What a wonderful world

"Excuse me, sir, but I cannot allow you to board the plane. You are too late; the boarding gate is already closed. I’m sorry. You will have to wait another week for your next flight."

Covered in sweat, I wake up. It is too damn hot in my room. I wonder what time it is. In the darkness, I search for my digital camera (besides my laptop, the only device with a clock I’m carrying). Found it—6 AM. God, it’s way too early!

I am in Bangkok. I arrived yesterday from Denpasar. On my last night of traveling, I didn’t want to sleep at the airport, nor did I want to go to Khao San Road (the backpackers’ district). So, I found myself a very nice hotel room in the city center. In six hours, I fly back to Berlin.

I am anxious, nervous, and terrified. Everything came to an end so fast. If there were moments when I thought, “What am I doing here? I should be working. This is nonsense! Traveling for such a long period of time…” I now wish October 4th, 2010, were today and not eight months ago. Eight months! That is quite a lot of time, isn’t it? And yet, I wish it could all start over again.

It is impossible to summarize everything I’ve lived. I won’t even try. It is the past, isn’t it? One of the things I learned in Thailand was: “You should die to the past every second. Your life is now!” How can you do that? I have no fucking clue. I can’t do it—but I am working on it.

Before I “die to this past,” I want to tell you what you probably already know: the world is absolutely wonderful! No matter how gorgeous the country—how impressive, how beautiful—what really remains at the very core are the “strangers” you inevitably meet along the way. I have witnessed and experienced true kindness, friendship, love, and hospitality from people of all sorts of backgrounds, races, and beliefs. And this—this is something so powerful and overwhelming that it makes you realize 99% of human beings are actually ready to give rather than take. And I was surely given so much!

Thank you all for “traveling with me” through your visits and supportive words. I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Love, Ricardo.