The combination of the lack of access to international travel, the willful avoidance of domestic travel (I feel like I've seen everything that I want to see!), and the reemergence of my semi-annual burnout has forced me into indulging some of my travel bucket list travel fantasies lately.
As a sort of therapy, I have decided to lay them out here so I can indulge in my fantasies until I'm fully vaccinated and countries start lowering their restrictions on travel.
1. European metal fest tour
This has been a big one for me for a while. I remember fantasizing about attending Wacken, the largest metal festival in Europe, when I was a 14-year-old on AOL Instant Messenger. A New York teenager (who knows if he (she?) actually was even anywhere close to being a teenager) I connected with in a chat room and I were talking about going when we were older.
While and during backpacking around Europe in Summer 2019, the idea of backpacking around Europe with the intention of attending various metal music festivals popped into my head. It seems like this is actually going to come to fruition this summer if all goes as planned.
2. Oktoberfest
This has been one of those unattainable travel bucket list items for a while. The mid-late September period when Oktoberfest usually happens is usually just after I start a new academic year. ONE of these Septembers will be gloriously convenient for me to attend this bacchanalian bash. Perhaps this September will be the one? I have yet to get a job lined up and I know I'll be in Europe until mid-August.
I'm just afraid my tolerance is not up to snuff as it was when I was in my early to mid-twenties. My tolerance for large crowds, especially of the bacchanalian type, has certainly dwindled - probably more so than my tolerance. Nap times will certainly be in order.
3. India yoga retreat
I started doing yoga regularly every weekend while in Namangan, and then it turned into a daily habit at the start of the pandemic. Since then, I have still done yoga almost every day of the week. I went on a week-long vacation recently I noticed that I got stiff only after a day or two of not doing yoga. I mean, I was walking around several miles every day, but still!
In any case, I have sometimes fantasized about becoming a certified yoga instructor. I don't think I'm quite ready for that. And I'd like to take proper yoga classes at some point. But I feel like a yoga retreat in India would really be an excellent way to not only improve my yoga game but also to really unwind emotionally, mentally, and physically.
4. Thai silent retreat
A colleague of mine while I was in Japan, a down-home middle-aged man from Dayton, Ohio, went on a silent retreat for his winter break vacation. Honestly, he was probably the LEAST likely person I would have thought to do such a thing. While he said it was incredibly rewarding, it was one of the most difficult things he's ever had to do.
I've had other friends and acquaintances do silent retreats, and they have basically all said the same thing. From stories I've heard on podcasts and elsewhere, it's not uncommon for people to break down and cry on their yogi's shoulder.
Despite these reservations, I feel like my life could use some mental and spiritual space. I'm always trying to stay productive. I distract myself with various projects and pleasures. Maybe it's time for a mental and spiritual cleanse.
5. An isolated beach SOMEWHERE
Costa Rica? Thailand? Southern Italy? I don't care! Just get me to a relatively secluded beach so I can lay about, play guitar in a psychedelic rock band, and...take psychedelics?
At the beginning of this year, languishing in my now-annual seasonal affective disorder (but now in therapy!), I was daydreaming about this very scenario. I eventually realized that it was an escape within an escape within an escape. I was wanting to escape to a beach so that I could escape into psychedelics. In some ways, I think playing in a psychedelic rock band would be another escape (I don't imagine having a real job in this daydream).
Luckily, this particular daydream isn't as persistent or as nagging as it was a few months ago.
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