On returning

Roaming Backpacks has gone on an extended hiatus for quite some time. In fact, it has been more than 2 years (!) since anything was posted here. And the post before that? October 2015! That almost feels like ancient history. So Cecilia and…

Returning ‘home’

I always thought the pedestrian crossing at the Hakata station bus terminal was narrow. There’s always a crowd of people trying to make the crossing, only to be met by a tiny doorway that was the entrance. The crowd inside was even…

Meeting People

The white-haired taxi driver, a burly gentleman who has three doctorate degrees, looks after two libraries at home, and is also a volunteer firefighter in the Canadian Rockies. The husband-and-wife-team, who devotes their entire lives to…

Travelers and Tourists

On the road, you meet tourists, and then you meet travelers. Tourists: boring. Those poor folks who are content with fixed itineraries, and who get ferried around in tour coaches from one place to another. They swarm around in groups, and…

The Routine of Travel

Back in university, I remember attending a course on travel and culture, and we were discussing if traveling is subconsciously enjoyable because it offers people a break from the routines of their daily mundane lives. Oh, c’mon! You don’t…