Can you believe it’s September already? The schools have started back and so have we………leaving the glorious summer behind us as we step forwards into Autumn.
Most of you are aware that I did a rather amazing train trip during my summer break, a journey from Moscow to Beijing, spending many days/nights on the train and I wanted to share a few of my observations with you.
I (like most of us, I suspect) was desperately tired, drained by the busy-ness of my life and soooooo in need of a change of scenery. This trip came around so fast (due to the busy-ness of my life), so that it was a last minute packing of the backpacks and we set off on our 19 day adventure. We flew into Moscow and spent a few days there – beautiful, bustling, friendly, fascinating city and people and exceptionally clean – not sure what I was expecting but it far exceeded my expectations.
Onwards and onto the Trans-Siberian for 4.5 days on the train. Once I’d settled into my new environment (compact and bijou) and come to terms with the loo, then all was good. 4.5 days of chilling, reading, looking, snoozing, relaxing, talking, crosswords, laughing, reading more, reading novels(!), writing, meeting new people, sleeping in bunks, drinking tea, reading more………it was bliss! Time to decompress, slowly, easily and in my time – time to just BE.
Let’s be really clear here, this was not a luxury trip, we brought food from the supermarket to take with us (food onboard the train was somewhat dodgy) and popped off the train to buy food from the stalls at the station – quite an experience as the train just leaves, no tooting, no announcements, when the time is up it just goes…and if we are running late it doesn’t stay for the allotted time, it leaves early. So, no loitering, a quick dash off for supplies and back to the safety of our compartment!
Next Siberia – beautiful! Trekking around the Lake Baikal area, meeting such interesting people, learning so much about their culture, their lives, their concerns – just great.
Back on the train to Mongolia, now this really did blow me away. I fell in love with the vast rolling hills that go on forever, the herds of wild horses, their history, the people, the empty spaces, the way they live, their beliefs and staying in a Ger with cows wandering around was pretty special. A humbling and enjoyable experience.
Back on the train to Beijing – well what can I say……it felt bonkers! It was hectic, busy, smoggy, packed, hot, humid, noisy, soooo many people, a strange mix of familiar and unfamiliar. Interesting and I’m glad I’ve been, but not a place I personally would want to go to again.
For me, this trip reaffirmed to me that I love exploring this wonderful world we live in, I found the history of the places I visited fascinating and being married to a history buff my knowledge is expanding daily, I also loved connecting with so many different people, talking with them and learning about the things they care about.
It reaffirmed to me that we are ALL the same, we have the same needs, the same fears, the same hopes – we are just ONE.
My non-negotiables Explore, Expand and Engage are at the essence of who I am, it’s what drives me to do more, live my life to the fullest, to be the best I can………but, I also know I am an Introvert at heart, I love my space, my time, huge vast open spaces without anyone else in sight. I know that I recharge by being by myself or with my hubby, or just one person that I love, and how important it is for me to do that so that I can then share the best of me with YOU.
This trip delivered just the right mix of Introvert time, culture, history, fun and unfamiliar – I came back ready to embrace this new year at Balance, to continue to bring different events for us all to enjoy and to grow our little community of like minded people 🙂
I’d love to interact more, to step out of our busy ness and have time to discuss, to explore, expand and grow our thinking, to share ideas, thoughts, inspiration – the 3 E’s group will be meeting at Balance on a Friday morning once a month or once every 4-6 weeks – who wants to join me?
Email me if you’re in and I’ll finalise the date.
Coffee morning coming up – how does OCTOBER 13th sound? Again drop me a quick email if it works for you and I’ll get it organised 🙂