Road Trip: The World

"You're making that face again," R said.

The first time I made that face was when I heard that R, J, and E were going to be road tripping in a Japanese car - one made in Japan, with the driver's side on the right.

I was making it now because I had just understood that the starting point of their drive was Vladivostok, on Russia's eastern coast.

"Because the Trans-Siberian Railway is for pussies?" I asked.

He nodded. "We don't need that kind of luxury. We'll be camping, mostly, across Siberia and the tundra and everywhere else."

Later, I asked about the southern hemisphere. "I thought driving around the world was good enough," he declared defensively. Apparently, I wasn't the first one to ask. I hastily explained that no criticism was implied. If they were driving across Siberia, who knows? Maybe they were driving across the Sahara and through the Amazon, too.

To sum up the trip in three sentences:

Go to Japan and buy a cheap used car. Drive it across the Eurasian continent. Then drive it across North America.

Or in one sentence:

Drive across the northern hemisphere with the steering wheel on the right side.

I was making a face because I thought they were fucking insane.

I was also making a face because I thought it was fucking fantastic.

The most exciting sight on I-15.

Road trips are great. I enjoyed crossing the U.S. twice in 2004, even on a limited, rushed schedule. When I had the time to do it properly in 2007 - two weeks instead of less than one - it was one of the best trips I had ever taken. With more time, we could take state roads instead of interstates, and spend time at every stop instead of only sleeping and then moving on.

On state roads, everything is awesome.

So if a road trip for one week is good, and two weeks is great, it follows that six months would be amazing.

Unless, of course, it turns out there's a sweet spot somewhere between rushing frantically from one place to the next and ennui, group tension, cabin fever, murder and cannibalism.

I can think of a few suggestions for staying sane on an extended trip.

Have a goal:

I don't know about you, but six months without something to do sounds excruciating. I'm planning a ten-day trip to the Philippines and even that long without something to procrastinate about would make me pretty uncomfortable. Come up with something to work on. It could be a document of the trip, whether in words, sounds, images, or video. It could be a project that you've just never had the free time for till now. Obviously, it'd have to be something portable. You don't want to lug around a two-ton block of marble.

Take a vacation from tripping:

Periodically take a day or two, or even a week, off from traveling every once in a while. Find a cheap place where you can hole up and catch up with what's going on back home. Work on your project. Sunbathe, chill out with a book, watch movies all day long. Take a break from sightseeing, going from one place to another, meeting new people, the works. It's hard to keep the good times rolling indefinitely. After your vacation vacation, you'll face the world with renewed enthusiasm.

Take some time off from your companions:

totes sole m8s 4eva!

Who knows, you might be soul mates that want to see exactly the same museums, the same pubs, the same sights. Go at different times anyway. Especially to museums or art galleries, everybody has a different pace. If you're based in the same city for a while, plan some days to pursue your own interests. Or go separate ways and meet up in a city further down the road. Absence makes the heart less murderous, reducing the festering resentment of the million little quirks you're subjected to on a daily basis.

If (when, dammit) I get a job here, I won't be able to go on an extended road trip for a while. Even if I don't, it would be pretty hard to justify one. So I guess I'm just envious.