The Art of Juggling

I'm home a month today. The weeks have flown by but I've had a nice long rest and taken some time to get used to being back. Tomorrow, I start a new job - a six month contract which will take me up to the end of the year, which works out perfectly for what I have planned next. And what's that, you might ask?

Well, I was never going to be happy to come back home and settle down straight away without having seen a bit more of the world, and while it has been nice to be back, I have the travel bug bad, and nothing will do me now but to get back travelling again as soon as possible. This time around, I'm thinking of about a year travelling, the only challenge being getting the cash together to do that in six short months! That's going to be a feat.

If anyone has any get rich quick schemes they'd like to share, I'm ALL EARS!

Thursday saw me in Cork hashing out some new travel plans with the nice people at Trailfinders. I was hoping for some good news re a cheap ticket, but because I want to take in a few out of the way spots, they are quoting an approximate figure of €3000. OUCH! Ugh. Not sure how I'm going to work it all out.

Now, of course, I've got the niggling at the back of my head. Am I just being nutty? Shouldn't I just get a good job now, buy a house and start making some money for real. I mean, I AM NEARLY THIRTY!! Being at home again, it's so easy to get THE FEAR. Most of my contemporaries from school and university are set up and firmly focused on their careers. It's difficult not to feel uneasy about my choices at this time in my life. But then, I just stop and think about last year, being away, the freedom, the lack of pressure, the realization that what you are doing is fantastic and right and just where you want to be, and that there's still oodles of time to invest in your future. The way i feel about it now is that I'd rather be living my life now while I have my youth rather than investing lots of money in my retirement. That's important too, but I'm trying to get some balance in it all.

That's achieveable I think. You've just got to get really good at juggling.

An Unexpected Turn of Events

A bit unexpectedly, it has to be said, I find myself back in my hometown in Ireland. Initially, it was with very mixed feelings that I made the journey home, but after a lot of soul searching and mental grappling, I decided that it was what I needed to do. Now, two weeks later, I am starting to adjust to being here again, and it feels good to be back. I love Ireland and the warmth of its people, and I will soak it up for as long as I am here.

So, what happened?? Primarily, my brother Brian is soon to head off on his own travels for probably 1-2 years. Having been away for 18 months already myself, I wanted to come home and spend some time with him before he goes. That, coupled with the fact that I just had enough of Auckland and not wanting to get into too much debt to travel in Asia, swung the compass needle in the direction of home, and I made a snap decision to reroute my Asia flights. Once I had bitten the bullet, I couldnt wait to see everyone and chose to fly flat out with no stopovers to Dublin.

Needless to say, that was a BEAST of a journey. I had a 10hr layover at Sydney which was a bit bizarre due to the fact that once you are a transiting passenger, there is absolutely no way for you to get outside the airport for fresh air!! You are TRAPPED! So I wandered around the transit lounge and shops like a zombie for most of that time. My British Airways flight to Bangkok left Sydney in the late afternoon. A few hours later, as we flew over the Northern Territory towards Sumatra, I looked down over an expanse of blackness. All that could be seen were occasional bright red worm-like lines in the dark that glowed like lava. I stared at them for a long time trying to figure out what they could be, feeling sure that there were no volcanos in Australia. It eventually occurred to me that what I might have been looking at were coral reefs glowing in the dark. Whatever they were, it was an incredibly beautiful sight from high in the air.

We had to disembark at Bangkok for about an hour, at which point I had got second wind from somwhere. I changed my clothes and washed in the airport, feeling a bit less grotty. Bangkok airport is like something out of a sci-fi movie. Bird music is piped through the building, giving it an eery feeling. The heat, even in the airconditioned buildings, was suffocating having come from a wintery NZ. Lots of new bronzed young backpackers boarded our flight, obviously on their way home from seeing Asia. Looking at them, I realized that, as much as I want to travel there, right then and there I was glad to be going home for a while.

I got into my PJs (and was greeted by some odd looks) for this leg of the journey. I got as cosy as you can in economy class and just watched movies until I eventually konked out. I woke up a few hrs later with a stiff neck, which I forgot about immediately upon raising the shutter on my window. The sun was just beginning to rise and the horizon was an indescribale mix of inky blue and glowing red with flashes of yellow. My camera, unfortunately, was packed away and unreachable. Below us lay the brown endlessdeserts of Afghanistan. Home still felt a long way away.

We arrived late into London and it was a bit of a scramble to get through the long lines at security and rush to the gate for my connecting flight to Dublin. The weather in Heathrow was sunny and warm, and I was glad to be arriving home in the middle of the summer. Upon landing in Dubiln though, we were met with low grey clouds and rain splashing off the tarmac. WHAT ELSE IN NEW!!I really coulnd't have cared at that point though, and all I cared about was seeing Brian who I knew was waiting in the Arrivals Hall for me.

After the initial high of seeing him and exchanging hellos, we headed into Dublin City to O'Donoghue's pub on the Green to meet a friend for lunch. A group of musicians were playing live trad and, even though the rain was hopping off the cobblestones, I had a warm feeling all over to be back. A few toasted specials and pints of Guinness later, we were back on the road to Limerick.I hadnt told my parents I was coming back, so I was met with stunned silence by both of them. LOL. I managed to stay up as late as possible to try and get my body used to the time change. I didnt surface for almost 36 hrs though, and I was disorientated until the end of last week, waking at 4 in the morning.

