A Journey To Amritsar

Amritsar, India

And now, the road trip is over. We covered twenty states, three provinces, and nearly nine thousand kilometres. We’re currently in my hometown, where I’ll stay for a few months. Although I’m now in the coldest city in Canada at the very beginning of winter, I think it will be beneficial for me to stay in one place for longer than a few weeks; since last September I have been steadily moving, visiting eighteen countries and countless cities. I can’t even imagine how many different hotel beds and friends’ guest rooms I’ve slept in, how many restaurants I’ve tried, how many hours I spent looking out the windows of a train or bus or airplane. It’s been an exhilarating thirteen months, but it’s time to slow down, time to study, work, and settle. I will also be able to spend much more time on this blog, which I haven’t had time to do recently.

While I was in India, I made the decision to purchase a small house in my hometown – it was a great deal and I know that it will be an important asset down the line. It also means that I have this house to live in for the next few months, so we’ve spent the last week building furniture, raking leaves, cooking, and decorating, trying to make this place a home. It finally feels like one, one filled with Indian tapestries, Burmese Buddhas, Indonesian masks, and oodles of books. Opening all the boxes I sent home over the past year has been so much fun, and it reminds me of all the amazing times I had, all the markets I shopped in and the shopkeepers I bartered with. When I think of markets, I immediately think of India, of streets filled with shops selling anything and everything you would want: bangles, spices, saris, tapestries, paintings, silver, cameras, books, and more. I miss those markets, and I can’t wait for the day when I can return to India, ready once again with an open mind (and an open wallet).