This week's existential and pensive episode aims to question and answer life's big conundrum: what's the point? Traveling the world is a great way to discover who you want to be, giving you the opportunity to remove yourself from society, stay still for a while (metaphorically) and also try many activities that help unlock something inside you. Have you found your purpose or are you still searching? One thing we would like to know is what on earth happens once Alun reaches Antarctica?
In the Lost & Found section this week, we're giving away a Patreon treat. The exclusive Alun's Antiquated Adventures, usually only available for the highest tiers, will be available for the Tuk-Tuk tier for this week and this week only. If you'd like to hear 32 year old Alun read a few pages from 21 year old Alun's personal travel diary, get involved!
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TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Intro
02:03 - Alun's travel anniversary
06:56 - What's interesting about Antarctica?
09:21 - Adam's life lessons
14:28 - The cool thing about Travel
17:56 - It's a worrying world
19:55 - The crazy thing about Universities
24:20 - Designing your own life through Travel
28:10 - Lost & Found: Alun's Antiquated Adventures
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Welcome to Tripology
Alun:
[0:02] Hello and welcome to this episode of Tripology. It's the only backpacking podcast where two best friends call each other up from distinct locations and discuss
Alun:
[0:11] all things related to the culture and practice of travelling. I'm Alan and I'm here with one of the greatest travellers of all time. Yes, indescribable he is, but I like to call him the ever ambivert Adam.
Adam:
[0:24] Welcome back for another episode of Tripology, guys. I know what you're thinking. Don't worry you're thinking adam looks pretty smart he looks fashionable and he is drinking a cappuccino he must be in the fashion capital of milan where there have been some riots recently i don't know if you saw those on the news but don't worry i am safe at the same time those were happening i was on a different uh in a different area of the city walking around an antiques market.
Alun:
[0:48] A little sip there as if proof be needs be that that's in fact what you were doing, what the listeners don't know but what i want to tell them is that you were all panicked at the start of this episode oh alan you promised you was going to come up with some content for today's episode and i said give me a break dude because you know i used to be the guy i used to be the guy in the early days of topology you could see on a graph my cortisol levels going high sky baby when i was trying to plan an episode i'd say adam we need the content sweet cheeks we ain't we got to be traveling constantly we gotta be doing stuff now look at me i basically don't give one man and that's not because i don't care about you guys the listeners because i you know i do, the reality is i just trust you as my co-host compadre to say some interesting shit when the time's right you know i mean so i'm really stress-free about it let me tell you some other stuff, I'm tired because I've been doing all sorts of work recently here in Japan.
Alun:
[1:52] That's right, listeners. The work-life balance is off the scales.
Adam:
[1:56] Long day, 7-11, is it?
Alun:
[1:59] Mate, the amount of Sando's I've stacco'd has been pretty crazy. In fact, number two about me. Yeah. Fact number two about me is that just recently, last month, but we didn't mention it at all, is my 11-year anniversary since I set off on the old roadkin travelling about planet Earthio.
Adam:
[2:19] Love it. Love it. 11 years on the road. 11 years living abroad.
Alun:
[2:23] Notice that you didn't say anything to me. You were very, very keen for us to mention your birthday on the podcast, but when my travel anniversary came around, very silent.
Adam:
[2:32] Well, Alan, I only remember one date that has anything to do with you and I, you and me, and, God, my grandma should be turning in her grave. Uh it's the 12th of january actually 2021 do you remember the day we met that was the day we met that was the day i picked you up from the airport it was the day i got, uh your name tattooed on my bottom uh and i've been waiting to reveal that to you on the podcast ever since.
Alun:
[2:59] Can't believe it. Is it artfully done in a tasteful style or is it Tramp Stamp-esque?
Adam:
[3:03] It's actually done in your handwriting, which is something that was very difficult for me to organize. I can imagine, yeah. It was using a really early version of AI when it was in its infancy.
