Month: March 2015

Signs you’ve been in Asia too long

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I just threw toilet paper in the bin on a plane.

A few weeks ago this had almost happened on another flight, when I went to the loo then automatically looked for the bin to throw the paper in (you’re not allowed to throw it in the bowl in most places in Asia). But I realised how silly that was, since I was on a plane before I actually did it that time.

Today however I just threw it straight in the bin. No second thought, just went on autopilot. Didn’t realise till after then started laughing to myself (which probably made me sound like a crazy person in the plane toilet to anyone outside) but I just couldn’t believe I did it so automatically.

I’ve also recently realised that whenever I sit on a chair I know have an uncontrollable urge to curl my legs up and sit cross legged. Every time. Even when I’m wearing trainers which is then really annoying as they take time to remove and put back on.

I’ve only been in Asia 3 months so far, what’s it going to be like I’ve been here for 6?

When was the last time you lay down and just listened to music?

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I’m not talking about listening to music while reading a book, tidying up around you, eating or dancing around your room like a maniac (my personal favourite), I mean literally just lying there and listening.

I’m pretty certain everyone does it as a teenager as some point, I certainly did. But I stopped.

I stopped so long ago that until last week I hadn’t just lay down and listened to music in, well, probably over a decade.

But I did last week, and it is such an incredibly enjoyable activity that I can’t believe I haven’t done it in over 10 years.

It was one of the most relaxing things I’ve done in ages (bear in mind I did 2 hours of meditation everyday for 4 weeks at yoga school and am still saying this). I think the reason it was so relaxing was in exactly the way it was the opposite to meditation. Far from getting me to clear my mind of thoughts, it actually just gave me time to think and let any thought come into my head and go with it. It was also so enjoyable as for the first time in ages I properly listened to the music that was playing. I actually focused on it rather than it being a background activity which it so frequently usually is for me.

I now can’t stop listening to music as an activity in itself. My kindle was abandoned for the whole of a 4 hour bus ride yesterday, just listening to music instead.

If you haven’t listened to music, and I do mean just listened in years give it a try, even if it’s for only 10 minutes.

You won’t regret it

It’s 5am and I’m awake, fully awake

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I don’t have to be up for hours but I can’t sleep and for one of the first times in my life, ever, I have decided to get up rather than just lay in bed getting annoyed. I’d already been doing that for an hour anyway.

So I’m now sat in the hostel common area which is pitch black and has two of the people who work here sleeping in it. The only thing I can actually see are about 10 mosquitoes circling me. And I’m in a malaria zone so that really isn’t great.

My dorm wasn’t much better on the mosquito front anyway though so I guess it doesn’t make that much difference.

I don’t really know why I’m awake, it’s certainly not stress induced insomnia. I haven’t felt that in a happily long time.

There are just so many thoughts going round my head right now.

I’ve spent the last week with two of the most interesting people I’ve met on my travels so far which I’m pretty certain has largely got something to do with it.

The longer I’ve been travelling the more I’ve found myself thinking in general about nothing and everything all at the same time. Not even necessarily about particularly profound things but definitely considering more what it is that does or doesn’t make me happy. Since I can affect that pretty easily now. If I don’t like something I can just stop doing it, if I’m not happy somewhere I can just move.

And I think that’s what I found so interesting about them, they were both in their own ways equally as interested in what makes us happy and had clearly at some point in their lives had the realisation where it, for whatever reason, properly hits you that this is actually it. This is all we get. This life. So if you’re not happy with something you’ve got to change it. And if you want to do something you’ve got to go do it.

One had even been going round the world filming a documentary on what it is that makes people happy (you’ll be able to check out their project soon on The Wonder Junkies).

Since I’ve been away I’ve actually found it’s the simplest things that make me happy and really surprisingly for me they’ve actually mostly been based in nature.

I say surprisingly as I’m not really someone who spends lots of time outdoors normally or goes on walks just for the sake of it. I’m usually far too busy for that shit (how ridiculous is that!).

But now I’m not and sitting looking at a view from the top of a mountain, watching a sunrise or just staring out and looking at the sea have been some of my most amazing moments whilst away.

Because the world is actually pretty cool if you look at it properly. Like really look, just sit there and get lost in what you’re looking at. It’s fucking amazing.

The bags, oh the bags

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Don’t bring it if you can’t carry it.

Seriously, I mean it. If you can’t lift your own suitcase even the smallest amount, don’t take it on holiday and DEFINITELY don’t take it travelling.

It’s bad enough that it’s a suitcase in the first place if it’s so big you can’t fit it down the aisle of a bus, boat, train or whatever else you happen to be on since that just makes everyone else have to wait. But at least if you’re going to do it, MAKE SURE YOU CAN LIFT IT.

I’m not even talking about being able to lift it above you head or anything fancy like that, just off the floor. That seems like a pretty essential requirement in my mind, but clearly not to a surprisingly large amount of people if quite far flung backpacker places.

In the space of a day I met one person with a wheelie bag that was 3 quarters the height of them and another with one that didn’t look as large, but that I later found out weighed about half as much as I do and I’m 5″8′, I’m not exactly petite.

I mean seriously. That’s not even like its a little bit too big or too heavy for you to lift, that’s just ridiculous.

One of the girls couldn’t even seem to get enough strength to wheel it let alone even lift it half an inch off the ground.

And yes I do hate that all the people I’ve seen doing this are female. I almost feel the need to chuck out half the stuff from my 15kg bag so I then have a really small one to help counteract the stereotypes that they’re causing to be formed.