Love and Asia.

Every now and then, or more likely every few days, a photograph of Asia crosses my vision and every time it amazes me how much my heart becomes afloat, how a picture, usually, of some decrepit old building with corrugated iron battening down the hatch, plants crawling the walls, piles of rubbish at the entrance, five different birdcages hanging in the way, ariels and antennas, wires and satellites pointing every way possible and sneaky peek-holes and “window” gaps- can make me feel alive, at home and deeply, truly and madly in love, all at the same  time.

I have travelled a fair bit, of course there will ALWAYS be an endless list of new destinations proving otherwise, but in my last eight years, I’ve seen some sights, countries, cultures and landscape that keep me awake at night with a kind of ambition and excitement that will never die, and yet Asia is a place I will never leave behind. It is, so far, the one continent (other then home of course) that I will never say goodbye to, never not plan to go back to at any chance I get.

The other day, in a day- dreaming travel infused whirlwind I found myself writing lists (seriously have a list writing problem) of things travel can and will do to your core, your existence, how it will change your life for better or worse, forever, changed as you know it. And in the list one stood out to me “I have left pieces of my heart in places all over the world, and although it will never again be one, it has never felt so full.”  It may sound cheesy to you, but I can write it with such honest and full conviction that the more cheesy the more I love that I feel it.

I don’t actually even understand Asia’s pull completely. I know that I love its odd parts, its beautiful ones, its troublesome ones. I know that I love the people, with their sweet Buddhist rituals and gaping smiles. That a beautiful Thai women, with long smooth black hair down to her tail bone, bare-feet, flawless olive skin and deep dark features can make me blush, and a small Vietnamese baby can steal my attention at any given time of the day, the cheeky smile of a Cambodian boy will flash as he invites you to jump on the back of his motorcycle can be impossible to refuse. The way their life moves from hour to hour, day to day, meal to meal. You can have thousands more in the bank then them, but they will still invite you into their home, throw you a cushion to sit on as your join them on the floor for dinner. They will give you and tell you, almost unaware that their skills are priceless, their secrets and techniques.

The way that the rat-race is not even a known thing once you leave the centre metropolitan of Bangkok or Saigon. Money is not everything, often it’s hardly anything. Happiness, appreciation, love, good food, laughter, sleep and meditation steal the day away.

Their sad and cruel history spikes my curiosity, their anguish in poverty, sex trade, animal crisis and war both breaks my heart and allures me in further, desperate to help shape a better future.

The absolute rugged, untouched, almost un-noticed beauty of the land, the dusty orange roads, wild roadsides, chaotic streets, uninhabited waterfalls and of course ecstasy of glorious beaches and islands.

The long hot days, heat haze; the way the sweat falls down your chest, the breeze rushing across your face on a motorcycle ride. The down pours of monsoon rain; how luke-warm flood waters spiral around your ankles threatening to steal away your jandals as you run down the street, the way the air smells just as the rain hit the dry ground. How it gives you a small but gorgeous moment of chill from the heat.

Here, there is pain, love, adventure, curiosity, uncertainty and outright horrific displays of human kind. But isn’t that in every country? Every culture?

I’m going back to Asia early next year, for my third visit in four years, and I cant wait to be all there, not to travel, or be a tourist, just to go back to a few of my favourite spots and revel in the magic. And already I am planning another longer stint at the end of next year to volunteer a while, give a little back again, learn deeper, love deeper and discover, deeper, what it is about this place that make me yern so.

For now, I guess, I will stare at the pictures, smile and say thanks. Continue to travel the rest of the world, and love that too, but know deep down, secretly, Asia and I already have some unfinished business…