Ramin Ansari is a freelance travel journalist based in Oregon, USA who focuses on culture travel and illuminating the deep facets of a place through its people and art.

This story begins with a young boy and his loving family caught up in a revolution and a subsequent war that totally changed the fabric of their society. A later chapter reveals a 12 year old boy leaving this land to a strange world full of dreams and possibilities. Years of hard work and resilience lead to a wonderful family and a good professional degree but an exhausting career without any love, passion or internal fulfillment. Is there an end to the monotony?

Suddenly, there is a twist in the story. The man begins to listen to the internal sparks inside him: a good book he reads, the thoughts he puts on paper, the excitement and joy he feels when he starts planning a trip, his exhaustive research on everything about a place (not just a list of places to visit but their cultural beliefs, history, food…) and on the subsequent trip the comfort levels pushed, things learned, seen, and connections made. He lifts up because finally his inherent potentials are shining.

The protagonist is called Ramin. He has a multicultural background and was born in a country (Iran) and speaks a language (Farsi) that are very underrepresented in the travel space. He has had a deep sense of responsibility and a commitment and love for learning throughout his life. He comes from a scientific background (doctor of pharmacy) which provides him with another unique perspective. He has been fortunate to travel to about 20 countries so far and hopes to explore many more. He speaks two languages fluently (English and Farsi) and is currently actively engaged in learning French. These factors are assets and make him unique as a travel writer.

He thinks it is unfortunate that all tourists care about are checklists, perfect Instagram pictures, and all-inclusive resorts instead of learning about a place or talking to its people. He also believes it is unfortunate that another group of travelers find history, art, and museums boring. He hopes to be able to create a lens through which people can see how these “boring” elements can actually be fun ways of learning about a place and its current society.

Thank you very much for reading this prologue.