I spent the last nine months of 2010 travelling through Asia, Canada, the States, Australia and a little bit of New Zealand (just to keep my Kiwi-ness topped up) and wherever I was around the world I saw people (mainly women) reading the Elizabeth Gilbert memoir Eat Pray Love. The book follows a wealthy, recently divorced 30-something woman as she finds the glories of food in Italy, spirituality in India and romance in Bali during a year-long trip to “find herself.” The Bali part of the book is set in beautiful Ubud where I was in April and this was definitely one of my favourite spots for a crushed-ice watermelon shake. The perfect place to “find yourself” you could say.
Which, by the way, reminds me of a great website called stuffwhitepeoplelike.com which has a laugh at the expense of neurotic white folk who feel the need to go and “find themselves” in third world countries and then write books about it. The website claims that more white people have written books about “finding themselves” in third world countries than have been read. But I digress….
Through my own white person travels through countries third world, second world and otherwise, I asked every person I saw reading Eat Pray Love what their own version of the book would be called. Drink Drink Drink was a common response along with Giardia Filth Theft. My version would probably be Tennis Snorkel Karaoke and I am just awaiting word from publishers about a possible release date.
Looking back on what I did in 2010, not everything went to plan as it hardly ever does, but this was the scattered path: New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Java, Bali, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Laos, Thailand, Hong Kong, Thailand, Cambodia, Thailand, New Zealand, Canada, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia. I wanted adventures and challenges and great life experiences and that is exactly what I got so I can count myself very lucky.
Hope you have a great Christmas, if you get a Secret Santa gift you don’t like please don’t complain because chances are the person hardly knows you and they were sensible and stuck to the $5 limit and it’s just meant to be a bit of fun (previous experience). Merry Christmas and all the best for 2011!
Tim
