Moving forward

Update: blog discontinued. I'm keeping a new personal website here: www.hamsterwheelproject.com

It has been a fun ride blogging here, but it's time to change some things. This is more of an adaptation to some factors, rather than a change driven by the need of trying something new.

I'll keep it short: this blog will be discontinued. It has been for a while now :) ..lingering without anyone to maintain it, and probably without readers.

Moving on..
Just noticed that the previous post is named "Between stagnation and change" - and this one is "Moving forward". I guess change has won already :) and it requires the adaption I was mentioning before.

To give you an update on the situation on our end, here is a quick sum-up:
Since we came back from the summer trip, we plunged into working - at the office and at home.
At work, Assassin's Creed is now done and selling great. I was in charge of the Multiplayer part of the title, on Xbox360. We've worked like crazy (including week-ends) and it was totally worth it. Hope you're enjoying the sequel; I certainly enjoyed working on it.
At home we've reached another milestone with our website: http://www.aboutro.com/
It looks great thanks to our designer friend - George, and it works as good as it looks :) thanks to Alecs - the tech guy.
Gathering all the resources, documenting the attractions, coordinating with all the people involved in it, processing hundreds of photos and text - fell on our shoulders. It was particularly tough because of the continuous overtime at work, but we managed to pull through. There are still some bugs to fix, but it's going to be ready in no time. Alecs is on the job, so no worries.
We'll be launching it with all the bells and whistles after the holidays.

We've also moved from the old apartment in a new one.
Still with rent, since we're not sure that Romania will be the country we'll live in for too long to deserve a financial investment for a place of our own.

We're still wannabe entrepreneurs, but with more experience. Actually, Andra is a part-time entrepreneur since she keeps those pottery classes she enjoys so much. She's now working on her website: http://olarit.ro/

And we've reached the last chapter: plans for the upcoming year. We'll go traveling on long term! :) 3 to 6 months. At least this is the plan. We'll see if we get bored or we won't have enough of it - and choose to stay more.
India will probably mark the beginning of our trip, then we'll move forward from there towards China, Tibet, Thailand.. It will be different from the previous trip: instead of running from one country to another, we'll stay more in one place to absorb the culture and avoid burning out fast.
I'll set up another website with this occasion. I'm going with WordPress (it's more flexible & professional) and a paid domain.

That's everything.. I think.
See on the other side :)  I have no idea when, so no promises. Oh, the trip starts in March, so the blog/website will be ready before then.

Have fun, enjoy the holidays and let's stay in touch ..offline if possible :)

Between stagnation and change.

At the usual hour (same one for the past 1825 days) I wait for the metro to take me home.

It's one of those hard working days that make me feel lobotomized after the usual 9 intensive hours. By now, my brain refuses to think anything other than the basic stuff; can't challenge it with interesting ideas.

So, I take a sit, stop the audio book that plays in my ears, close my eyes and try to empty myself of today's baggage. No more disappointments on bad decisions, no planning in advance, no nothing. I simply give my brain what it craves for: peace and quiet..

Razvan's Life List

Live in Scotland / Ireland for at least 3 months.
Move to Spain (preferably Barcelona or Madrid) for a longer period of time.
Accomplish the entrepreneurial goal by solving at least one of the world's most important problems / needs.
Do at least one long term travel (6 months or more). First step taken in June, 2010: one month and four countries from Middle East.
Visit more than half the world's countries. 9 down, 88 more to go :)  Already been to: Italy, Bulgaria, Greece, UK, Spain, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Syria.
Discover at least 5 beautiful countries in which I would like to live in (beside Scotland, Ireland, Spain and New Zeeland) ..and stay in each of them for a while.

Do skydiving. It's one of the few things that make my heart beat faster just by thinking about it (beside Andra :D). Another one was motorcycling.

Andra's secret list..

Since three years ago, Andra has been carrying in her wallet this newspaper cut-out, with the extended list of world wonders, hoping for a long term travel.

