I’m started to feel weary on my 6th day in Nepal. The past few days was hectic. I went ahead of my schedule. I suppose to stay in the relaxing Pokhara for a couple of days but I ended up staying only 1 day over there, and another day in Patan after that. 3 days between each cities were spent on air – from Singapore to Kathmandu, and on the road – from Kathmandu to Pokhara, and from Pokhara to Patan.

I ended up falling sick in Patan, caught by a cold. I remembered bitterly how I got sick in Patan. I was bathing. The shower foams were still all over my body when the hot water at the tap suddenly stopped flowing. I tried opening the tap at the washbowl, but in vain. Imagine this – I’m naked and the temperature was 5°C. This was not a foam party! It was hell!

And now, I am in Bhaktapur, barely recovered. I am still feeling weak. My breathing got heavier, and I’m feeling some pain over my neck, my back and my legs after walking for only an hour or so. I always thought sleeping could pose a greater challenge to me when I travel abroad, as I’m a light sleeper. I usually have problem getting sleep in an unfamiliar “territory”. But I think I could be wrong. Dry and chilly weather is my No.1 threat. Here, my lips crack and my throat feels itchy and dry. At some night, I felt so cold that I shivered and sneezed all night long. Everytime I am sick, alone, physically drained and emotionally weak in a foreign land, I would start cursing myself and ask: why am I not spending my holiday in a balmy beach, where I could lie on the beach chair while sipping a glass of sangria? Am I punishing myself? Or am I just trying to be different just because I’m yearning to be different? Am I ……. am I ……., and I would slowly slip into my dreams.

But when I wake up the next day, knowing myself in a new place waiting to be explored, the answer becomes clear – I travel because I feel I need to, I want to, and I love to, no matter how tough the journey would be.

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