Afterword

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On the 15th of April somewhere in Iceland a name monster called Eyjafjallajökull decided to start erupting and thanks to it one shopping day in Bangkok turned into a week of waiting for our canceled flight. I was a bit ill after so much traveling so I wasn't happy about this fact at all. Despite the riots of those infamous red-shirts in Bangkok and my weakened condition we could do some last day shopping and buy more and more t-shirts which were particularly cheap. Our guesthouse (or this time it must be called a hotel since it was the most expensive accommodation of our trip, and it was on our insurance company) was located on Khaosan road, which was very peaceful this time (maybe most of the people were at the airport hotels). However on the 21st day Finnair informed on the internet that it's going to make one flight from Bangkok to Finland. Having arrived at airport we were lucky enough when we got two of those last seats available. So we got on board and finally home!

After this kind of long trip I wondered if anything is going to be same again. Now we have seen that the life that people are living in Finland differs significantly from the lives of Asian people. People in Europe are watching at their clocks to measure the time, in Asia it's not necessary, even avoidable, they can see it from the positions of the sun. That's enough. We saw in many countries that people were actually much happier than in the West, even they are living in poverty and are not owning nothing but a bull, clothes and a modest little house. Why's that? We just cannot enjoy our lives, we're not living in the present, in time and place. By travelling it was possible to stop fussing and think about questions like what I am doing here, where I am going, why I am going. Maybe our journey was a quest for seeing new places, but it was also for understanding cultures, differences and the self. Considering the fact that this was my first long trip abroad, I think I have already learnt something.

I am carrying everything with me. Those experiences and memories of this journey will become priceless when the Western so called rat race takes control again. Earning money for living - living for getting more money, et cetera. How to explain this kind of arrangement to a Nepalese sherpa who seldom possess money? He lives with his family in a mountain village, never visits the capital, only maybe the nearest big city. Everything essential is there: food and shelder. There are millions of these kind of people in Asia. One could easily think that they are suffering but the unforced smiles on those faces still rises questions why we Finns smile so rarely. In my opinion enjoying little things is what people should do more here.

Travelling is a way to see the World and beyond. Even the World is getting smaller because of globalisation, it's still HUGE. In India every city has a world of its own, and there are metropoles that remain unknown for everyone who do not dare enter this country. The same thing can be said about Southeast Asia, although it takes effort to avoid the usual backpacker routes there. I noticed en route that every traveller takes the same kind of loop via Vang Vieng, Angkor Wat and some island of Thailand, for example Koh Phangan. So meeting other travellers was the thing to do in the SEA. To some extent it's nice, but then again I thought if meeting Western people really is the reason why we came there, not really. But when it gets touristy, touristy is what you'll have. On the other hand, meeting new people definitely is one of the best things what you are getting while travelling.

For me the World isn't the same place anymore. That's my conclusion. How could it even be after seeing a sunset in Goa, a sunrise at the Mountains of Himalaya, trekking in the jungle of Cambodia or diving in the blue of Siam bay... Not even mentioned hundreds of people from all around the World with whom we had a privilege to get to know. So if somebody asks me afterwards "how was your trip?" I think I have to answer: "You should go and see it yourself". 😊


"To have seen much and to have nothing, is to have rich eyes and poor hands."
- Shakespeare - As You Like It

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Photos

junassa
Going by Indian train to Agra

Himalaya
Me, Krishna & Lauri