THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE WORLD IS ABOUT 40,000km. If I were to travel the world in style, zigzagging to take in various wonders, I would probably have to cover 100,000km. Unfortunately, due to agoraphobia, I can travel only 240 meters per day. So unless I manage to live for hundreds of years, circumnavigating the world is beyond me. Even making it out of Australia seems doubtful.

Nonetheless, I continue to live in hope.

In my wildest dreams, there would be nine Base Camps for me on my journey around the globe: the Halfway House, Cairns, Jayapura, Bangkok, Jerusalem, Cape Town, Berlin, Reykjavik and New York City. The basic premise is that, having reached one Base Camp, I rest and start planning the next stage. Even if I never make it out of the Halfway House, for example, at least I know I can live a good life there. That said, wanderlust is a powerful force, and is certain to drag me on to the next Base Camp.

Anxiety and homesickness are two factors which should be considered. Who knows, perhaps there is a link between them? ...

Originally, I was going to devote three years (a triennium to each continent.

Here is a rough plan:

AUSTRALASIA

» Escape from Oz (2020-2023)

MALAY EMPIRE

» Indonesia Island Hopping
» Singapore

INDOCHINA


Magic on the Mekong (2025-28)

INDIAN TRIENNIUM

» India

MIDDLE EAST

» Middle East

EUROPE

» Europe

ICELAND & GREENLAND

» Iceland

NORTH AMERICA

» North America

SOUTH AMERICA

» Cuba
» Haiti
» Martinique
» Jamaica
» Colombia
» Suriname
» Brazil
» Uruguay
» Ecuador
» Peru

PADDLING THE PACIFIC

» Pacific Ocean


The Symbolic is the exchange which puts to an end the division between the Imaginary and the Real. Life is real, death is imaginary, and Symbolic Exchange the process by which these separated terms are reunited.