Alice in Wonderland

The thing I love about the story Alice in Wonderland, is the choice Alice makes to go down the rabbit hole. Knowing she will find something different, she goes anyway to embark on adventure that is filled with crazy characters and strange experiences. The characters she meets along the way are weird and wonderful, but all have a likeness to her life back home. Talking rabbits, mad hatters and the infamous Queen of Hearts, are all a bit left of centre, but they are people and animals that simply act and behave a little, ok maybe a lot, differently to what she was accustom.

For me, arriving into London felt a little bit like I was Alice and I had gone down the rabbit hole. Things looked familiar and “normal” but all a little bit strange. I can’t quite put my finger on what I found so odd, but it felt like I had been transported to another world, and I guess in a way I had. Whilst it really has only been 5 months since I left Australia, it feels in some ways much longer. I was quite comfortable in India and Nepal, I liked the craziness and the chaos, and now London is of course a big bustling city, it is incredibly different to what I had become accustom to. I have heard of reverse culture shock, and perhaps that is really what I was experiencing. I was in awe of the clean, fast train (albeit expensive), the fact that I was not the only white face and that everything was in English.  Arriving at my friends place I was not disappointed, a glass of fresh crisp white wine, a pizza and comfy sofa were adding to my wide eyed, feeling like I am floating experience. Add in a hot running shower and the piece de resistance, a double bed with fresh sheets and big fluffy pillows. Where was I? Was this Wonderland?

None of this things like trains and sheets sound particularly strange to you I am sure, this is normal life right? Nothing fancy or flash, just normal everyday life. My life in Sydney was no different, maybe a few less English accents, but public transport, white wine and fluffy pillows are normal. Well they had been in my world, and here I was, feeling a stranger in my own world. And I had to keep telling myself, it really was only 5 months, and it is not like I was completely roughing it? Surely it was not just the linen that was causing me to feel so out of place? I really only had 2 days in London with the lovely hospitality of Sarah and Justin, but I have to admit I didn’t really leave the apartment that much, it really did feel that strange. I knew this was simply a transition, this was a pattern in my travels, so ride the wave and enjoy the strange sense of wonderment that comes from feeling a little out of place. Observe it. Play witness to it, and simply allow the feelings to pass.

Even the drinks are big in Wonderland

 I am now in a different part of Wonderland, I am staying with my beautiful friend Ulla in Poland. I am blessed with such lovely and generous people in my life that welcome me into their homes. Here I have found the feeling of oddness has passed somewhat, Eastern Europe is not as bright and shiny as Western, so I feel a little less confronted. I am experiencing everyday life in Poznan, I have been lucky enough to practice yoga with Ulla (I am trying to keep up with her busy schedule as a teacher!)  assist some classes and yesterday I even taught a small group of teenage girls. It is lovely to be here with my yogi friend and have the chance to do some solid practice as I have not been in a studio since I left home. From here I am still unsure of my plans, the joys of being in the moment and going with whatever comes up I guess. No plans, flexibility, being open – funnily enough 6 months ago, that type of world would’ve been my version on Wonderland, how things have changed.

So long, farewell....

I am into my final days in India and Nepal and I guess the end of the first chapter of my travels. It is hard to get my head around that this time tomorrow; I will be in the comfort of my lovely friend’s apartment in London. In London....the western world. Good coffee, “normal” food, clean streets and rules and regulations. I am not sure if I am ready. It seems quite surreal. This week I have been back in Mcleod Ganj – I had a week spare and wanted a place to meet my dear friend Annie, that was, well, comfortable and a little bit familiar. Not Delhi high temperatures, but relatively clean streets and some fresh mountain air. And it has felt good to be back. But later this week, I won’t be woken by packs of barking dogs, I won’t be greeted by cows and monkeys, but I will be able to flush the loo paper. It might sound strange, but it is those things I am actually going to miss. I have been thinking a lot about the differences, and as per my last post, the similarities....but it is perhaps the differences, the uniqueness of countries like Nepal and India that I will truly miss.

Annie and I hanging out at Shiva Cafe

I love that the traffic is chaos, ok, the horns get a bit tiresome, but I will no longer be able to confidently cross the busy road simply by raising a hand to the traffic without the aid of a familiar green man. Here they allow you to pass (you must walk slowly but confidently as our guide in Mumbai instructed us) but it works, somehow.  I am not so sure this technique will have the same affect in London. For what is seemingly chaos, with lack of apparent rules or regulations, it just works.  Nor will the mix of endless taxis, motorbikes, rickshaws and cows meet the modes of transport I will find in Paris. But again, I still smile every time a see a cow make its way up the street seemingly undisturbed by a stream of traffic.

My favourite view, just with a little less snow

I think what I will miss the most, is the openness of the people I have met along the way. I have never before been so lucky to be constantly surrounded by people with open hearts and open minds and that greet you when they see you (whether they know you or not). It is not uncommon to have a deep and meaningful conversation about life and what we are all on this planet for with the person selling you trinkets, or the guy making your coffee. People here have strong and powerful beliefs, whether it is Hinduism, Buddhism or their own blend of spirituality, most people share a common belief that we are all connected, that giving is receiving – the law of karma – and that there is something greater than us out there. Unlike in the west, where the focus tends to be what new toy can I buy, how can I make more money, and when can I retire? (Notice the constant of “I”) People are more focused on “we”, they think and act family, community and often have some form of ritual or practice to keep them in the “now”. We in the west can certainly learn a lot from the seemingly “simple” life these people lead. 

A belief in something greater than "I"

I splurged and had a pedicure the other day (for $10 and for over an hour why wouldn’t you?) I felt I owed it to my feet, they had been punished in countless hours of flip flops, trekking boots and not forgetting the combination of dirt and rubbish. But funnily enough, I will miss the dirt; it is a daily reminder that I am truly experiencing a life of difference. I can’t believe I am saying I will miss dirty feet, but it is perhaps the daily reminder of how lucky I am that I can have this experience.  So from here, with my freshly scrubbed feet and brightly painted toes, I will head to London on my way to Poland. Europe will be an entirely different experience, but even after the pedicure, I am sure the dirt of India and Nepal will always be there, and I am kind of pleased about that.