The following was my blog on 8/10/2008, just a few hours before i left for the Yunnan-Tibet-Sichuan-Qinghai trip. Reading it now really did seem funny, and how true it seemed that life is truly unexpected, you never know what you gonna get.......i'm truly grateful for this whole trip, for all the blessings showered unto EL and i throughout and most of all, for all the great people and precious experiences we've encountered
Blog dated 8 oct 2008 (unpublished then)
i'll be flying off in a few hours time, again to Yunnan.
It's a 26days Yunnan overland Tibet-train-Qinghai-fly Sichuan route. Not exactly what i had planned since last year but the Yunnan-Tibet sector was what i had wanted to do years ago but did not managed 'cos of costs. What made me agree to go on this 'package' this time i don't know. Could be because i had no time earlier to plan the details of my original trip, could be because of the earthquake in sichuan earlier too. In any case,i'm regretting a little already and wanted to pull out and do my own trip but it wouldn't be fair to the other 5 people coming along.
I wanted to pull out because-
-it's a group in which i only know one member and the remaining 4 have a significant age gap from us. We are gonna stay together throughout the 16days.
-It's a trip that costs much more than if i were to do on my own. In fact it's the most expensive of all my trips in these past 17 years.
-It's a fixed itinerary for the first 16days where i cannot have flexibility to change my plan, my choice of accommodation or eating place as an individual.
-It would mean i would not have the chance to come in contact with the locals which i would if i took public transport and eat in street side stalls instead.
-It would mean i would not get to stay in guest houses with flavours but get put up in characterless 'Chinese' style hotels instead
-It's gonna cost me to miss the best timing for autumn hues in Sichuan.
-Most recently, the earthquake in Tibet might mean i have to miss my beloved Lake Namtso.
so, i wasn't really feeling very 'high' about this trip
I wanted to pull out because-
-it's a group in which i only know one member and the remaining 4 have a significant age gap from us. We are gonna stay together throughout the 16days.
-It's a trip that costs much more than if i were to do on my own. In fact it's the most expensive of all my trips in these past 17 years.
-It's a fixed itinerary for the first 16days where i cannot have flexibility to change my plan, my choice of accommodation or eating place as an individual.
-It would mean i would not have the chance to come in contact with the locals which i would if i took public transport and eat in street side stalls instead.
-It would mean i would not get to stay in guest houses with flavours but get put up in characterless 'Chinese' style hotels instead
-It's gonna cost me to miss the best timing for autumn hues in Sichuan.
-Most recently, the earthquake in Tibet might mean i have to miss my beloved Lake Namtso.
so, i wasn't really feeling very 'high' about this trip
but then
i rememebered when i set off for my autumn trip last year, i had been led by what i had believed to be a vision and was really super 'high' about it. When the vision did not turn into reality during the trip, i was for a while quite upset until unexpected encounters with the wonderful people along the way and subsequent great weather became the highlights of my trip and it was one of my most unforgettable trips.
So, i have decided to take the words of erebus with me, 'once on the road, let all that is to happen, happen. Just bring along your heart'.....
yea, and leave all my qualms and expectations behind.
Life is a box of chocolates, you won't know what each taste like till you bite on it.
Life is a box of chocolates, you won't know what each taste like till you bite on it.
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