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I would like to offer some comments on the city of Manado. I don't want to unfairly criticize it just because I felt stuck while working out a new game plan. But I am very happy to be leaving. For travelers it's a jumping off point for nearby world-class diving but it's far from a destination in its own right. No significant cultural or religious points of interest. Unless you wish to consider the shopping mall. In better times, the general absence of westerners would be an appreciated escape from the overly westernized feel of Bali or Bangkok. But I felt a daily need for the presence of other travelers, even if they didn't speak English. It helped me feel that I wasn't trapped at the end of the earth, alone! Of course that's perspective and perspective while abroad is really everything. It's what I came seeking. And perspective is not always immediately gained. Not sure if its a matter of time or depth of immersion or a mixture of both. Perspective to me is about gaining insight to life's drama that differs from how reality is seen back home. I have become fond of saying that answers don't always come when you want them and that sometimes you get answers to questions you weren't even (consciously) asking. Just a year and a half ago in Nepal, Marissa commented after just a few weeks of travel that she did not yet feel enlightened. My response was that these things take time and cannot be rushed, and quoted Yoda. This liberating sense often creeps in without any conscious awareness until a moment of realization that things feel different and an accompanying sense of expanded awareness. I'm not there yet. In fact far from it. It's more like basic survival mode.
Enjoying a 5 hour layover in Jakarta. I'd love some real Indonesian coffee but all I see is Starbucks.
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