke up I saw tall palm trees above me, I heard the sound of the sea and falling coconuts. This pleasure only cost me £2 a night. In Malaysia, Borneo, I rented a seaside cottage during the rainy season. All day I only heard warm rain pouring down the palm trees, and waves crashing on the shore. I paid 40 ringgit a night which is over £7. In the Philippines, I ordered a dorado fish fillet glilled on a bamboo, and a cold coconut, for a total of 250 pesos, which is less than £4. Local transport is lousy but also very cheap. I hope that I’ve already given enough examples for my readers to decide for themselves whether or not you have to be rich to travel. You also need to add admission tickets to the some places of interests: Angkor Wat – 1 day $37, 3 days $62, Taj Mahal – 1300 rupees for whites (£13), but only 50 rupees for Indians.
(The countries of Indian Subcontinent unfortunately have the disgusting habit of ‘white man prices’.)
Final comment: if someone has the opportunity to throw their life away in a European country for a few months, then taking a trip around Asian countries would be definitely cheaper and longer, and also more educational. Besides, when traveling in a cheap Asian country, you should also deduct the cost of living in your very expensive European country.
⇒ Who will you leave your flat with. Rent to your family or friends. Rent your room to someone from the internet for a specified period of time. If you rent for 3 months but you come back one week earlier, during that week you can sleep on the kitchen floor while viewing your photos. It is also another way to fund your travels.
This however is a more complex topic. While in Poland I talked to someone who was fascinated with my travels. So I offered him to rent his apartment to students, each room separately, and then go to Nepal for three months to trek in the Himalayas, see ancient temples and beautiful nature. With him the problem was neither work nor running a business, nor the lack of money, nor the problem with renting rooms. He wouldn’t go anywhere because” ‘he’s afraid that someone would destroy his flat as soon as he leaves, and he’s just renovated it by himself so nicely’. I said to him: ‘that is fine; so just sit here and make sure no one destroys your holy place.’ There are also people of that kind. As we see, you don’t have to be rich to travel. You have to have a strategy, a plan that he was afraid to put into practice.
⇒ Are you getting used to your car? I talked to someone who was once again fascinated with my travels. This someone was a ‘Sunday driver’, who could certainly do without a car. Nevertheless, he paid £450 a month for the car, although when adding petrol and frequent fines, he sometimes had to pay £600- £700. He’s also not going anywhere, because the purpose of his life is to watch his car. He envied me very much, and thought that I was very rich because I went to so many place and he didn’t. Do Poles even realize how beautiful it is to live on the exotic islands of the Philippines or Indonesia for £600 a month, and far less ??? I can assure you that you can fall in love with buses in London or Warsaw.
As far as I know, taking a car in lease in Poland worth PLN 50,000 costs about PLN 1000-1500 per month, so around £200 – £250. This means that a Pole from Poland can also afford expeditions if he wants to. If someone really needs a car, I advise to rent it only for a few months, to not to pay for it while traveling. You can also buy cheap lumber and sell it before you leave. There are adverts in England that someone wants to sell a 20-year-old Mercedes for £250, and he says the truth that the car should be able to drive for about half a year. If it breaks down earlier and it’s worth repairing, then it is even better, because you would go on vacation earlier. Then you might even want to give that car as a present to your local dodger, so you don’t have to pay for scrapping it.
There are also those who like to have beautiful cars to impress women, and an expensive car on a lease builds their personality. I experienced that in Poland. I was in a shop in a small town to buy a few things. I stood in the line, and the Polish ‘smart guy’ in black leather jacket who was standing in front of me and parked his BMW in front of the shop was talking to the sales women. At some point one woman said: ‘it’s okay, the customer is waiting for you and I can see that he is laughing because you are so funny’. He looked at me and said ironically about me to the whole store: ‘eh, he is poor’. I thought: ‘the local sucker has his 5 minutes’. There are those who are able to borrow and keeep paying off until their grave stone, so that only people could see that they are ‘rich’. This one will also not go on a trip around the world, because he lacks modesty and reason.
Above I wrote about renting your room for a few months, because this is the money which pays for the ticket, with airlines such as Emirates or Gulf. (In my opinion some Arab airlines are the best. I also have my opinion about the Polish or British airlines, but I want this article to be pleasant.)
⇒ Fear of flying. How many times have I heard questions about my flights to the other end of the world, often filled with jealousy and suspicion. Many however declare that they are afraid of flying, and even more so if the flight would last 16h hours and if they were to spend the next hours at exotic airports. Therefore travel is not for them. They are left with only jealousy and empty dreams.
⇒ What about your wife and child. You can sell them to the Arabs. They would be definitely interested (It was a joke ! ! !) First, ask them if they want to go with you, because maybe the destination is so demanding that they prefer to stay at home. For short trips, up to about 1-1.5 months, make sure to pay your bills, buy plenty of food and leave them some money before you go. If you are going for a few months, arrange to meet them in the middle of your tour for about a month, somewhere in the world. This way your separation would be shorter. With me, it usually looks that way, that my women get off terrified at an exotic airport at the end of the world, and I pick them up from there.
