Reflections on Low Orbit
Low Orbit was an incredible learning experience that expanded our consciousness of the world, validated the strength of our relationship, and reaffirmed our individual capabilities. Now keenly aware of the real phenomenon of time dilation, we are convinced that life at home over the past six months has likely passed much more rapidly than life on the road. In that time, we’ve traveled to 11 countries across the planet, flown on 35 domestic and international flights, filled our passports with stamps and visas, and fumbled our way through a multitude of currencies, languages, and local customs. We’ve endured sandstorms in the desert, slept on frigid mountaintops, and traveled long distances on buses, planes, and trains. We’ve jostled our way through crowds and traffic jams, markets, temples and monuments. We’ve climbed rugged peaks, trekked through hill tribe country, navigated our way through rivers and lakes, traversed the lip of an active volcano, and traveled over dusty roads and roads baked by rainforest heat. We’ve tasted the cuisines, smelled the aromas, and listened to the mesmerizing sounds of every village, town, and city. We witnessed with our own eyes extreme poverty and suffering. We saw joy and pain and tasted the bitterness and sweetness of their worlds. We stood before some of the most remarkable examples of human genius and saw some of the ugliest examples of human indecency. We learned and appreciated the significance of religion throughout the world and watched how it inspires tranquility as well as intolerance. We witnessed the extreme oppression of people brought on by their governments, religions, societies, and families. In this time away, we feel like we’ve lived several lifetimes and been away for many years. We loved it and we hated it…but mostly we loved it.
During our journey we felt ourselves members of a privileged class, not just because we have the money and freedom to travel, but because we have been able to compare and contrast the lives of hundreds of people around the world and were witnesses to their societies. Although many of the people we met along the way perceived us as rich Americans, it is the wealth of these experiences that makes us rich. It is the experiences and what we learned on this world tour that can neither be bought or sold.
We also learned that the developing world has a long way to go. The rights of women in many countries are largely non-existent. Women in many of the countries we visited do not enjoy the freedoms that we consider to be some of the most basic. The right to travel domestically and internationally is often not allowed without the written consent of the husband. Women are often banned from holding positions in the workforce. They are restricted or pressured by religious fundamentalism that requires modest and often restrictive dress. Honor killings (where male relatives murder female relatives for committing adultery) still take place in many of these countries. The poor often suffer from malnutrition, children often die from dysentery, and basic amenities like shelter, clothing, food, and clean water are often a luxury. Some of this we knew before we left, but it is another thing entirely to witness it with one's own eyes.
Many of the cultures we have come to respect seem to have a far greater sense of family and community than we do back home. They treat each other with warmth and genuine concern for the wellbeing of each individual and the whole and we wonder if we can bring more of that spirit back home. We learned so much from these travels and how much there is to know about the world that is simply not told in what we read and hear about through newpapers, books, and television. We learned that a relativistic view of the world is not the answer but rather understanding that the world outside our own is vast and complex, good and evil, sometimes sophisticated in its thinking, and often radically narrow-minded. In many ways we feel we have become citizens of the world; at the same time, the act of international travel reminds us of how strongly we subscribe to and cherish our American identity.
It is important to note something about long-term travel that we've discovered most journal entries seem to overlook. Every traveler who has been away from home for months or years experiences travel burn-out. We would be leaving out an important aspect of this experience if we didn't share that we, too, experienced this phenomenon. For the first half of our trip, we thought about what we missed about home and wondered if we made the right decision. These thoughts crossed our minds during those moments where we just reached our limit with the touts hassling us, the filthy bathrooms, unscrupulous hotel staff, the long and unpleasant journey to reach our destination, the constant feeling that we had to be on-guard with our belongings, struggling to make sense of someone's broken English, and dealing with backward business practices. Then suddenly the scenery changed and we would find ourselves standing before something so remarkable that we knew the journey was worth it. We caught our second wind when we left Asia, arrived in Egypt and the scenery changed. The Middle East was a welcomed change for us and we knew the second half of our journey would begin to move very quickly. We found ourselves appreciating the experience once again.
Would we do this again? Perhaps...but we know it will be a long time from now and under different circumstances. On future journeys overseas we plan to take just a few weeks, which will allow us to maintain work and home. The advantage of short-term travel is that one has the energy, enthusiasm, and money to fully appreciate the experience every day and still know in a short time, life will continue as you left it back at home. For now, we are pleased to return home and enjoy the comforts we have in America. We appreciate what we have so much more.
Are we glad we decided to take this journey? Absolutely. Few people in this world have the opportunity to travel. In fact, most people in the world could never afford to travel or are bound by some restriction that will not allow them to even leave the village where they live to explore their own country, let alone another country. We consider it a privilege to travel and because we can travel, we must travel. It is what helps us learn and it is part of our spiritual journey on this earth.
What did we like most on this journey? We’ve struggled to answer this and have not come up with a singular answer but to attempt to satisfy this question, we’ve listed Low Orbit’s Best and Worst Lists below.
To encapsulate our story from Low Orbit is impossible but we hope you have enjoyed our stories and that we have inspired others to find the courage to see a land they may have once considered too strange or too difficult to navigate. Find the courage and go. Life is too short and the experience is far too precious to put it off. We thank you for coming along with us on our pilgrimage.
Low Orbit’s Best and Worst Lists
BEST
Best Ancient Architecture
Taj Mahal,
Best Tombs
Most Interesting Cultures
Beautiful Textiles
Rajasthan and
Ubud,
Best Food
Best People
Egyptians for their sense of humor
Jordanians for their class and sophistication
Indonesians for their sincerity
Burmese for their gentility
Best Cities
Marrakech for its vibrant color and people
Most Interesting
Best Natural Landscapes
Sahara Desert, Morocco
Best Music
Cheapest Countries
Where We Vow We’ll Return
Most Useful Items
Earplugs, particularly in Muslim countries where the call to prayer howls over the loudspeaker at 4am
Flashlight/headlamp for reading on overnight trains, buses, and dingy hotel rooms
Laptop computer & camera to capture and share our stories
What We’ll Miss Most
The kindness and sincerity of people around the world
How cheap everything is in non-Western countries
The color of the world – its people and ancient civilizations
What Relieved Us Most
We never got sick
Nothing was ever stolen from us
We didn't lose anything
WORST
What we hated most about traveling
Dirty squat toilets
Being hassled everywhere, mercilessly and constantly
No hot water and never really feeling clean, even after a shower
Tour guides and group tours
What we missed most
Our dog, Mucho
Wi-Fi – even a fast connection was a godsend
Rebecca misses her hairdryer
Michael misses his keyboard
Biggest Rip-Off Factor
Most Crowded & Polluted
Most Tourists
Most Affected by Terrorism
Most Expensive Countries
Most Government Corruption
Morocco
Myanmar
Lu
Bangkok