Back then it was just a strong wish, a dream which was not yet possible. Guess who was the culprit for the delay.. Sadly, I found the idea too costly in terms of money and "precious time at university and at work". But, I've slowly - painfully slowly I may add - realized that money are not the solution and that my priorities were somewhat wrong. So, things have changed a lot since that time.

Anyway, sometimes I wish I could travel back in time, slap my younger self on the head and tell that stubborn, close minded dude a few colorful words. Or maybe hug that shy and a bit scared boy, tell him everything will be alright and even better after getting the head out of the sand..

Back to Andra's list, all I can say is this: we've reached five already, fifteen more to go my dear :)

Preconceptions - we all have them..

"Dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present" - Abraham Lincoln 

I was planning to write a post on preconceptions a while back, but for some reason I postponed it. However, the idea's seed followed me everywhere and slowly deepened my understanding on this matter. Now I'm actually glad there's no half-post of mine, because there's a blank slate to start from - for building my case against preconceptions.

Only recently I've started to grasp the true venomous power of preconceptions - and I've begun seeing them as some of the most destructive creations of one's mind. The whole idea of taking half-truths (or worse - something entirely wrong) - and wrapping the brain in layers upon layers of thick and resistant shroud - does nothing more than building a premature coffin for that particular brain. Too bad we have this capacity of committing suicide at so many levels.

The time has come..

To launch the website we've been working on for quite some time: http://www.aboutro.com/

It was a long but rewarding work - and we have learned a lot of interesting things along the way. It is our very first step towards online entrepreneurship, so we'll be very grateful for any kind of support people will offer us in the following months. The idea is to create a useful website that any traveler can consult whenever planning to visit places from Romania.

The work is far from over and I doubt we'll be able to say - anytime soon - that we've reached the end of it :)

We've just started and there are many useful features already in the works (English translation for example). So, expect some new updates on this matter.

The feedback received while still in Closed Beta was extremely useful, especially since the "testers" and their opinion came from various places on the planet - thank you Couchsurfing!

Also, some special thanks are in order to the entire team working on this project! ..and - why not  - to future members :)

Elements of change.. learned from photography.

When you're not happy with the results, just change the angle.

In photography it can make the difference between a failed shot and a great one. In life, a different perspective often brings new understanding, opportunities and possibly better results in any kind of situation.

When you like the angle a lot and spend too much time in the same spot doing the same damn thing, you're certainly missing other opportunities.

Again - change the perspective and make sure nothing passes by unnoticed.

Losing weight and learning usefull things (9kg - 1 month)

I've lost 9kg in one month and learned a few useful things in the process. I'll share these with you since some of them can be applied in a wider range of situations, not just for tailoring your shape:

• The first and foremost important one is the mindset: don't just "try", DO it.
  You must really want to achieve your goal and decide to put aside any negative thoughts or influences that may lead you astray. Also you must be happy with the important choice of building a new ..you.
• It's possible to eat less and have more energy than before.
  During the recent one month trip in Middle East - I ate mostly vegetarian foods for three weeks - and felt more stamina than before (keep in mind I walked and sometimes hiked all day long).
• There's a clear difference

The one month trip - in a nutshell (Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Turkey)

Budget, time-frame, likes, dislikes - it's all here.

In case you didn't have the patience to read all previous post from our recent trip, then you'll find below a short sum-up, plus some additional information.

Budget: 1500 euro - each.
That was the maximum amount we were comfortable spending, but we had an emergency surplus of 300 more euros. So, 1800 per person, split in half: cash and credit card. When we got to Turkey for the second time - close to the end of the trip - we realized that we spent far less than expected: around 1000 euros each. Not bad at all since we couchsurfed only four times and stayed at hotels for the rest of the trip (budget hotels recommended by the Lonely Planet guide). In the end, the overall cost was around 1200 euros per person.

