Underground Poker

On April 29th 2009 I will depart Los Angeles, California and cross the Atlantic for what should be the journey of a lifetime. I have no itinerary, no set plans, or idea of when I will return. I’m going to take each day as it comes and enjoy the moment because there is no time like the present. I have no expectations. What lays ahead is a complete mystery to me.

I do have ideas of where I would like to go in general and goals I would like to accomplish. They may not be the typical goals of getting a promotion at work or buying a new car, but I assure you that conquering your dreams to see the world and executing a journey of such magnitude will rival almost any other accomplishment in life. My trip will begin in London for four nights and then I fly to Istanbul. That much I know and the plan ends there. I do have future ideas as I’ve dreamed of this trip for some time. I have debated the pros and cons of sharing them with you. I may come up short of my dream, but that is not so much a negative as nobody will ever be able to say that I didn’t give it my best shot. Most people don’t even try! Besides, no matter the length of my journey and how far I make it there is no denying that the experience that lays ahead for me will be a positive one. The only real negative of sharing is that I don’t want to have a set plan. I want the freedom to go where I want, when I want. If I love a city I may want to stay a little longer. If I hear great things about a neighboring country I hadn’t intended on going to then I would like to go there; Just like that, Go!! But, what I’ll do is make it fun and give the master outline I have in my head and we will see how much it changes along the way. Maybe at some point in the middle we can look back and realize this rough outline meant absolutely nothing. Who knows, but it will give you an idea of what kind of trip I have in mind regardless of how close the end result is.

My trip starts in London for four nights followed by Istanbul, that much I know. I have heard the greatest things about Istanbul and Turkey in general. Everybody I have spoken to about Turkey who has been raves about it. Seasoned travelers who I tell about my trip focus in on Turkey. After Istanbul I plan to travel around Turkey for roughly a month making a circle and bringing me back to Istanbul. From there I will travel North to Bulgaria. In Bulgaria I hope to play some poker (poker will be the topic of my next writing). I will continue North to Romania and Hungary for the summer. Then into Slovakia and Czech Republic. Timed just right I will arrive in Germany for Oktoberfest. From there I will carry on to Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, then enter Russia via St Petersburg and head down to Moscow.

In my head I see Moscow as the halfway point of my trip. It is the divide between East and West and the departure point for a journey that I see as one of the highlights of my trip. That is to take the Trans Siberian Express across Russia (and Siberia) to Beijing via Mongolia. Once in China I would like to follow the coast down South going to Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macau. (If poker treats me well I would love to go to South Korea and/or Japan from China). From China I will enter Vietnam and traverse over towards Thailand going to Laos and Cambodia on the way. From here Malaysia and Singapore are viable options. However, the greatest option of all may very well be to fly from Bangkok to Kathmandu, Nepal to embark on a tea house trek. I see no better way to end my trip other than having no end at all

There are tons of other options and possibilities for the above that I have already thought over. Wouldn’t it be amazing to go to Tibet? How about running of the bulls in Spain or beer tasting at a monastery in Belgium? Beaches of Croatia? That doesn’t account for the endless paths and forks in the road yet to be offered along the way.

I have always dreamed of backpacking the world but I never really thought it would happen. My brother traveled for five years backpacking and living abroad and he is my greatest inspiration. I have always been envious of all the places he has been and amazing experiences he must have had.

Over the past two years I dedicated my life to my father while he was ill. He was my greatest friend and I spent almost every day with him. I cancelled a trip last summer to Turkey and Greece to stay with him, with absolutely no regrets. My dad never held me back at any point in life and offered me the ultimate freedom, but I would never ever leave him for an extended period while he was here, even when healthy. I have never felt this trip was available to me in the past, but now that my father is gone I feel no forces keeping me here in LA. My dad knew about my trip and I think he was more excited about it than me. This trip will be dedicated to his memory

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