Day Ten – Best Trip of My Life

Looking at today’s writing prompt and find it nearly impossible.  When I think of all the places I have been and the amazing experiences that I have had, I will do my best to narrow it down.  In July of 2020, I wrote My Top Ten List.  Since then I have added dozens of places and experiences which don’t help my dilemma.  I will start this one out in a similar style.

They (has anyone ever figured out who “they” is) say you never forget your first trip to Paris.  I definitely agree with “them”.  Paris was always a dream destination.  Living in La Ville Lumiere was a dream come true, but oh, that magical first trip…

 

“It was our first evening in Paris.  Night was falling as we entered the metro.  Rain was in the forecast, so I had our umbrella.  We were headed to a wine taste.  A light drizzle met us as we exited the metro station.  The sounds of the city and the glow of the streetlamps surrounded us.  As we tried to get our bearings, he spotted a street vendor selling crepes.  Huddled under our umbrella, sharing a warm crepe… Paris in the rain…I was in love.  Was I in love with the city, the man, or the moment?  Probably, all three.”  Best trip of my life?  At the time I probably thought it was.

I spent four years living on the Asian continent.  During that time I was able to travel many places in China and visit several other Asian countries.  I had so many mad adventures and visited so many cities in China, that I don’t think I can name them all.  If someone would ask me what pops into my head when they say, “Asian travel”, two memorable places and events come immediately to mind.

I have always had a fascination with Tibet and the Dalai Lama.  In 2016, I was living in Changning, China in Hunan Province.  I would soon be moving back to Shandong Province and decided if I wanted to visit Tibet the time was now.  I boarded a train in Guangzhou.  It would be a nine-hour train ride to Chongqing.  I decided I would stop here for the night instead of just changing trains because the next leg was 44 hours and climbing to an altitude of 5000 meters (16,404 ft) before descending back down to 3,656 meters(11,975 feet) in Lhasa, Tibet.  The train berths were equipped with oxygen and the slow journey should help us acclimatize.  I would be spending 8 days in Tibet and ending the trip in Kathmandu.  You can not enter Tibet as an individual but must apply for a travel permit and have a guide.  I would be joining 9 others traveling around Tibet and overnighting at Mount Everest Base Camp.  I chose to arrive a day or so early to bum around Lhasa on my own.  Walking around Lhasa was beautiful, it felt like the land that time forgot, except for the mobile phones and satellite dishes.  Seeing the Potala Palace blew me away.  All of Tibet was magnificent, but the crowning moment was at EBC (Everest Base Camp) when the skies opened up and I watched the sunset on the peak of the mighty mountain.

In August 2018, on an invitation from my Kenari House family, I returned to Peliatan, Bali, Indonesia.  I had been invited to take part in Ngaben or the cremation ceremony for Ketut’s mother.  I wrote the following in my journal: “2:30 am……my alarm sounds…..darkness surrounds me, and I listen to the night sounds. I let my mind drift to the Kuburan or cremation grounds.  I am about to participate in the “awakening of the dead” or ngagah.  We will be exhuming the body of Ketut’s mother to prepare it for the Ngaben or cremation ceremony.  In Balinese, ngaben means turn to ash.  I do nothing for several minutes but allow myself to reflect on the lives and deaths in my own life.  Next, I do my best to properly attire myself in my kamen, kebaya, and anteng and then make my way downstairs to wait for Koming and Ketut.”

 

“It’s a crisp, clear August night/morning as I travel to the Kuburan on the back of Ketut’s motorcycle.  We arrive at the Peyadnyan and I make my way to the Petak.  Family members are preparing the tools and supplies needed for exhuming and then cleansing the body/remains.  I follow the family to the Kuburan where some members of the family have already begun the exhumation process.  A solemnness hangs in the cool night air as young and old look on.  No one is openly mourning as even this, “the awakening of the dead”, is the beginning of a celebration; a celebration of life.  A time to celebrate helping the soul of the deceased move on from their previous life.  Koming’s flashlight goes out, so I use the light on my phone to assist the young men digging at the gravesite.  A yell of joy comes from in front of me.  They have reached the body.  Some of the men now drop their tools and pull the dirt away with their hands until a once-white sheet is lifted from the grave.  I brace myself as this is the first time I have seen a body that has been exhumed.”

“First, I see the skull, then a torso still wrapped in funeral cloth, and finally smaller bones of arms, legs, hands, and feet are added to the pile.  Water, water with flowers, and coconut water are used as we wash the “body”.  The torso is placed on a fresh white sheet and the skull and other bones are placed as if it were a whole body.  It is a sight I will never forget, forever etched into my mind’s eye.  It was not a morbid sight.  The way the remains were so gently cleansed and lovingly cared for touched my soul.  Today, after all, is about the soul which will first be purified by fire which represents earth.  Tomorrow it will be purified by water so it may return to heaven.  After the cleansed remains are wrapped in the white sheet, they are then placed and wrapped on a rattan mat, wrapped and moved to the burning area.”