If I was an Instagram ‘star’ with a face and ass full of Botox, I would probably try to trick my readers that I slept in this hotel. However, I will tell the truth. Well, a night at the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai costs on average $24,000. I wasn’t even allowed into this hotel because I looked too poor. For that reason, I slept on Jumeirah Beach for free, overlooking the ‘windsurf shaped hotel’. (Photo from 2006.) Imagine an Arab burning a hole in your wallet with a flaming torch. This is what I think paying for a room at Burj-Al-Arab looks like. I laugh at ‘celebrities’.
Be prepared to pay more with your family, but you don’t want to be an irresponsible man. You want them to at least complete a part of the trip with you, then return home, remember the trip; and be happy that they survived. I’ve noticed that some places exaggerate the imagination of women; such as the Indian rickshaw driver taking white women at night to a spooky very low-end hotel, on the way passing homeless people sleeping in the street, and dead rats on the road. At the end the Indian man smiles with his mouth full of black teeth after chewing nicotine, and says: ‘this is your hotel madam’.
You should organize your trips in such a way, that your woman is happy that she went with you, but also that she is happy that she came back. Thanks to this tactic I go whenever I want. Besides, every trip is tiring and women take them differently. When women complain too much, I choose such “hotels” that they start checking earlier return flights themselves. Either way, I recommend that you stick to the plan, and your women must stay with you in the conditions you provide to the end. Alterations create chaos and may look as lack of your capability to rule over females. (Half jokingly, half seriously, because females are needed to care for males.)
⇒ What about a dog or cat. When you are away, these responsibilities are taken over by the woman. However, when your woman visits you in far away lands, before you leave, you would need someone like me who would be happy to take care of your dog. Otherwise it could be a very serious problem. My advice: if you want to be a traveller, don’t have pets. You will definitely have contact with them on the go.
⇒ Plan responsibly. I never said it would be always easy and cheap. However, you must have something and you must act responsibly, so when you return you would have somewhere to stay and something to live for. If there is no work in your country, you might have to pick olives in Spain for a while, but in the meantime look for the real job remotely, and even whilsts you still travel.
As one Malaysian told me: ‘If you don’t have money, don’t come to us. Your money is big and my money is small. We need your money.’ He explained it to me very honestly and he was right. Don’t expect people from the world’s poorest countries to fund the tour for ‘white millionaires’.
You will meet new friends during your journey. Proboscis long-nosed monkeys; Malaysian Borneo.
⇒ When to start travelling. I started early, but it took me many years to realize, that I wanted to take my passion seriously. If you want to do it too, I advise you to start when you are still young and beautiful. I spoke to an Englishman who said he would start travelling when he and his wife retire. I however don’t recommend this boring and tragic philosophy of life, and I think he won’t go anywhere.
From example Jews of Israel planned it very well. After graduating from high school, Jews have a one year gap before joining the army, and that’s why they travel during that year. I want the same for British people, and after a year of travelling and getting to know the world, let young Brits decide for themselves what they want to do with their lives. I would definitely prefer to spend my money on a year of travelling, than on worthless studies that guarantee nothing. I’ve heard somewhere that Gypsies sell diplomas, even from Harvard.
Seriously however, what you experience, what you see and learn, nobody will take away from you, and since travel education is beautiful, interesting, adventurous and takes a huge part of your emotions, you would never forget them and you would always keep those memories alive. But, do you really want to bother with it, or you just prefer to look at Martin Malik, and say: ‘ah, it’s because he’s rich’. No I’m not. I’m just making my dreams come true.
⇒ Seize the day! When I was in Warsaw, I saw a young woman working in a pastry shop, and I realized that she wasn’t too happy. I was supposed to tell her that she shouldn’t be there and ask why she wasn’t in the Maldives. But I didn’t do it because she might have thought that I could be either a madman or a pervert, or that maybe I wanted to make fun of her. There was always a possibility that she just came back from the Maldives, although I doubt that very much. I don’t always decide to talk to people, because I’ve noticed that they often perceive me with a great anxiety and suspicion.
“Seize the day, because no one will know what future the gods have in store for us . . . “
– a sentence derived from the poetry of Horace, included in his Injunctions.
Another time, while in Krakow, I approached a young woman who I didn’t know, and told her that unfortunately I was already leaving and I couldn’t spend that evening with her, but if she wanted to, we could meet in some distant country on a trip. I wanted to give her my travel card to look credible, I spoke calmly and politely, I was dressed clean, I kept my distance and I was sober – but she was terrified when she saw me anyway and nervously held the phone in her hand as if she wanted to call the police. I’ll never understand which side the fault was on. After all, I wanted all the best for her. I felt very misunderstood, as it usually is. If I knew her name and address I could at least send her a postcard from some beautiful place in Asia … but I don’t. That woman will never know what a beautiful and passionate story I had for her and how much she’s lost.
