There are vacations, and then there are adventures.

Everyone’s parameters for definition are obviously different.

For example, to me, Pakistan or India are vacations. But, China? Is an adventure.

I suppose my definition resides somewhere in how familiar the customs, faces and food are for me. An adventure constantly challenges, forces one to grow, and to acknowledge that there are infinite worlds within this world.

Between you and I, if time, small children and, most importantly, money were not an issue, I would travel the Silk Roads with my family.

My fascination with destinations that are historically significant started when I was about fifteen. I was in Pakistan standing right in front of the Jhelum River, and it hit me like a ton of bricks… this is the place where Alexander defeated Porus. This was the beginning of the end for his quest to conquer the world.

I closed my eyes and imagined soldiers camping on the embankments, grumbling about how their leader had finally gone mad… men who were tired… wondering why they had to follow someone else just because he was king… why they were here… missing their family… and, most of all, lost in a state of unknowing about what was going to become of them in the next few months… and when I opened my eyes I realized that though they were gone and the deeds of their great leader lived only in books, the world was still here.

Humankind was still here. Still trying to answer the same questions and still struggling with the same unknowing.  I realized that as individuals we are short lived, but as a species… the threat of nuclear annihilation notwithstanding, we might just be eternal.  And, wow, we might be worth saving, too.

That moment. It’s why I love history.

So, I like the idea of Bora Bora, but I crave the idea of The Silk Road.

As its name implies, it’s best known as an ancient trading route between China and Rome, but it was far more extensive than that in both geography and purpose. Over three thousand years old, this entity represents the truth that we are all truly connected in some way.

Specifically, that we all not only need to be connected to one another, but that we desire it. As if this need and desire is, in fact, an imperative within our being.

Whether because we need silk for spices or want to know why the sun moves across the sky… we need each other.  And we always have.

There is comfort in this piece of history.

And for the sake of argument, we will ignore that various peoples also used these routes to travel far enough to decimate their enemies.

The Silk Road!

It was… like… the Internet!!

It was the ancient Internet, connecting the entire civilized world. In addition to facilitating commerce between nations, it was also a conduit for ideas, culture and art. Islam, Christianity, Buddhism all traveled the known world via the Silk Route.  Think about this… before a person came stumbling to your town via this road, all you could think and be was one way.  And then this person brought something with them… new ideas… you could pick, you could choose… you could become different or stay the same.  But, you had a choice, now.

You had a choice!

Given that it spans something like four thousand miles, I would most likely start in Central Asia.

Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are supposed to be great places to experience. It’s not on the immediate agenda, but one day…

So.  That would be my “dream destination.”

*Special thanks to Dave2 for asking, “Where is your next dream destination?” in response to this post, and great starting point for writing this one.