Ok .. are you ready for Part 2? Well, ready or not – here we go …
I have cut out, of course, a lot of the things that went on
during that trip in 2013. Suffice to
say, it (this trip) only increased my desire and determination to move on forward. While
there were no “actual” or rather “concrete” planning of any sort (and if you
know me – you know that has always been my style – good or bad). But in the
back of my head or rather deep in my heart, perhaps not consciously .. my whole
being already started the preparation for the inevitable. The little pebble had
started to roll .. and roll .. and roll ...
Approximately a year later (well a year and a month
actually), I wanted to bring my mom to NZ to show her where I was headed. I wanted for her to see the place, to
understand the beauty I found here, and to ultimately give her blessing when
she knows I will be safe. Again –
without side tracking and talking about all the misgivings about going, the
worries and anxieties bringing her on a long trip alone with me – the end
result is, we went, visited the place, and again the journey only reinforced in
me the idea that this is indeed where I want to be.
Once more I visited two places in NZ. But this time, I left out
Auckland (since I had already mentioned I wasn’t very impressed with that
place). The destinations for 2014 were
Wellington and Queenstown. Wellington - because I thought there might be a possibility I would pursue some further
education there, and so I wanted to get a feel of the city and have a look at
the Universities. In the previous year,
I also visited University of Auckland as well as University of Otago in
Auckland.
Wellington was a pretty cool place. Like I felt it
Queenstown, it was calm and easy going.
No sense of mad rush here and there (but of course – I was on a holiday
trip, right? People living there may not agree with me). It has its own charm –
and there were quite a number of serene looking places where I saw people
chilling out – even during lunch time.
That was very calming – for me. I
also noticed there were quite a number of Asian stores in town – one in
particular that both my mom and I liked: Little Penang. Good authentic Penang food. And not too
pricey either. Didn’t get to wander and
explore much since the weather was rather chilly and very windy (that must be
why Wellington is known as “Windy Wellington”). After a few days of just
hanging out in Wellington, we moved on to Queenstown.
This is the place that really attracted me (see it wasn’t
Hobbiton after all). I wanted my mom to
experience the beauty I saw in that place. But sadly, that did not happen. She didn’t dislike the place. It just didn’t
have the same effect on her. Now looking
back, I realize – no two people are alike.
And just because I find something beautiful, it doesn’t mean others
would. And even if they did, our
experience of any one thing or event – while there may be similarity as in
appreciation etc – it will unlikely be identical. 
So – we spent more days in Queenstown and
Arrowtown, but it seemed like just another “holiday” for mom. But that didn’t damper my spirit. I still found the place gorgeous! I even
remember one morning (while mom was still asleep) going outside our apartment,
sitting on a bench that looked out to the mountain range and across Lake
Wakatipu. It was just magnificent – with
moments (brief as they were) where it felt like time really stopped – just to
allow you to catch a glimpse of the wonders that are found in between the seconds
(moments). There – we connect with the Universe and there is such peace and
calm and beauty. Even the cold wind blowing seemed to cease just for that
micro-moment.
I love this place. I truly feel so at home here. Of course,
I do not know if I will end up here – but where ever my heart brings me, I
trust it will be a place just like this. Where everything seems so calm and
peaceful. The people were wonderful –
and friendly. Every single one I met there both in 2013 and 2014 – there were
just simply: NICE.
Didn’t feel first
class, second class or any class. We were all the same. Pilgrims on a journey –
each finding our way home. No struggle to be better than the other. All willing
to take a moment to chat, to offer their thoughts, to lend a hand .. I love
this place.
Before long, it was time to return to Malaysia. We had a
stop over in Melbourne, Australia (well actually Apollo Bay, Vic) to visit my
sister enroute back to Malaysia. I won’t
get into the journey there in this writing since this is about “My Journey to New Zealand?” But I would want to mention
– Apollo Bay too is a beautiful, calm and peaceful place it would seem. Mom and I were taken to a number of beautiful
sites to visit. And while I can describe them in similar ways – but yet
something was very different. I just didn’t get the sense of “coming home”
there. I can’t explain why because it
felt peaceful too – but I guess it is just something beyond what can be seen or
described. Something much deeper that called to me (and still calls to me) in
NZ – in particular Queenstown, NZ.
This brings me to the end of Part 2. Stay tuned for more J By the way, I do not know how writers write
their novels and their stories – whether they already have a complete story
when they write? Do they know the ending when they are writing the story? I
certainly don’t know mine – as even the writing of these experiences are in
part or a part of the journey of self discovery. So, in other words – I don’t yet have the
answer to the question of Why AM I Here. I will figure it out as I go along
writing down my thoughts.
Thanks for reading and for sharing in this journey of mine.
Shalom,
Syl
No comments:
Post a Comment