Finer things
Trip Start
Feb 25, 2006
1
138
148
Trip End
Jun 24, 2009
Hong Kong,
China
Sunday, December 7, 2008
These past few years have been incredible. I've been living the life that I imagine many people dream about and others have nightmares about. I've been able to amble about the world to many of my favorite places and see things that most people will never ever get an opportunity to see in their lifetime. I've been able to search out and find my kind of paradise and have been able to go back for 2nds and 3rds even, in the places that I love so well. I've met great people along the way and been able to catch up with old friends and family that have wandered out this way for a bit of an escape from the rat race I left behind. For this pleasure, I know that I am and have been spending my future. Who was it that said, "live in the now" or something to the effect of "enjoy each moment as if it were your last"? I'm not sure that even they meant it as literally as I have been interpreting it. The price of this sojourn also includes many hidden costs that many hold so dear. The creature comforts that we've grown accustomed to do not avail themselves to me on a regular basis. And most of the time, I don't even think about the finer things in life that I have just learned to do without in the Taoist minimalist sort of life that I've adapted. I own practically nothing but the the 20Kgs on my back. I'll be shedding about 5Kgs next week as I have too many things with me now. 15 Kg is the maximum limit for check in luggage on discount air carriers which haul me all over Australasia and now even London.
There have only been a couple points on this trip that I can remember that have made me think twice about what I have been doing with some kind of restless unease, times that I start to question the wisdom of my meandering ways. I think the first time was about 9 months into my travels when I visited Brian and Antonia in their room at the Grand Hyatt in Bangkok. It reminded me of home, the Marriott in Oakland, and a different life living out of hotel rooms. When I saw the shower, I knew I had to have one. As the first drops of scalding hot water hit my body with actual pressure from the rainfall shower head, I started to miss the finer things in life. It was as if a weight, actually 5 pounds of dirt, had been finally lifted from me and I could see clearly again. I know that it's wrong, but just for a second, I couldn't help but think how great it would be to be able to afford to stay in that kind of luxury all the time instead of the 150 Baht specials that I stay in most of the time. For that one moment as I stepped out of the magical shower and dried myself with a thick 100% cotton towel, I longed to always be that clean again instead of living in the "land of the unwashed". I seriously wonder sometimes if people really just can't smell themselves.
A long time passed in between the Grand Hyatt and the second time, but strangely enough it was again with Antonia, but this time in Sydney. She must be doing something right. We were with her fiancée, Peter, driving to the harbour bridge in his beautiful 911 convertible. I can't remember the last time I was in a car that went as soon as you wanted it to go and quickly. As I felt the acceleration throw me into the back of the seat and the wind rushing through my "hair", I once again felt a nagging feeling rise up in me saying that I should be doing something towards getting one of these babies for myself. Why are material possessions so damn tempting? It didn't help that we were in a 911 as it has been my dream car ever since I was a poor black child in Southern Alabama. I actually had a chance just before my first trip to Asia to buy one at a deep discount from a cousin that worked in the repo business, but fortunately, I chose wisely to blow my severance package from PG&E walking the earth seeking adventure instead. We had a great day wandering around taking in the sights, sounds, smells and delicacies Sydney has to offer. I found myself thinking just for a moment how different things could be if I had continued consulting, started my own firm, bought my dream car, got a nice pad overlooking the water and found a beautiful fiancée. That last part snapped me out of it really quickly though. Whew! :-)
The last time was just last night (story written in Dec 08) as we were sitting in a fine restaurant on the top floor of Langham Place Mall in Hong Kong. I was with my parents and a couple of my dad's old friends from high school. Michael brought 2 bottles of Italian wine with him from his private collection. Sitting there in the dimly lit atmosphere surrounded by rich linen table cloths, a napkin laid across my lap, the best Chinese food in the world, proper red wine glasses and the first bottle of wine I have truly enjoyed from the first inhalation to the last swallow swirling over my tongue in many years, almost brought a tear to my eyes. I had just been talking about how much I missed a fine bottle of wine and how you can't get a decent bottle in China. I tried to drink a glass of South African wine with a couple S. Africans, but it was so horrible I couldn't manage to take more than a couple sips. Hopefully they didn't take too much offence. But in reality, even if I had all the money in the world I couldn't see spending thousands of dollars on a bottle of wine. The most expensive bottle I own was $75. If anyone has a subscription to wine.com or the like that can look up how well a 1997 bottle of Silver Oak from Alexander Valley is aging I would greatly appreciate it. I have saved a bottle of it from that different time and I wouldn't want it to go to waste by aging it too long.
I'm not sure there is a point to this entry. Maybe because I am noticing and missing the finer things in life more these days, something is trying to tell me that I should move on to something different than living in my kind of paradise. Or maybe that my ideals of paradise are changing to include air conditioning, flushing toilets, soft pillow top mattresses, fine wines, fast cars and hot... showers. Nah! I'm off to my bamboo beach front bungalows on the islands, I'll write more when I get back.
Comments
That Silver Oak
Seems to have a reasonable percentage of people say that is time to open it, http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3548. Not a majority yet, though some of these reviews are from two years ago.