Alun:
[3:17] I remember the infancy of AI, yeah. Mate, that's a good thing to kick off the show with because travel anniversary, anniversaries in general, it's good to save some dates, isn't it? When I was just 21 years old, I left a bunch of notes on my parents' dining room table because I was aware that it was going to be a significant day. Do you know what I mean? I thought, I'm probably going to be traveling for a long time here, at least a year I wanted to do. When I set off, I said, one year, this was the list I made. I said, I'm going to go for one year. I'm going to go to all seven continents and I'm going to write a book.
Adam:
[3:58] Within that year.
Alun:
[4:01] That was my goal as a 21 year old kid yeah i thought that was going to be what i was going to do i was going to go away for a year visit all seven continents and write a book.
Adam:
[4:12] What what in fairness to you you did go away for a year you went to i don't think you went to all six continents in that year but.
Alun:
[4:23] It is something just two in the first year asia and australia Yeah.
Adam:
[4:26] Just two. And technically, you wrote a book because you journaled every day.
Alun:
[4:32] I definitely wrote enough words for a book. So, success there. Didn't edit it or publish it. Failure there. Definitely traveled for a year. Surpassed expectations in that sense. I was traveling for much longer than a year, four years before I returned home. And I didn't visit anywhere near the amount of continents that I said I would. And still to this day, one continent evades me, Antarctica.
Adam:
[4:56] Yeah, we do need to get you there.
Alun:
[4:57] I did take that seven... Yeah, definitely. Thank you for Patreon subscribers. I really appreciate it. It's going to be an exciting Patreon at the end of this episode. I'm going to give you a little free taste of Alan's Antiquated Adventures, a little series to do over on Patreon where you can read my travel diary. It's dead exciting. That's going to be for free for all tiers at the end of this episode.
Adam:
[5:15] We just need another 35,000 US dollars to get you on one of those ships that goes to Antarctica. Or you can go and work there in a research facility. if you want.
Alun:
[5:25] Well, that seven-day continent, that seven-year continent plan, I actually just extended over the first four years I was away. I still tried very hard to do all seven continents in those four years.
Alun:
[5:37] And Antarctica evaded me to such a ruthless degree. I spent like a month in Ushuaia at the bottom of Argentina, just knocking on ship's doors, trying to get to Antarctica. Failed to do so.
Adam:
[5:51] With no sailing experience whatsoever. You were just prepared to do anything where you just work as a skivvy on board.
Alun:
[5:56] I was literally prepared to do anything, and I made that very clear to the sailors involved.
Adam:
[6:05] Well, I mean, what even happens on those ships? Are they... The ships that go there must be cargo ships or, you know, supplies. I actually met a guy. Is his name Drew? I think his name's Drew. I met him in a hostel in Auckland. I must have told you about him. He'd just spent five months in Antarctica.
Alun:
[6:20] His name and whether you've already told me about him are both irrelevant to the listener.
Adam:
[6:26] I was just this is real time um unedited unfiltered but really really nice guy if you are listening mate um i do, you know look at your stories every now and again instagram very very interesting stuff um but i thought immediately if i can, get some information from this guy and then give it to you i think that we've got every chance of getting you to antarctica guy from the us spent five months there on a research facility um, i don't know exactly what he was doing but the pictures are really cool all.
Alun:
[6:54] Right well if your name's drew and you're listening to this and you think he might be talking about you just know that one half of the topology will do literally.
Adam:
[7:03] Anything to get to antarctica so.
Alun:
[7:07] Make a list baby.
Adam:
[7:08] But what does it interest you about antarctica before we go on quickly is it just because it's the last continent is it because it's maybe the least visited place in the world or is it because you love polar bears penguins, polar bears.
Alun:
[7:24] Well i would be going to antarctica then would i adam because polar bears exist only and the northern hemisphere.
Adam:
[7:32] No one knows that.
Alun:
[7:32] Mate what i would say is i've got a sneaking suspicion.
Adam:
[7:38] Yeah that.
Alun:
[7:38] Once i get to antarctica.
Adam:
[7:42] The world's going to end.
Alun:
[7:43] The world will end.
Adam:
[7:44] I hear you again.
Alun:
[7:46] And it will just be completed. I think that much like you.
Adam:
[7:50] Not anyone else before you, just you.
