The Rockstars of Travel

I’m standing outside in the dank mist that has plagued Dublin for the past two days-its about 3 a.m. Across from me is an Ausie who looks as if he were chewed, swallowed, and regurgitated by the 1980’s hair-band era. I would consider him a friend as we have drank the past three consecutive nights together. At that moment we were in the back ally of the hostel Kinlay House, which conveniently shares the way with the back entrance of a pub. It’s dark and a bit cramped with steel patio furniture that makes the area more confined. The smell of cigarette smoke and metropolitan smog loom over the alleyway. “Cummon maan” he hays, this being his persuasive argument for me to accompany him on his adventures to Amsterdam. He stands slightly hunched over his lit cigarette and pint glass, perhaps to keep the light precipitation out of his beer, or maybe due to slight inebriation. “It will be crazy cool man”, his face illuminates for a brief second in the dark alleyway from a puff of his cigarette.

My Ausie friend is known by many as Lucas, a traveler who has the moral freedom and fiscal independence to venture around Europe embracing all that it has to offer. He would not be alone on this journey, as many hostel employees and backpackers would be taking off time from their agendas, dropping everything, and spend a week in Amsterdam. To me a lifestyle like this would be considered transient, recalling a mental depiction of hobo dangling his feet outside an open boxcar, traveling with no final destination in mind; but for Lucas this was a way of life. Roaming now for about nine years Lucas did ascertain the lifestyle that went with his outlandish outfits. He was a rock star, moving from city to city across Europe, over indulging in booze, drugs, and company from the opposite sex. To many young college students he would be an idol, for the has-been 80’s rock bands members, they would look at him with a tearful glance as to see the life they once lived. In his nine years of travel he has seen almost every major city in North America and Europe, taking with him stories that would keep Rolling Stone and Penthouse Forum editors busy at work for months on end. I asked him if he misses home, or has regret about leaving school. He told me that as he sat in the seat of the plane, and the engines wound up for takeoff, he said to himself f@*k it! This was his philosophical allegory on how easy it is to leave ones life behind, and begin anew. He tells me he has friends across the globe, which he keeps in contact with on a frequent basis. He receives invitations to parties and peoples homes on almost every continent in the world, yet he chooses to travel from hostel to hostel meeting new people and experiencing what life has to offer. He is a man with no regrets, only fond memories, and the heart of a true traveler.

Although Lucas may be a “one of a kind” character, I am certain that there are many travelers much like him around the globe seeking a party around every corner. I had the honor of being invited on Lucas’ grand tour.