Have you ever taken the long way home, just for the experience? I’ve done it, no doubt about it. Sometimes when we go outside our normal path we find new things that we didn’t know about before. Sometimes we learn new things, sometimes it’s good, sometimes the experience is not so good, but it is almost always interesting.
Last week, I met a fellow who has taken the long way home, and he has taken the phrase to an entirely new level that few of us can say we have even considered. The fellow I am speaking of is named Dave. I promised Dave that I would not use his last name here, and I will explain why later in this article.
Dave is literally taking the long way, and he’s been on his journey for a number years now. Dave is actually not only taking he long way home, he is taking The Longest Way Home. You see, Dave has a website all about his journey, at the URL that I linked to, and his website is all about his trip along the longest way home!
OK, ok, let me quit beating around the bush… Dave is taking a journey where he is traveling over land, all over the world. When I say “over land” I mean that he travels by car, walks, hitch-hikes, whatever means he can find to travel. He started out in Europe. He passed through Europe, Turkey, Pakistan and all the way to China. Dave has passed through some very out of the way places like Pakistan and Iran too. He spent time in Tibet and other parts of China too. When it was time to leave China, he came to the Philippines. The trip from China to the Philippines was Dave’s first “non-land” travel of the journey. Obviously, you can’t travel over land to the Philippines, since it is a group of Islands. So, Dave flew to the Philippines from China.
Dave has actually been in the Philippines for more than a year now, his ability to stay here longer on a tourist visa is coming to an end, so it is time for him to move on soon. His next stops will be in Malaysia and Indonesia, although I can’t really share exactly where those spots will be.
So far, Dave has been on his way home for 4 and a half years! When he stopped by my house last week, I asked him when he was going to go home again, and he said that as of now, he had no plans. The truth is that I think Dave really doesn’t have a home anymore! He is a traveler with no fixed location that he calls home. Since had has been in the Philippines for more than a year, I am sure that he currently thinks of the Philippines as his home, or at least a long resting place on his journey home.
I am an expat. Really, everybody who writes on this site is an expat to one extent or another. An expat is a person who lives in a country other than the country where he was born or raised. Dave, though, is not an expat. He is a traveler. He doesn’t have a home to live away from. Dave’s journey is a search for a home, or a journey to get away from home as much as it is the long way home.
Dave came by my house and had some of my self-roasted coffee. He seemed to enjoy the coffee a lot too. I had kind of expected maybe a 30 minute meeting, or an hour. I don’t know what Dave expected. But, our meeting went on for several hours! We seemed to feed off of each others experiences. I enjoyed the meeting immensely.
I had been in contact with Dave in the past, and he reads several of my websites, although not that regularly. I am looking forward to being in continued communication with him, and I hope our paths will cross again sometime in the future.
Oh yes, why don’t I mention his last name? Well, Dave explained to me that he travels to some places where access in the future could be a problem. Sometimes he publishes stories or even photos that the authorities might not like to have out on the web. For example, he was in Tibet during some serious unrest, and he photographed his experiences there. If his last name were known on the web, it could possibly prevent him from going back to some places in the future. So, I promised Dave to honor his wish to publish only his first name.
Enjoy the trip, Dave! If you make it back to the Philippines, be sure to stop by. I’ll save some coffee beans for you!
Hi Bob, Thanks for introducing us to Dave's site–I've added it to my favorites. What an interesting life he must have, although he must get very lonely at times. I'm hoping to get a block of time to go over all his stuff and try to live vicariously through his travel stories. I think that if you have that wanderlust you'll always be looking to go somewhere new to explore. I love to travel too, but I also love to get home eventually.
Dave's site is very interesting Bob, thanks for putting up the link. I especially liked his observation on the Philippines:
"There is however a large expat community. Consisting mainly of older white men and younger Filipino partners. Personally I found some to be a little creepy, others fine, just living their lives."
Ha..Ha…too funny.
Hi queeniebee – Dave is certainly a very interesting guy, and i really enjoyed getting to know him. I've browsed his site quite a bit, but it seems to be so huge! I'm like you… traveling is great, and I love it. But, the best part is getting home!
Hi Steve A – I'm glad you found Dave's site interesting. I know I enjoyed it too.
I don't know about you Bob, but for me oftentimes the anticipation of a certain trip can be as fun as the trip itself. I'm hoping in the future to use the Philippines as a home base to a lot of Asian travel. The only limitation is having enough funds to do a lot of it.
Hi queeniebee – I agree that the Philippines makes a nice home base for Asian travels. Feyma and I had considered this when we moved here! So far, though, we haven't done it! I hope we will soon, though!
That is wonderful. I find people like dave very fascinating & a part of me is envious of his life.
