As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I received my new passport in the mail. Little did I know that flipping through its clean, crisp pages would get me thinking about my next big adventure. Surely, having just come back from Croatia, there was no need to jump on a plane for another trans-Atlantic flight. Besides, over Labor Day, I am heading to Nashville. Shouldn't that quash any need to venture far and away?
But staring at those blank pages felt like a challenge to begin filling them again. My last passport (which I received in the mail yesterday, holes punched in each corner) had stamps from all over Europe--England, Germany, Italy, and Greece just to name a few. While not completely full, it still reflected the great adventures I have taken these past ten years, and it made me wonder how will I begin these next ten years of exploration. If I had been my normal practical self, I would have put my passport away until next year. But the urge to go somewhere soon gnawed away at my mind these past couple of weeks. Add to that conversations with my good friend Lauren (my most dependable travel companion), and a destination became clear. Perhaps a bit unorthodox in nature, and clearly not high on the list of must-sees on anyone's list. But, in a lot of ways that makes it all the more appealing. I admit I would have never gone here if Lauren wasn't currently teaching there, but that is what makes this perhaps my most adventurous trip yet. Sick of me not naming the country yet? Wait no longer...in late October, I will be hopping on a plane to Kazakhstan.
Located in Central Asia, Kazakhstan is probably best known (if it is at all) because of Borat. Having never seen the movie, I am not sure what preconceived notions it has created in the mind of its viewers, but as I read more and more about it, I am fairly certain what I will experience will not be like that. It will be interesting to visit the ninth largest country (in area), to see the Tian Shan mountains, to experience the vestiges of the USSR, to see a mix of East and West. Compared to the other countries in the area, Kazakhstan is quite stable and has a strong developing economy, mainly based on the rich natural resources that remain fairly untapped (i.e. natural gas, oil, minerals, etc.), and it enjoys good relations with the United States. I will still have to go through the whole visa process, which is also new to me, but outside of jumping through hoops, I should have no trouble attaining one. And I guess I should start brushing up on my Russian :) What excites me most of all is that doing this will be just the beginning to many more unorthodox journeys...I just know it!
So, if you were to jump on a plane now to somewhere completely off-the-wall, where would it be?
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