Vipassana: Ten Days Of Meditation

Posted on December 31, 2013 by The Wandering Nomads

“The art of being happy lies in the art of extracting happiness from common things.”

Ten days of complete silence, stillness, and meditation. That is how I will be starting out the New Year this time around, and I really couldn’t think of a better way to do so. Vipassana, the meditation course I will be taking part in, is sort of like the ultra marathon of meditation. The word vipassana means “insight into the true nature of reality,” and the goal, as stated by the founder of this technique is, “the total eradication of mental impurities and the resultant highest happiness of full liberation.” It is a self-exploratory journey between the mind and body that is suppose to “dissolve mental impurities,” and leave you feeling balanced and free. Though it is a Buddhist technique, they are very explicit that this practice is non-sectarian and that everyone is encouraged to participate no matter what religious or meditative background you happen to come from.

180 Days and Counting

Posted on December 30, 2013 by The Wandering Nomads

“I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine.”

My tent has turned into my home, my bike into my best friend, and the world into my playground. I have no deadlines to keep or appointments to make. No stress or frustration to deal with. And my hardest daily decision typically involves picking what type of noodles I feel like making. I am living in an alternate universe, in a world where nothing can take me by surprise. I live in a world where seeing an enormous yak meander down the street, sleeping in a small stone hut with a tarp for a roof, and showering in a river seems perfectly normal… because it is. For the last 180 days I have been living the life of my dreams, cycling through the unknown on a quest to live and experience life around the world.

Paragliding and Books With A Touch of Meningitis

Posted on December 29, 2013 by The Wandering Nomads

“The glass is neither half full nor half empty rather; it is twice as big as it needs to be.”

My last few weeks in Pokhara have been extremely relaxing yet eventful in their own sort of way. So, first let’s start with the good stuff.

Date A Girl Who Travels

Posted on December 26, 2013 by The Wandering Nomads

“Maybe some women aren’t meant to be tamed, maybe they’re supposed to run wild until they find someone, just as wild, to run with.”

Date a girl who knows that time is more important than money, that experiences are more precious than things. Date a girl who knows the difference between a tourist and a traveler, and always choses to be the latter. Date a girl who reads instead of watches TV, who spends the night writing in a journal instead of texting. Date a girl who realizes that age is just a number, that simplicity is the key to happiness, and that life is meant to be enjoyed. Date a girl who buys the one way, not round-trip ticket, as she knows her travels are bound to last years, not weeks, passing through continents, not just cities. Date a girl who travels, a girl who sees the world as her playground and her life as an adventure.

What Cyclist Discuss

Posted on December 25, 2013 by The Wandering Nomads

“Once in a while it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to.”

During my few weeks in Pokhara I was lucky enough to meet other cyclists, who, like me, are doing world tours. There were two couples (both Swiss) and a single Swiss man, all in their thirties, who have been on the road for varying amounts of time (one and a half to three years). The six of us hung out on multiple occasions, and even celebrated Christmas together. There seems to be an automatic bond between us cyclists as we are living the same lifestyle and can compare stories and anecdotes that “normal” people just wouldn’t understand. After the third or fourth evening together I realized that our conversations were quite different than those I have with other people, so I decided to share what an outing between cyclists looks like.

Babysitting A Baby Monkey

Posted on December 25, 2013 by The Wandering Nomads

“One person’s craziness is another person’s reality.”

I am quite use to babysitting as I have been a nanny for years. Typically though, my babysitting involves children, and not baby monkeys.

A Little Bit of Camping

Posted on December 24, 2013 by The Wandering Nomads

“Travel is not really about leaving our homes, but leaving our habits.”

After a week off I was itching to get back on my bike. As the Swiss cycling couple I had been hanging out with had invited me for Christmas dinner in Pokhara, and I still had three weeks to go, I decided to set off with absolutely no plan through what I hoped were small mountain roads. I wanted to just get out, hopefully gain a bit of elevation and bring myself closer to the snow covered peaks, and most importantly, camp. Though lately I have been opting for the cheap guest houses rather than pitching my tent, I have missed the tranquility of camping and could not wait to curl up in my sleeping bag everyday.

Solo Travel

Posted on December 20, 2013 by The Wandering Nomads

“Don’t be afraid to walk alone. Don’t be afraid to like it.”

Traveling solo, whether male or female, is one of the most rewarding experiences in the world. By traveling alone you are forced to meet and befriend more people, both travelers and locals, and you gain a sense of independence you will never have if you travel with someone else. People are much more willing to invite you into their homes, and you get to do what you want, when you want, something that makes solo travel very liberating.

What Do Your Parents Think

Posted on December 19, 2013 by The Wandering Nomads

“If your dreams don’t scare you they aren’t big enough.”

(Family picture taken the summer of 2013 before I set off on my journey)

“What do your parents think.” That is one of the most common question I am asked by foreigners and westerners alike. So, I decided to ask them exactly what they thought about their twenty year old daughter setting off to cycle around the world.

Cyclists Unite

Posted on December 18, 2013 by The Wandering Nomads

“Life will just not wait for us to live it: We are in it, now, and now is the time to live.”

By far the best part about my week long vacation in Pokhara, a very touristy town in central Nepal, was the fact that I met other cyclists like myself. My favorite cyclists, who I quickly befriended and spent every day and evening with, are a Swiss couple in their thirties who have been on the road for a year and a half from Switzerland to here. They are now taking a two month break (in which time their families will come join them), before they set out again to a still unknown destination. Talking with them about different places they have cycled through, including some of their favorites, the Balkans, Turkey, and Iran, has made me change my route as well (though that is a whole other story for a post later on). Another part that I enjoyed, and probably needed, was to meet someone else who understood. They know what it is like to be living out of your tent, camping wherever there is flat ground. They too have done home stays thought their journey. And most importantly, they understood just how difficult India was. After my frustration with India, with the men, but also just with the constant attention, it was great to hear how they too experienced the same thing, and how it drove them insane as well. No matter how well I explain the feeling, no one else will understand these things unless they too have lived through it, which they have.