Where I lay my head is home....

Ever wondered as to what it takes to be a satisfied nomad, moving from place to place. With no destination in mind. With no plans of arriving. Just traveling. Soaking in the sights and the sounds of the place. Calling it a day and camping, when/ where one sees fit. No plan of record. No tracking to actuals. No commitments. Pure unadulterated freedom.

Well, we did see more than a few of them roaming around unrestrained during our journey on the Annapurna circuit.

In the terai region, a British couple around 60 years or so, without a porter traveling up and down, decided that they had walked enough for the day, and that it was time to relax with a couple of cups of good milk tea. The husband actually pooh-poohed my aim of walking up 10 kms more, stating as only the British can in their inimitable style, "rather optimistic, don't you think?" Contentment doesn't get any better than this. No schedule to maintain. No imminent flight to catch. Travel at leisure. For pleasure. At one's own pace.

Well, further along, we found a very nice waterfall around Tal, where a couple of middle aged European women, decided to camp. Spontaneous decision. Now and here. Nothing else matters.
Where I will be tomorrow, will be decided tomorrow.

Further along, we found a Britisher whose ancestors had migrated from Ludhiana, who said that he had quit his job at KPMG, where he was working in their IT department, and had decided to take a break and do a two year sojourn. All he was carrying with him was a diary, where he was making copious notes. Said that he had come to Ludhiana, where one of his friends had recommended that he head to Nepal. That he came to Nepal and had spent a whole week in Pokhra in the hope of meeting up with some suitable fellow trekkers, but that all he had ended up doing was getting drunk night after night. That he eventually decided to go to a trekking company to embark on the journey, even if it meant that he'd have to do it by himself. But that he had found another British couple through that company, who were interested in doing that trek. Anyways, the rambling aside, our man said that he had given himself two months to look up Nepal, but that he'd be relying on word of mouth recommendations from trusted friends to lead him to the next place. And that before his two years ran out, his plan was to hit the United States of America, buy a second hand car and drive from coast to coast, before selling the car again. Quite an open ended plan, with enough slack and unknowns over there to allow multiple endings.

Finally, on our way from Muktinath to Jomsom, we found a couple from Australia, who had recently retired, and who had on a whim walked all the way from Jomsom to Kagbeni, because they had heard about the place being beautiful.... A time to run. A time to hide. A time to stay. A time to fight. A time to go where your heart leads you to.....