Egypt: June 6 - June 16 (Cairo, Aswan, Luxor, Dahab).
What we liked:
- All the places we saw - in this order: Karnak temple, Pyramids, Phylae and Abu Simbel temples, Valley of the Kings, Luxor temple;
- Dahab: a very affordable resort; a great place for relaxation and snorkeling (or diving) in the near blue lagoon with its coral reef and marine fauna. Dahab is one of the cheapest places in the world, for taking diving classes and earning a diving permit.
- Aswan city: cleaner than Cairo and Luxor, more relaxed and with an awesome Nile view.
- Egypt itself as a very affordable destination (if you bargain all the time and dodge the scams). A budget hotel room, with breakfast included and air-conditioning - was around 10 euros per night (some hotels even have a pool on the rooftop and sometimes a nice view over the area). There's also the alternative of sleeping in the roof garden and paying substantially less (we never did that, but it can help a lot in cutting down the overall costs).
- The one hour hot-air balloon flight.

To be continued..

Almost a month has passed since we've left our country and I'm writing what's supposed to be the last entry while still on the road. As in many previous cases, I'm doing this in a bus.

The flow of ideas sometimes stops and I resort to my "muse": long breaks watching the fast changing environment from the other side of the window.
When doing this, I sometime feel like vibrating at another level, on a bridge between worlds, where my mind is tuned to hear whispers that are either the answer to what I'm looking for, or an entirely new idea.
I have this image about ideas being like invisible schools of fish, swimming around us. From time to time, one of them comes close enough to me, not to see it, but to feel the ripples it creates.
It's there for a split second and then it's gone. I take a break from gazing and write it down before forgetting it.
I forgot a lot of them in the past.. but now I've learned to pick them up and store the unripe ones for later.

Andra interrupts my contemplation; she's telling me she just hurt her foot accidentally - on the chair in front. I discover I'm still not back into this world, I simply note the fact and somewhat coldly continue the introspection.
She's not going to be happy when she reads this.. But I like it here.. it's new and interesting for me. I'm going to stay for a a little while longer.

...

Outside we leave behind an imposing mosque.. an image that we've already grown accustomed with. And suddenly comes the revelation that almost imperceptibly - the new has turned into old - and soon enough - the old will be new again ..for a while.

Safe haven in Istanbul.

After so long relying only on hotels, we're once again couchsurfing and we're being hosted - for the second time - by our friends: Ercan and Ebru.

We continue to explore Istanbul for one day and half, the city with which we started this journey, almost a month ago.
It's really interesting to see so many changes and to discover the transformations the city has been through, since the last time we strolled it's streets. So, while revisiting some places, we take a stroll down the memory lane - just to compare the present and the not so distant past.
The streets are packed with a lot more tourists now and the local small entrepreneurs take advantage of the situation: there are taverns everywhere - offering all sorts of goodies - especially ice-cream and boiled corn.
We couldn't resist the temptation and already ate three corns in Sultanahmet area. And since we have some more Turkish lira left to spend, we'll try various dishes from the local cuisine.
Also, it's time to buy some souvenirs and add some goodies to the small stash we're carrying for our friends back home.

Cappadocia - part II (meeting locals, trying pottery kebab and making pottery).

Beside just hiking, we also experienced some other interesting things while in Goreme village:

First, the day I started feeling sick, we searched for a place to eat a good soup, hoping it will help my condition.
We ended up in a cozy restaurant being run by a family. Although there was a huge language barrier and we barely understood each-other, we had a great time with the four old women preparing "ravioli".
While I ate soup and drank two coups of "çay" (tea - pronounced "ceai"), Andra joined in preparing that dish together with the old ladies.

A short summer rain caught us inside the restaurant, so we stayed there until it stopped half an hour later.

Off the beaten track in Cappadocia.

It's a shame we had to postpone writing about the wonderful Cappadocia, but it's not too late to do it now. The memories are still fresh, we have plenty of amazing pictures and there's a perfect setting for recollecting and writing: we're both laying on a couch from the hotel's exterior bar, inhaling mixed scents combined with the fresh mountain air, and listening to a good choice of songs.

The people below have started a camp fire as well.. so, let's just start the story-telling:
The first minutes in Cappadocia were quite silent, interrupted only by the camera's shutter clicks and remarks like: "wow", "look at that", "and that".. The scenery was quite unusual and amazing, with cone like structures that were used by people for various purposes, including as houses. Everything looked so fairytale like, that we wouldn't have been too surprised to see hobbits getting out of those weirdly shaped houses :)

Licking my wounds under the Mediterranean sun.

