Random Thoughts on Garuda Flight 707 to Denpassar Bali. 6 Nov 2006 7:18 PM

If you travel long enough, you hit a wall.
And if you've been travelling as long as I have been, you usually hit several walls. I hit one in Ecuador last May, and I hit one when arriving in Australia a couple weeks ago. Hitting a wall is the time during your trip when you get tired of travelling. It's when you get tired of busses, trains and airplanes and being on the move. It's the time when you're tired of not knowing where you are going to be sleeping that night. It's the time when you're tired of lugging your backpack around, tired of the same ratty clothes that you've been wearing for 50 weeks straight. It's the point when you've become tired of the same repeated conversations with other tourists that inevitably take place. It's the point where you're tired of language barriers. it's the point where everything you see blends into one, and you don't fully appreciate the thing your visiting for the magnificient thing that it is.
It's the time when you miss friends and family back home.
Or your dog if you're lucky to have one.
It's when you miss the simple comforts of home such as your bed, dependable hot water, soft toilet paper or a real toilet for that matter.
Like anything else in life, too much of anything can get tiring.
So what do I do when I hit a wall?
In this instance, nothing. Absolutely nothing.
I take a break from travelling, moving, visiting sites, from taking photos, from travel writing to sketching, etc. I re-energize to clear my head. Sometimes I just sit down and that's when I start to really appreciate all the things I've seen and done. While staying with friends in Sydney (thank you so much Mellani and Katrina. I owe you guys big time. If you are ever in San Francisco, don't even think twice to call me for a good hotel recommendation. Ha, just kidding), one of them couldn't belive I spent all this time in Oz and really didn't see much or go to many places. But I chose to do nothing because I wouldn't appreciate the things I would have tried to visit. I enjoyed just staying at home and cooking and watching a dvd, something I haven't done in ages.
I guess hitting a wall can happen in anything in life. We've all hit them whether at work, at home or in relationships. But just like everyhing in life, it passes. Change can be good or bad, but is inevetible. I hope I'm not sounding arrogant or smug or spoiled. I'm priveleged to be doing what I'm doing right now, travelling and living my life. God knows there's a million worse things I could be doing. But just like anything else in life, too much can get tiring...wait, didn't I just say that before. Hmm, just writing my thoughts while passing time on a long flight to Indonesia. Travelling solo gives you moments of reflection sometimes.
I've hit walls before in other aspects of life, and I think that there's basically two options to choose from. You can choose to do something, or you can choose to do nothing. In this instance I chose to do nothing...but I guess that's actually something, since anything can be something including nothing....anyway, whatever, you get my point. I'm glad I did nothing in Australia. At some point I'll hit one of those happy accidents that occur while travelling. It's those moments not written in travel guidebooks or brochures. It can be a place, a person or group of people or a thing.
But you don't really need to travel for those accidents to occur.

OK, that's enough preachy psycho-babble for one Vitamin I session. I'll stop blabbling now, especially since I'm already on the Blog Police's Most Wanted List and under surveillance from the Self-righteous Department of the BS Bureau. Thanks for reading.
This has been a self-therapeutic passage to pass a long moving day.

But before I go, I'll leave you with one last sermon from the altar.
No matter what you choose to do in life,
no matter what you decide to change or not change,
no matter where you are or where you are going,
no matter what life throws at you,
you always have a choice,
and remember to always choose,
Dónde está Ché Pelotas?