My usual personal mantra of finding comfort in chaos aside, I am happy to say I will not have to resort to my precious bodily fluid, nor follow in the footsteps of Basquiat, in order to give shape to my thoughts today. It does feel serendipitous to hold a pen in hand. To put more of a context to my surroundings, I am sitting on a rooftop of a hostel; surrounded on one side by the setting sun, while being shaded on the other side by the lush green umbrella of a mango tree. This happy scenario is located in the picturesque mecca of Melaka, Malaysia, where I am currently residing.
Just like planned, this little town wasn't even part of my consciousness until I decided, randomly, to forsake the big city stimuli of Kuala Lumpur for the small-town appeal of Melaka. I made an excellent choice: this town is like the gentle breeze on a scorching day, caressing your hair and forehead at just the right velocity. People are as warm as they are ethnically diverse; Malays, Indian, and Chinese cultures coexisting in harmony.
Sunrise, the next morning. Four hours of tumultous sleep. Awakening to the Muslim call for prayer at 5 o'clock in the morning, the melodies' melancholic fervor unexpectedly moving me to tears. The singular beauty of a pink-and-yellow Monet sky. Coffee with sweet condensed milk. My rather cynical state of mind in the last week finally giving way to the realization of beauty all around me. Knowing that traveling, for me, involves a sort of internal time travel, projecting my future self unto the present.
Traveling, in and of itself, is no more a tool for "finding yourself" than a prison cell might be to the raging alcoholic. Then again, at that incongruous quantum moment of deliberate self-propelled growth, it can brilliantly become the threshold of permanent change to follow.
Falling into the rabbit hole.
Previously cluttered and disconnected moments line up into perfectly obvious patterns. Like, the flesh of a dragonfruit, dark pink and seedy, imprints its erotic delicacy onto my palette. Handsomely aggressive monsoon rains violently showering naive inhabitants of a guesthouse dorm room, foolishly having left the windows wide open. The communal aspect of fellow travelers in such an instant; roused against their will, running screaming and laughing to the windows, and almost apologetically barring the glittering drops from flooding the remainder of what has not been already soaked.
Accepting the responsibility that comes with projecting an open heart and mind. If someone responds, you never have something better to do. Travelling alone, but never having been less lonely. Drinking, smoking, conversing, laughing with travellers of every possible nationality on any given night. Appreciating the dry wit of the British, the confident but subtle charm of the Canadians, the curious incouragibility of the Japanese, the brash but unifying American. Correcting my own ingrained, if subconscious, assumptions about the lives of others.
Sleeping underneath mosquito nets. Finally, coming to terms with bugs. Awakening to the strange and immense symphony of animal sounds, unleashed by one dog's bark: dogs, crickets, geckos, frogs, and the myriad of jungle creatures orchestrating a hymn akin to the scope and power of Beethoven's 9th. Eating Indian food, served on banana leaves, with the fingers of my right hand while attempting to not let the food touch anything but the fingers. Scrapping my initial book list, save one, and reading whatever should fall into my lap by utilizing the book swaps available at every hostel.
Recognizing the purpose behind seemingly innocuous events. Manifesting and affirming in the present, taking luck out of the equation, and at the end of the day possessing the knowledge the reality experienced today was co-created by me. Connecting the dots. Suffused in writing, forgetting hunger, thirst, or the undeniable fact that a colony of ants has recently decided to make my foot into their nesting ground...
The above article is a Blog submission and Not an article written by EAS staff.
ATTENTION ALL BLOGGERS!!!
EAS is now holding a Blog submission competition.
The winner of the best Blog story submitted every month will receive US $100.
Email your best work to editor [at] expat-advisory.com