Alun:
[7:52] I don't much know about what exists outside of my own solipsistic sense of self. But what I do, and I'm not saying I think this is definitely the case. What I'm saying is I have a suspicion.
Adam:
[8:03] Okay.
Alun:
[8:03] That when I get to Antarctica, it's like, that's it. You completed the game. the game of my life is being to seal seven continents. I think it's all been working up to that point. And in the time that I've not been to Antarctica, I've actually lived for a year on every other one of the continents. So I'm going to go to Antarctica. If the game doesn't end once I step foot on Antarctica, then I will be obligated to do a whole year there just to make sure that's not the case.
Adam:
[8:33] What would you do if the sky opened up? And in the same way that I can't say that this is my joke, but Sean Locke it's.
Alun:
[8:39] Sean Locke isn't it.
Adam:
[8:40] Yeah he says level two imagine that I mean that would be incredible wouldn't it just based off we didn't know but you are in fact the reincarnation of Jesus Christ or something like that well I'm nearly 33.
Alun:
[8:54] Which is the age that he died.
Adam:
[8:57] Um
Alun:
[8:59] So, listen, mate, I would be disappointed to learn that I'm still on level one, but I would understand some people get harder objectives than other people. Like, you know, who knows what if everyone's on a level based upgrade system, a little disappointed that my my experience required to get to level two was to spend a year on every continent.
Adam:
[9:21] Well, I just think you're interested in doing that. Some people's lessons that they need to learn you know whatever it is deemed by the master spirits and uh our souls come down to earth and we want to learn all these lessons i think your one sounds like a pretty good billing.
Alun:
[9:35] But what would yours be what would it require to get adam to level two do you think what's your suspicion.
Adam:
[9:40] Um it is a good question because i'm trying to grow a bottle of red i'm trying i'm trying to crowbar travel in aren't i i'm trying to make it my thing imagine.
Alun:
[9:49] That would be disappointing wouldn't it if you like you're desperate you're really into travel you've got a travel podcast you do all that one day you just sniff a whopping great red.
Adam:
[9:58] Level two level two finally, i think probably some hardship actually if i'm going to be really honest and vulnerable in the podcast it's you know we're very lucky that we've lived um.
Alun:
[10:13] Oh adam i'm not sure i want to do the podcast anymore.
Adam:
[10:16] Level two yeah you opt out and i get to level two this has been holding me back the whole way just don't have a podcast with alan that was my only objective, yeah i don't know really i don't know maybe i don't think i've done i've done a lot of kind things but i've never i can't say i've really done anything for charity, you know that would be really nice i used to work with a girl actually who set up an organization that raised money, for, well, to buy solar panels for an African country. I think it was Mali.
Alun:
[10:56] Um but yeah is that the name of the girl.
Adam:
[10:59] No no no no she was called Philippa, but I think doing something like that i felt really inspired by that. I just remember thinking, well how do you even know you can do that well how is that even an idea that you came up with do you know what i mean so maybe something like that i should be i should be kind or i should be more helpful to the people around me and
Adam:
[11:19] the other people on earth perhaps you.
Alun:
[11:20] Included well that's really lovely answer because i think what that reveals to us is that your, view of progression very much centers around improving yourself self-betterment and all that mine in comparison is a very pragmatic egotistical goal isn't it and i think that what a lovely opportunity for everyone in the listening audience to think about, what what i think this exercise is good for is it's not an exercise in, what's your bucket list or what things do you really want to do because like realistically oh well i want to swim with dolphins and as soon as i get in that water i think the sky's gonna open the world's gonna end no it's like what is your suspicion, that the whole point of your life has been what, for some people that might be like oh you know I've always wanted to be a father or a mother or I've always wanted to, get one of those biscuits that they give you after you give blood or there's like lots of different things that you might think is like the point of it all. And I want you to take a moment now to think about what that is for you. For you, it's just giving to charity, right?
