Sri Sri Radha Hare Krishna temple

After being low on cash in the desert of Utah, and with a rather large time gap before the start of burning man, I spent two weeks volunteering at a Hare Krishna temple. (Don't worry, I'm not a Krishna devotee now).

I didn't go there for a spiritual experience, I just thought it would be interesting since I knew nothing about the Religion. It was. 

    

Arches national park in Utah

"I don't think we're in Colorado anymore".

We've arrived in Utah, home state of the Mormons.

We had a great first impression for Utah: the arches national park is cheap to enter (10$ for 7 days), not overcrowded (a problem with most national parks), and absolutely stunning. 

Testing my burning man bike out.

It's also not huge (so you can see everything and take your time), and keeps a good balance between hikes and viewpoints. A problem at yellowstone national park is that all mayor viewpoints are on the road, so you'll see people taking pictures from their car window not bothering to get up. Much less so here, which I liked, since I think views are enjoyed more when earned.

Camping is limited in the park, so if you go book ahead, or stay at one of many campsites just outside the park.

Let's end with some panoramas, why not?

An overdue travel blog

I left on a trip (route: around the world) a bit more than a year ago now, on the first of June 2013. 

The goal of my trip? There are a few.

1. To connect 

First and foremost I want to connect with and understand people. To do so I am seeking out extremes, people who have chosen interesting ways of life, or have interesting and different ways of seeing things. To get this kind of I'm trying to spend some time living with different people, to see how they do things and to be able to ask the right questions.

2. To disconnect. 

From the Internet and my phone screen, certainly, but more so from my standard way of thinking. I was in what I perceive as a very small bubble. I went to high school, straight to college and straight on to a job in my direct field of study. It was great fun (particularly because I was lucky enough to work with some fantastic and inspiring people), but I felt quite naive in my position. I'd been exposed to a certain set of ideas and frankly had no idea what else is out there, what is really on people's minds, etc. I want to disconnect from that and learn to open my mind to different ideas and ways of thinking.

3. To learn real skills.

I think skills are undervalued in current education, or at least that they were in my education. I understand that we live in a fast paced, ever changing information age, and that knowledge is important, but I would like to be closer to the ideal of the "homo universalis" than I was when I left. So far I have learned about raising, breeding and eating animals, about living off the grid in different places, how to catch and prepare fish, about different methods of building homes, about survival in the woods, about cooking, about communicating effectively, about music and singing, just to name a few. On the top of my list for the upcoming year: teaching, working with other cultures, speaking Spanish, sailing, some carpentry, dance. Most of all I want to learn how to quickly and easily adapt to different situations, and travel is a great way to do so.

4. To find a home base.

I'm looking to find what I want to do with my time, and where I'd be most useful (meaningful impact is what I'm after). I could realize that I really fitted well where I was and go back there with new skills and motivation, or I could find something completely different, or something similar elsewhere, who knows. I don't know the answer yet, so I'll spend some more time looking.

My trip so far

- Working at Standford University - 2 weeks

(Hyper connected, part of a team teaching an international multidisciplinary design course)

- Off the grid in Ashland - 2 weeks

(No wifi, no shower, no electricity, living in a tent). Helped build a cob house

- The classic USA west coastroad trip - 5 weeks

- Working on a cattle, pigs and goat ranch in Canadian cowboy country - 3 months 

- Working at a tech based startup company, living in Vancouver, saving money - 5 months

- Oyster farming on a floating house in Alaska - 6 weeks

- Living in small town BC (Canada) - 4 weeks 

- Living in a camperized van and traveling around Canada and the USA (some of the lesser travelled states to get a different view on America) - 3 months