[Italy] Closing the guide book

Where are the Italians?
Rome: a cliché tourist location. After walking around the city for 12 hours in a day, one thing came to mind: “So, where are the Italians?” After realizing that the people who you meet, talk, and build a relationship in a country really shapes the image you have towards the country itself, I decided to pay more attention to each interaction I have. In India, Kenya, and Egypt, I was able to meet new people everyday and build different opinions based on the interactions and how I felt. But in Italy, in Rome, I did not make a single connection. Not because I’m shy, but because in Rome, almost everyone is a tourist. I surprised to know that one must literally close his traveler’s guide book and wander out of the city center in order to see 2 locals before seeing a tourist.
Shocked, I spent half of the second day in Rome walking around in more of a neighborhood/residential area, well outside of the areas with tourist attractions. So my point, is that, Rome is not Italy. It’s just Rome. With lines to get into monuments, maps in almost every street corner, and 500 Asians following the tour guide with a flag (no offense to the Chinese, but I saw a lot of you guys), Rome is just an amusement park. Rome is “Italy” as much as Disneyland is “LA”. In other words, it’s not. It's entirely a separate, “Magical” world that is constructed to satisfy outsider’s imaginations (you wouldn’t walk around Disneyland thinking that, what you see is LA itself).

4:6
4:6. That's my ideal ratio/balance to make the most out of my travels. 4 being “knowledge” and 6 being “imagination”. After a month of traveling, and especially after witnessing the rich history of Rome, it came to me that the ability to image something is perhaps more important than knowing the historical facts. I mean, obviously having the minimum knowledge is essential, or else the trip itself becomes a waste because there’s no information imputed into your head to recall to or appreciate. But my point is, the ability to form and expand your imagination is much more important. At least for me, I enjoy making some wild assumptions and connecting the dots based on my past experience and basic knowledge, rather than gluing myself to the guide book that provides all the answers. Attachment to guide books prevent one’s opportunity to discover the world by oneself, which is such a waste (when you’re spending money to actually be there). So 4:6 for me. Even 3:7 if something doesn’t require research beforehand. Or 5:5 if I have no knowledge at all and must rely on Google from the start.

The Pizza
Okay, so I didn’t do anything “touristy” in Italy. Part of it is because of the time limitation, but most of it is because I am in denial that I am a tourist just like others and I refuse to go where everyone is a tourist (which in case of Rome, is not possible). But there are things offered in Rome that I really enjoyed. The food. Food makes me happy and it never betrays. Even though Egyptian food caused me to spend 3 sleepless nights on the toilet crying, I forgive.
With hopes high, Lin and I went to a restaurant in the city. The bar was set high because Lin mentioned that the restaurant was one of the best in town (which was also said about the

restaurant on the Lonely Planet), and I was just excited to eat authentic pizza. We ordered two pizzas and ½ liter of wine for 18 euros. Both pizzas were awesome and the house wine was tasty as well. Definitely worth the price! (Thanks Lin). So yes, food once again saved me. If food was a religion I think the world will be a happier place. I’d follow God of Yakisoba. Inject the blackest coffee every Sunday morning.

Take 2
Feeling that I haven’t seen Italy yet, I went to a much more rural, tourist-free city; Ancona. Hopefully Ancona is unknown to many foreigners, because I for sure didn’t know of it until 2 days ago. There are 2 main reasons why I chose Ancona. The first is because Ancona has the largest port in Italy, and also the largest of all cities touching the Adriatic sea, meaning that it will be a convenient location to decide my next destination via ferry. The second reason is because Ancona was not on the guide book. All I did in Rome was read through the guide book, look at maps and follow instructions to conquer all the “must-sees” that the city has to offer. Enough of that. Time for me to close the guide book and once again and let my instincts navigate my journey. So that's why Ancona was the place to go.

So Ancona. Bam. 4.5 hour train ride from Termini Station in Rome. Felt like quite a luxurious ride even in 2nd class, especially after being on trains in Egypt. Spent most of the hours reading the Economist and looking out the window, observing the change in scenery. I was wrong to imagine that the scenery coming out of Rome was gradually going to change from urban to rural, because all tall buildings and fancy cafes vanished within the first half hour. Once again a self-reminder that I was had been in an amusement park, and the train ride was equivalent to shuttles to the parking lot. Personally, I very much enjoyed the scenery after existing Rome. Green, simple, local, and most importantly, tourist-free. Ruins and old churches here and there along the way somehow seemed more authentic, meaningful, and triggered curiosity than the must-sees in Rome. To conclude, I realized that my ideal method of traveling, if alone, is to buy a local train/buss pass valid for certain time span that’ll allow me to hop on and off whenever and wherever I want. Unfortunately such local pass probably would not allow me to cross boarders..

Marko Polo
I guess you can give a ship that name. Better than Michael Jackson, which was the name of the camel I rode in Egypt. I boarded Marko at 7:30pm, which gave me time to occupy a spot to sleep before the ship got fully loaded. This didn’t turn out to be much of a problem, for there was a large indoor lounge with bunch of seats. I guess securing a spot to sleep in there will only be a challenge if passengers were young, backpackers on a low-budget, and not old foreigners on tours. Anyway, sleeping in the lounge wasn’t the most comfortable..but it was do-able. I’d do it again to save that 50+ Euros.

Most of the time before I actually fell asleep in the lounge, I was outside on the deck with an Australian couple having a glass of wine. Yep, so that was that. Oh, and for the FIRST time, I started wishing that I wasn’t alone on the trip and wanted to share the experience. Why? Well, who wouldn’t enjoy a night across the Medditeranean with a scenery like this.

At 7:00am, I've arrived in Split, Croatia.

Thanks to the spectacular view and the morning coffee, this morning became something unforgettable (it was also my first time to sleep on a ferry).