Adam:
[12:32] Or doing something charitable. You know, much like this podcast, I do say to people when they say, oh, that's cool, you've got a travel podcast. What sort of inspired you to do that? Really, what I say is that when I was 16 years old, I felt an immense amount of pressure on my shoulders to choose between options I wasn't interested in. And all of those involved further education, whether you go to college and university and then ultimately enter into a career path i just remember thinking, i don't really want to do any of it and i was looking left looking right all my friends seemingly had some sort of plan uh and i needed someone like me, there at the time someone who was a bit older a bit wiser and a bit more adventurous perhaps to put their arm around me and just say hey look the pressure's off, you don't have to go into further education if you don't want to if you if you like languages which i did it wasn't only until um you know i reached adulthood and i was probably in my late 20s that i realized it was actually the format by which i was being taught i in a classroom that i didn't like i thought i hated french, but i didn't hate french the language i didn't even hate learning french the people no no we can't say that at the moment have you not seen what they're doing in paris jesus christ um.
Adam:
[13:46] But but it was actually being taught in a classroom that i didn't like it was being tested on my knowledge and i'm so grateful that my experience of learning at school didn't deter me from going back into learning languages, because i just hate to think how many kids out there actually love the subjects they're being taught but they just don't like learning in a in a classroom and you can't have a one-size-fits-all i understand why schools exist in the way they do in the education system and blah blah blah, but i wish that more and more kids knew that the pressure was off, they have to realize how young they are and they have to realize how many opportunities opportunities they have available to them and if you do like languages i.e spanish you don't have to go and take spanish classes you can just fucking move to mexico for six months, All of this cool shit exists.
Alun:
[14:29] You want to learn Mexican Spanish. But let me, I think that's really valuable stuff. And I totally get your point. And I think that the cool thing about travel is that maybe I've just asked that question. Like, what do you think is the point of your life? Like, what thing could you achieve that might push you onto level two? And I think that perhaps some people might not have an answer to that question. For some people, it'd be really obvious, like, oh, ever since I've been a kid, I've wanted to buy my mom a house, something like that, right?
Adam:
[15:03] Yeah, yeah.
Alun:
[15:03] For some people, it might be less obvious. Travel is a great way to parse out that. What is the point of my life? For me, like, I spent a lot of time, my first instinct when I went traveling, and rest assured, I had no sense of meaning when I first went traveling, right? I did not like what I did at university. I didn't like myself and I didn't like my relationships with other people I was a tabula rasa in many ways a blank slate I just had this idea to go and see all seven continents, very very quickly I became fascinated by religion and that sort of thing so what did I do, spend some time with really really hyper religious people because no one knows who they are and what they're meant to be doing more than religious people whether you agree with them or not they know what they're supposed to be doing.
Adam:
[15:56] Yeah, yeah.
Alun:
[15:56] You hang out with some really devote Muslims, they've not got a question about like, oh, I'm not really sure what the point of it all is. They know.
Adam:
[16:06] There was an attempted conversion when we were in Pakistan, wasn't there, Alan?
Alun:
[16:10] I've been subject to many in attempted conversions. Because another thing is, if you hang out with a lot of religious people and you tell them stuff like, I hate myself and I don't know what I'm doing with life, they do see you as ripe for a conversion.
Adam:
[16:22] I think we could put that beard to good use.
Alun:
[16:24] Yeah, I was like a... I mean, goodness. I was like really ripe fruit for those religious people. They were like, oh, confused and lost, are you? Why not try My Religion, baby? It's got a little book that tells you what you need to know. So that was like where my focus was. Didn't find what I wanted there. Then I got really interested in like ancient civilizations and nature and how that can heal the body. Like looking into all that sort of stuff. Didn't really find many answers there. Looked into like looking after animals and all that sort of stuff. You know, all these things inched me towards a better understanding of myself. And then suddenly you sort of realize as part of that that, I think the purpose of my life is just to be as good as I can be experience as much as possible let those experiences inform my behavior learn from it, and then an arbitrary goal like go and see all seven continents.
Alun:
[17:26] It kind of works as long as I'm being the best person and the kindest person and doing all that stuff as part of that so that's my own philosophy that's my own actions they're kind of guided by, loosely speaking experientialism experience as much as possible kindness be as kind as possible and, do the things which make you the happiest, as long as a short uh do the thing which makes you the happiest.
