≡ Menu

But Will Anyone Remember You?

Walking the streets looking for something.

Support VBJ’s writing on this blog:

BANGKOK, Thailand- It was early 2017 and I was feeling pretty good from publishing back-to-back-to-back 100,000+ view articles on Forbes. In my journalistic vertical this kind of traffic isn’t common, and I was becoming aware that I the formula that I’ve been working on for the past decade or so my finally have become refined enough to bring in the goods.

I was in Bangor, Maine then, working out of a co-working space. I took a little break after going over my recent traffic stats, walked over by the window, looked out on Main Street, and began congratulating myself. I was feeling pretty good, but then I heard it:

“But will anyone remember you.”

I don’t want to say that I heard a voice, but the effect was very much the same. I’m not sure what it was or where it came from, but I heard it again: “But will anyone remember you.”

After a pause, I responded: “No. No, nobody is going to remember some writer who found a knack for cranking out viral news stories.”

I felt my expression flat-line. Emotionally, I went splat.

Those big stories and the nice paydays that come from them suddenly seemed a lot less impressive. Everything that I was doing was perilously temporary, superficial, ephemeral. While they sometimes stir the pot today — being cited in big lawsuits and used as tools by politicians — they were all ultimately meaningless.

In that moment I came face to face with my mortality, suddenly aware that I am an adult — what legacy will I leave here? I was 36 years old then — no longer a man possessing forever to accomplish what he’s after. I was no longer in the process of becoming; what I was doing was it. I was no longer in the preparation stages; I was doing what could be regarded as “my work.” I was missing my chance.

***
So this is Bangkok now. Riding on the train into the city I realized that I no longer know this place. I had an extended visit in 2005 when I disappeared in a room on the top floor of a Khaosan apartment building just reading books and partying. Then I returned in 2007 for a short visit to backpacker-dom. That was over a decade ago and the place has been churning while I’ve been away. Shopping malls, shopping malls, shopping malls.

On this around the world trip I’m doing something a little different that I usually do. While I often go out traveling on some kind of journalistic pursuit — something about development or economics or politics — this time I’m looking for something else: good stories of life.

This is a tricky endeavor. There are stories everywhere; however, collecting and processing them takes large amounts of time. Each story is at the expense of 100 stories — each thing that you film, each thing that you write about means leaving many other things untold. Knowing what stories to engage is as vital a skill as knowing how to engage them.

Lebanon went well. In Bangkok I can feel myself sputtering; flirting with falling back in my usual patterns. For the first time perhaps in my career I feel like a man without a mission. There is also the issue of money: what I did before makes money; what I’m doing now, I’m not so sure.

I guess I’m a little lost. Lost in Bangkok. I would like to stop into a bar, sit down with a beer, pull out a piece of paper and start scrawling plans over it. But I can’t. If I stop moving here vultures will descend: “You want massage?”

Filed under: Thailand, Travel Writing

About the Author:

I am the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. I’ve been traveling the world since 1999, through 91 countries. I am the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China and have written for The Guardian, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. has written 3694 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.

Support VBJ’s writing on this blog:

VBJ is currently in: New York City

6 comments… add one

Leave a Comment

  • Rob December 25, 2018, 1:31 pm

    I’d say you’re living your life…
    Maybe you’ve found out that you can only do one thing ‘really well’ at a time? -shrug- Do ‘it’ & move on to the next to the next thing.

    Merry Christmas Wade!

    Link Reply
    • Wade Shepard December 26, 2018, 5:01 am

      Like they say … you can do anything but you can’t do everything. Merry Christmas, Rob!

      Link Reply
      • Where Is Bob L January 29, 2019, 4:45 pm

        This kind of thing happens from time to time. Seems to me I remember you going through similar soul searching in the past. Happens to all of us. I am in a similar spot myself, looking at the now and thinking about the future. I think when we are looking for something, we instead find something else, that something else is often what re really should have been looking for.

        Good Luck

        Bob L

        Link Reply
        • Wade Shepard January 30, 2019, 6:58 pm

          “I think when we are looking for something, we instead find something else, that something else is often what re really should have been looking for.”

          Right on!

          Link Reply
  • Just anonymous June 2, 2019, 4:37 pm

    Dear Wade. You and Andy Hobo Traveler changed my life, literarily. After reading your blogs for two years, I left my country (Romania) and backpacked for 3.5 years. I didn’t really make my blog successful in any way, but the experience I have accumulated and the mindset of trying NOT to travel, but to live on the road and embracing a dynamic lifestyle, with all what that requires – balancing income from different jobs, entertainment, exploration, going to school, self development, culture, friendships – making new and maintaining old) and the freedom to go ANYWHERE I want to pursue something of interest, it all brought me to marry a wonderful woman from Asia, to travel together with her and discover the world and… 9 years later finds me with a great job and a comfortable life in Singapore. I’ve not ended my “trip” and I still see myself “on the road”. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have experienced as much had not to mindset I’ve reflected on while reading you and Andy’s blogs. Even today I find these two websites stand out among so much junk written by people who travel. So… you may be forgotten for your articles, Ghost cities of China will be obsolete at some point (maybe already is), but I surely won’t forget so many things I’ve read in your pages, the thoughts and the changes they triggered in me. Thank you!

    PS: For some reason only now I’ve read this blog post of yours.

    Link Reply
    • Wade Shepard June 2, 2019, 7:30 pm

      That’s incredible. Thanks for getting in touch and sharing your story. Singapore? Man, that’s a nice place to set up … Good on ya!

      Link Reply