Can't believe that I've been here for 3 and 1/2 days already. As soon as I got off the plane and recognised the way I felt like I had come back home...same house, same bed, Annabelle, Sam, Richard and Sally- Sam and Sally had grown. The only obvious difference since my last visit is the arrival of Harry the cat. How lucky I am to have such lovely friend who don't mind me turning up with a bag full of dirty washing, a cold and some allergy inducing joss sticks. I have been looked after, fed, entertained and given fantastic free pilates tuition....not sure that I want to move on anywhere else, the thought of packing my bag, planning a route and finding somewhere to stay feels like too much effort. However Jerome arrives from Canada tomorrow evening and move on into Malaysia we shall.
India feels very far away now and the distance has given me time to consolidate. I am very, very glad I went. I miss the colourfullness- of the landscape, the temples and the people. I miss the bizarre contrast between chaos and calm...the streets, the traffic, the noise were all overwhelming but the people floated through peacefully...I am hoping that this has a lasting effect on me. I miss the unexpectedness of everything and the feeling that anything could happen there.I particularly miss Mamallapuram because it is the place I got to know the best and I knew where to go and who to talk to, I stopped feeling like a tourist there. On the other hand I do not miss the rubbish....everywhere you look, beautiful sights marred by piles of bags and paper and bottles. I don't miss the constant personal questions...children, husband, job? It's nice to be able to be a proud single mum again and not have to lie about having a husband in order to stave off the inevitable discussions about marriage and divorce etc ( actually this never happened in Mamallapuram, which is probably why I liked it so much there) All in all my positive experiences have outweighed the negative ones and now that I have some experience I would probably go back.
There are some lessons I have learned about travelling though and I want to try and put them into practice.
1. It is more fun spending time with people than doing it all on your own. I am over the I need time to myself stage and will be looking for people to do things with. ( Vietnam in April anyone?)
2. I need to be near the sea or some sort of water....this is where I am happiest.
3. I need outside space nearby...I need to spend some time everyday in the fresh air.
4. Staying in one place for longer is better, although it makes it hard to leave....bitter sweet.
5. Travelling is tiring and I need to make time to rest, get a massage or some sort of treatment.
5 key lessons to take into the next 5 months.
Photos below are of my last day in India with baby the sari seller and a couple of the Chinese cemetery in Singapore with Annabelle and Sally this morning.
India feels very far away now and the distance has given me time to consolidate. I am very, very glad I went. I miss the colourfullness- of the landscape, the temples and the people. I miss the bizarre contrast between chaos and calm...the streets, the traffic, the noise were all overwhelming but the people floated through peacefully...I am hoping that this has a lasting effect on me. I miss the unexpectedness of everything and the feeling that anything could happen there.I particularly miss Mamallapuram because it is the place I got to know the best and I knew where to go and who to talk to, I stopped feeling like a tourist there. On the other hand I do not miss the rubbish....everywhere you look, beautiful sights marred by piles of bags and paper and bottles. I don't miss the constant personal questions...children, husband, job? It's nice to be able to be a proud single mum again and not have to lie about having a husband in order to stave off the inevitable discussions about marriage and divorce etc ( actually this never happened in Mamallapuram, which is probably why I liked it so much there) All in all my positive experiences have outweighed the negative ones and now that I have some experience I would probably go back.
There are some lessons I have learned about travelling though and I want to try and put them into practice.
1. It is more fun spending time with people than doing it all on your own. I am over the I need time to myself stage and will be looking for people to do things with. ( Vietnam in April anyone?)
2. I need to be near the sea or some sort of water....this is where I am happiest.
3. I need outside space nearby...I need to spend some time everyday in the fresh air.
4. Staying in one place for longer is better, although it makes it hard to leave....bitter sweet.
5. Travelling is tiring and I need to make time to rest, get a massage or some sort of treatment.
5 key lessons to take into the next 5 months.
Photos below are of my last day in India with baby the sari seller and a couple of the Chinese cemetery in Singapore with Annabelle and Sally this morning.
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