⇒ Slave of the system. Governments will always act in a totalitarian manner, both those which hide behind the myth of democracy, and those which are openly totalitarian. Governments seek absolute control of their citizens. Governments don’t want you to break out of the system and travel, but to stay in your country, take as many loans as possible, buy a lot of things that you don’t need, and pay taxes. If everyone lived like me, the state would have a huge problem: ‘Not only that he is a capitalist, and not an obedient laborer waiting for the promise of a generous pension, but he also travels the world instead of paying rent and parking tickets.’ They just don’t need one like me.
Since childhood, we have been told the same nonsense: finish school, finish university (whichever one, but just graduate from one because then people would respect you). When you have a job, you will buy a flat, a car, lots of things for your home (note the trap: personal loans, insurance, credit cards !!!). According to this doctrine of plundering citizens and keeping them in poverty and ignorance, a man is like a racing dog who runs for the rest of his life … chasing money. Has anyone ever asked a question, even at the best university: ‘what should you do so you wouldn’t have to slave and make your dreams come true?’ I doubt it, because then people might start to think independently, outside of the aquarium which they live in. When I was in Tibet, I asked a monk about his definition of freedom. He replied that: ‘freedom means to have no desires, because if you don’t want anything then you are free.’ I don’t agree with this thesis because it contradicts my value of ambition, resourcefulness and ingenuity – but I think that in the Western world many people could apply this Buddhist advice to thinking about whether it is worth killing oneself for the payment of questionable quality and empty promises. Perhaps there is another way?
‘Happiness is not an ideal of reason, but of imagination.’
– Immanuel Kant
My sociology experiment: on Monday morning I sat down in a cafe by the window with a cup of coffee. I saw people rushing to work, racing to cross the street at red lights, fighting to get on and off the bus quickly, and run to the train. I, on the other hand, sat quietly and watched their pursuit. I realized that watching people is like watching ants. The system however, creates the conditions for living in such a way that a person does not even have time to think; and often not because he is too stupid but because he is too tired.
⇒ It’s best at home. Most people I have met not only love their safety zone, which is four walls and a roof. They love their computer, their bathtub, their refrigerator and their furniture. They won’t travel because they are homebodies who don’t like to leave home but sometimes they read about travelling. There is nothing wrong with that, but they also think that I must be incredibly rich because I have travelled so many countries, even though they themselves don’t want to do so. I understand that they confuse travelling with holidays in expensive hotels and that’s why they have no idea what they talk about. If they spent two months in a hot desert or crossed a rainforest and slept in a cave. If they found themselves in war zones or witnessed sudden revolutions, maybe then they would stop talking about travel for the rich.
⇒ A narrow worldview is a mental barrier that cannot move people from their ‘safe zone’. The average person simply does not realize that in a month he has a flight to Madagascar to meet lemurs, or that for the next few months he’ll be roaming the Malaysian jungle and talking to orangutans. A narrow worldview comes out in practice when someone interested in travel looks at a map of the world, and all the distant countries on planet Earth look to him like an expedition to the Moon. In addition, he has all the other problems I described above.
The final motivation
Everyone chooses their own path, although some people have their paths chosen by others. Some people wake up right away, some wake up a little bit later, but unfortunately most people never wake up. There are many options, but don’t expect anyone to give you something for free, or that we deserve universal respect and the compliments of the crowds, just because we have a university diploma. Do you have a vision? Are you motivated? Do you have purpose in life? Are you inventive and combative, or you just passed a lot of exams? What have those people who judge you and criticize you so fiercely, and issue you diplomas – achieved in their lives? Do they even understand what they talk about?
It’s not a problem if you fall on your face. I fell down many times, but each time I get up with a new idea, a new plan. Your enemy will be always the one who tells you to not to get up anymore; a toxic cockroach who will find and highlight your flaws in order to feel better than you at least for a moment; even though he himself is probably fat and drunk and he stinks of sweat.
Koh Samui, Thailand.
I don’t think I’m successful, but at least I do what I like, and I know that if I have travelled 50 countries, you can travel 100; or only 5, but better than the others or exactly as you want it. I think this sentence can be applied to many areas. Travel, dream, discover, and don’t let others to tread on your dreams.
‘I did not tell half of what I saw, for I knew I would not be believed.’
– Marco Polo; ‘Description of the World’
Finally, I also have to ask myself: ‘Was it worth to write this article?’ I don’t think so, because many people were so terrible to me that I shouldn’t want them to live better, but worse. Well, maybe I will help and motivate the good ones, who I’ve never met.
Due to the global reset everything might change, which is why I recommend my article on Coronavirus in two parts, in the Politics of Truth section.
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