The World in drafts

It must have been past midnight, as I rode in the back of Tiago’s motorbike through the bumpy dirt roads among the fields of south of India, on my way to catch a bus on the outskirts of Pondicherry.

I loved it there, but I couldn’t afford to extend further my stay if I wanted to stick with the route I had for this trip.

Couldn’t stop thinking in the irony of life! In the past decade both of us had lived all over the world very different lives. While I was thriving as a yuppie, he was walking the hippie trail all the way to Auroville, where he was living now for several years.

He said, as my thoughts were already drifting towards my next destination (Kathmandu): “Since you’re in this part of the world now, you should take an extra time to understand their culture, their religion...? Why don’t you do a Vipassana retreat? I’ve done 9 already and it’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever had”. I listened while I struggled to keep the balance carrying both my backpacks.

Vipassana is a branch of Buddhist meditation practiced over periods of ten days of silence. To be honest since I’ve heard about it for the first time it sounded fascinating, but I simply couldn’t believe I had the discipline to it.

Over the next days the idea kept growing in me and I couldn’t stop thinking about that conversation we’ve had that night. Finally I decided to find a place to do one of these retreats. I got in touch with a temple in the north of Thailand and organized the stay.

I have to admit that it was extremely hard in the beginning and it crossed my mind several times that give up, I just thought I wasn’t made for it, I couldn’t cope with the aches I got from sitting for hours and I wasn’t getting the feelings I thought I would.

Then, it was like all the pieces of the puzzle had come together and everything made sense. The quietness of the mind and an intense feeling of happiness arrived.

Certainly one of the most rewarding and life-changing experiences I’ve had as a traveller