Pink Clouds in the Sky

Every Three Weekly wrote this week, "Top half of the mast no longer necessary."

This (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianlloyd/42959310/) may be why:

Longest ten days

Ten days ago, I just arrived in McLeod Ganj - a sanctuary for buddhism, tourists and political exiles. Nick, Jo, Li'er, Bao and I spent 3 heavenly days in this small town tucked away at 2000+ M above the horizon in the Himalayas. We wined (chai-ed), dined, and hiked 1 KM up the mountains to be in the middle of clouds, waterfalls and (surprise, surprise) weed. It was the most wonderful three days of my India trip.

A day after coming back to Delhi, I was already missing McLeod Ganj. Apart of me know that one day I will return to this little shangri-la, and meet our friend Karma, who is this North Indian angel that wears a marijuana necklace and a 69 ring. We met on the bus to MG and every day thereafter. On the last, he sent us off with some artistic-looking Tibetan scarves, accompanied us to the bus station, and waited until we boarded the bus. We just knew that we would meet again.

And then we went to Agra for the International Congress. It has proven to be a little of an unpleasant surprise for me, as I very belatedly found out that my visa to India has expired. A day later, I spent a day familiarizing myself with Indian bureaucracy (perhaps similar to that of my own country's), and then took the flight to Singapore the next night. There was the Taj Mahal, meeting up with Kimberly (who reminded me of myself when I first came to India), and finally, boarding the plane and seeing the familiar SIA flight attendants who had first accompanied me to India two months ago, with a soaring fever and a bag full of paranoia. Two months later, I've lost a few kilos, gained a little wisdom, and was only too happy to enter Singapore where my IC whizzed me right through immigration.

Then there was the little surprise meeting with Nick's dad in the skytrain. He waited for me at my arrival hall but I was late in getting out. It seemed like we had known each other for a long time, and the meeting was almost surreal. He has a very amiable smile on his round face, where his eyes have a kind, twinkle just like Nick's. Where Nick's eyes have a pretencious ignorance and feined innocence (j/k), his dad's concealed more of a weathered wisdom.

I had a great time with Nick, his amazing friends, and his family. I also met up with a few good friends of mine from school. Little has changed. Singapore remains to be a stressful place for those who conform to it. And the rest just up and leave the island. The clubs and restaurants are not bad there. So it's worth the trip there any time of the year.

And now, I am back in China. Singapore seems like a distant dream. I am easily affected by my environment, especially when my parents are involved. My opinions sway and I feel that I'm at a loss.