Circumnavigating the World: Part 2- Asia and Europe

Sunset view from Ibiza- Spain

The Magellans and Vasco da Gamas of the the world sailed from Europe to Asia in search of new lands, experiences and spices. Complementing their effort I tried to set sail from Asia to Europe.Not literally sailing! But just like the magnetic compass used by sailors, I used my mental compass which directed towards countries to satiate the exploration hunger.

Continent No: 3- Asia

Well even though I was born in the magnificent country of India in Asia, it came as a pleasant surprise to me to find out in my readings that we Indians were a part of Australia millions of years ago. No wonder the affinity to Australia in my visit was palpable. I believe the 16-18th century was dominated by Europeans through colonization and sailing, 19th and 20th century by the Americans with technology and free market economy ideologies, the 21st century shall be dominated by the Asians. Two most populated countries in the world-India and China are on the verge of immense break through. Manufacturing excellence and unparalleled skilled talent is the backbone of this progress. However, I am not going to be elaborating on any of these countries. 

Immigrants: Architects of building UAE
image: Business insider

But I would like to highlight the spirit of the Asian people in my visits to UAE, Qatar and Maldives. I had the opportunity to visit UAE twice in 2019. The population of UAE is close to 9 million and 90% are immigrants from countries like India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Egypt and many more. These immigrants are the building blocks of this beautiful nation. The omnipresent nationalist attitude is not present in UAE. The country has been very vocal about the contribution of different nationalities in erecting this nation. The doctors I met were Indians, Pakistanis, Egyptians; the non-Indian medical reps from Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan; taxi drivers from Nepal and Bangladesh. The hatred towards immigrants in other developed countries can be diluted with the example of UAE. Trevor Noah (a famous South African comedian), in one of his comedy shows, stated that definition of migration depends on the time bracket that people migrated. If you trace human history, we all originated in Africa. In the many years after that we all migrated to different part of the world in search of better resources or better life conditions. In simple words, we are not original people of the land just visitors depending on the passage of time. Blaming the migrants for the dilution of values in a country is ridiculous. On the other hand, we have UAE which epitomizes the true value of migration in its growth story.

Clockwise from left: the might Burj Khalifa, The souq (market place) and the delicious Middle Eastern cuisine

The living in UAE is a benchmark for luxury. Whether it’s the Burj Khalifa towering so high that it could stiffen your neck muscles or the opulence of the Dubai Mall or the Dubai Gold Souq (the mecca of gold shopping), luxury and pomp are synonyms to life in Dubai. However, don’t be mistaken by this splendid display of posh and larger than life vibe of the city. Let’s rewind to times before the 1950s and life was tough in the Emirates. As explained in this book “From Rags to Riches’ by Mohammed Al Fahim, the author explains the wretched conditions in which the people in the emirates lived before the Oil revolution. The main source of income for them was picking up pearls from the ocean. And believe you me, this was far from easy. Without oxygen masks, with extreme temperatures and with salinity of the ocean water, the divers had an extremely tough time diving 50-60 times in a day in search of that one solitary pearl. The pay was not great and people led an impoverished life. No access to hospitals. What a turnaround of things have the people of the Emirates achieved. Yes! the oil revolution helped. Without the channeling of efforts into the right direction and with the right intent, nothing is possible and UAE has achieved this with unflinching success. This story gives me hope that things could change with the right attitude and right opportunities. 

The majestic Sheikh Khalifa mosque- Abu Dhabi

On a personal front, it gave me the opportunity to meet a very good friend and my brother. Meeting your friends and family in a different country and different setting adds depth to your relationship. I also got the opportunity to visit the majestic Sheikh Khalifa mosque. What a structure and what an atmosphere to be in. The multitude levels of serenity and mammoth structure engulfs you in a sphere of peace. The delicate carvings and the fluid fountains instill a sense of refreshment from the black and white struggles of life. This visit came after a hectic day of working in the field and the fatigue of previous day travel from India. Yet the senses rejoiced at the spectacle.  

Opportunity to meet my brother and a great friend in another country

My journey from Asia to Europe was to a country which dominated Travel for a good amount of the past millennia. Sailing was in their genes and they fulfilled their prophecy of exploring the world. Its none other then Spain!! Well there was also an ulterior lifelong motive of emulating things from movies and that's exactly what I did. 

