6 years globetrotting across all continents to boldly go where I have never gone before…
Buy a ticket! Jump on a plane! Travel all over the world! Meet interesting people! Experience at first hand, the culture, and diversity across each country! That’s what has driven my inner spirit for the past six years.
During my travels I have experienced some eye opening things, some spectacular events, some things that have brought a tear to my eye, and some that have given me life lasting memories. One of my great delights has been telling people about my travels and experiences after I had returned. Usually I would set up a short presentation to friends, and interested colleagues, over a lunch, or evening buffet.
My travelling is done at an outrageous pace, visiting more than 30 countries each year, at times staying only for a few hours or days, before flying out to the next destination. That is my way. I was driven by the speed of it all. Each year I tried to include at least 20 new countries to my journeys across the globe to expand my knowledge and experience.
As Barney in the TV Show “How I met your mother” usually says, “New is always better!” I tried to apply this rule for all my travelling. The “New” was always interesting for me, primarily to tick off another new country from my list, but mainly to experience its environment and culture.
When the urge first came upon me to start travelling in 2010, I just wanted to see Australia, or South America, once in my life. I was so impressed by it all that I developed a personal goal to travel to all 193 countries recognized by the UN. I thought that if I achieve that, I might go further, and travel to other breakaway countries, and territories. The sky is not the limit! Above 100 Kilometers space is calling! Who knows what the future will bring? “Richard Branson! Are you listening?”
In order to reach my goal I tried to avoid using my leave for going home to Germany, or to the same countries twice. For me that would have been a waste of my scarce amount of money and time. Ok! “Wasting” sounds quite harsh, but with my goal to visit all these countries, I needed to focus, and calculate with my limited cash and vacation days what was possible. I did not want to have a gap year, a sabbatical, or take a long period of unpaid leave from my job. I wanted to travel while working and receiving an inward cash flow to jump from journey to journey every 4 to 5 weeks.
There were exceptions of course: Family visits (Mama is calling), weddings, and, sadly funerals at which I had to be present. These trips in themselves provided me with additional opportunities to tell stories about my travels. Apart from just visiting the countries, I wanted to leave a “Thomas Brackmann” footprint in the places I visited, by doing something extra ordinary. So: I have taught Judo in the wilderness of Kirgizstan, completed an Ironman triathlon in New Zealand, and did one-arm pushups in Machu Picchu. I invested some of my hard earned cash in a British pub in Romania, and I am planning to support a school project in Honduras. There is always something going on with me. Patience isn’t one of my strengths; sitting still is something I only do in an airplane, when heading off to the next country on my list.
This explains the reason why you will find that some of the stories in this book are rapidly told, somewhat interrupted and at times not in the best native tongue, Oxford English or grammar. It is a reflection of the pace of my life! Perhaps I should take a tip from colleagues, and slow down a little!
I just focus on getting the best prices for my trips, dreaming of my next travel destinations, training for another Ironman, or Marathon! And Hey! Travelers style “Broken English” is the language of our time, right! Or?
Special thanks for Colin, Sana and Ali supporting me in this book adventure.
Lucky me! Due to fortunate circumstances I got hired via a head hunter for a superb job in Riyadh, capital city of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in July 2010. A 2-years contract without social insurance. Awesome! No more suffering from freelance earnings and the German weather conditions. Yippee! No Tax! Paid accommodation, provided car, swimming pool, a gym, 30 days vacation and 11 public holidays. Sounded great! I thought I was dreaming, but then every high has its lows, which I soon discovered. Tough for a European! No alcohol, no bars, no cinemas, no theatres, strict gender segregation of single people, the death penalty! And, and, and. A challenging environment! I thought as an Afghanistan experienced veteran that it shouldn’t be a problem for me. Or should it?
After surviving the 3 month probation period in my new job, finally, time for my first vacation experience. Decisions, decisions! Was it going to be Beirut, or Singapore, both were places I always wanted to go. Both exotic, mystical, big city flair! My best study buddy Stefan said to me: “Forget Singapore, the parties are better in Beirut!”