Alun:
[17:59] Unless bringing short-term suffering creates greater happiness in the long term. Those are kind of like the three things that I try and live my life by. And I found those things primarily through the medium of traveling and searching.
Adam:
[18:16] Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, what is slightly worrying the more you think about it, so maybe I would encourage the listener not to, is...
Alun:
[18:24] The war in Iran?
Adam:
[18:27] Yeah, the war in lots of countries. But, is just how many people go through life not questioning that? Anything to do with that?
Adam:
[18:40] It's scary. It's scary stuff. And that was a big bugbear of mine when I started traveling and I thought that I knew everything six months in. I was like having epiphanies going, oh my God, I can see society and the environment I've come from through different lenses, you know, perspectives. And I had some time to stand still and I was like critiquing decisions I'd made previously and all this sort of stuff going, you're coming home after about eight and a half, nine months going, guys, you've got it all wrong. You've got it all wrong. You don't need to live like this and i just i worry that people if you are lucky enough if you're a young kid and you're lucky enough to know exactly what it is you want to do for the rest of your life you then end up like pigeonholing yourself, and i do think that that's kind of dangerous because i'm i'm the opposite to that you know i've done, five six years in finance i've worked in service and restaurants i've now worked in uh, hospitality and the wine industry for 10 years, even through you through travel all this sort of stuff i've now been exposed to sort of religion and culture and music and loads of different things all around the world so i probably know more than i even realize i do about loads of different stuff even just geography so travel is a fantastic way of getting a really, broad view of many many different things um but and you see some people that end up being well whether they're doctors or accountants or whatever.
Adam:
[20:01] The only way they've managed to achieve those roles typically speaking is by going through the education system then into further education university getting themselves in a in a job in corporate or whatever, and just fucking staying there yeah man and that's.
Alun:
[20:18] The crazy thing about universities i felt that while i was there like i went to university and i had this overwhelming sense that you're sort of being taught by peter pan's army.
Adam:
[20:30] Because it's.
Alun:
[20:30] Like it's like it's people who have gone to school.
Adam:
[20:34] Yeah.
Alun:
[20:35] They've then gone to higher education. They've loved it so much that they've gone, I'm going to stay here. It's Neverland, man. They've just gone from school to school to school to more school to being like, I love school so much. I'm going to stay in school. But they ain't been in the school of hard knocks, man. You weren't there. So it really is. I did feel that while I was at university. But I like respected some of my professors as people but I did get the sense of like you've spent an awful lot of time in school man.
Adam:
[21:12] Well something that you said to me about your university course which I'm sure will resonate with a lot of listeners is you did an English English that's a funny funny slip to say the word English you speak really good England, was that you did an English language degree from Leeds, I think. And you said that in terms of your creative writing, it impacted it negatively.
Alun:
[21:34] Yeah, I think I became a worse writer doing that English language degree. So on day one of my English language degree...
Adam:
[21:41] You can extend that into other areas, I'm sure, other subjects. You know, when you're dulling people's creativity and imagination, or that can only lead to this very sort of monotonous generic existence i think but please tell us tell us a bit about it.
Alun:
[21:55] No no but i think you're right i think like there's a famous quote it might be picasso but i but it was it was that later told to me by an armenian artist who's really great um, I'm a big art fan, so I spend a lot of time in art galleries and trying to talk, to artistic people and autistic people. And they both say to me this, you spend your whole life as an artist trying to draw like you once were able to as a child. And in Picasso's life, sometimes that becomes a very literal thing of like, you can imagine some Picasso drawings trying to create that childlike way of drawing. i'm not sure he was doing psychedelic drugs when.
Adam:
[22:38] He was a kid but yeah.
Alun:
[22:41] Regardless of your art style though what they mean by that is drawing with complete, lack of self-consciousness, that is ingrained by like when you learn all that perspective and you become exposed to all these masterpieces of course that stuff gets in your head of like, this is how it's supposed to be done this is how you hold a paintbrush stop eating the paste you've got to concentrate on this whereas when you're a kid you have none of that and you're just completely free and your imagination, albeit through unadapted unskilled hands is allowed to just flow freely, so in some sense like learning all that stuff presents a barrier which is then really difficult to tear down and for me in english language, in my degree like it was it was so focused on phonetics and dialect and the power of language and what do you mean when you say this and i did a script writing course and the teacher was was like so, pet up on a certain type of writing that she deemed to be a value that if you look at all the writers i admire and think are great, they just sat at a desk went mad had a bunch of experiences took some cocaine and just did it.
