A Traveler’s Nightmare
I was on the bus, in transit to my next destination. A fellow traveler was seated on the back of the bus while I was closer towards the middle. Gathering my cumbersome luggage close to me, I tried to surround myself in such a way that would make it hard to make a sudden steal. I thought about my next destination, and all of a sudden realized that I didn’t have my ticket ready. Usually, I try to place my ticket and important documents in a handy place that I can easily get to once out of transit, but my ticket, or passport, was nowhere to be found. It wasn’t a matter of not packing it, because I knew I had. It was a matter of remembering where I put it; I couldn’t find it anywhere. Frantically, I checked all my luggage zippers with no luck. The disorganization of my packing skills, and how I couldn’t seem to trust my memory, was making me panic. Suddenly, I realized I didn’t even know where I was going or what my next destination was. In the back of my head, I thought I had a flight to China to catch, but I couldn’t be too sure, and I had no luck recalling any details without an e-ticket in front of me. I looked over at my friend at the back of the bus, wishing I could just merge my trip with his, even for just a few days, but I had no room for a long layover. I had to get to my next destination, if only I knew where that was…
I awoke from the bad dream wondering if I really did have a plane to catch to China sometime soon, and had to shake it off. The truth is, I’m not a smart traveler. I don’t do all the tips and tricks they tell you to do to help pack for your trip. I don’t have a moneybelt. I don’t keep extra credit cards and money in a separate place. I don’t have a compressor. Nor do I keep myself sprayed with Deet to keep mosquitos away, or take malaria pills, or buy a year’s worth of travel insurance (with four months isolated to a monastery, I think I’ll be OK).
My hand purse is a small little thing with no fastener to close it shut. While I’m aware this can be a pick pocketer’s dream, my trick is to place the bag over my shoulder with the flap side facing my armpit. That way if anyone tries to mess with me, they have to go through my armpit first, in which case I’ll have already punched them in the face and drop kicked their nuts (or something like that).
Dream Interpretation
Kidding aside, this dream uncovered an obvious anxiousness for my next destination, and of the many unknowns that surround my life. It expressed a wanting to share my load in this journey, knowing that I have to traverse alone. It’s an unconfidence, maybe, of traveling solo. Despite adopting the “wherever the wind blows me” mindset, I still struggle, sometimes, worrying about what lays around the bend. I have no foresight, but neither does anyone else, no matter how structured and rigid you are to planning. Sometimes, I guess I just wish I was a little more organized. As willing as I am to put myself into new situations and places, I still fear the unknown. It is this fear that propels me forward.
Packing
In three days, I will be traveling to my next destination at the Zen monastery where I will be staying for four months. I won’t be entirely alone; I’ll be meeting a local girl who’s doing the program as well, at the local bus terminal. From there, we’re taking the ferry and hopping islands to our destination, where a pick-up service is already arranged for us. Not so hard, right? But the anxiousness of getting from here to there always gets me.
I won’t be taking all my stuff. We’re required to wear uniforms at the monastery (not to be confused by monk gowns, which it is not) so I will need very little change of clothes. Toiletries. Flip-flops. A book or two and my journal and pen. My laptop (don’t expect you’ll be getting rid of me so easily!). And camera.
I’ve thought about the possibility of some light traveling after my stay. Most likely, island hopping in the Philippines so the idea of a few more extra clothes shouldn’t be a bad idea. It could be a mini backpacking adventure, or I could just go directly back to my family. For some reason, the scaredy cat in me wants to pick the former.
How do you approach packing for a trip?
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8 Responses to “A Traveler’s Nightmare”
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Wow, you’re going to stay in a monastery for 4 months? I must have missed a lot from your blog. How did you sign up for that?