Continent No. 4- Europe 

In the veins of every Indian runs the blood of Bollywood and Cricket. I am no different. There are some movies which inspire you, some entertain you and some inspire you to go through some experiences which will be etched in book of your life. The movie that I am talking about is ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ – literal translation ‘You won’t get your life back’. It’s the story of 3 friends who go to Spain with different mindsets and undergo some life changing experiences which alters the course of their respective lives. My brother and I emulated the journey that the 3 protagonists took in the movie. This visit to Spain in 2018 was more self-discovery than anything else. Stretching the limit of imagination and thinking and coming across myriad experiences which evolve your thinking and perspective of life. Even though I have elaborated in another blog about my Scuba diving and Sky diving experiences. (Link: https://tushary88.blogspot.com/2019/04/dive-into-obscuritysevilla.html )

Our sky diving inspiration: Bollywood- "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara"

I just wanted to punctuate some lines from that experience which made it a once in a lifetime experience for me at the sky diving experience: 

  “Moments before you take leap into something, you remember various aspects of your life. Good, Bad, Ugly, Great and even random events fill the visions. We subconsciously make a lot of balloon shapes for various events from our lives and live on the periphery of those balloons with our decision making and perspective of looking at things. But all these shapes in the mind get obscure when you look at the world from 15000 feet above sea level. Those shapes of repressed memories look so small like the flora and fauna 15k feet below. And you just concentrate on the basic thing like breathing. You can hear your heart pound in the chest, Lungs dilated to the maximum to absorb more oxygen and the brain freeze. All peripheral things like education, jobs, responsibilities, etc hide into some corner of your brain. The only thing right now that is at peak is your adrenaline level and heartbeat. T-2 seconds to jump and above are the feelings that crowd into your mind. 

The run way starts looking like a thin grey strip and eventually disappears. Like I mentioned in the first paragraph, all your peripheral things take a back seat. Its just you and gravity. You realise your breathing, you realise your individuality as a human and you realise your living in that moment. Memories evaporate and the electrons of anxiety start moving around your body like electricity. We reach 15k feet and the person opens the door. Oh my god!! This is harder than I imagined. There is gravity, wind, height and the possibility of annihilation of every thought. One by one divers start jumping out. In the process, body stops producing Saliva in the mouth and produces panic in the mind. I finally take the leap and jump. The first 2-3 seconds are blank. You get sucked into this abyss of the earth’s gravity. The pull is so strong that your mind just cannot register anything for the first 2-3 seconds. After the 5th second you feel alive. Mouth opens and you scream. Air is going in your ears and mouth. You are being blown away. I try to scream but voice fails me. The wind is slapping my cheeks and creating ripples. Mind has shut itself from thinking and now its just reacting to the chain of events. 

The view is breath taking. The rays of sun at the horizontal and the yellow and green field in the vertical vision. I don’t even know whether I am breathing or not. All the panic and anxiety is not dissolving and going away. You feel free from bondages of life and live the moment that is right now I start crying. Its not tears of sorrow or happiness. It is the realization of yourself. The instructor pulls the button and the parachute opens up. There is a sharp jolt to reality and I start sensing the world around me. The speed has reduced which gives me time to look objectively at things below me. It’s a wonderful day and the fields are getting clearer. The entire horizon seems infinite yet is gives a feeling of affection and stability. I smile endlessly. Its my victory over my panic. Its my victory over my Over Analysing brain. Its my victory over myself. As we reach the ground, the landing is on the bum. It does not pain. In fact I am ecstatic. 

Scuba diving experience in Costa Brava in Spain : (L): The bollywood movie inspiration (R): My attempt

 

What I learnt in Spain was another version of myself. It also taught me not to take life as seriously as we usually do. We cling onto our mind made path of success and cease to live for ourselves. Even though we are free citizens, we are imprisoned by our minds to unrealistic expectations that suck the beauty that is ‘life’. We tend to over analyze our shortcomings and live in a bubble of our hopelessness that we forget the so many joys of life. That’s the biggest realization I had in Spain. The stubborn 30-year-old mind will not change so easily but there is light at the end of the tunnel. The sky diving experience, the beauty of Ibiza and Formentera islands, the care-free life of the people, the pleasure of driving a Mini Cooper on the NFS like roads in Spain and the sheer positivity in the air of Barcelona and Madrid force you to re-think your approach to life. Link to my Barcelona experience: https://tushary88.blogspot.com/2020/04/barcelona-trip-best-trip-everpart-1.html

Clockwise from top left: En route to Montjuic Hill in Barcelona, Sunset in Ibiza, Catedral de Sevilla  and our awesome Mini Cooper

The journey to Spain was that of self discovery, self reflection and reminding oneself to be more carefree and enjoy the bounties of life!!:)

 Even though Turkey is a bridge between Asia and Europe, the history of the place is mind boggling. And it would be unfair to not write another detailed blog on this beautiful country. For now let the essence of Espana linger a little longer. 

Going from one Spanish speaking country to another in South America, I will take a pause here and meet you in my next blog on South America and North America travels. Till then stay safe and travel responsibly!! Vamos!!!