It is too dark outside to see the landscape 38’000 feet below me. The miniature screen on the back of the seat in front of me shows that we are now flying somewhere over Iran or Turkmenistan. Despite the blackness my mind keeps conjuring images of vast deserts and imposing mountains. While people sleep around me I stare out the window, longing to discover the lands that are down there.
I know if I close my eyes and drift into unconsciousness like the rest of the passengers I will likely dream about being lost in a foreign place. It is what most of my dreams usually constitute. In this moment I do not need to sleep to dream. My eyes squint into the darkness, envisioning what life is like in whichever country I fly high above. I wish I could transport myself from this Airbus A380 and put myself on the back of a motorcycle or Jeep and be driving through far-flung towns with names I struggle to pronounce, communicating with people in languages I do not know. I long to be walking the streets of a place I have never been before.
Something about countries such as Iran and Turkmenistan deeply excites me. I believe it is because despite all my research on these nations, I can’t imagine what it would be like to actually travel there. Images on a screen and stories from other backpackers can only hint at what life would really be like trekking through a place that the media warns against. I long to discover how it is for myself.
Exploring new and distant lands is what I live for. With each new country I travel to I become more and more fascinated with how varied this world truly is. Yet what I find the most captivating is how so much is essentially the same. How different is what I discover in Myanmar really going to be from what I find in Turkmenistan? Will it be as contrasting as Honduras?
In a few hours I will be touching down in Frankfurt, Germany. I then catch a connecting flight to Berlin, where I will spend the next few days learning, discovering and communicating. I may not be able to pronounce the names of some of the towns and I have learnt none of the local language yet. This will indeed be a foreign land to me.
Soon the sun will begin to rise and from 38’000 feet above the earth’s surface dark will turn into light. My thoughts of life in Iran will fade and I will start to dream about travelling in Europe. I won’t have to dream for too long. I will be walking the streets soon enough.
