Rick Steves

Yeah.

Yeah.

I forgot I wrote that journal for 40 years. I mean, I didn't forget. I never looked at it. It was just in a box. And then during COVID, I read it. First of all, what kind of 23-year-old would write a 60,000-word journal while on a hippie bus going from Istanbul to Kathmandu? And when I think about that, I was not a travel writer. I was a piano teacher. I just was writing that for me.

I forgot I wrote that journal for 40 years. I mean, I didn't forget. I never looked at it. It was just in a box. And then during COVID, I read it. First of all, what kind of 23-year-old would write a 60,000-word journal while on a hippie bus going from Istanbul to Kathmandu? And when I think about that, I was not a travel writer. I was a piano teacher. I just was writing that for me.

And when I read it, it was really insightful. It might sound immodest, but one thing I love as a writer is you can't go back to the United States and write it up. You've got to write it up right there in the humid, buggy reality with all the cacophony of culture all around you. That's where you take your notes and it's most vivid.

And when I read it, it was really insightful. It might sound immodest, but one thing I love as a writer is you can't go back to the United States and write it up. You've got to write it up right there in the humid, buggy reality with all the cacophony of culture all around you. That's where you take your notes and it's most vivid.

So I was doing that on that hippie trail ride, sitting there watching the needle bend as it went into my travel partner's arm at the border so he could get his shot because he didn't have it on his yellow international certificate of vaccination. That's a vivid moment to think that you're stopped on the border between Iran and Afghanistan and glad you don't have that needle going into your arm.

So I was doing that on that hippie trail ride, sitting there watching the needle bend as it went into my travel partner's arm at the border so he could get his shot because he didn't have it on his yellow international certificate of vaccination. That's a vivid moment to think that you're stopped on the border between Iran and Afghanistan and glad you don't have that needle going into your arm.

This was a vivid trip.

This was a vivid trip.

Yeah, it is a cumulative thing. I mean, these little seeds add up. And if you're a good traveler, you're more exposed. You put yourself... You travel with the window down. Some people, their wisdom is, oh, don't get in on a bus. It's too crowded. You might get pickpocketed.

Yeah, it is a cumulative thing. I mean, these little seeds add up. And if you're a good traveler, you're more exposed. You put yourself... You travel with the window down. Some people, their wisdom is, oh, don't get in on a bus. It's too crowded. You might get pickpocketed.

I love to be on a bus that's so crowded that there's people hanging outside the door when the bus takes off and then they settle in like cornflakes settled into a box, you know, and there's always room for one more body. That's a beautiful, beautiful part of the world that people who are too careful, they miss. But you have to be out, like you were there at that...

I love to be on a bus that's so crowded that there's people hanging outside the door when the bus takes off and then they settle in like cornflakes settled into a box, you know, and there's always room for one more body. That's a beautiful, beautiful part of the world that people who are too careful, they miss. But you have to be out, like you were there at that...

gathering of journalists on an anniversary. That was a lucky break for you, and it had a huge impact.

gathering of journalists on an anniversary. That was a lucky break for you, and it had a huge impact.

It's serendipity, and you've got to say yes to serendipity. First of all, you've got to put yourself in a situation where you stumble onto serendipity. Little moments happen, and these little moments, as a travel teacher, I draw from for the rest of my days.

It's serendipity, and you've got to say yes to serendipity. First of all, you've got to put yourself in a situation where you stumble onto serendipity. Little moments happen, and these little moments, as a travel teacher, I draw from for the rest of my days.

Yeah, for many, many years when I crossed the border, they'd say, what's your occupation? And I'd say, teacher. My classroom is the road. I teach people on buses or I teach them through my books or with my TV shows. But for me, that's what I am. I think that's sort of, I've only had two jobs and they're both teaching things I love. I taught piano and I teach travel now.

Yeah, for many, many years when I crossed the border, they'd say, what's your occupation? And I'd say, teacher. My classroom is the road. I teach people on buses or I teach them through my books or with my TV shows. But for me, that's what I am. I think that's sort of, I've only had two jobs and they're both teaching things I love. I taught piano and I teach travel now.