Getting off the bus seeing the restaurant Chopsticks, Manali, my first thoughts were ‘This is more like it’, the India I had dreamed of. I walked in and ordered a well needed Chow-Mein. After gathering my thoughts, I picked up my life and got myself to what would to this day be my home away from home. Nomadic Nest half way up a mountain, where the view is a forever changing moment in time, a battle of the elements against the trees what stand 6,400 feet above the sea level.
During the 6 weeks (India Time) I spent here I did a whole lot of sitting on the rooftop, looking at the mountain across the valley getting lost in the trees and the passing clouds, the snow like icing at the peak. Passing the hours with ever more Chai and Chillums. Meeting some incredible people from all over the world, living some crazy lives and embracing every second. There is just something about being with a bunch of strangers and hiking to some incredible temples, waterfalls and always finding a little chai stall. It’s always about the journey never the destination.
I remember one day I was walking alone through the forest I found a little spot by the river and it was here I knew. I was home. My soul was home. I could finally stop, and breath, a freedom I’d be craving. It never lasts, but in that moment my whole life made sense. I was on the right track.
When you travel you learn, not just about other culture's and people but mostly about yourself. Being alone is a skill many lack, to be at peace with oneself was a skill I had yet to learn.
For me India just has a style the little shops, the buildings, the food, the smells. Every state has history the magic is hidden in the cracks in the walls, the ruined clothes and whatever else thrown on the side walk, if there is one. The music of the traffic, while abandoned bikes and cars watch from their resting place which nature eventually reclaims. The cows and dogs watch as you step deep and deep into the depths of yourself. It would be impossible to leave India without something inside changing.
I was really adjusting to life in the Himalaya’s, I had the local café’s, my private walks, a little bunk bed where I lay at night thinking about the huge adventure I was on. I was at this point reading a book called Shantaram (highly recommend), my mind was being opened, my heart was being filled. I knew I couldn’t go back but in the same breath I also didn’t know how to go forward. I was terrified of myself, and what I was about to do.
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