Best trip of my life?  I would consider it one of the most moving and memorable experiences during my travels.

In August/September 2021, I made my first trip to the African continent.  I left Sofia, Bulgaria, and landed in Cairo, Egypt.  I was staying in a guesthouse on the Giza Plateau. My room overlooked the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid.  The most amazing thing about this view is looking at the Great Pyramid and realizing it is the oldest of the seven wonders of the ancient world and the only one mostly intact.  It’s mind-boggling.  I still have trouble grasping the fact that I was looking at and had touched something over 4000 years old.  While in Egypt, I also took a side trip to Alexandria.  From Cairo, I headed to Casablanca Morocco, and then on to Marrakech for a week.  There is nothing like getting lost wandering around the souks in the Medina.  Unfortunately, it was still considered covid times, and the Great Square, Jemaa ElFna, was void of people, snake charmers, storytellers, and such.  No worries, I returned in September 2023 and witnessed it in all its glory.  I even ate a camel burger.  Best trip of my life?  No, but the first in Africa.

August/September 2022, I again wanted to travel when I left Bulgaria.  I had also decided I wanted to have a purpose during my trip besides traveling for pleasure.  As I said in my last post, I tossed around a few possibilities as destinations, including a return to Egypt for Valley of the Kings, India, and finally Kenya or Tanzania.  I decided it would also be a WorkAway.  In exchange for a few volunteer hours Monday-Friday, the host provides room and board.  I ultimately decided on Tanzania and Bright English Medium School in Wasso a mere 120 km (75 miles) from the Serengeti.  Since I had just spent 8 weeks at a youth camp in Bulgaria, I decided on a bit of downtime before I headed to the school.  Plus it would break up the 9–10-hour bus journey, which was not one of those nice tourist coaches but a local bus, hot, dusty, and crowded.

At the Giraffe Lodge I would be staying in a tent.  I also had the opportunity to trek with a Maasai guide.  I won’t go into the detail here, from my arrival in Zanzibar, then the plane ride to the mainland, the bus journey to the lodge, and walking among zebras, giraffes, baboons, and more, and seeing massive baobabs and stunning acacia trees, I felt like I was walking in an issue of National Geographic.  If interested you can read more about it (and I did have some mad crazy adventures) here. When my time was up at the Giraffe Lodge, I boarded the bus to take me to Wasso.

The location of the school which is between Wasso and Loliondo, Tanzania sits about 2° south of the equator and at an altitude of approximately 2000 meters (6560 ft) above sea level.  Approximately 200 children live at the school and about 300 attend.  There is no running water at the school.  This meant we would be taking bucket showers and using pails of water to flush the toilets.  The days were warm but breezy and once the sun went down it got downright chilly, even dipping into the mid-’40s (Fahrenheit) at night.  This might be a good place to add that along with no running water, there was no heating and cooling system…and electricity could be sketchy along with cellular service.  Before you ask, yes I was aware of the living conditions, and somehow that enhanced the experience.  Not long after I arrived, I was fed a hearty eggplant stew and then a young girl showed up with a bucket of hot water so I could “shower” after my dusty journey.  The children hadn’t arrived at the school for the new semester, so we volunteers busied ourselves preparing the dorms and the classrooms.

Because of its proximity to the Serengeti and the fact that the children hadn’t arrived the gentleman, Baraka, who runs the school, offered to take us on a day safari.  We would have to pay the minimum fees for the park entrance, etc.  It was the chance of a lifetime.  We spent about 10 hours exploring the park.  I was so close to a lioness; that I could have reached out and patted her head.  You can read more about that here.  After the children arrived, my days were spent teaching them songs in the classroom, playing games, and having the time of my life.  Being that the nearest “town” was about a 40-minute walk most of my time was spent with the other volunteers, staff, and kids.  Most of the children are from the local Maasai community and I was able to go to the Maasai market and experience the life of these people.  When it was time for me to go, I really was sad and wished I could have stayed longer.  You would think “living off the grid” with no real modern conveniences, I would be ready to get back to the “real world”.

It was a lifetime experience.  Count your blessings!  I will always remember these kids, and how happy they seemed.  I rarely saw them without smiles, they were happy with their meals and thankful for the time the volunteers spent with them.  Maybe it was them that was blessed.  This quote stuck with me after my time at BEMS:  “Once you carry your own water, you will learn the value of every drop.”

Was this the best trip of my life?  I have had many bests and many amazings in my life.  I’m getting ready to head off into lands unknown at the end of the year.  I’m sure I will be awed by something during that journey.  For now, my experience in Tanzania was the best trip of my life…so far! It wasn’t always comfortable, but it brought me much joy!  Peace Out, my friends