Wednesday, July 03, 2013

Everywhere and Nowhere

5 years later.....

It was all pointing here... to the inevitable:  A fully nomadic life.

As of last year, I am a full time traveler. 

My preferred mode of travel is to spend 1-3 months in one place, then move on.  Bored with backpacking and tourism, I prefer to have something to do or learn in each place.

I started on Maui (Hawaii) where I learned to kite-surf; which turned out be be quite a challenge!  Through nothing but dogged persistence I finally managed it and now count this as one of my great pleasures.  Whenever I feel tense, or worn down by cities...  I conjure an image of the Maui north shore, with Haleakala (the mountain) in the background... viewed from my kite-board... riding a deep blue wave towards the beach... gliding past a sea turtle.... turquoise, azure,  and countless other shades of blue without names.  Ahhhhhhhhhh.

From Maui we (my wife and I) went to San Francisco... still a frequent stop... to visit my best friends Kristin and Joe. 

And then onwards... a stop in Japan... and then on to Australia.  Attended two reiki courses in Sydney, with our Reiki teacher Frans.  Beautiful city... and very expensive!

Then it was Ubud, Bali.  A new favorite.  The food is what stands out.  Ubud is a yoga and superfoods hub, strongly influenced by superfoods super-hero David Wolfe.  This place, for me, is all about health:  incredible organic food, runs through the rice fields, swims in the guest house pool... and our evening ritual-- dinner at Kafe with Kristin and Joe.

Ever onwards from there... to Thailand to visit our good friend Todd, who now runs a beachfront backpacker resort on the tiny island of Koh Payam. 

From there I had 2 weeks of Winter (about my maximum!)... learning to snowboard in Hokkaido, Japan.  Kite-boarding skills came in handy and I picked it up quickly...  exhilarating!  Thoughts of Basho came to mind... slicing down the mountain in white-out conditions... I imagined the great poet shuffling along trails through deep snow.

Thoreau said that travel is the most basic life metaphor: going from, towards....

I'm writing this from a tiny room in Kyoto, Japan... where we are spending the summer.

I have found my home at long last..  everywhere... and nowhere in particular.

No comments: