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This beautiful end

December 13th, 2012 | Posted by Mihai in On the move | Punkt | The end - (0 Comments)

I am shy and mysterious – when I say my goodbyes…
When I part with the ones I’ve come to love throughout my life;
when the times are miraculous, when I stop to think twice…

If you are doing this right, that means – playing the song above while you read this, paying attention to the lyrics and everything, you probably know what this means. And I could say as well that it was all this walking so far, nothing but hiss and overdrive. Pushing my limits, as in okay, let’s see where this takes me from nowhere. From a shit hole I found myself in at the possible end a while ago. Some overdrive of me. Disappointing to some of you, to some versions of me as well probably, but who cares about that? :) Not me. And I was actually taken by surprise as I reached my decision, mainly because of that reason. Yes, it’s nice to play Bear Grills or whatever, but once I did it it meant nothing to me any more, as I came full circle, there was something and, more important, someone I came to miss. And in the mean time love. And no, I did not take this decision as quickly as the one which brought me to walking in the first place. The first was salvation, this one should be bliss.

Now I could go on and say that I cannot explain it or that I don’t care about what you say now, but somehow I do. Mostly about who cared about this kind of me, mostly about those who believed in this project when I didn’t any more. So here’s how it ended for me. Isn’t it so that you choose the world [read reality] in which you live in?

So I was in Bucharest, being offered a wonderful welcome by both friends and people that didn’t know me at all as well. I was living the possibility of my dream coming true already. Doing what I like, what I love to do, and being appreciated for that sole reason, for having the guts & balls to say yes or no as I wanted. As I could be free. I indulged in that feeling and I let it embrace me. For a short while, I was the star of my life. Imagine being the star of your show. I felt like that, in one of the most intense public speakings I ever had, hosted by the people at Incubator 107, an art-life sort of workshop, where I was really happy to see my pictures printed out as postcards which were handed out to the public. Hell, I even shook hands with Princess Margareta of Romania the following day, after being late for about 20 minutes. That was it for me. Yet I would’ve felt otherwise alone. So no wonder I was more than happy to welcome her as she visited me. She wanted to see Romania – or me? :) and seeing Romania and the both of us was what we did then. A bit, a tiny bit. What was there to unfold…

So then I took some time off from walking and jumped in my cousins car. Destination: from Bucharest to Vama Veche, then up the mountains to Vaslui, via Transfăgărășan, via Brașov. And I must say, it was a hell & honey of a ride. I walked 100 km in 24 hours at one point. My cousin drove then 1.000 km in 18 hours. On Romanian roads! So cheers for that!

The it was time to see my folks again. Birthday party and everything included. They even had me a photo camera – shaped birthday cake! And it could have only got as wild as I wanted to, that’s how I felt, like I had it all. But then, still alone, unless…

After having enough of Vaslui and Iași, we then headed for an intimate trip. Brașov and Sighișoara. When, needless to say, I had the best of times. Not necessarily like in “The Best of Times is Now” song from Jackass, for it was more, much more than that. And may I forgive myself if I was wrong. That cannot be. For all the peace, all the love, in between these two of us, in those days, was amazing.

And then she left. I spent some more days in Bucharest, already thinking about what to do now. I was growing out of thee road for some time already. And philandering with the possibility of being happy with her was already growing onto me like a sweet cool glove then. So still pondering with the question: what would there be on the road ahead: what would there be in Hamburg? I knew I love her. Yet enough? Ever felt like in a life changing situation when everything is at stake? This time I didn’t chose with my mind only.

Back home, a decision needed to be reached soon. And then I felt I already took that decision, a long long time ago, as I left Hamburg walking. Not that I am not dreaming any more. Change can only come from within? I don’t know about that. Had a dream last night. There was me, sitting in my room at home, surrounded by darkness, where I could hear party noises from all over around. But me alone and complete darkness. And in my room walks this woman which I only saw two times as I was a kid – then a kid too. But now she’s a woman walking up to me, and as she is taking a seat besides, she sounds surprised: ‘It’s YOU!’. Of course it’s me, it’s not someone else!, I say. ‘Yeah, I know, she then says, you haven’t changed a bit, you haven’t changed at all!’. So what am I standing for? Where is the surprise? Where is me? What is me? I think I’m done running. Or walking, whatever. I am now returning to where my heart is. Hard enough decision? I could hardly wait for it! There were two sides of it, each important: okay, let’s shift, see where this takes me, try and embrace all the surprises; and, on the other hand, there was a promise I made to myself: once I fall in love, all of this ends, I cannot risk missing a chance like that. And she gave me everything. I cannot stop but wonder if that is love or egoism or fear. Truth is, by now, I couldn’t care less.

Mum and Pop drove me to the airport. Another intense goodbye. So here I am, flying my way from my dream once to my dream now. It was actually the first time I flew with a company airline. Mixed feelings only about the end of this project which I am somehow failing. But looking back to how it was started, it all makes a hell lot of sense.

