In John Steinbeck's novel, East of Eden, the lynchpin of the whole text is the Hebrew word "timshel". Far from the Salinas Valley or even the Levant, this lone tree in a ford of in southern Kazakhstan seemed to mark as close to the epicenter of Eden as I had ever been. Almaty, the old Soviet capital of the country, is named for the "father" of all apples. This birthplace of apples is why some people suggest the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Knowledge was actually in Kazakhstan. Going back to "timshel", Steinbeck presents Eden as a choice, "thou mayest" become who you wish to be. I think travel is fundamentally about this choice, always becoming and broadening your perspective.