Armed with a long to-do list provided by my friends and colleagues, I started my first Middle East adventure. Ok! Great! Tallyho! But it was not to be! Off to a bad start with six hours delay at the airport in Riyadh. A long wait in the departure lounge together with hundreds of people from all over the world: India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, UK, etc., etc. Airconditioners were off! Either broken or malfunctioning, resulting in rising temperatures, and the resonating aroma, and smells, from each corner of this planet, with every culture having its own special flavor. And me, stuck in the middle of this cloud. Great!
Finally! Arrival! Touchdown in a sleepy drowsy mode. The first shock! Neither my ATM, nor Credit cards were working. 3 bank cards, 3 different ATM machines, no luck! No injection of local cash into my pocket. Here I was in a foreign city, feeling frustrated, when an old phrase came into my mind; No money! No honey! As in every Third World Airport there are uncountable taxi drivers who want to make business, who want to rip off the naive travel rookie, and so they did with me. 50 US-Dollar to the city center. I remember thinking: Never mind! Its holiday time. I was not exactly a poor backpacker, having to count every penny. Plus, my probation time was over. Two years Saudi salary ahead! Yippi! Let’s go into the Paris of the Middle East.
OMG! What am I doing here? Holes in the walls, buildings in ruins, people begging on the streets. Did I make a mistake? What was running through my head was a mix of pictures from my missions in Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Bosnia. I became a little angry with my friend who recommended Beirut as a great party place. And still: No injection of new money in my pocket. Therefore: March, march to a world bank. Someone must be able to help me there, I believed. First the (fresh) money then the (party) honey!
HSBC – the great hope for party funding. It would have been a shame to be without cash in one of the greatest party places on this planet. With eyebrows bouncing and “smiler-alert” sitting behind the desk, I saw the first female without a veil for the last three months. I thought to myself no wonder a man can be getting weak and melty. Aside of providing me 500 US Dollars fresh cash, her telephone number also came along. A date in two days! City guide included. Check! To quote and old English phrase: “Easy Peasy! Japanese.” Maybe there is some add-on possible. But then, it was off to the hotel for a shower, beer, and then bed time. The day was exhausting enough, physically and mentally!
No sleep tonight Thomas: I met a fellow travel guy from Canada in the lobby of Hotel Napoleon. Quickly, I placed an order for 2 beers, but that was not yet the final story. He had already arranged with a mix of locals and other travelers for evening dinner, and partying. Barhopping was the new mission of the night! Some different clubs and drinks later, we were finally rocking at the techno temple “BO18”. One Swedish colleague had recommended it before my trip, it was a good tip. Another check in the box on my to-do list. Best techno music in da house. Felt like in old Berlin Techno Love Parade times. Spontaneously, I created the headline of this section in remembrance of the nineties music group Faithless who sang “God is a JD”. I met him that night in Beirut! Really! Beirut is not only the party center of the Middle East, but is the location to go from other parts of the world. In other metro poles of the world party is on only happening at weekends, but in Beirut, the fiestas are on every single day.
Dancing until around 4 the morning, still up to speed, thanks to a Red Bull and Vodka mix which kept me flying with some extra kicks. Then finally in the morning back to the hotel, crashing into 2 hotly dressed ladies in the elevator. I figured 2 call girls, my only thought was: There are elevator pitches and elevator bitches! And when they knock at the room door later on coz the original customer refused them, sleeping is not possible anymore.
After a short night departure at 7 in the morning. Ready, steady, go to Damascus, capital of Syria. In 2017 it is a warzone and not so safe. Back then, it was rather friendly and ok. I had booked the trip after my arrival in Beirut. Agenda: bus tour, border crossing, Central Square, mosque, souk, lunch, and return to Beirut, It was a tough schedule. Lack of sleep was to be compensated for on the bus ride. I had a shock awaking: Damascus looked not welcoming, poor, many damaged buildings, and tourist hotspots were different and not appealing. The best overall was the big mosque. This holy building was wide, bright and shiny with very nice decoration. Good for selfie pictures and panoramic shots. But what else could I do? Either I was still too sleepy, or the city was really not that overwhelming. I didn’t see any other highlight worth visiting. To be fair, 1 day was not that much, but my first impression wasn’t that great.
