Have returned to England 10 days early.
2 days ago, when leaving Nepal, my attempt to go to Malaysia, via India, to serve in the vipassana centre, failed spectacularly. After a very long day, I decided I'd had enough of fighting the systems and came back to the company of friends.
A list of things that have gone wrong in the last 2 days for your amusement:
1. Air India refuse to let me onboard because no transit visa.
2. Visa office refuse me visa because dates on ticket not changed.
3. Try to change dates on ticket- all internet connections are down.
4. Get connected but Air Asia have never heard of me.
5. Time running out quickly go to Air India to change other tickets- will cost me an arm and a leg.
6. No longer having time to get Indian visa and with Nepali visa due to run out the next day, am forced to buy a new ticket to UK. This costs A LOT...
7. Three ATMS in a row stop working on me.
8. Get out half the cash then daily limit kicks in.
9. Try to call bank- takes 20 minutes to connect on a pre-historic contraption balanced precariously on a sloping shelf half the size of said phone. This causes the phone to nearly fall onto the floor every time you try to punch numbers into it.
10. Bank assure me all will be well...Takes another 3 hours to manage payment which was mainly made possible by the kindness of the travel agent.
Get ticket. Definitely don't allow self to relax.
Next day- get on both planes- no delays, no screaming children. Arrive in London half an hour early, speed through passport control. Wait an hour at luggage carousel...
11. No bag. No clothes. No toothbrush even. Nada.
But all this has failed to stir even a tiny amount of anger in me. Very little worry or anxiety. Almost no stress. And have managed on several occasions to laugh about it.
Meditation- it really really rocks!