It's strange being back after being gone for a year and a half. At first glances, things dont seem to have changed much, but there are telltale signs of the progress the country has made in the time I have been gone. For the first few days, I felt out of place and quite low. As the days passed, however, I am being re-assimilated into my old way of life here. It's comforting because I know now what my plans are for the foreseeable future. Asia is certainly still very much on the cards, and I'm considering a move to London for further study. Trying to coordinate and fund it all is the challenge, but one I welcome. Life is full of exciting choices right now, and where better to be for the time being than back at home with friends and family while I'm dreaming up the next chapters!

That Old Familiar Feeling

I bought my flights to Borneo today. It was the high point of my day really. It's somewhere I've been looking forward to visiting since the beginning of this trip, without even knowing if I would really make it this far.

Early in August I'll be flying from Kuala Lumpur out to the Malaysian province of Sabah to its capital, Kota Kinabalu. From there, I hope to climb Mount Kinabalu, SE Asia's highest peak, to watch the sun rise. It's going to be tough, by all accounts, and I'm not sure I have the same level of fitness that I did when I tackled the Inca Trail, but I'm not going to let that deter me! I'm going to try it! I'm also hoping to pay a visit to Poring Hot Springs and maybe visit some orangutangs.

Then I plan to travel down through Brunei (if I can get a visa and it's not going to relieve me of too much money) into the province of Sarawak. High on the agenda is a trip down the river to stay with a local tribal family. 2 weeks later I fly from Kuching back to Kuala Lumpur.

I can tell you, it feels good to be planning this next stage of the trip. My friend Hien who lives in K.L. is going to my tour guide while I'm there, which I'm really looking forward to, and he may even make the trip out to Borneo to try and summit Mount Kinabalu with me.

The best bit was that my return flights cost me just 40 euro with Air Asia, which seems to be SE Asia's answer to Ryan Air. Pretty sweet!

Not long to go now.......

Ignorance is Bliss!

Saturday was a lovely autumnal day. I was up bright and early, ready to head into the city for my appointment with The Travel Doctor. I thought, when I had had my travel consultation back in Ireland, that I was covered vaccination wise for all of my trip and that I wouldn't really be needing any more, and so I really just wanted to have a chat to the doctor about options for malaria medication.

Basically, when I got up that morning, I wasn't exactly preparing myself to be stuck in the arm with lots of needles again.

So, after a long chat with the doc, it turns out that I will be needing a course of Japanese Encephalitis injections at $135 EACH for three. She also stressed that I shoudl really consider the rabies vaccination at $145 each for three. I also need Polio at $55. Then we got to chatting about malaria meds. Lots of expensive options. We agreed on a four month course for $80! Then there was the consultation fee - another $80!!!

OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!

After having "pencilled me in" for all these horrendous jabs, she dispatched me off to the nurse clutching a big bundle of leaflets outlining the terrors of contracting rabies, malaria and dengue fever. Lovely.

The nurse was devoid of any sort of tender touch and rammed two needles, one after another into my poor arm. First time ever I felt faint from jabs. She was a goodly sort though and distracted me by giving me a sucky sweet and asking me all about my TYPHOID EXPERIENCE in Peru. She went on to underline everything the doctor had said, going into great detail about the possible diseases and viruses that lay in wait for me in SE Asia. She painted a not so lovely picture of me being chased by rabid dogs, monkeys and bats, water snails multiplying under my skin, mosquitos sucking on my blood, and general merriment and feasting on my body by all manner of ticks, insects and bedbugs!

One's grand vision of one's trip never really includes this sort of stuff. But I suppose it's better to do your best to ward it off nevertheless. So, I signed myself up for the works! I have a few more rendezvous with said nurse before the fun is over!

The depressing part is none of these vaccinations are 100% proof, as I discovered in Peru. So, all you can do is hope you escape! You think it's better to be an informed traveller, but sometimes really ignorance is bliss!

A Little Piece of Home

I've been missing home just a little bit in recent weeks. Maybe that's what prompted me to leave work early yesterday, brave the driving wind and rain and make my way into the city to apply for a new passport. That, and the fact that my current one will be out of date soon! I was bold and skipped off work early. It was lovely to get away before everyone else and miss the rush hour traffic and crowds.

I found the Irish Consulate pretty easily, and immediately upon walking into the tiny office I felt like I was at home. A sat in a cozy armchair as I waited to be served. On the floor, there was a bundle of the Irish Times with familiar faces like Enda Kenny and Bertie winking back at me. I browsed through a Bord Failte brochure and firmly resolved to be more of a tourist in my own land when I return.

A soft Midland's accent rose me from my little reverie. The girl I dealt with was called....what else?......Mary! She was so friendly in that easy going way that I have almost forgetten Irish people to have. In my job here, I deal with quite a lot of sugar-coated receptionists and forceful demanding medical professionals. Mary was just so warm and welcoming. She even let me have the Times with Bertie on the cover.

So, pleasantries out of the way and me having quelled my almost irrestible urge to give Mary a hug, we set about the business of hooking me up with some new travel documents. Mary threw her eye over my application form. Happy enough. Then, I handed her my photos which caused her to purse her lips at me.

"Oh no.", shaking her head. "Those won't do now at all. You're too small". Seriously, Mary was just ASKING for a bearhug. "Well, that's always good to hear", says I with a little titter. Mary beamed a big Athlone grin at me before dispatching me down the street to a little Chinese man who sorted me out with 8 photos of me looking fairly enormous. Apparently, 70% of the photo had to be my head.

I preferred the one where I looked small.

Anyway, back I went, forked out $145 for a new passport and told them I'd be in to collect it in a few weeks. I really wanted to sit and hang out there for a while and just read the paper and listen to Mary's lilting tones, but I'd have looked like a weirdo, so off i trotted, umbrella in hand back out into the rain and the wind, feeling a little warmer than I was when I came in, and a little closer to home.