One evening in 2012 Jay and I were watching Anthony Bourdain in Istanbul, Turkey on TV. Jay said “There’s a really good air-fare deal to Istanbul right now want to go?”
I must have watched that episode 3 times before we went. I tracked down Ihsan Aknur who was Bourdain’s taxi driver in the episode.
We had the BEST time. Seriously. He took us to all the places he took Bourdain and told us what a good man Bourdain was to him. It started a career for Ihsan Aknur as being “The Best Taxi Driver -ever!!”
Jay and I had such a good time we thought… Let’s travel the world!
So we did.
I woke up this morning to hear the sad news that Bourdain committed suicide. This truly saddens me. He was so rich in experience and had a soothing way of story telling on his shows and in his books.
I just wanted to share our memories (wish it was on better terms) and that watching his show and reading his books really inspired us to travel and not only “travel” but really meet people, have true local experiences, and learn about culture. He will truly be missed by Jay and I.
“It seems that the more places I see and experience, the bigger I realize the world to be. The more I become aware of, the more I realize how relatively little I know of it, how many places I have still to go, how much more there is to learn. Maybe that’s enlightenment enough – to know that there is no final resting place of the mind, no moment of smug clarity. Perhaps wisdom, at least for me, means realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go.”
