It feels like that time.

8 whole months.

243 friggin days.

Who would’ve thought?

It’s been a trip alright, more than I ever imagined it to be from the onset. I’ve hit highs I could have only dreamt of reaching and lows I never wish to experience again, but it’s all part of the experience I guess.

I've visited 6 countries, mostly on quick whirl wind tours aside from Indonesia and India. Nothing I've seen anywhere came close to the magic I experienced in my 5 months exploring India. The culture, history, people, sights, and landscapes are in a league of their own. I suppose it's subjective and everyone has their own opinion, but it truly is one of the greatest travel destinations on earth. Not a day has gone by that I didn't find my mind wandering, reflecting on one of my countless train rides or random tea stall conversations I had with a friendly local.

I am very much looking forward to home, I miss my family and friends like crazy, so much so that to continue on travelling would simply be a waste. I’m not properly absorbing the amazing things that are right before my eyes any more. I need a recharge, or a reset, one of the two.

This won’t be my last adventure, not even close. I’ve pushed myself to the boundaries and came out relatively unscathed. Why stop now? This go where the hell I want attitude towards travel I’ve adopted is exactly what I wanted to have in the end. No more pre-trip anxieties, no longer am I frightened of the unknown, quite the opposite actually. I can look at a map like a restaurant menu after this trip, the only obstacle for my next meal being the cost in dollars.

There is one more currency that travel requires besides dollars, and that is time. You shouldn’t look at the year you were born to see if you should take that trip, you’re never too old to pack your bags and take off somewhere if that’s something you crave. More so you need to envision the year you expire and use that as an incentive. This is a limited time only, one shot deal we have in life. I’ve met people of all ages travelling, couples, solo travellers, and countless families with their children as well. It was like wishfully looking into a mirror when I looked at these couples and their young kids, especially in India. It might be easier to put the family up in a resort somewhere in Mexico to sip cocktails and watch movies as oppose to monastery hopping in the Himalayas, but it sure as hell ain’t as rewarding. It showed me that it’s never really over, you can travel at any time in your life.

There’s a stack of bills waiting for me when I walk back into my apartment tomorrow, both the paper kind and some ones in my head, but I think I’m ready to deal with them. In preparation I’ve been continually asking myself if I’ve changed in the slightest from this trip, more so this past month as I knew home was on the horizon. I’d read my 1^st blog post over and over trying to think if I really applied this “seize the moment” attitude to each and every day. Unfortunately I can’t say that I have, I still got some work to do. Perhaps I’m being a bit hard on myself but it’s true. It's just that with everything I’ve experienced -all the scrupulous characters I’ve had to deal with along the way-I simply do not take bullshit from anyone anymore, including from the dude in mirror.

I’ll call out a dishonest rickshaw driver just as quick as a lie I tell to myself.

So maybe that’s just as good.

It's been a hell of a ride but it's time to get off...for now.

Thanks for following!

This picture below has nothing to do with the current country I’m in, it’s simply just a picture. It’s not even that great of a picture to be honest, there’s a bright sun spot near the centre that bothers me and I don’t know how to photoshop it out. Secondly it’s full of tourists; I try and keep all foreigners out of frame whenever I shoot, gives a more authentic cultural feel to the photo.  It is one of my favourites though, not because of what’s in the picture but because of what I was thinking at the time when it was taken. I don’t really  know what I was thinking, can’t recall exactly. But I do know that I was happy. I was exhilarated and grateful to be in that spot, in that country, watching the sunrise on that very day. 

Every time I look at it I get that same feeling.

I love travelling.

Matunga Hill- Hampi, Karnataka, India. February 2012.