journeys Asia
Traveling and Learning Online and On the Road
Would you spend two months traveling through Asia in the company of a well-seasoned globetrotter? Someone who is both an art historian and artist and who actually lives in Asia?
After more than 20 years of university teaching online from around the world, I am inviting you to join me on a web-based Passage to Asia beginning October 15. I will journey through five countries where I will introduce you to the art and architecture that represent different Asian cultures, philosophies, and histories. All without leaving your home, office, or subway commute.
And that's only the beginning.
People
Places
The concept of this online journey to Asia
Global travel all but ceased two and a half years ago. For those who travel for exploration, learning, and the sheer joy of experiencing places and meeting people in some far-flung locale, this has been a time of reflection on what it means to travel. We are ready now to return to the road, even to the airport. For some, there remains a bit of hesitancy.
Online or 'virtual' travel is not a substitute for actually planning a journey, securing visas, and heading to the airport or train station. Well, duh! And to be honest, the word 'virtual' is probably not the best descriptor of online travel experiences. The reality of travel is being there.
What if you can't be there ? At least for now.
This journey offers you two experiences:
Daily or every other day, I will post videos, interviews, learning materials, and much more. You will be able, at your own pace, to watch, listen, read, and learn about where I am at that moment.
ADVENTURE. We begin where I live in Siem Reap, Cambodia. After we spend a few days walking around Angkor Wat and nearby temples and countryside, we will drive around the country visiting other ancient Khmer sites. Then I will board a flight for Bangkok from where we will continue our journey. We will spend time in places I have frequented for over twenty years - such as Kathmandu and Bali - as well as a few new destinations where discoveries and unexpected happenstance no doubt await. I'll also take you to some of my favorite places for a beer and sundowner.
LEARNING. Along the way, you will study the art and culture of our destinations through
a two month course, structured like my university art history courses but geared to people with both a general curiosity as well as deeper interests. The study modules will include Asian philosophy and religion, architecture, photography, the visual and performing arts, and the culture and history of where we travel. The course is not a video series of "Here I am..." -
not a social media travelogue.
The who, what, when, and where of Fred's journeys.
Along with a few friends.
The Journeys and the Course
HAVE A LOOK - Sample the course content
I have been teaching online since 1999 and believe my learning content and presentation methods will satisfy every learning style and interest.
Fred's Own Journeys
Fred recording a video at the Baudhanath Stupa, Kathmandu
Fred Sigman - Author - Professor - Media Producer
If we do get a calling in life, I heard that voice at age 11 somewhere around 33° N and 35° W, in the Atlantic Ocean, near the Azores. That transatlantic crossing planted the imaginative seeds that grew into a passion for travel and have kept me afloat during my lifetime of global wandering. Now, as an artist and educator, I want learners everywhere, such as yourself, to come along with me as I spend time exploring new destinations while also returing to the well-worn path.
This three-minute video introduces how Fred began his travels.
He also discusses some of his philosophy of teaching, making art and globetrotting.
Recorded at the Banteay Kdei temple at Angkor Cambodia during the pandemic
Our Journeys
Mapping Out Our Journey
Expenses for me, this solo traveler, for two months traveling through this part of Asia is $5750. I mention this because you may also want to budget Asia in the future. Price for you to accompany me on my journey, the course of instruction, live sessions, our community participation, and all downloadable materials, as well as a few surprises along the way, is a mere
$ 295
Oh, the places we'll go
We will journey through much of Southeast Asia from the mountains of Chiang Mai, Thailand to the volcanoes and ocean of Java and Bali.
- Tell me what you want to see as you follow along on this journey -
Map showing our primary destinations on this journey to Asia
"Now when I was a little chap I had a passion for maps. I would look for hours at South America, or Africa, or Australia, and lose myself in all the glories of exploration. At that time there were many blank spaces on the earth, and when I saw one that looked particularly inviting on a map (but they all look like that) I would put my finger on it and say, 'When I grow up I will go there.'"
Joseph Conrad, from The Heart of Darkness. 1899.
It is my desire to create a community that is diverse in interest and background with people willing to participate. As a university professor I have always preferred the seminar over the large lecture hall. A key part of this journey is for us to ask questions, to share our experiences of travel, and to express what we hope to accomplish from learning and travel now and once we get back out there.
Your Course of Learning
"The person not educated for travel will not be educated by travel."
Mark Twain, or some other smart person
It is not simply what we learn, some of which we can get from a book or even the Internet, but how we learn. Like the artist learning their craft, the learner gains in appreciation and skill when taking on new educational projects. This course and online travel will leave you not only informed, but also, hopefully, transformed.
How You Will Learn
Fellow Travelers
Who Should Come Along (anyone)
Cultures defined by art
"We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls." wrote Anaïs Nin. Artists travelling the world is its own art history. For those who are artists, art historians, and enthusiasts of art and the creative process, you will certainly benefit from this journey by seeing the art and architecture, and watching the artists from around Asia.
Photo: Art student at Tsering Art School, Kathmandu
Backpack Educators
A new form of in-the-field reporter emerged in the mid-90s called a 'backpack jourmalist.' A solo journalist who did it all: write, video record, edit, and produce their own stories. In 2008 I coined the term 'backpack educator,' as a concept of teaching my university students while traveling. All educators can benefit from the skills and content of following this journey to Asia.
Photo: Village children on way home from school, Cambodia
Two millenia of stories still waiting for the pen
In 1923 author W. Somerset Maugham wrote of Angkor Wat, "I have never seen anything in the world more wonderful than the temples of Angkor, but I do not know how on earth I am going to set down in black and white such an account of them as will give even the most sensitive reader more than a confused and shadowy impression of their grandeur."
Along the way you can submit your own writing of the places traveled to. Opportunities for you to share your literary interests of travel will be available through the WanderSight elearning platform. And your photography as well...
Photo: Novice monks entering temple for afternoon chants, Siem Reap
We're all looking for somewhere
We all travel for different reasons even if we end up in the same place.
It's in the music we listen to. U2, "I haven't found what I'm looking for." Moody Blues, "In Search of the Lost Chord." Jimmy Buffett, "Take Another Road." I'm sure you have your favorite travel and road songs. Music binds us together, and so too does our common wanderlust. "Sometimes," wrote George Santayana, “we need to escape into open solitudes, into aimlessness, into the moral holiday of running some pure hazard, in order to sharpen the edge of life, to taste hardship, and to be compelled to work desperately for a moment at no matter what.”
Photo: Buddhist temple, Luang Prabang, Laos
Twenty (or so) years of those who've gone before
Students I have taught over the years have had both positive and, well, constructive comments about my teaching, the course content, and their takeaways. What is fulfilling for me is to hear from students years later, who somehow remember the course and my name, telling me what so many of them continue to learn from their study. Student testimonials in an academic setting, such as those below, are unlike the corporate or customer product reviews we often read. What they have to say to me is often personal.
These reviews are from my university teaching thus are anonymous because the reviewer's privacy of identification is protected under FERPA.
“While I have benefited from formal education, it has never seemed to me sufficient; it has
repeatedly sparked in me a visceral longing for the lessons of life outside.”
Ted Conover. The Routes of Man
Fred laughing with Muang Muang, one of Myanmar's most esteemed photographers
“So shut up, live, travel, adventure, bless and don’t be sorry.”
Jack Kerouac