A new home now. Hamburg. So what is it that I’m doing these days? Honestly, not much. Fiddling my way into another routine, away from my walks. Trying my best at learning German, trying my best to get a job (got any tips?), trying my best to kind of fit in back to whatever normal society is.Trying my best to live and being happy at it, hoping my recipe will work. And hoping not to disappoint. Both me and her. And I must say, dreaming of getting back on that adventurous horse, now the both of us. Okay, not walking, that’s for me only. But somehow, to continue doing this, to continue doing what I like for what and who I love. A friend told me recently that I need to keep inspiring. Honestly, I don’t have the darndest clue about what that means. If that is doing what you want, hooray! I just did. If that is posing as powerful and full of inspirational bullshit for others, fuck that, I’m kind of done. I have better things to live for now.

The World Photo Tour | Hamburg

On love

I have a hidden smile in my heart. The kind I keep for cloudy days. For when I cry myself out to the world, in silence. For when I feel the weight of my life on my shoulders. For when I see her again after she’re gone. Yet sometimes, although I knew I was in love, I sometimes felt like choosing darkness, you know, that way of getting wasted at the hands of all monsters, getting my soul dirty and destroyed to the point of no return to whatever normal might be. I am haunting myself with those possibilities. I don’t want them, though, yet I face their previous existence. I just hope that the ‘now’ me will not change into that. Do I have anything to lose? Probably just love. A high price to pay. For me, continuing the road, walking free into the wild and unknown, would’ve meant sinking into that darkness. So laugh if you think I’m old or used. By now, I’m used to being torn. For me, I chose love against adventure. For it just might me that love will get me adventure as well, as it was the case in the opposite situation which I drove [walked and rushed] myself into.

The World Photo Tour | Love

I won’t go now thanking you individually and calling names of the ones who supported all of this. For those of you who felt it, these words will mean much more. Be brave. Be polite. Be kind, rewind. Be where you are happy. And when in doubt, think. With both mind and heart. Think of not yourself, but some around you as well. Sometimes I failed at doing that, so who am I to say? I’m just a guy who tried to save himself, knowing that I did in the warm hands of love. Again. Needless to say, these last 10 months have been the most glorious of my lifetime so far. And that’s mainly because of the people I’ve come to meet, the experiences I’ve come to live and the feelings I’ve come to share. But now I’m looking forward for the next things. For me, this story of the road is over in a way, and so not over in so many others. So over and out. Love and be loved!

P.S.: I thank you all, all of you who gave me all those precious moments to treasure from now on – parents, relatives, friends, acquaintances, walking partners, chatting partners, talking partners, sharing feelings partners. It’s not that I don’t look back at them. I am deeply grateful for all the chances I’ve been given.

Ah, and just as a reminder…

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Through dreamy hills. Polovragi – Ramnicu Valcea – Pitesti: 150 km (total: 4.270 km)

November 27th, 2012 | Posted by Mihai in On the move | Punkt - (1 Comments)

Chapter 30 on this walk so far continues The World Photo Tour story where I left off. And that is the hilly area bordering the mountains to the South. All along the way from Polovragi to Râmnicu Vâlcea and then Pitești, I had so many ‘one final glimpse at the mountains’, so many ‘one more goodbye’, for a while, that was.

The day Cezar left after his three days walk adventure, I found myself alone with my road again. The goal was to reach Horezu, Romania’s centre of traditional pottery. I wonțt go into all the details of the locals craftsmanship, you can find all about the local motifs in the link. Until then, the Romanian word of the day was ‘Stejar’. Literally translated means ‘oak’. But it’s actually, without doubt, the best beer in the world. For there is no ‘probably’ in there. Just pure sheer awesomeness of taste, one only a strong cold beer could provide. Nice story: it goes that the first time I was in Polovragi, at the age of 10 months, my parents were left with no water nor milk for me hiking the hills around. The only liquid thing they had left was beer. So they put the baby feeder lid thing usually used for milk on top of the beer bottle. Cheers for that I say, 26 years later! Time for a remake! :)

The following day I walked my way from Horezu to Râmnicu Vâlcea, where I met with another fellow friend that accompanied me the following two days, all the way to Pitești. It was all fun and joy then in the expectancy of that, even as three gypsies people ‘walked’ with me for about 4 km at one point, suspiciously curious about my camera and the content of my backpack. Starting to tell them about everything I carry and where do I carry it from ensured for a safe road though. :)