Adam:
[23:58] Yeah yeah jack.
Alun:
[23:59] Kerouac being one of them jack kerouac like um, well we'll have to cut out what's the name of the guy that sat at a desk and killed himself.
Adam:
[24:09] Oh dear fuck no idea.
Alun:
[24:12] Yeah like jack kerouac like hunter s thompson like these guys famously just, they they just wrote what they did they had experiences and didn't and i think, to that point like travel whatever you're interested in, it's gonna be the doing it aspect right like if you're really interested i mean name something that you could be interested in anything at all whether it's science you can have some cool science experiences traveling like i went to the equator and got to see all the equatorial little bits of physics firsthand biology you've got your animals, you know there's mathematics my, goodness there's some great maths out there on the road.
Adam:
[24:54] What i would say as well i'll just extend your your sort of writing analogy a little bit further and creativity and painting and being artistic and stuff through travel and, i mean you can just really design your own life you don't have to live within the confines the parameters that are set by wider society and we might be, this might be falling on deaf ears or you know we might be telling telling people things that they already know i don't want to insult anyone's intelligence but even now after me being you know living around the world and traveling for 12 years, I'm in a situation where I'm 37 years old and my partner is now studying her master's in Milan we want to spend time together so I said that's alright I'll just come and do the olive harvest in Italy, And my friends back home are going, what? What do you mean you just do the olive harvest in Italy? I said, yeah, I just did some research. It turns out to be sort of October, November time. I'll just use platforms like WorkAway and Worldpackers and whatever. And then I'll just go and spend a couple of months in Italy. And they're like, isn't that amazing? That's fucking really cool. I didn't know. What, you mean you don't have to have? No, you don't have to have a job in an office. Guess what?
Alun:
[26:00] You don't. Travel has given you freedom. Freedom to explore freedom to have experiences romantic freedom to go and be with whoever you want to be romantic freedom in more ways than one as well because you as you travel, are becoming if i might say so myself less and less insufferable, because as you're like seeing more and doing more and learning more i think that you're nicer to spend time with and she probably picks up on that Like, would she date the Adam from...
Adam:
[26:36] 2014?
Alun:
[26:36] 20 years ago? No, because he was underage.
Adam:
[26:43] She was underage as well. Much, much more. But, yeah, you can basically design your own life, and I will go on record. We should probably finish on this, mate, and head to the Patreon section. Link's in the description.
Adam:
[26:58] But I think that travelling the world, quitting your job and traveling the world, just with a bank balance if you're lucky enough to do so just for months and months on end wherever it is you want to go, I think it's about as close as we can get to freedom in the modern day.
Alun:
[27:16] What a lovely note to end on. And now we're going to head off to the Patreon section for a very, very nominal fee. It's the exact amount that you get back when you sell the leftover copper that you might find in some wires to someone who buys copper. And that's a faff.
Alun:
[27:36] So don't do that. Spend that money instead over on Patreon. on. This week, mate, I do a once monthly series where I read from my travel diary, the diary that I wrote when I first went traveling. Due to a mistake, I hold nothing back. I leave everything as is. I just read verbatim from the travel diary. That means it's chaotic, it's bizarre, it's weird, and it's the talkings of a 21-year-old who really had no idea what they were doing. Normally it's reserved for the train and plane tiers costs a little bit more money to get alan's antiquated travel adventures but for this week only i'm going to give you guys an expert an excerpt in the regular old patreon yeah so for as little as a dollar, you can come and experience the good old pay is it a dollar, it might be slightly more than a dollar i don't know about the exchange rate whatever the basic tier is you can come and experience Alan's antiquated adventures it's dead good over there I hope you enjoy it we'll see you there next week bye.
Adam:
[28:45] Thanks ever so much guys you're the best ciao bye.
