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Alex in motion

A journal of curiousity & travel
February 14, 2016

Agra

Agra is a smaller city compared to Delhi (and let’s admit it, most cities are smaller), and didn’t have nearly as many tourist attractions. However, it does have the most impressive structure I have ever seen, the Taj Mahal.

Listed as one of the new seven wonders of the world, erected by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as his wife’s tomb, the majestic main structure and 4 towers were breathtaking. Built using the hardest marble in the world, masons sculpted exquisite details into every slab. 35 types of precious and semi-precious gems were embedded alongside streams of black marble and limestone. 60,000 to 130,000 daily visitors come to the Taj Mahal, making it a very hectic place. We had VIP tickets, which skipped the line that wrapped around the building.

Locals kept asking to take pictures with Selma and myself, which is apparently a sign of good luck. Selma had to politely refuse multiple times while I wanted to charge them 🙂

The emperor that built the Taj Mahal wanted to construct a second one in black marble, on the other side of the river. His son thought this was madness and placed his father under house arrest in the Agra Fort, a majestic fort of red sandstone on the banks of the Yamuna river. From the emperor’s balcony, he could see and admire his first creation.

In order to preserve the Taj Mahal for as long as possible by reducing pollution, no industrial machines of any kind are allowed for many kilometers. This means everything produced in Agra is manual and handcrafted. We visited a shop where they engraved gemstones into marble and another where they made handmade carpets. Impressive workmanship!

February 12, 2016

Mauritius

I quickly realized that Mauritius is mostly an island for romantic couples, vacationing families and single women looking for local Mauritius men. In addition, the ratio of men to women is probably close to 4.27:1, but that’s just a number I completely made up just now.

Nevertheless, and despite the crappy, cloudy, rainy and humid weather, I made the most of my time here. The first day was an excursion to the east side of the island, and a boat tour to a nearby island and some waterfalls. It was quite relaxing, with lovely sand, and eat lobster on the beach. I also saw a live starfish for the first time (outside of the bedroom, lol).

Scuba diving was the next event, and I ended up partnering with a retired detective from the UK, whom I met on the plane from Johannesburg. Lemme tell you, he had some really cool stories to share, especially about a huge international drug bust. An octopus was the highlight of the dive, but I was unable to capture him properly on film.

Restaurants were significantly more expensive than in South Africa, so I took the opportunity to cook most meals at home. Eating fresh fruits and veggies made me feel balanced again, even though I had no idea how to properly cook beans (yes, I didn’t soak them first, so shoot me).

To keep the healthy attitude going strong, I significantly reduced my alcohol intake and started running again. It’s been 3 months since my last run, and I really missed it. Jogging next to beach, dodging the crazy drivers, sweating like I just stepped out of a shower and then cooling off in the Indian Ocean was more than therapeutic.

One oddity I noticed is there are cemeteries right next to the ocean. My apartment was 100 meters from the beach, with a cemetery in between. Guess the dead want a view, but I cannot help but imagine that eventually real estate demands could change the island’s outlook.

Unfortunately the rain was so bad I had to cancel a scenic hike up a mountain, and swimming with the dolphins was cancelled too. A shame really, I was really looking forward to the fishies (yes, I know they are not a fishy, but I call everything a fishy. I even caught myself saying, “Here fishy, fishy” to the great white sharks in South Africa.)

Mauritius is a place I would consider returning to, but only with a significant other, and if the weather was more agreeable.

BTW, today I agreed to volunteer at a dairy and adventure ranch in Sri Lanka in a month. I’ll stay 2 weeks with a family, helping 5 hours a day, improving their website and doing general handyman activities in return for room/board and meals. Pretty cool, eh?

February 9, 2016

Taking a moment

Before leaving Montreal, my friend Stephanie told me, “Alex, don’t live your vacation through a camera lens”. Sage advice.

I’ve actually been keeping that principle in mind for most of the trip. Upon arriving at an interesting place, I try to absorb the scene first, then snap a few pictures, and then return to simple enjoyment. And I’ve actually done this even more deeply throughout my life in what I call, “taking a moment”.

To take a moment, I stop whatever I’m doing and focus on using all five senses to capture everything possible. It aligns myself to the now, and forces me to be present.

  • What can I see: paying attention to big things and little things, to people and the way they dress and their mannerisms, to the movement of the leaves blowing in the wind, the spectacular waterfall, whatever the moment deserves
  • What I can hear: the wind rustling through the leaves, the birds marking their territory by chirping, the loud car honking in traffic, the waves lapping against the coral sands, the villagers hammering nails into a new fence, the crunch of the snow on my winter boots
  • What I can feel: the warm wind blowing the hairs on my arm, the sun warming my bearded face, the sand squishing between my toes, the tender goodbye hug from a friend
  • What I can smell: the salt of the ocean, the wandering smoke from a campfire, the roadside flowers in bloom, the homemade cooking of an African village
  • What I can taste: the homemade cooking of an African village (it was so good, it deserves being mentioned twice), the sweetness of a fresh mango, the chill of my strawberry daiquiri

Capturing as much as possible with these senses allows me to live in the moment, and to savour it for a few seconds. It doesn’t take long, and it allows you to appreciate the little things. It removes worry, fear and doubt, makes you momentarily forget about the past or the future, and allows you to just be.

I’ve become so involved in this little ritual that when I see people doing the exact opposite, it annoys me slightly. For example, while at a tourists destination in Mauritius, a group of Chinese people swarmed in. They took turns taking pictures of themselves with different combinations of people, with smiles and peace fingers, and at different angles. After snapping several dozen pictures, they left suddenly, and never even looked around.

It’s such as shame they traveled all this way and didn’t see anything.

Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.
– Eckhart Tolle

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