Alright so this guy is all the rage right now on the internet and I just wanted to say I think he gets murdered or kidnapped in Turkey. No disrespect. But he’s going through his route and I’m thinking Europe looks pretty safe and then he starts talking about 2 months in rural Turkey and that’s where you lose me. That’s where this whole thing falls apart.
And I like walking a lot. So much that I probably log 18-21 recreational miles per week just strolling along my nature trail and listening to fiction on tape. It’s in my blood. I love a good walk.
But walking through Turkey to ferry across the Caspian sea sounds like a death wish for a chubby Englishman looking for wifi.
Another thing too as I watch this – I feel like Asia’s overrated.
Like for all the square footage and size you get to play with, so much is recreationally useless. All mountainous and arid and in open border conflict spanning a millennium of local disputes. That kinda scares me a lot when you’re border hopping Afghanistan-Pakistan-India in a two week stretch that should be hot as fucking balls. It only takes one distraught goat herding, AK-47 wielding villager to ruin your cross continent walk to Vietnam. And I got a bold feeling that guy comfortably lives somewhere between Istanbul and New Dehli, just waiting for a guy named Chebby Trekka to come stumbling down those mountains looking for a cup of clean water.
No thanks.
Another thing about Asia is the language gap. Probably not closing for me any time soon although I can’t speak for that guy. I just know I’d be flying blind in most of their countries save for the baseball parts of Japan and South Korea.
Lot of elevation change too. Infrastructure’s so weak and what does exist takes a beating year round from what can only be described as punishing elements.
That’s why I’m soft on walking across Asia and I’d be surprised if this guy makes it past Turkey. If not the weather and the topography then certainly the wildlife has to get your attention.
But I digress.
Good luck to Chubby Trekka.
In other news I go back and forth on the best long distance walking routes from Chicago:
- North would be nice into Wisconsin but the bugs are so bad and Wisconsin isn’t friendly on foot
- West into Iowa would probably be the safest and smoothest but I’m not really sure what you’d be walking towards as much as like you’re be walking away and that torture the mind
- East to Indiana along Lake Michigan sounds lovely but you’d have to stay along the shores of Lake Michigan into the Upper Peninsula vs continuing East to Detroit. That would be the only tolerable walk in Michigan because otherwise I feel like it’s a place people go missing easily. Like how people say to avoid far East and West Texas because of serial killing families. I think the same thing about the interior of Michigan but otherwise would like to walk to Mackinaw Island
- South to the Mississippi would actually be quite lovely now that I think about it. And historic. And filled with a bunch of old American cities that probably have great dive bars in a true traditional sense of being a shitty establishment that sells heavily discounted liquor and dry packaged goods to a handful of sad & regular patrons. Sounds like my speed. And you get a nice selection of riverboat casinos on the way? Question asked. Question answered. I’m walking south to New Orleans along the Mississippi river if I have to walk anywhere long form in the United States.