Leaving on a jetplane...

I am finally where I’ve wanted to be for more than a year now: on a flight to Australia. Sleep-deprived, tired and on the verge of a sore throat… it isn’t a very promising start. But then, perfection is never guaranteed or expected from such moments. The occurrence of such a moment is sometimes reward enough.

I realize it has been some time since I wrote anything of consequence. It has been some time since I wrote my heart out. Reasons are many. At times my growing unwillingness to share some of my turmoil is to be blamed. At other times, my laziness to share some of the opinions I wish to, is to be blamed. But most importantly, or severely, I blame the confines of my airless office cubicle for stifling and suffocating my words these days.

Which is why I plan to make good use of these 9 days away from office. I plan to write a lot. Meaningful or meaningless. That should not matter. If and when I get internet connectivity, I might or might not publish parts of my journal / travelogue. But I will write it nonetheless.

Photography will be other obsession during this holiday. I have enough compact flash memory and uploading space to go berserk with the camera. I have been foolish enough to even carry my digital point-and-shoot for the times I might decide to not lug around my heavy DSLR. And for those clubbing nights when even the point-and-shoot seems heavy, the phone camera will come handy. I told you. It will be nothing short of obsessive.

It has been an hour since we were airborne, and there are 2 things in abundance on this British Airways flight. Eye candy. And good food. The second captain’s announcements are nothing short of hilarious and I am already beginning to expect warm and friendly people in Sydney. Not to forget the friends I will be meeting there. Some of them have not seen me for more than 10 years. I am looking forward to hanging out with them. But mostly, I will be exploring the city on my own. I always enjoy doing that.

The meals will arrive any moment now, and it might be a good time to put my laptop away and go back to ‘From Heaven Lake’. Seems very fitting to read Seth’s travelogue while I am airborne. The story of his Tibet journey makes me smile for many reasons. I will talk about Tibet and travels and travelers and wanderers some other day. Suffices to say, it is an interesting tale… which will reach its conclusion at some point in life, I hope.