This reminded me of an exchange i had in fb last week. A friend of mine took one of those nonsensical quizzes on the site. This one was "what city in the world should you live in?". He wasn't pleased with the answer (New York). I asked him why this displeased him and he said that he was quite content with he city in Japan where he now lives in.
I told him that I was happy for him & that I am not sure I would ever find that perfect city for me. His then replied that I should not worry & that I will someday find that place to settle.
Anyway, to round this out: to me, his reply was telling because it seemed my answer was unfortunate & needed solace. But, I find it a good thing to be able to experience different cultures as I please. Home just doesn't seem like a stationary place to me anymore.
To some people, that old saying "Once you leave home, you can never go back" actually holds water.
Good luck to Dave & I wish him a lifetime of safe journey.
Hi macky – It's funny the way that exchange went. I think that you and I have a similar outlook. To me, it is sad that your friend could be content to just live in that single place. How boring! Checking out different places, exploring different cultures, languages and stuff like that keeps life interesting!
kamusta bob
i also have a friend from australia and he has been here on the island a few years catching lobsters,he has been also taking the long way home,he started in philippines then went to south america and now my latest update he was in southafrica and working his way back to sidney.'
nice article, salamat bob
Hi RonW – I bet your friend is enjoying his journey! I love traveling, and would love that lifestyle, but would tire of it after a while, ready to head home! 😀
I find that traveling in general is very physical, involving a lot of running, walking and schlepping of bags, and that's just in the airport! This man Dave must be in good shape overall in order to have the stamina to travel all the time and still enjoy himself. Not to mention writing all about it. He's very lucky.
Hi bob,
Just would like to say I like the feature you did, not just coz I know Dave, but because you captured the core essence of the journey he’s making. I also heard a lot about your website even before you made this feature, and I say it’s good and keep up the good work.
btw ,www.akungescapades.wordpress.com is my blogsite,which is in terrible state as its long been unupdated.A shame 🙂
Hi queenie – But, with Dave, remember that he goes somewhere and stays for a while. Like, he has been in the Philippines for well over a year already, so he is not constantly on the go. He did seem to be in good shape, but maybe it's not as necessary for his travel, I'm not sure.
Hi MC – Thanks for your nice comment. Yes, Dave is genuinely a nice guy, and I enjoyed meeting him.
I'm glad that you have known about my website and that you appreciate it. Maybe we would have a chance to meet sometime too. That would be nice. Get working on your website, it has a lot of potential!!
Thank you Bob for sharing Dave's site. I have been browsing through it and its fascinating to view. He lives a life that under different circumstances (no family) I would consider for myself. I am always looking for the perfect place and I am not sure it exists. I think we need to create our own perfect place and that is easier said than accomplished. Ron
Hi Ron – Like you, if I were single, I would consider doing something like this. Although, as I mentioned in an earlier comment, I think I would tire of it after a while. I do think it would be fascinating, though.
Sure do, we're on the same island after all. thanks Bob:-)
oh, I didn't realize that..I've got to go back and study everything–that makes more sense.
This Dave has an interesting life, that`s for sure, and I think that lots of people might like to travel all around the globe.
He has a nice website worth to check it out more in the near future.
Someone who has been to many places has a lot to tell. I can imagine that you had an interesting time with him sharing some experiences with him.
Thanks for bringing his website under our attention.
Hi Bob – I always take the long way home. It's called being lost. 😆
On the road – found a hot spot!
Hi Paul – Ha ha… getting lost does indeed make the journey home a longer one! No doubt on that! Finding a WiFi Hotspot also can make the journey a longer one too, because you might get caught up reading LiP when you should be driving!
I only looked through his article on the Philippines. I keep running across El Nido, and it looks like such a beautiful place. My goal when we arrive in the Phils. Is to do much like Dave, and take time to explore the islands in detail. I would think what Dave shares is barely the tip of the iceberg in his travels. Thanks for sharing Dave with us Bob…..i2f….John
Hi Bob: I enjoyed browsing at Dave's website especially the web design, but not the color background. I like his Balut write-up and picture dated July 3, 2009. I still say though that :
HOME IS NOT A PLACE, BUT IN YOUR SOUL AND IN YOUR THE HEART!
Hi imagine – I have yet to make it to Palawan myself, but it is a place that I would also like to visit. Yes, Dave is currently in his Palawan mode on his site…. he and I talked about that when he was here! 😆 He told me that it can take a few months for him to share an experience like that once he gets back to his temporary home base.
Hi David – Ha ha… I teased Dave a little bit about the balut on Facebook. He has yet to try it, and he will never try it, he said! 😆 Dave is a nice and interesting guy. I agree on the site colors… but we all have our own individual preferences! 😀