Careerbreak Part 3: Adventure

Sabbaticals and Sarah Chowdhury are two things synonymous with travel. So ensuring a respectable amount of time to have an adventure abroad was a mandatory component of me taking a career break.

And so with a clear and cleansed mind and soul (yes the timing and order of my 3 part sabbatical was deliberate) I embarked on a small adventure, with a light, open and unobstructed heart.

Exploring the world and all it has to offer has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. When I use the word "travel" I mean: experiencing different cultures, absorbing history, tasting diverse culinary pleasures, beholding magnificent natural wonders, and participating in adventures.

Being a greedy traveller I wanted to try and experience all of these things in one trip, somewhere very different to anywhere I had been before. So very quickly I narrowed my bucket list down to South Korea and Japan. I didn't have a lot of time to do research, I knew I wanted to see as much as possible in 3 weeks, so I had to forgo my usual traveller snobbery and took the easy option of booking group tours. This meant someone else took charge of most of the logistics, taking 80% of the effort of travelling away from me, leaving me to simply make daily decisions on where I would focus my time once at a destination. For inexperienced travellers this is a great way visit foreign lands when you need the reassurance of what to see and how to get around, where to stay, and when to go. For an experienced traveller this can be a bit restrictive.

The tour I chose in South Korea was premium, and very comfortable, but their itinerary was fixed to the hour, with transport moving on from city to city several times a day. This meant I could only follow the group and had no flexibility to go off any beaten tracks. The benefit was I did absolutely no thinking whatsoever, not one decision at all, which is another kind of resting. This was fortuitous as I had actually been extremely ill the week before journeying to South Korea needing extremely strong medication, in fact the doctor had only given me permission to fly because I agreed to delay my outbound flight by 2 days. When I arrived in Seoul I was on the mend but not fit, very much still recovering, therefore being able to simply follow the group was a gift to ease me into my adventure while I regained my physical wellness. That said this meant while I loved the eclectic, fresh, "everything goes" vibe of South Korea, I did not leave feeling I really immersed myself enough in the local culture. By the end of the week, being physically myself again, I found my desire to "see" the country started to spill over and I began a modest rebellion, first I politely but confidently started splitting off from the group at the scheduled stops, walking ahead and wonder the sites my way. I then started skipping organised lunches and curated shopping destinations, in favour of mini independent explorations. These gave me my best South Korean moments, as it felt like going from staring at the goldfish bowl to jumping in. Eventually other spirited travellers joined me and I ended my trip in South Korea feeling like I experienced more of the real culture.

It was clear, Sarah needs space, time, and independence to do her own thinking, her own reflecting and her own absorption. Sarah will not simply learn by being told what to think. Therefore a tour designed to rush you through and point things out is not Sarah's idea of experiencing and seeing a country.

Highlights from these rebellions include Starfield Library with its stunning arrangement of shelves, cool and relaxed vibe for both reading and socialising. Visiting a fish market to select my fish downstairs so it could be immediately prepared and served to me for lunch upstairs. Stumbling on Halal Korean BBQ in Seoul made feel like I was enjoying the full fledged Korean experience. Walking around the incredibly vibrant, busy, fun streets of Hongdae at night made me feel like I was 17 again. While a midnight stroll down Cheonggyecheon Stream, set slightly below ground level, curated with art installations, beautiful lighting, and a perfect balanced of feeling under the city, but within the city - serene and not scary, brought a calm antithesis to a very built up town.

Don't get me wrong, the tour's rigid schedule did take me to some meaningful places like the UN Memorial Cemetery and the stunning Gwangan Bridge in Busan. However it was the freedom to roam at a destination that enabled me to not just "see" but observe, take in, experience and feel the place. Haenisa Temple based on Mount Gaya within the Forest was my favourite Korean religious site. A working Korean Seon Buddhist temple site, surrounded by nature, monks roamed busy at worship reciting scripture and chanting. There was even a cycle of drumbeating and bell toning in the temple's centre bringing every visitors' attention to a single rhythm. Home to the largest single collection of Buddhists text - 80000 engraved wooden blocks created over 700 years ago to invoke protection of Buddha from the Mongol invasions.

So... having firmly discovered how I don't like the shackles of a rigid tour schedule, off I went to Japan to join another tour! This time I joined a tour which was providing 3 star accommodation and no solo occupancy, meaning I would have to share a room with a stranger. My week in South Korea made me dread this as it felt like I was going downhill.

I turned up at the first hotel to checkin and braced myself to find out who I was sharing with, the answer was no one... whaaat?! The lord is with me, hallelujah!

The group met at a welcome meeting on the first night. Everyone without exception seemed genuinely lovely, but there were some surprises. It was immediately evident that the pre-requisite for good mobility, fitness and preparedness for quite challenging transfers as we moved cross country carrying our own luggage, had not been fully understood by some members of the group. A proportion of the group were clearly going to struggle with the cross country movement and keeping up with the daily schedule.

