Have you ever read the book show in the image below?
If not, the synopsis is simple. Tiziano Terzani – an experienced Asia correspondent— was warned by a Hong Kong fortune-teller not to risk flying for an entire year. So, in the year in question (1993), he didn’t. Instead, he slowly re-explored Asia by foot, boat, bus, car, and train on his way back to Italy.
One of the aspects of the book I always enjoy is that in not flying, the author was reminded again that life is about the journey – not just the destination.
‘Every place is a goldmine. You have only to give yourself time, sit in a teahouse watching the passers-by, stand in a corner of the market, go for a haircut. You pick up a thread – a word, a meeting, a friend of a friend of someone you have just met – and soon the most insipid, most insignificant place becomes a mirror of the world, a window on life, a theatre of humanity.’
* In contrast to this wider travel philosophy though are some of his descriptions of Asia being ruined by modernity – how everything is becoming westernised and homogenous. Interestingly, this is something that is now being said of Mongolia where there is a drive for modernity and progress (the Mongolian flag itself represents progress and prosperity). But, because you see Mongolian herders with a Smartphone doesn’t mean that Mongolia is becoming westernised. Yes, it is becoming modernised but the local people of Mongolia wish to develop economically and gain access to material possessions that we also have. It’s an interesting debate!
