Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Our first attempt didn't go so well. The bike tilted back and forth as the group tried to
get it balanced. Already I had become known as the biggest pain in the ass this side of the
Vietnamese border. As the porters shot me dirty looks trying to launch my bike into the
back of the truck, I knew my time in Vietnam was running out. Finally, we found our stride,
and Kindness One was bound for the nearby port.
We had done it. I was literally carrying Kindness One into Vietnam. Now why didn't I
think of this at the beginning?
Getting Kindess One into Vietnam should have only taken seven hours; instead, it had
taken nearly seven days, but I didn't mind. I had explored the city, staying with business ex-
ecutives and street cleaners, kitchen cooks and opera directors. I had avoided the tornado,
and in turn, I had walked through a rainstorm of kindness. For every rough moment at the
border, I had experienced the generosity of the Vietnamese people ten-fold, not to mention
the incredible efforts of the American consulate.
The next day, I arrived at the port and saw the ship that would take Kindness One across
the vast blue ocean that separated us from North America and our destination of Vancouver,
Canada. I stepped on the ship and looked out at the city. I was going home.
* * *
In India, I was given a copy of Gregory David Roberts'
Shantaram
, a book about a man
who lives mired in the darker side of Bombay. I was lying in my bunk on the cargo ship
when I read the first paragraph (and, admittedly, the only part I read):
“It took me a long
time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we
make, but the heart of it came to me in an instant . . . that freedom is a universe of possib-
ility.”
I got up and walked outside for some fresh air. A cool breeze lapped in across the ocean
as I pulled my jacket tighter. No matter how hard some of the days on the road had been,
no matter how painful it was to see the lives of those who had much less, no matter how
I might have longed for home or wished I could have done better, done more, been more,
I knew that this journey had been born of that freedom. The freedom to kiss my girlfriend
good-bye, get on Kindness One, and drive across the world. I knew that not everyone lives
in the same freedom, but maybe it isn't just a matter of having enough resources or time or
effort or talent. Maybe it's just realizing that freedom is ours for the taking. As is possibil-
ity. As is living your dream.
