The last hurrah

Ever since my first solo trip to Sydney during my years at university, the city has always been a kind of refuge for me. Sydney was the safe place to go on holiday, where everything was familiar, the language was the same, there were no difficulties finding my way around, and most importantly, I always had a place to stay, and friends to hang out with. It was the closest place to home that felt like home and was so appealing because it didn’t have any of the day-to-day angst and drama that is generally present in the place that we live in.

Sydney was the place I went to when I needed to get away for a short break with friends. It was the place I flew to when I couldn’t get to Israel for my favourite cousin’s wedding and couldn’t stand the thought of being at home while everyone was celebrating. After I moved to Israel, every time I came to Australia for a visit, I would always end each trip with a day or two in Sydney, a quick breather before the long journey home, a time to relax with no family obligations or community expectations. I’ve spent countless hours on the grass at Bondi Beach, wandering the city streets and chilling at circular quay.

This trip was no different, although when I planned out my time in Australia, I wasn’t consciously aware of the reasoning behind my planning. In the six weeks I spent in Australia, I ended up in Sydney twice. I flew up from Melbourne for a day, a welcome break after the intensity of my time in Melbourne, before heading out to Western Australia and flew back from Cairns to Sydney at the end of the six weeks for two days before flying home. The three full days I spent in Sydney were amazing, some of the most relaxing days I had during my entire trip. I did the hermitage walk one day, spent part of another at circular quay and the third down at the beach. I spent the rest of my time with friends, catching up with old friends and debriefing with others.

When you travel for a while, you automatically join a “club” made up of other like-minded travellers. The people in this club have generally been to the same types of places that you have, have had similar experiences, and can share and contribute to the wealth of knowledge that you accumulate when you travel. They understand the ups and downs, the highs and the lows, in a way that others who haven’t been there may not. When you meet up with fellow travellers and travel with them, even for a short time, a day, two days, a week, you gain an insight into their personalities that many others might not. Traveling brings out the best and the worst in people, and the challenges are great. That’s one of the reasons that it can be difficult to return to reality. Even if you’re surrounded by people that you love, and people who know you, sometimes they can’t truly understand what you’ve been through, no matter how much they try. Many travellers return and, even surrounded by people, can sometimes feel quite alone, especially during the adjustment period.

I was lucky that my last stop was Australia, a familiar and easy place for me to travel in. It was a great place to finish off as I didn’t have any cultural challenges to deal with, no language barriers, and none of the worries that I’d had to deal with during my time as a solo traveller in Asia. I was also lucky to have a friend and fellow traveller to lean on, my Argentinian friend Juan, who currently lives in Sydney. Juan and I met at the Vipassana course I did in Nepal at the beginning of my trip and travelled together for the better part of a month afterwards in both Nepal and India. We met up again in Laos and Vietnam and stayed in touch throughout the five months I was in Asia. I met up with Juan both times I was in Sydney. At a time when I was being challenged by my past, and reconnecting with old friends, including my oldest friend who I’d seen last at her wedding twelve years ago, it was amazing to have someone to speak to who knew me as the person I am now, in the present, and someone with whom I had shared so many of my travel experiences. For him to be there during my chill-down time in Sydney, was absolutely perfect. My time in Australia, the combination of past and present, was the perfect setting to help me prepare for re-entering the “real” world.

After six and a half months on the road I was really excited to come home. I had always planned to be away for this amount of time and no more, and had pre-booked my ticket home accordingly. There were no feelings of regret when I left Sydney to start the long journey home, it felt that I had reached the end of my trip at exactly the right time. I enjoyed every last minute I was in Australia and in the last few weeks there, my enjoyment was heightened by the anticipation of coming home. My homecoming didn’t disappoint, as I spent my first day back surrounded by my family, the one thing that I was most looking forward to. It felt like I had never left, although I know that that feeling will change as time passes. Heading into Shabbat with my family, I felt an incredible sense of peace that I hope will stay with me for a long, long time. I have enjoyed my travels and look forward to further exploration both here and abroad, but as we all know, there’s really no place like home, especially when it’s filled with the people you love.