So, the night before I met with Ciprian Livadariu. And with Roxana Stanca and another friend of hers, friends of Cezar. :) So the story goes that as Ciprian was entering Râmnicu Vâlcea he was all prepared for the following walk, backpack and everything. And without knowing him, but seeing him by chance and expecting me, Roxana approached him and asked if he is Mihai. So the gang got together even before I was there. All good for me, as I don’t always follow the most polite ways of introducing people. With that out of the way, we sort ourselves for a fine dinner at one of the local restaurants. Me? After about 50 km of walking that day, I had the most outrageous outlaw plateau, a tray filled to the top with meats of all sorts, most of them fried. Went down like anything else. The waitress was rather shocked, I must say, as she warned me it’s a plate for two. I just warned her I am hungry. But the dessert I could not cope with in the end. So with our bellies filled we washed it down with beer and chats and later a well deserved sleep.
In the morning we got up pretty late, but we still wondered around a bit, taking some photos. It was after noon that we finally left the city for some rural more close to the roots landscape. And just out of the blue, about 15 km East of Râmnicu Vâlcea, as we crawled our way from well to spring on this beautiful but torrid September day, a car pulls beside us, braking to a stop in a cloud of dust. Now, when stuff like this happens, I don’t necessarily pay attention most of the times and just go along with my walk, admittedly bored by whatever happens on the road involving cars. But this time, as Ciprian stopped behind and I looked back, I was surprised to come to realize they stopped for us: Paul Canini and Vlad Apotroșoaiei. Both Geology students, brought out from Bucharest by some field work they had to do in the area; both friends of Cezar from whom they knew we just left Râmnicu Vâlcea; but both as surprised by actually seeing us on the road, on this dust bowl forgotten country-side road, in the middle of this little nowhere. I haven’t met them before but they knew about me and recognised the backpack from pictures on the website. :) Now isn’t that nice? A nice, warm, friendly hello, a nice chat and the promise of seeing each other again once in Bucharest. Plus a precious gift: Paul actually gave me his Victorinox rescue tool and a bottle of palinka. Hard to accept, hard to refuse. The bottle we shared later that night beside the tent, while the rescue tool gift I paid forward to Ciprian, as I already had one of my own.

The last day in the company of Ciprian we found our way to Pitești. Another hot day. No wonder towards the end we were both kind of wasted. There we met with Florin Cozma, and old friend from primary school. It’s actually there where I should resume and continue my walk from. For there we departed. Ciprian – to his home. Me – To Bucharest.

Now an exercise – suppose you are going to sleep and you are dreaming. And in that dream you have a regular normal day life, whatever your life might be full of – school or work or friends or travelling. And in that day in your dream you are then going to sleep and you are dreaming again about something else – may it be travelling or partying with friends or being with the one you love. Now suppose one of these two instances of you wakes up (may it be you or the dreaming you – whoever you’d prefer waking up). Isn’t it so that one of you is actually still dreaming then, for you only woke up once? May it be you or the dreaming you? And which one you’d rather be? I am close to coming full circle into something. And it’s not a dream. It’s my life and it’s real.

to be continued

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Casino Royale: How to set up a casino fundraiser

casino fun Through dreamy hills. Polovragi Ramnicu Valcea Pitesti: 150 km (total: 4.270 km)

On my way to the Peleaga Mountains, a curious fellow named Terry Scott asked what I actually do. Surprised by his candour, I simply said “this is what I do, travel.” Still perplexed by my presence in the country, he asked whether I do this for vacation or because I’m a “trust fund baby.” He almost struck a nerve, so I just said that while I am travelling, I am trying to raise funds for three organisations, namely WaterAid, Princess Margareta of Romania Trust, and British Heart Foundation. He probably realised his insistent attitude, he stepped back and apologized. Smiling, I said it was okay, and then took a photo of him. However, he went on me again and said “hey, I was working in Casino Fortuna in Bucharest, and sometimes charity events are organised there.” Suddenly, I had my Archemedes moment when he said the words ‘charity events’. So I said to myself, why not? After all, since I am doing The World Photo Tour not just for me to circle the globe but to raise funds for my beneficiaries. So, while trekking the rugged mountains of Peleaga, this fellow shared to me how to organise a charity casino event.

However, I don’t have prior experience in playing casino games. Aside from the fear of losing money and getting sucked into games until I am forced to borrow to loan sharks (which he assured me that the idea is just a product of silly Hollywood movies), I am warded off by casinos because of so many guidelines. Aside from minimum number of chips to buy, they also enforce strict dress code where men have to suit up like James Bond and women have to be dressed how Lee McQueen told them to. Also, there are lots of other things to be considered like gas, parking, entrance fees, membership, and a whole lot more. When I told him my woes about casinos, Terry said that I should instead visit http://www.partycasino.com and I won’t be thinking about all of those. Aside from a wide variety of games, there are also fun-themed games like cartoonish slots and Marvel-themed slots. Also, a £ 500 signup bonus will be given to beginners. And he said that if ever I feel unlucky, I can hone my blackjack and roulette skills with play money so no need to risk money whenever I don’t have to.

Going back to casino, Terry said that in order to organize a casino charity event, we have to organize first the basics: venue, attendees, target funds to be raised, games, admission fee, etc. After getting through those particulars, it’s time to advertise the event: favorite spots for casino lovers would be spas, golf courses, community bulletin boards and what else, casinos. Word of mouth is also a good way to spread the event. When the event comes, people will buy chips for a certain amount of money.

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