What were you doing 25 years ago?

There has been a lot on the TV lately about Tiananmen Square and the events of 25 years ago. This has made me think about what I was doing then, which was travelling around the Middle East and reading about events in China in the Herald Tribune, which because we were rough camping and had no access to TV, was the only way we could keep up with world events and was usually the only English langauge newspaper we could find.

In March of 1989, I left my job and flew to Kathmandu to join several like-minded individuals and embark on a journey to London, camping or staying in rough hotels in India, Pakistan, Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Greece, Yugoslavia (as it still was), Austria, Germany, and Belgium. Some of our group got visas for Iran and travelled through just before the death of Ayatollah Khomeini. Those of us who did not get visas, did a little tour along the Black Sea coast of  Turkey before joining up with the others near Mt Ararat in eastern Turkey.

At about this time of the year 25 years ago, the group I was travelling with had just spent a couple of days in Jerusalem - such a rich history and so many religious sites/sights - it was almost overwhelming. From there we travelled to Syria - marvelling at architectural and archaeological wonders like Jerash and Palmyra, exploring crusader fortresses like Crac des Chevaliers,  and wandering around old Damascus with my fellow travellers. We were met with nothing but goodwill while travelling through Syria and I find it very sad to see what is happening to the country and more importantly the people.

This was my first big trip overseas and it gave me a taste for travel to slightly exotic destinations - the following year I went to northern Pakistan and into China to Kashgar. A couple of years later, it was Egypt and some Greek isles. Work got in the way for a few years, until I went on a family holiday to New Caledonia with some cousins, and then I did some trips in Australia - Perth, Lake Eyre, Kakadu.

Travel is a wonderful thing - whether you go overseas or travel in your own country - it gives you a chance to meet a wide variety of people, to see how others live, how they work and how they fill their leisure time. Sometimes it's not that pleasant, but the experience of it broadens your horizons and makes you a more rounded, knowledgeable person.

So that was what I was doing 25 years ago - travelling through what is now a war-torn country, enjoying the weather, the food and the hospitality. I'm glad that I was doing that, as I have good memories of Syria and don't just know it from the TV news.