Bill Murray was taking a cab to Sausalito from San Francisco international when he found out that the cab-man was in fact a moonlighting sax player. Murray, later stating “it is what anybody would do”, offers to switch spots with the driver so he could practice and serenade their drive. They end up in Oakland at 2am, when Bill reassures the driver they were safe to get some BBQ since “he had the axe (sax)”. In a way, Bill Murray in this story (and others) is what traveling should bring out in us. Whatever opportunity arises, go with it and have fun.
I’m sitting at 35 thousand feet, watching a doc about Murray stories, with a feeling I’m grateful to have experienced before. It’s a mix of excitement, uncertainty, wonder, as well as knots and uncertainty. More than anything, it’s the feeling that possibility awaits for the pure in-the-moment-serindipity Murray has shown on countless occasions, from joining a kickball game mid-match to washing dishes during a random house party in Scotland. It’s pretty simple. Show up to where you are, as you are. Bill is not a movierstar, he’s the dude carrying in the amplifier so the band can start playing. Maybe Bill is teaching us to not be afraid of the unexpected, but to face it with clear eyes. This is at the core of what idealistic travel means to me. When the outcome of travel becomes secondary to the process of being “there”, space is created for spontaneity and the unknown to seep through the cracks.
This trip, I’m seeing China, and then japan, with fresh eyes. I’ve never been to Asia so it’s an all new for my senses, which I’m sure will be overloaded. I’m lucky enough to travel with a near-local in China: Eduardo Baptista, a man on a self proclaimed quest for “language domination”. I’m grateful he always has dominated mandarin. It will make our time much more accessible to talking and learning from locals.
But that is later, days 1-2ish are spent losing half a day to time zones and another 24hrish to travel. All worth it though, for I know when I wake up in Beijing, I know a entirely new world awaits.
