While trekking in Nepal's Himalayas 40+ years ago, I decided to get off the beaten path and away from so many other First World world travelers, so I took a fork in the path around the other side of a mountain. A few hours later I neared a small village and saw a young boy in native dress up ahead. He seemed to be dancing. I thought, Oh good, native culture. When I got close to him, I noticed he had one of those newfangled inventions, a Walkman. He was singing along: Disco down, man, disco down!
Back at my English language teaching pist in Saudi Arabia, where tourist visas didn't exist, I took three vacations in-country, one hitchhiking and another on my 100cc motorcycle into The Empty Quarter, inspired by Wilfred Thesiger's dangerous travels 40 years earlier, though I carried a long letter from the colonel of the army post where taught requesting safe passage. I stayed several days with a Bedouin camel-herding family and broke the Ramadan fast with the emir of the Bani Mura, the last nomadic tribe. A memorable trip among people who'd heard a lot about America but who'd never met an American. I hear Saudi Arabia has now opened itself to tourism.
Hi Gary, thanks for commenting amd sharing that story; sounds like an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience. And stirs that travel-bug excitement in me. I'm going to look up Saudi travel now!
While trekking in Nepal's Himalayas 40+ years ago, I decided to get off the beaten path and away from so many other First World world travelers, so I took a fork in the path around the other side of a mountain. A few hours later I neared a small village and saw a young boy in native dress up ahead. He seemed to be dancing. I thought, Oh good, native culture. When I got close to him, I noticed he had one of those newfangled inventions, a Walkman. He was singing along: Disco down, man, disco down!
Back at my English language teaching pist in Saudi Arabia, where tourist visas didn't exist, I took three vacations in-country, one hitchhiking and another on my 100cc motorcycle into The Empty Quarter, inspired by Wilfred Thesiger's dangerous travels 40 years earlier, though I carried a long letter from the colonel of the army post where taught requesting safe passage. I stayed several days with a Bedouin camel-herding family and broke the Ramadan fast with the emir of the Bani Mura, the last nomadic tribe. A memorable trip among people who'd heard a lot about America but who'd never met an American. I hear Saudi Arabia has now opened itself to tourism.
I'm also going to check out Wilfred Thesiger's book
Hi Gary, thanks for commenting amd sharing that story; sounds like an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience. And stirs that travel-bug excitement in me. I'm going to look up Saudi travel now!