In September 2017, I was in Kathmandu, Nepal. I had planned my trip there months before my departure from Canada, which is something quite unusual for me- I’m typically more of a spontaneous person who buys her plane tickets last minute. Anyway, my trip to Nepal was going well, but I was sad because I had met the love of my life in July (!) and I was now lonely and alone in this wonderful, but very far, Asian country. I was seriously considering abandoning my 4-month trip to Nepal, India and Sri Lanka to go back to Montreal.
On September 10, I woke up early in the morning. I was walking down the streets of Kathmandu when a man behind me said, “Miss, you are lost” – I turned around and told him “No, I’m fine, I know where I’m going”, to which he replied “No! YOU are lost”. Intrigued, I started talking to him.
This man was a Tibetan monk who had been a refugee in Nepal for a few years. He was an amazing painter too. He seemed to know things. Everything. His name was Kalsang Lama.
During 6 hours, he showed me all the temples of the city, showed me the mandalas he painted and explained his vision of life. We had tea 3 times, ate 2 times, and we walked around the busy city, gently rubbing the heads of Buddha statues. Twice, he put ashes on my forehead, “for good luck” and flowers in my hair. I kept giving him water from my bottle; he would always reply, “Thank you, miss. Water is life.”
In the afternoon, we went to meditate in a park where the abundance of nature made me forget the terrible pollution of the city. When we parted at the end of the day, he told me “You will have a happy life” and he left. I wanted to run after him and ask him how to get back to my hotel, but he was already far away. I started walking in no particular direction, confused, but stopped after only a few minutes. I was standing at the corner of the street where my hotel was. I felt good. I was not lost anymore.
That night, I finally slept well. The morning after, I woke up at peace; I knew what I had to do. I bought plane tickets. I was going home.
Bittersweet Travel Memories 