With the feet tucked below a hot curtain of sand, and the head protected under a shallow shade - cast by the nearby rocks, I'm waiting for Andra to come out of the water.

The Olympos village (Turkey) is not exactly what we expected, but it's still a good place to relax - especially now when we're getting closer to the end of our Middle Eastern pilgrimage.
The village itself is placed in a small valley surrounded by mountains, while the sea washes the shores approximately 1 kilometer away from our hotel. A tree house hotel that packs a lot of Turkish and international tourists. So many that there's a long line advancing slowly towards the people serving us dinner in the evenings.
There is one small inconvenience to this place: the showers with fluctuating water temperature; they seem to be a problem in all huts, not just ours.
However, in my case, 6 years in a university campus have thought me to anticipate the change of temperature and avoid being frozen or burned by the moody water jet. Also, I've learned to make rapid changes, so that the water stays constant for longer periods of time.
I've tried to come up with some instructions for Andra, only to discover that it's just instinct and reflex, no universal formula. There are some guidelines though:
- don't open the water flow to maximum - it gets more vulnerable to pressure drops caused by other people using the showers or toilets; it also limits your control options.
- millimeter rotations can induce the desired effect, so refrain yourself from making major adjustments (the slowly growing anger can easily influence the hand).
hmm, my mind is playing with words again: "the most minute changes induced in a system, can cause an imbalance or the desired effect. We rarely need drastic decisions in our quest for achieving a certain purpose. Just aim for the snowball effect, instead of a system that needs constant tweaking".
I have no idea if I read something like this somewhere, or it's an ad hoc personal creation.

Back to using the showers, it's a small sadistic pleasure hearing Andra fighting with the hidden enemy that plays with the water pressure. And the sounds she makes... we joked about that she's feeding the imagination of our neighbors from the other side of the thin wooden wall.

...

The shade is my enemy and my friend..here on the beach, while I fight a sore throat and a bit of a cold that threatens to morph into something worse.
I'm trying to find that "happy place", but it's not always working ...writing keeps me busy for a while.
When everything will fail, I'll put my hopes in the can of beer that is slowly getting warmer in the sand; the alcohol will numb the senses for a while and help me enjoy the scenery.

I move forward with the towel, to catch up the advancing shade. I plan to tuck the feet again under the hot sand, close the notebook's lid and deeply inhale the sea breeze ..through an insensitive nose.. maybe I'll feel something in the end.

In a Turkish hospital..

"It's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of WHEN!"

I've heard this saying a lot, when documenting about Middle East and stomach problems or food intoxication.

I didn't expect it to hit me so hard.. and in Turkey. I would have bet on any of the other countries, especially Egypt.

Long story short, in the picture above it's me in a Turkish hospital, with an annoyingly long needle in my vein and two packs of ice under my arms - to keep the high temperature in check.

Before I got to the hospital it was horrible: powerful nausea, upset stomach, high temperature and really cold feeling in the same time, moments when I felt that I was about to pass out..

Catching up..

We're a bit behind with the stories, mostly because we didn't have constant access to the internet for the past week, and also because there was a fast turn of events.

The crossing of Jordan was partially covered in a previous post. So, I'll just add a few details and then move forward as fast as possible, without omitting essential stuff.

Swimming in the Dead Sea.

One of the weirdest experiences we've had in this pilgrimage: effortless floating in the crazy salted water.

Petra.

The day we saw Petra will stay with me for the rest of my life, just like other memories from the Middle East: first time in a mosque, at the pyramids, in Karnak temple, in a hot-air balloon over Luxor..

However, this experience was different than all the other ones. So, I'll do my best to take you there with me, while reliving this particular memory.

We woke up in our first day in Wadi Musa, without having any idea about what lied ahead.

Zachary and Hillary whom we've recently met, joined us for breakfast and some small talk, the kind you have in the morning when the sleep still lingers on your eye lashes.

