Under the Stars

For the past couple of nights we have shunned the bedroom in favour of a makeshift bed on the deck facing out to sea.

Sunrise over our 'bedroom'

The weather overnight has recently been calm and temperate enough to sleep outside under the stars with only a thin sheet for cover. It is such a joy to fall asleep to the sound of the lapping waves and wake up to the light of the new day shining directly on us.

K promised to make my favourite dish this morning, but to make it extra special - a 'royal' pad thai, if you will.

Royal pad thai

'Royal' in this case meant taking the dish beyond its humble noodles and bean sprouts base, and making it rich with egg, tofu, mushrooms, cashews, and peanuts. A breakfast fit for a king.

The weather is still a little changeable and a shower gusted in this afternoon, causing us to retreat indoors and batten down the hatches. This gave us the excuse we needed to plan the next stages of our trip. This is a necessary evil, as I would rather be doing something here and now than be thinking about what I might be doing in several weeks' or months' time.

In his book The Art of Travel, Alain de Botton writes that people tend to enjoy the before and after of travel, as we often do not imagine or remember the humdrum activities that make up the bulk of the trip. The highlights that intersperse the everyday are what capture our imagination before the event and survive for the retelling afterwards. As someone with an outlook on things that tends to the pessimistic, I would add to de Botton's observations that I find I enjoy the trip more in the doing than in the planning.

Before leaping into the unknown, my mind conjures up all the ways in which things could go wrong; it points out to me the decisions I will live to regret, and the exorbitant costs that I will have to bear for the privilege of not enjoying myself. This gets me down, almost to the extent of calling the whole thing off and remaining in comfortable status quo. In fact, were it not for the irrepressible optimism and driving force of my wife, K, we certainly wouldn't be travelling round the world as we are doing.

However, having embarked on the journey as planned (be it this trip or any other), my mind settles down for the ride and observes that things aren't nearly as terrible as it had foretold. The journey is easier, the people and places friendlier, and the costs are justifiable given the experiences we are having. My mind is there to stop me from making mistakes, but it often gets in the way of enjoying itself. I certainly wouldn't be sleeping under the stars if I had listened to its naysaying.

Dinner was again, at K's request, garlic-pepper tofu with morning glory.