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Published: January 29th 2012
To mark the occasion of our hundredth day on the road, we felt like treating you to a retrospective mélange of random curiosities and occasional insights. We will leave our Outback odyssey for the next blogging, once we have made it back to the civilized world. We are now in Alice Springs finding out what a summer in the desert is all about. The idea was to post this on the exact date of the 100th day on the road but due to the Australia Day, the national day of Oz celebrating the landing of the revered First Fleet, all internet cafes are closed today, hence a slight delay. By the bye, for the indigenous people today is known as the Invasion Day, not warranting much to feel festive about.
100 days spent on the road, three countries explored, two oceans plunged into, different cultures and local customs observed, unforgettable places visited, interesting people met along the road, new friendships forged and some old ones reinforced, a few tête-à-têtes with the wild life experienced, culinary discoveries made, great wines relished, a major natural disaster survived, unfamiliar asanas learned, the sun worshipped, and above all, the marital status changed, that pretty
much sums up what we have been up to since we set off from Lausanne last October. And we still get on like a house on fire! If you ever meet a partner, with whom you can be wholeheartedly at ease, completely in sync, spending months together, virtually 24/7, enjoying every moment of it and still finding that person ever so fascinating, my sage advise to you is to marry that person. I did, which, alongside of leaving Finland, is probably the only sensible thing I have ever done with my life.
A question we get asked every now and then is what has been the most impressive place we've been to or the thing we have done up until now. Our wedding aside, if we were to choose the most rewarding adventure so far, it would have to be the trek to the Himalayas. It was physically the most demanding trip, essentially, for the first eight days we were out of the comfort zone on more or less continuous basis. Yet the afterglow of reaching the base camp and witnessing the most stunningly beautiful sunrise made every second of the effort worthwhile, even without a close encounter with
the yeti.
To mention just a few of the curious things we have observed while being on the road, let's start with Nepal, where on contrary to the European believes, many girls actually prefer to have an arranged marriage, in their world it makes perfect sense. The time flows in Nepal differently than elsewhere, a marriage booked for 9am can start at 11 am without any one noticing the delay. In Bangkok , the 250'000 street vendors do an outstanding job on the famous Thai cuisine, their dishes feeding millions of locals every day , it can only be good. The Aussies are an extremely easygoing nation, with mate and witty humor readily applied even on strangers. The Sydneysiders have a Finn to thank for their magnificent Opera House as it was Eero Saarinen who selected the design by Danish architect Jorn Utzon. The Aboriginals of Australia have the longest continuously maintained culture in the world , still existing despite the best efforts by the White Fella, going back more than 40'000 years, exceeding any other culture by eons, how they got to Australia is still not known for certain, and they show no whatsoever resemblance to any of
their neighboring nations. Some of their systems of beliefs cannot be explained to Westerners, we simply fail to comprehend them. The desert of the Red Center of Australia has got surprisingly lot of grass, bushes and life on its surface. Walking with an open heart and attentive eyes may be rewarded by a glimpse of the essence of people and nature beyond prejudices and common believes.
Some of you might wander what makes a day on the road. Allow us tell you about an average day of ours. We wake up with the sun heating up our mobile bedroom, depending on the state where we are, it is between 7and 8 o'clock. Then comes the morning yoga with mandatory sun salutations, obviously since the sun is there. One pleasant thing discovered on the Australians routes, is that even a cheap , that is 20 dollars per night, inland camping site has a swimming pool. So, either in an ocean or in a swimming pool, we have a morning dip. Breaking our fast usually involves fruit and yogurt and some other healthy stuff, Nastya's responsibility. But once a week we treat ourselves to a grand English breakfast, usually on Sundays,
provided we remember when it is Sunday. Then folding the house, getting enough petrol, water and maps for the road, and by by 10 or 11 at latest, we are on the road again. Totally stress-free life. Throughout the morning we speak French, with Nastya speaking it fluently and Kalle with a conspicuous accent. At noon we switch to English and the topics become all of a sudden more versatile for some reason. We usually stop for the night by 6 in the evening, so it makes a standard working day, 8 hours for driving and sightseeing. Depending on the road, sealed or dirt, we drive from 300 to 600 kilometers, with stops for walks, swims and pictures. Arriving at the next place is usually marked with a stubby of cold amber nectar and a swim followed by a succulent dinner cooked by Kalle. Sometimes we have guests, uninvited though, parrots, kangaroos, or spiders, but so far each one has minded its own dinner. No accidents, no drama. The night sky is amazingly starry far out from the civilization, a glass of red under the constellations for interesting dreaming, and our day is done.
C'est la vie sur la route.
We hope this posting has given you some idea how we pass our days on the road. It is a liberating lifestyle we are currently having, waking up in a new place every morning, looking forward to finding out what the Road will reveal us today. So dear readers let's have one for the Road!
"The Road goes ever on and on down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, and I must follow, if I can, pursuing it with eager feet, until it joins some larger way where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say.” - J.R.R Tolkien
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Matti
non-member comment
G'day
Does kangaroo taste like chicken? Also, I demand a picture of a datsun, preferably with the off-road babe on the bonnet. Best wishes, Matti ps. It's not too bad in Finland, temperature is -15 Celsius and the sun is shining.