Bill Wolfer

Home: "Born and raised in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Currently residing in the White Shoe Capital of California — Palm Springs."

Expat Home: "Only in my fantasies, where I would divide my time between Chiang Mai and Havana."

Age: 49

Job: Musician

Places visited: Havana, Cuba; Europe by rail (Paris, Vienna, Budapest, Venice, Rome, Palermo, Nice); Thailand by rail (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Samui); China by rail (Hong Kong, Shenzen, Beijing, Xian, Guangzou); America by rail (LA, Miami, Montreal, Seattle)

Favorite country and/or place to visit: "Havana, Cuba — first and foremost because it feeds my obsession with Cuban music. The music scene there is more intense than anything I have ever seen. I've often wished I could have visited New York City's 52nd Street in the heyday of bebop in the late forties — walking up and down that street you could hear Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Monk, Miles, Art Tatum and countless other geniuses cutting each other in wild daredevil jam sessions. If that atmostphere exists anywhere in the world today, it would have to be in the nightclubs of Havana. Secondly, the people are wonderful. It's certainly a travel-anecdote cliche to froth on and on about how special the people are of any given country, but the people of Cuba affected me in a way that no others have, and I never thought anyplace could "out-friendly" Thailand. I was invited into peoples' homes for meals, to parties, and even to the recording sessions at the famous EGREM studios where Buena Vista Social Club was recorded. Beautiful people."

Inspiration for traveling: "I was in my mother's womb when my parents visited Cuba in 1953. I was perhaps a year old when my mother took my brothers and I on a three day train trip to visit her parents in Virginia. I don't ever remember not wanting to travel, only times when I had either a lack of money or time. I think I was a nomad in a previous life."

Memorable adventure: "Often I come away from my travels with fond remembrances of a special moment that happened during the trip. In Chiang Mai, Thailand, I was trying to get to a wood carver's village that was about 15 kilometers out of town. The "bus" that went closest to it was little more than a mini pickup truck with a cover over it and two long benches in the truck bed. There were no seats available, so I stood on the rear bumper and held on for dear life as this thing careened through little villages in northern Thailand. The driver dropped me off at an intersection and told me that if I walked four kilos down the road, I would reach my destination. I bought a bottle of water and set off, walking down a narrow road through fields growing I don't know what. Just when it was starting to get hot, a kid on a motorcycle offered me a ride and refused to take any money for it. On the way back, the same thing happened with a different motorcycle. It was a wonderful afternoon. There are little things like that that stick with me long after the trip is over — like drinking hot green tea on a Chinese train, rushing through emerald rice paddies while the bamboo flute on the sound system almost sounds like it is playing "Amazing Grace." Rememering a conversation with a college professor on the train to Sicily, discussing the need to travel. He said, 'You can read everything there is in the world about a place, but there is no substitute for smelling it!' He was right!"

Advice for travelers: "Make plans, but be happy to abandon them, if need be. Kurt Vonnegut once wrote: 'Strange travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God.' I like that. Do as much research before leaving as possible, but certainly don't let fears keep you away. On a given day, Los Angeles is far more dangerous than anyplace I've traveled. Take normal precautions to avoid pickpockets, use common sense if you have any, and you'll be fine. I've eaten street food everywhere I've gone, and the worst and only time I've ever gotten food poisoning was at a McDonald's in my home town (no kidding)."