Safari Na Paka: Memoirs Of A Solo Traveller is written by Catherine Nesbit - Cat, a friend of ours in Chiang Mai. Jim and I both enjoyed reading her book this winter - a celebration of travel by a passionate trekker. Her book covers almost 40 years of independent adventure travel to exotic destinations you can not get to through traditional modes. Here is one passage: “The American Declaration of Independence proclaims equality of birth, but in reality, one’s very circumstances of birth, i.e. the surrounding environment of one’s birth itself creates inequality. International travel can expand our understanding of cultural differences and enable us to assess our own relationship within society. It’s a good exercise in redefining boundaries and reality. . . . The universal reaction to a stranger is to imagine him/her as inferior simply because they are different. This attitude is magnified when one is in familiar surroundings and the stranger is isolated. When one is that stranger responding to exposure to a different culture, how much easier it is to accept the differences without aversion."
And from the book cover: Cat Nesbit was born in the state of Oregon, USA. She developed a passion for travel early in life. She was involved in the beatnik/bohemian movement and lived in the Haight Asbury District in San Francisco during the 1960’s. She spent many years dancing ballet and has a diverse range of other interests including, microbiology, music, theater, art, cooking, and global diversity.
The following are two excerpts from The Discomfort Zone - A Personal History by Jonathan Franzen, [author of The Corrections], which I just finished reading. A wonderful book with gems like "You're miserable and ashamed if you don't believe your adolescent troubles matter, but you're stupid if you do. . . . This is a great time to be an American CEO, a tough time to be the CEO’s lowest-paid worker. A great time to be Wal-Mart, a tough time to be in Wal-Mart’s way, Fabulous to be a defense contractor, shitty to be a reservist, excellent to have tenure at Princeton, grueling to be an adjunct at Queens College, outstanding to manage a pension fund, lousy to rely on one."Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living. — Miriam Beard
