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W: Well, it seems quite common, actually. Lots of people in Australia are now traveling and taking time off. And when I was traveling, I met so many people doing the same thing.
M: Yeah, yeah, so where did you start off?
W: Well, I went to New Zealand first. Urn, and I got a job in a computer company as a secretary. And I worked there for four months.
M: Really? You can do that, can you? I mean it’s possible for anyone to get a job in New Zealand without being a New Zealander?
W: No. Not everybody. Only Australians and New Zealanders can exchange either. You know you can work in either country.
M: Right, yeah.
W: So that was easy. I worked there for four months and raised enough money for the rest of the travels really, so from there, I went to Indonesia, and traveled around the different islands of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, China, Nepal and India.
M: What about in Indonesia? What did you do? Did you fly mostly between the Islands?
W: Um, I did a bit of that and boats, mainly local boats between the islands.
M: What about Singapore? People say it’s very, very modern, but because it’s too modern, it’s rather boring. Did you find that?
W: Um, well, it’s difficult so say, really.  It has different attractions, you know, the Chinese, Malay and Hindu communities are there. It has its own culture and custom, very different from the others, and it’s a great big shopping center, and I really enjoyed it from that point of view. And it was very clean.
M: And after that, you said you went, what, to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and then China? That’s a great country to travel in, isn’t it?
W: Well, it was. Yeah. And it was fabulous, it really was. You haven’t been there, then?
M: No, I haven’t. I mean it’s very big, isn’t it? Did you... ?
W: Yeah, I only had one month traveling in China. That was too short for such a vast country as China. I thought I didn’t have enough time, so I sacrificed a lot of places and did the main tours round, really. I went to Beijing, the capital, Kaifeng, Yinchuan and Tibet.
M: Wow, how exciting! You said after Beijing, you went to... ?
W: That was Kaifeng, in central China’s Henan province. It’s a charming city and has got a lot to look around, like temples and pagodas, very traditional.
M: Um, um.
W: What fascinated me when I was there was that some Jews went to live in Kaifeng many years ago. As early as the 16th century, there were Jewish families there. They had their Saint God and the Five Books of Mezuzas. Even today, several hundreds descendents of the original Jews still live in Kaifeng.
M: Really? I’ve never heard of that. And, where did you go after Kaifeng?
W: I went northwest to Yinchuan, the provincial city of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
M: Is this the place where there has always been a shortage of water?
W: No, no. On the contrary, it has got an abundant supply of water because it is near the Yellow River. In this sense, Yinchuan has a favorable geographical position in otherwise harsh surroundings.
M: What did you see there, then?
W: Ningxia was once the capital of the Western Xia during the llth century. So outside Yinchuan, you could still see the Western Xia Mausoleum where the kings of the kingdom are buried. The tombs are pretty scattered in a big area at the foot of the Helan Moutain. And inside the city there is a famous mosque in the architectural style of the Middle East. It’s really a place worth visiting. You get to know something about Chinese Moslems.
M: Eh..., that sounds really interesting. Where did you travel after that?
W: I was lucky enough to get into Tibet and that was brilliant.
M: Yeah? What was the most interesting place you visited, do you think?
W: Well, I think actually Tibet was the most fascinating and exciting. I’ve never been anywhere so different. The people there are wonderful, the clothes they wear, the food they eat.
M: And you said you went to Nepal as well.
W: Yeah. That was sort of an easier version of Tibet really. There are a lot of Tibetans there, as well as other tribes and Nepalese. So, that was good because I went trekking in Nepal. You should do that.
M: How long did you trek for?
W: Oh, I only did a short one, only for a week. I was lazy.
M: Was it very tiring?
W: No, it wasn’t actually. I mean you just say you are on the pace and don’t push yourself too hard. That would be a stupid thing to do. You don’t have to walk very far. Um, so that was great. M: So how did you feel after all this traveling? How did you feel to stop traveling? I mean you are on the move alone for month and month, and suddenly you are here and not traveling anymore. How does it feel?
W: Oh, I was ready to stop anyway. You got pretty sick wearing the same clothes and washing them in different hotels. I never stay in the same place for longer than two days and things. I was ready to stop. I don’t think I could keep doing it. I mean that I’ve met people who have been traveling for two or three years. I couldn’t do it.
M: Yeah, yeah, maybe it’s something I should try after this.
W: Well, I think you really should.