The hotel provided us with a free ride to the Petra entrance, so around 9:00 o'clock in the morning we were already buying our tickets - which included a horse ride for the first 800 meters. We slipped into the saddle and enjoyed the ride. Nice experience.. it brought back some long forgotten memories from my childhood, when I used to ride the neighbors' horses ..without them knowing.

Jordan.

Jordan came not a moment too soon after the hectic Egypt, and it was a most welcomed change for us.

While still in Egypt, when waiting in line for the ferry tickets (from Nuweiba to Aquaba), we met a nice couple from US. Since we discovered that we all have exactly the same route for the next two days, we decided to stick together.
So, from two, we were four people in just a couple of hours after leaving Dahab. It was especially great as we didn't have to wait one night in Aquaba to catch the morning bus to Wadi Musa (Petra); now we could instead share a "service taxi" for the two and a half hours trip directly to Petra.

Dahab.

Dahab marked our last stay in Egypt and it was a great place to relax before leaving this country.

We enjoyed traveling to Dahab with some of the people we've met in Luxor, although the 16 hours bus drive wasn't the most pleasant one we've had so far..

One special thing that we did in this city, was snorkeling in the blue whole - from the blue lagoon: for the 1st time, we saw coral reefs and a lot of marine fauna, more than we've ever seen gathered in one place.
We were awe-struck for the first 20 minutes spent eyes down in the water. We didn't even care about the abyss below us (I think there were 50 or 70 meters until the sea bed) and also we didn't feel the time passing by.
I couldn't resist the temptation to swim through or with banks of colored fish, so I did a bit of free diving as well; not to deep since my ears hurt like hell after a few meters.
Long story short, we were so mesmerized this time, that the next time we'll surely apply for a diving permit (around 185 euros and 3 days training).

Equaly special was to eat together at a very nice restaurant, called Nemo. Being low season, the manager offered 30% discount, free starters, appetizer and salads, free shisha and ice-cream - at the end of the meal. The staf was super friendly, the location was perfect (2 meters from the water), nice illumination and fitting music. Oh, and wi-fi :)


It felt just like a dream coming true: spending time on the seashore, surrounded by great people, good food (vegetarian, by the way), pleasant music and having internet connection at your disposal :)

What more could we ask from Dahab?
Well, maybe some sand on the beach, since it was entirely rocky. But this can definetly be excused, taking into account all that it offered us.

Making new friends & acquaintances

One of the best thing about traveling is being able to meet interesting people almost every day, each with an interesting, funny or sometimes even a sad story to tell.
At the end of this trip, we hope to have a nice list with acquaintances and some good friends as well.

Here are some of the people we've met so far:
- Ercan and Ebru in Istanbul, whom we've already mentioned before.
They're one of the most welcoming couchsurfers we've met until now and we enjoyed every minute spent with them. Can't wait to surf their couch again and feed those funny turtles they have :)

- Jenna and Chris in Cairo.
Jenna was our host, while Chris joined us all for a nice dinner and some story sharing in our 1st night in Egypt. We owe Jenna a tour in Bucharest since she kindly offered herself as a guide in Cairo (probably the best one we had in Egypt!).

- Rebbeka, our second host in Cairo. She had a farewell party going on in the first day we arrived at her place, so, thanks to that, we met a lot of interesting German teachers living in Cairo.
Rebeka's place was like an oasis in the busy and noisy Cairo. Being placed behind the secret police office definitely helped a lot :).

- Julian, Paola and their friends, all from Columbia, funny and easy going people whom we've met on the train from Cairo to Aswan.

- Aswan: Bianca and Joost, brave couple from Holland, doing a trip through Middle East, by car, on the way to South Africa.

- In Luxor and Dahab: Tom and Alanna from Ireland; Freya from India - living in US and working at Microsoft; Hanna from US, Kim from South Korea; two guys from Taiwan (with impossible names :D); Paulo from Argentina; a couple from Japan and another nice couple from Argentina (unfortunately we can't remember their names right now, shame on us :|).

Here are some pictures with most of them: