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The way in which we are able to travel in the modern day is truly a gift from God. Whether our travel is aboard a large jet
plane, a luxury cruise ship, or merely by way of the family car, the world is more widely and comfortably accessible than
ever before. Travel has also become relatively inexpensive and is now therefore an option increasingly available to larger
and larger segments of society. This is a global phenomenon which has given rise to cross-culture interaction and
understanding. This is also something that has enriched my life personally and enhanced my understanding of the world.
Therefore I am very grateful that the ability to travel has been a part of my life.

Travel has always appealed to me, though it wasn't until I first traveled to Japan as a missionary just out of high school that
I began to understand it's significance. I began to realize the importance of exposing oneself to other cultures and
peoples, and began to understand that my life would feel less complete without travel being an ongoing part of it. I've
continued to pursue as I can my desire to see and experience various parts of the world. Extensive travel was a difficult
thing to do when I was younger because of financial constraints. It was also difficult to leave jobs and/or school for the
longer periods of time that were required to travel in the way that I wanted. However, I continued to try and make travel a
priority, and enjoyed several satisfying trips in the 1980s. It is quite a blessing to travel when young. Hostels are usually
satisfyingly comfortable, cheap food sufficiently tasty, and the physical demands of travel not as punishing as it inevitably
is at an older age. I actually found there to be distinct pleasures in traveling cheap, and quickly came to appreciate the
fact that some of the best travel experiences are often the least expensive. Suddenly the whole of the world seemed a
potential travel destination, and I was determined to bite off all I could chew.

Of course the reality of my situation was that I had priorities in my life outside of travel, and I would have to find a way to
balance my work, school, and social life, with my desires to travel. Because I also had very little money at time, and
despite my ability to enjoy cheap travel, I remained limited in how much I was able to travel. Fortunately I made a couple of
significant trips during that time which would serve to enhance my desire to make travel a lifelong pursuit. The most
important of these trips was a three month affair taken on when my good friend Rick Myers was living in Taipei, Taiwan.
Rick was a friend from my missionary days in Japan, and is one of the most brilliant people I know. He speaks several
languages fluently (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Russian, and German), is amazingly well read, and equally well
traveled. In 1987 he was studying Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan and invited me to spend several months traveling around
Asia with him. We spent about three weeks traveling around Taiwan, then went to Hong Kong for a couple of weeks. We
spent another month traveling throughout Thailand. At that point Rick returned to Taiwan, and I spent another couple of
weeks in Korea. Thanks to Rick and our experiences on this trip, I learned just what it was that most satisfied me about
travel; taking one's time, moving with a loose agenda, going off the beaten track, consistently interacting with locals,
eating what the local people eat, and traveling with like minded companions.

Since that time I've tried to take advantage of wherever I was and what resources I had in order to expand the number of
places I could visit. Sometimes I was more successful at this than others, but feel that I was able to see far more than I
otherwise would because of it always being a conscientious thought in my mind. Fortunately I also have a spouse who has
shared and supported my interest in travel. She and I have enjoyed taking trips both together and alone since being
married, and feel it continues to enhance our relationship. The way in which we travel has changed considerably since
having children. Tee travels a great deal for work both domestically and internationally, while I, being the stay-at-home
parent, rarely get away for more than three or four days at a time. There are exceptions, but for the most part I've been
trying to take advantage of the long weekends that our occasionally available to me in order to get to know various cities
here in North America. While the short duration of these trips is sometimes frustrating, they also often prove quite
satisfying.

This section of my website is here to document the various elements of my travels, and perhaps give you an idea about
how and where I like to travel. Hopefully, it may also assist you in getting ideas of where you might want to visit and the
kinds of things there are to see and do there. Like always, I'd love to here your questions, comments, or suggestions.
Please feel free to let me know of your favorite spots, as well as things you've enjoyed seeing or doing in places you have
been! Write me at Brad@backtobrads.com

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