Mike Pugh is a twenty-something world traveler…we've gotten our hands on his experiences over the past year and thought you might be interested. How many of you have wanted to push everything "responsible" and "necessary" to the wayside so you could experience everything from the culinary skills of the Maasai to the deep-sea diving in Bangkok? Pugh tells all…

-Transport is Arranged

I received an odd but exciting email message one month after posting this web site: I am a flight attendant and I can appreciate your desire to travel the world. I'm willing to give you one of my passes to get you over to Asia. You would fly space available and would only pay 10% of the fare. If you are interested, here's my e-mail address. Either way I wish you luck. Of course I was interested, I replied. I also had some questions: Who are you? How'd you find my site? What's your motivation?

The response: Sorry, I didn't realize that I forgot to include my name. My name is Jared and I live outside of Washington DC. I have been considering going vagabonding in a couple years, and came across your web site while doing research towards that end. My most pleasurable traveling experiences have come from the unsolicited kindness of strangers and being able to share in their experiences. I am grateful for the opportunity to help someone do what I love most, travel.

We exchanged a few further messages and agreed to talk closer to the date. It was a strange deal, that's for sure, but I had faith that it was genuine, and that it would work out.

Not everybody thought the same. "You're just going to trust some stranger?" people asked. "What if he mugs you and takes all your stuff?" my less trusting friends questioned. "Don't carry any bags onto the plane for him," others cautioned.

But I figured that traveling is all about trusting strangers. With this situation, I'd just have to start trusting sooner than I expected.

On October 2, 2002 I walked to the designated meeting place in O'Hare airport. And there was Jared, sporting a grey hat and red shirt, just like he said he would.

I knew he'd be there. Still, it was a relief to see him.

We breezed through check-in and then had a bite to eat in an employee cafeteria. We talked about travel and trusting strangers, working, lay-offs, and his experiences as a US Marine.

Life is sweet in business class.

"Would you like a window seat or an isle, Mr. Pugh?" the gate attendant asked me. I prefer the window. "Very good. We've got a window seat available in business class. And the seat next to you is empty."

A (nearly) free business class seat on a 13-hour flight is a Very Good Thing; I could have wept with gratitude.

Jared and I shook hands as I boarded the plane and then we went our separate ways. That was that - no strings, no ulterior motives, no weirdness. Just one traveler who wanted to give something back to the community and another traveler who, through a search engine and a quirk of fate, managed to get on the receiving end of that generosity.

Pre-Departure, September 26, 2002

In five days I'll be on a plane, traveling farther than I've ever been before.

It's still not real. It's still abstract, hypothetical.

And it's incredible. So often I forget that this is not just planning, web development, and Lonely Planet message board lurking. It's for real. I've been building toward something.

There's still much to do. I have to pack all my worldly possessions up and move them into storage. Tomorrow is my last day of work. A bon voyage party follows.

I don't know what to expect. I feel like I've prepared for so many things, but there's no way I can know what's before me.

In four days I'll be sleeping at a dear friend's house. At 6am I'll rise, clean up, and walk to the Blue Line. I'll ride an El train to O'Hare airport where I'll finally meet the flight attendant who's providing a free standby ticket from Chicago to Bangkok by way of Seattle and Tokyo. With connections, the journey will take over 26 hours. It's going to take me farther than I've ever been before.

I'll see you there.
--
Time Out in Koh Tao

Although the waves had calmed considerably as the ferry neared Koh Tao, the Italian beside me continued to barf into a clear plastic bag. It had been a rough journey from mainland Thailand to this island, but, from the looks of things, it was worth it.

Turtle Island
Green, mountainous, and lush with palm trees and pineapples, Koh Tao (literally "Turtle Island") is a small island in the Gulf of Thailand. Only recently inhabited, the island now sees around 100,000 visitors each year because of its popularity with divers. The island still feels small and natural, though, with dirt roads, deserted beaches, and handsome wooden bungalows with unreliable generator-supplied power.

Mad for Nitrogen Narcosis
Like most people, I came to Koh Tao for the diving. Dive shops seem to outnumber people here. During the days the island feels empty; everyone is out on dive boats.

Long Tails
The best way to get around the island is on a traditional long tail boat. These slender ships are powered by what look like motorcycle engines. The engines are attached to one end of a 10 foot steel shaft, the propeller's at the other end. Drivers manipulate the whole engine rig to navigate out of the shallows and through narrow inlets.

Topless on Nangyuan
Neigboring Koh Tao is a little island called Nangyuan that has a unique triple-connecting beach. It's the only place in the world where three sandbars meet. Or something. There are a handful of posh bunglalows on the beach that, from the looks of things when I was there, cater exclusively to topless Europeans.

Such Sweet Sorrow
I leave Koh Tao this evening on a nine-hour overnight ferry. I'm sitting in a hammock as I write this and, from here, the sea looks calm. But you never know. I've packed a few plastic bags for the journey, just in case.

Posted on October 15, 2002 05:58 AM

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