On the first week of May 2018, I received an inspiring email from my friend and founder of World Wide Travellers, Livijus. He wanted me to connect with a French traveller he had met on his latest trip around South East Asia, but while trying to do so he created a strong visual image of his experience that is worth sharing here. Following you have a pretty much exact reproduction of said email with a couple of pictures that where attached to it, and a map for reference. – Víctor.
Hi Víctor!
I’ve met a guy in Kupang. Actually he met me.
I was at a historical beach. The one where the Bounty’s ex-captain landed. I was trying to get all the memory files regarding this event from my subconscious when this guy came to me and told me he was from Marseille. He said he was Jewish and that he not only knew Trakai, but also that the Karaim People were his favourite minority. He liked their cuisine too.
He had no money, and he told me why. He had been hitching for over a year to come here from France. By looking at a map, you will understand he was at an end to his travels. Kupang is the very last city of Asia before landing on Darwin in Australia.
We were at the famous Teddy’s Bar, the place where one can hitch a yacht to Australia, though for me it was a spot to contemplate how the ex-captain of the Bounty managed to come from Tahiti alive (because the crew made an uprising and stayed with cute chicks in a Tropical Island, while the captain was sent away on a very simple rowing boat).
Loic and I had a friendly beer together and enjoyed the most beautiful sunset in Asia, not forgetting about the tragedy of the Bounty.
The historic beach in front of Teddy’s Bar. Beautiful sunset, fishermen boats, the option to hitch to Australia, the spot where the exhausted captain of the Bounty landed, and the only bar in the world where you can sit and have the humanistic right to watch the sea. Nobody will destroy your privacy with an instant question -do you want coffee, beer, or something else? They know what other bartenders do not: if you want you ask but now it’s time for sea watching, time to dive behind time and melt minutes, hours, by the constant nonstop sound of waves with the slowly approaching sunset.
P.S. Last but not least, a friendly couple from Darwin took Loic on board. To be honest, I could have hitched as well to Darwin, but my compass was pointing towards Eastern Timor. A new born young nation that managed to get independence and appear on a world map as a subject.