The following days: Party hopping from “BO18” to drinking bars on Hamra or Gemmayze Street. Apart from the nights out, different rendezvous with the bank girl, and a good night’s sleep, I managed some sightseeing bus and car tours with some friendly Lebanese people I met. When I managed to stay awake, I could spot ancient historical Greek or Roman buildings outside Beirut, Awesome! I was also informed that Lebanon also offers some great beach clubs, and ski resorts. Definitely, sometime in the future, I need to come back for a wedding or layover to discover the beaches and the skiing opportunities as a side travel dish. Bon appetite! But for the beginning of my travel journeys I need to explore the rest of the world.
This rough week in Beirut has shown: Sleep is overrated, especially in the night. In party mega centers such as Beirut, you can stay awake for 24 hours and beyond. Of course, the body needs rest, but with a clever rest-energy-management program, anything is possible. The body needs sleep from time to time, but 2 days techno dancing through the night in clubs is as the same as an army exercise for 48 hours. Same, same, but different as the people in Thailand say. Lesson learned: it’s a must, to have 1000 USD in cash already before arriving to prevent any surprises when landing and finding no ATM or Credit cards are working – mostly outside Europe.
One week in Singapore and Hong Kong in spring 2011. Before going to work in the Middle East I knew both only from TV. After choosing Beirut over Singapore in 2010 it was time for the double pack of the Far East. The former British colony of Hong Kong would also easily offer the Chinese country point, and tick the box in my travel book without any visa issues. Great! Together with my travel buddy Julian we went on with the travel planning. Quickly we discovered it is cheaper to fly the triangle flight against the clock: Riyadh-Singapore-Hong Kong-Riyadh. That saved us around 400 Dollars. I wanted to memorize this fact for future travels. It takes only some minutes to check this out online when booking.
We were nearly blown away by the sight of the high skyscrapers in combination with the narrow streets of Hong Kong, I felt very small and lost. At night the lights of the city looked amazing, with all the thousands of small windows in the high buildings shining like sparkling stars. All these windows stand for small apartments as the property prices are astronomic. Consequently we also had a little room in our hotel, only 10 square meters, but it was equipped with all the necessary items for a 4 Stars standard. The first two days we were intoxicated, full of alcohol, resulting from intercultural bar hopping and nightclubs. Singapore Sling was calling as well. The climate during these days was fog and rain but it did not stop me discovering cultural sites, including the big Buddha statue which helped me to come down from my high and detox – at least mentally.
Hong Kong to Macau in a heartbeat. The distance was pretty short. It was not on our agenda but when we recognized that Macau is the Las Vegas of the Far East – we needed to give it a try. The golden Casino was our place to be and to gamble. As the only customers, we were more than welcome, and we both gambling rookies trying our luck. Even trying to figure out certain logic behind roulette wheel, to spot a trend in the numbers, and to take a win home. After nearly 15 minutes of studying, I still hadn’t made my move, while Mister Julian was already the lucky one, having 200 US Dollar winnings in his pocket. Several hours and drinks later, he left the Casino with 500 Dollars. I only got 100 but we figured gambling while travelling could increase the travel budget, or not. Lessons learnt!
The first two trips abroad to Beirut and Hong Kong demonstrated to me the great opportunities of travelling. As they say in Star Trek, “to boldly go where no one has gone before, and discover strange new worlds". That was the spirit I wanted to follow, and I figured, 3 days in a place would be enough to get amazed and surprised by these new places. In addition, when planning the trips and preparing the agenda of things to see, eat and drink, I also needed to plan the required energy resources, such as when to sleep, when to boost myself with coffee, alcohol, or carbohydrates, to be awake in critical or important moments, and using the down time (plane, bus etc.) for sleeping and relaxing. Average I calculated: 3 days per country makes 2 cities. I planned sleeping for a minimum amount of time, especially during the night. I estimated that costs for transport, food, and drinks could be reduced as well, or better planned. For getting spoilt in evening, a six-pack from the liqueur store and drinking on empty stomach saves money and gives a faster road to a drunken status. In addition, overall fitness for rapid travelling is a must. I haven’t seen fast travelers being fat. For my own safety, I could build up on a black belt judo skill level for self-defense, and some running skills to make a quick exit. So: Well prepared to conquer the world. Still so much to see, to visit, to explore! Yallah!