I’m actually quite anxious about packing for my Europe trip. It’s going to be nearly two months long and we’re going to a new city/country almost every other day so I have to travel light. Plus there are pickpockets everywhere in places like Barcelona and Rome, and especially at the hostels that we’ll be staying in. I’ve been advised to get a moneybelt as well but it feels kind of goofy to me. Maybe I will in the end. I think my strategy for packing will be to pack light clothes that I can handwash, wear over and over, and won’t look terrible if I stuff them into my luggage without folding it properly. Unfortunately, while polyester clothes are perfectly wrinkle-free, they tend not to feel great when I’m sweating in the Roman sun. So, I’m going to stick to cotton as much as possible. The biggest problem is how to narrow down the numbers of shoes I’m going to bring…
.-= SassyGirl´s last blog ..The Windy City =-.
Yes! It was such a random stroke of luck that I found the program. I didn’t realize it, but in looking back, I even wrote a bucket list before I went on my trip and one of them was “Join a zen/buddhist monastery – practice meditation”. Awesome, awesome! Basically, I was facebook stalking my traveler friend (the one I dreamt about, I guess) and he had a link to a thread he replied to on Lonely Planet with this opportunity. It’s completely FREE and I only need to pay for my transportation to and from the retreat. SO stoked!!
Good luck on your trip. It sounds a bit exhausting to me but SO fun and worth it!! Shoes would be a hard one for me as well. I’ve already bought a new pair here! Not exactly thinking about my packing to get back home.. >_<
I think that as you mentioned, this is an excellent metaphor for the way to look at life. I think one of the most valuable lessons of Zen is to “pay attention” to all the details. Any small predicament we find ourselves in can actually be indicative of a much larger one.
Reading your post today, I realized that I have many of the same fears of travelling, even it it’s just riding the bus to class and coming back home in a couple of hours. There is something terrifying about the unknown. Traveling reveals my inadequacy for planning, organizing and knowing the future. One part of me knows that I can of course not now the future, so why try? But the other part has this hope that if I try long enough, try enough things, then practice makes perfect and I can reach that enlightened state.
I feel like the answer must lie somewhere within the two. I must keep trying to reach the higher state of calm that will allow me to be comfortable in my destination, yet to get there requires so much more discomfort.
This realization is result of a lot of hard thinking and reading, most recently this article on the trials brought by attempts to grok that which is unable to be understood, http://augustturak.com/isaiah-and-the-darkness-of-god
I am so comforted and inspired by the fact that I am not the only one with these anxieties and thoughts. It sounds like going to a Zen monastery will help you figure this out, in that way I am both jealous and hopeful for you. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by!
EXCELLENT comment here! While I only briefly mentioned Zen, and didn’t really tie it in to my post, I love how you’ve tied it in here in your comment. I think you’ve got the travel metaphor correct. “Traveling reveals my inadequacy for planning, organizing and knowing the future.” I think this is exactly it! Traveling, to me, are like mini lives. It reveals my fears and anxieties and illuminates my general life fears as a whole. It’s a wonder I’m even a traveler. But it goes to show anyone can do it!
Just remember travel, life, is all in the PROCESS, not the destination. To quote one of my friends… the journey IS the destination!
First of all I haven’t traveled that much lately. But in general I get wicked stressed about traveling. I usually can’t sleep the night before and I leave way too early for the airport, bus station or wherever.
I usually start laying things out a few days before or write out a list.
But when I actually pack I just throw all my crap into a bag and go.
Your trip sounds inspiring. Enjoy.
.-= One of The Guys´s last blog ..What’s happened to creativity? =-.
ah yea i stress out too. i’d rather be way too early than late or on time..
actually when i was transferring from new delhi to philippines, i was 3 hrs early but i saw this long queue to enter the airport/clear customs that i actually bribed someone to let me in automatically as “VIP” (or he bribed me, whichever way you want to look at it haha).
My packing style stresses other people out (especially those who are travelling with me!)
I can’t stand the thought of wanting to use something after I’ve packed it, so I wait until the morning I get up for my flight. 7am flight? 6am?? No problem
.-= Lamb´s last blog ..The Chalkboard Door Is For Holiday Decorating! =-.
lol i’m more or less like you. i wait til the last possible minute and just throw a bunch of shit together.