Lone Travelin'

Awoke early in Beirut with the goal of get north back into Syria and to the city of Aleppo before darkness fell. Although it happens often, there is a certain heightened level of stress associated with arriving to a new city in the nighttime, therefore I try to avoid it when possible. I set out early but the X Factor of the day was how long I was going to have to sit at the Syrian border for a new visa. Logically, you would think they could bypass the whole process of verifying with Damascus that I wasn't a spook, because they just did it less than 10 days ago when I crossed from Jordan. But alas, logical thinking has no place in many things I have encountered while traveling and this day was no exception. Expecting this, I had to arrive at the border using shared taxis, which would leave me there to my fate, as opposed to an ongoing bus that would not want to wait on me during the visa debacle. After experiencing the hassle of getting the exit stamp in Lebanon, I walked about a mile in the no-man's land between the borders and arrived to a mob scene in the arrival station of the Syrian side. It was chaos--a clash of anxious people and bureaucratic baloney. I was still feeling a bit sick and didn't want to cope with this predicament. Although aware that my status as the only Westerner at the border could probably bring me preferential treatment, I still attempted to join the so-called line in front of the immigration desk and act like a lunatic like all the other Tom, Dick, and Harrys there. With no end to the madness in sight, I thought about sitting on the ground and giving up, but I was keenly aware that all these guys would forever associate Americans with being puss*es, so I decided to tough it. Coping, I started repeating the line from Forrest Gump: Please God, make me a bird, to fly far far away from here..... I would have taken some pıcs of thıs pandemonıum but photos at mılıtary ınstallments are a bıg no no around here.
Luckily the guards, after repeatedly shouting menacing reprimands at the surging mass, pulled me aside and told me that they would fax my visa application to Damsacus and that, again, in 1,2, or 7 hours, they would probably approve my entry. After 3 hours they did, and I jumped on a bus to Aleppo, now to arrive well after dark. Luckily, a cool Syrian couchsurfer found time between his doctoral residency and exam studying to accomodate my last minute request and I now find myself comfortably situated in the city.

Recently I have fielded questions from family and a few friends about any possible incidents of lonliness while traveling on my own. I thought about this question while in Lebanon, sitting in the fetal position under the lone naked lightbulb in a sparsely furnished hotel room and after a good 10 minutes of conversely loudly with myself came out with the answer of, not in the least. But let me explain a few things. Yes, obviously I do miss family/friends back home and usually wish that they were here to experience some of these events with me. As a shared experience is far better than an experience on your own, however one on your own is better than none at all. I am also aware that from the outside it may seem a bit weird to travel alone but since my preceptions of what exactly is considered weird have been thrown off a bit since I started thinking sleeping and living in stranger's apartments is normal, I usually don't worry much about the issue. There is nothing wrong with that fact that your most trusted travel companion just happens to be the auto-timer on your camera...
Fortunately, most of this trip has been filled with shared experiences had with Petro, The Q's, The Schloegels, Amy Smith, Joe Clifford, and a host of other memorable people met along the way. And just after Xmas, Jen Tiehen's friend Beth Winkelmann, who has decided that she too wants a bit of adventure of her own, will be joining up with me for some travel in Turkey. Are you also hearing the call? You know how to reach me.



Pending I don't get side-tracked on a far flung idea, I am planning on transiting briefly through Turkey in the next few days and heading into Bulgaria to visit my old STL roommate, Gergana, who lives in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Flying solo,
BQ