More Updates from the Retirement Hobo

My friend the Retirement Hobo sent me this email from Asia and he wanted me to share it with you all. For more of his writing, check out his blog, and this post about a magical mountain. One day soon I will retire. For now, I can only enjoy my friend’s travels vicariously through his writing.

Quick “whats happening” update, then elaborate and pointless commentary in 5…4…3…2…

Since Bali, I’ve been bouncing around from Java to Lombok to Nusa Tenaggra, to Bali, to Java. These are all islands in Indonesia with their own culture and beauty and I was able to do many cool things and meet many cool folks.

Some points of interest include walking through the valley of the shadow of death to stare into a live volcano, surfing the crazy waves of Bali, going mano-a-komodo with a dragon, learning the ropes to breathe underwater and becoming a certified diver then having my first independent dive turn into a search-and-rescue mission. I am currently in a cute Java suburb of starfruit trees, green mountains, while teaching English to a local school. I leave for Singapore tomorrow, much to the chagrin of many lovable 10 year old kids.

Love works in funny ways. When seeking love, you look so hard that you seem to almost deceive yourself into falling for anyone. But then one day it happens. You just fall and you fall hard and it moves so quickly and works so beautifully you don’t have time to sit back and think about how it happened and take it all in.

I haven’t fallen in love, but that is how I imagine it to work. But I have taken to diving in a similar manner. The moment I stepped into the ocean water, I knew I loved her. When my tank ran out of air, it tore me up to leave her. When I got a new tank, I was jumping as fast as I can into the water to see her. And when I was with her, it was so much and so much more. It was beauty that I did not know existed, and it was always changing. Every time I think I scratched the surface to unraveling her, a new world of discovery opens up. Every moment was excitement, looking at her, around her, and in her. Is this not love?

I am a traveler at heart. Traveling is leaving a piece of your soul wherever you go. It is experiencing new things at a break-neck pace. At least thats what I think, I think. That is why diving is so amazing for us travelers. Most of our blue planet is covered with ocean. Most of the ocean is untouched and unknown to humans. There are new things and soul-receptories at every meter and every liter of the ocean.

When I breathed for the first time underwater, I was stepping onto a new planet, I was becoming a new species. And by doing so, a million curious eyes turned to me and said, “Hello, mister!” Clown fish looked up from their oceanic vegetation and did their “Finding Nemo” impression. Giant Turtles majestically soared above my head. Schools of Napoleon wrasses, the size of my torso swam in circles around me. Sharks zigzag around darting back and forth, making my heart skip a beat. Even an octopus decided to wriggle around on the floor and change colors before my very eyes. Schools of tiny fish swam in perfect synchronization. Seahorses jumped around. Tunas that could feed an army of sushi enthusiasts. Titan Trigger Fish, Stonefish, Lionfish, Scorpion fish, Bumphead Parrotfish. And the colors, just so many colors.

It’s just a different world. On land, humankind is at its apex. We’re basically reduced to two levels in the food chain: hairless apes, and everyone else. It’s a thrill to see one wild animal, even if we have to search for days. On the ocean floor, every species seem to be dealt a new hand. Everyone is equal, and we swim side by side along the coral reefs. I just cannot emphasize how teeming with life the ocean is. And the landscape of reefs, sandy dunes, ship wrecks, overgrown with underwater flower, seaweed forests hazed over by shimmering currents in the water - wow. Land just sucks in comparison. Oh, why am I forced to breathe oxygen?

Just about everything fits so well. When you are underwater, it is a relaxing venture - in fact overexertion causes you to lose oxygen. You’re required to relax! And then eating a lunch of fresh seafood that we bought in a boat-to-boat fisherman exchange, discussing what you saw - what a perfect complement to a dive day. Divers who meet other divers are instant friends. It only makes sense. You are required to dive with a buddy for safety. So, diving forces you to relax and make a new friend. I cannot think of what else actually forces you to do such a thing.

The ocean is sweet. You are looking not just to the left and right of you but above and below you. It seems like you are flying like Superman over an underwater Metropolis. There’s just nothing wrong with it at all. Except that it’s so damn expensive and you risk getting lost at sea fighting off sharks and Komodo Dragons.

The End, until my next update.

Share This

Related Posts