Life on the Road is a Mystery

Everyone comes from a different perspective, and often our viewpoint is coloured by where we grew up and the experiences we’ve as we became an adult. Today’s guest, Brendan Van Son, comes from a small town but has a big world view.  I’d encourage you to read on, because I think we all can learn some interesting life lessons.

Could you introduce yourself?

I’m a small town boy from a town called Rocky Mountain House, I swear I couldn’t make that up. As I grew up all I really cared about was sports, and I played just about everything. I definitely began to catch the travel bug as I grew up as well, doing trips through the US, to Japan, Central America and many other places. I am officially a Political Scientist and Human Geographer, at least that’s what the diplomas now packed away in boxes tell me. At heart I’m a traveler, an explorer, and an adventurer. I’ve always been a writer, ever since I was in junior high school I’d write whenever I had questions, or answers, about anything floating in my head. However, it wasn’t until recently, about 6 months ago due to a nice push from a relative, that I decided to give it a shot in the world of travel writing. I sent out 2 articles to about 15 different publishers and received 4 offers to publish within 2 days. It was at that point I started to think that I could make a living out of this, I’m still trying to find out if that’s possible.

You say that you hope to “paint a picture about what life is like on the road.” They say picture is worth a thousand words, but think you can give us a flavour of what life is like on the road in a hundred?

Life on the road is a mystery that has no solution, nor do you want it to have one, the more you explore the more you want to discover. It’s like a constant roller coaster ride, some days I feel like I’m waiting in a long cue line and that it’s not worth the trouble, and then all of a sudden something amazing happens and makes me realize that the strenuous times are all worth it. The growth you gain living on the road is incredible. You can no longer hide from life, you are forced to live it everyday or it will eat you whole. But somehow, the majority of us manage to fight through and mature in every way imaginable because of it.

Andy: Couldn’t. Agree. More.

One of your favourite quotes talks about the fact that you look for travel experiences where you feel insignificant. Want to tell us a little bit more?

I was always raised to be a humble person, and I try to take that with me on the road. It’s very easy to let yourself get caught up in, well, yourself. But the moments that you look across a site, or landscape, or city and realize that there is so much more out there in the world than just us put us back in our place. People might read that and think that’s a horrible realization, but for me it’s inspiring. It reminds me of how hard I need to work to do something that matters to the world; it pushes me like nothing else could.

You have some great photography. What’s the secret about taking a great picture?

I honestly don’t think I take great pictures, I give all the credit to the places that I go. I use only a small Canon digital camera that fits nicely in my pocket. And I’ve rarely manipulate the scenery using special functions, etc., although I love the pictures that have do so. I guess my advice then, is to try to make the picture look the same way you see it with your own eye. Learning the basic functions of your camera, no matter how expensive or, in my case, basis it may be, is essential. Simple things like changing the exposure or the light settings make all the difference in the world. I’ve heard so many times people say, “if only I can get my pictures to look how the target really appears to my eye” and the truth is you can, you just need to work on it. And if all else fails, just take 10000 pictures, one or two of them ought to come out nice.

Andy: And at the end of the day, don’t forget to enjoy it. You aren’t there only to take pictures.

What’s your most inspirational travel experience?

I’m not sure if this is a fair question because there have been so many. But, I remember clearly traveling down the United States when I was 7 or 8 years old. I don’t remember hating the long drives in our family van, although I’m told we, my siblings and I, complained and fought to no end. I think at one point my mom got so frustrated with us she made us get out of the van on a busy California interstate and walk a mile as cars blared their horns as they shot by us. And although on that trip I remember the pillars of Bryce Canyon, the lights of Las Vegas, the excitement of Universal Studios, and the sand dunes of the Oregon Coast there in one moment that sticks out most in my mind. As we crossed into Mexico on a day trip to Tijuana we walked by a tatter clothed woman with a young child slung over her shoulder. She sat their with a look of despair on her face and pain in her eyes as she begged for anything we could spare. I remember my parents telling us to pick up our pace as we walked by her without paying her the smallest attention. And it was at that point I realized that the world I knew from small town Canada wasn’t the the whole story. It was the moment that I realized that there was a huge world out there that I needed to explore, discover and, with any luck, understand. To this day, I am still trying to do those things.

What’s on your bucket list?

The honest truth is that I don’t have a bucket list, I have never sat down and written a list of places I need to visit before dying. The reason that I have no list is simply because I want to travel everywhere, if it’s on a map, or even better if it’s not a map, I want to visit it, from Kazakhstan to Kuwait. However some of the places that I’m more excited to check though include: Dubrovnik, Antarctica, the Asanti kingdom of Ghana, Timbuktu, and Myanmar (Borneo).

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