Offroad

I knew I was in Norway when I made a phonecall from the airport to a friend, which lasted for fourty seconds and cost me the equivalent of US$4 and the bus to the city another US$8. Besides there was snow outside. There wasn't much to do but to figure out the cheapest way to get home and get the tickets I needed. My money lasted until I was about to get on the last three hour bus home to where my parents live. Then I was broke. I explained to the driver that I had actually traveled around the world, on budget, but now, 170 kilometres away from home, I had no more money. He said that was the stupidest excuse he'd heard for years, so he let me ride home for free, as long as I promised I'd pay for the ticket as soon as I got home and could borrow money from someone.

Thus I came home in one piece, after possibly the longest journey I will undertake in my whole life. Ah, the luxury of being able to drink tap water without risking cholera or OD'ing on chlorine, to get ice cubes from the freezer anytime, to have up-to-the-minute news constantly available and all the other things we always take for granted at home. I cherished it all, and was definitely happy to be home.

The trip had given me energy to finish my studies with the necessary efforts, and I soon found myself in a life of routines again. It wasn't long before I started preparing for new trips...