What's more the tour guide took me aside to say she was confused as to why myself and one other lady had been given solo rooms while the other two solo women were sharing. I explained that I had asked for solo occupancy which was declined by the tour as a rule, I then informed them that my roommate would therefore have to understand I pray 5 times a day and that includes waking up for the dawn prayer. The guide, had received that message about my prayers, but no message to confirm the solo room was arranged for me. She felt it was unfair for two of us to get solo occupancy for the duration of the trip while the other two were required to share, and asked that we swapped between sharing and solo occupancy in each city so everyone had a mix of both. Being the ever so polite Brit and feeling guilty I had not paid extra for a solo room, I agreed. In hindsight... I should have said... "I will only stay in rooms booked under my name", which I now know would have given me solo occupancy for the whole trip. But a strange sense of politeness, not wanting to be selfish or unreasonable and avoiding causing a fuss got in my way. So as the guide suggested every time we moved city we swapped which pair got solo occupancy and who shared. To my delight my roomie was lovely. By destiny's trick we were actually people who may choose to be friends, we made each other laugh, we were open with each other and there was no awkwardness. And she made no fuss of my dawn wake up alarms enabling me to pray. But of course by the end of the trip, and in particular with the size of Japan hotel rooms we agreed she and I should have put our foot down about staying in the rooms allocated to our names. Social pressure is a funny thing to still beguile you when your a middle aged adult. In so many aspects of my life I grew out of ‘fitting in” and pleasing others while remaining kind and fair, but for some reason being away from the familiar and having surrendered leadership to the tour guide, I assimilated.

But... that was where I drew the line, I wasn't going to have a repeat of South Korea, feeling I was there but not there.

Good news was this tour was designed to get you to some of the main sites and then give you free time and flexibility with what you did there and how you spent the majority of your time. That said there was absolutely a feeling of "abandoning" the group when a couple of us started wondering off to do our own things from day 1. I knew there were comments being made which I believe I got the minor end of as it was appreciated that when I was present I made a big effort to socialise. It was interesting to see how personally people could take a bunch of solo travellers going solo, making assumptions about what this means about that individual and their values. For my part, I saw myself as solo first, anyone I tagged along with on particular days, I did so with their explicit invitation and only because I was interested in participating in the same activities, but I also left them a lot of room to separate at any point and not feel obliged to entertain their new companion.

On our worst weather day me and another were both determined to hike an ancient trade trail through the forests. A up and down hill route of large smooth stone paths. This would not normally be too difficult but hours of torrential rain meant our waterproofs were soaked through, the wind and snow meant we were freezing and the stones were slippery mounts surrounded by lagoons of water. My companion was uber fit and I knew he could do this walk in 1/3 of time it would take me. So I asked him to talk me through the route he had planned, including how to get back to the hotel and I encouraged him to go ahead without me. I did not want to be responsible for a stranger having a terrible experience because I made them drag their heals, so with my blessing he trotted off and within 10mins I lost sight of him, he was so fast. I made my way amongst the ancient trees at the fastest pace I could without a) hyperventilating b) feeling like I would slip on the stones. The couple times I nearly slipped made me think through what I would do if I fell and couldn't walk, I processed in my mind who I would contact to rescue me. This included my roomie, the tour guide and of course the companion I had told to go ahead, after all he would know where to look for me.

Now it may come as a surprise that despite all the galavanting I do around the world I am actually a terrible navigator. I rely on maps, and clear milestones to refer to often, but I can't memorise even two moves ahead. So I had my phone out constantly checking the map app for where on the trail I was, how far I had left and in case I needed to abort where the best route to a road was.

What I assume was about 60 mins later, now soaked to the bone looking very sorry indeed, my phone vibrated. My athletic companion had made it to our intended milestone - an ancient tea house still serving trail wanderers today.

Him: At the tea house

Him: Look for new thatched roof on the right

Me: Okey dokey

I assumed this was merely a tip as a good place for short respite. But it was more...

Him: Have tea for you

My companion was of his freewill and without obligation, not just waiting for me but had even ordered for me, thinking of my comfort and need. And no doubt how soggy I must be given my pace and longer exposure to the elements.

30 mins later I arrived. The tea was in a cannister ready for my cup, piping hot. There was a little snack too. And I thought “this one might get promoted to ‘friend’ status for this".

The place had blankets and heaters so we decanted all our outer gear, pulled off socks and shoes and set them round the heaters to dry. We then sat for an age drying and putting the world to rights, discovering that despite coming from polarised political spectrums we had very similar values.

So like my roomie who I had already promoted to "might be a future friend" status, I, the determined solo traveller vehemently trying to stay independent of others, was now collecting mates. This theme continued like the couple we met at public bus stop, took a ferry with and enjoyed lunch together before sharing LinkedIn details. And the Jewish Palestinian student I met at a ceasefire vigil in front of Hiroshima’s Atomic Bomb Dome, who had been protesting for peace on that spot every evening since 7th Oct.

I truly believe souls some how recognise each other and therefore trying to force yourself not to be or to be friends with anyone is a hopeless endeavour. God and the universe have their own plans for how, when and where you form connections.

The wider group were a good bunch. They took particular interest in my background and beliefs. There were several dinner conversations about my experience of pilgrimage and I shared much of what I described in Careerbreak Part 2: Spirituality. I got the impression access to a Muslim face to face in a social context was rare for most of these folk so they were making the most of it, which I didn't mind at all. I only hope I represented Muslims well. And by the time we were half way through the tour they seemed to let go of their disappointment that some people were exploring individually understanding everyone has different interests and pace.

And I admit being with the group meant occasionally you get swept up to do something you would usually walk past. Our whole group opted to enjoy a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony. What I hadn't planned was to take the opportunity to try a kimono. But since everyone else was, I decided the photos would look crap if I was in jeans and jumper, so I got stuck in. And you know what? It was fun. Thanks to my travel buddies I moved beyond the cringe factor and just enjoyed myself, even posing for photos.

As for Japan... well wow. This is a place to have an adventure. A place where you could keep going back and not be bored.

One of the most hospitable nations I have ever been to (Brazil being the most). Locals were welcoming and patient. The country's history is a juxtaposition of well preserved often stunning sites without an ounce of arrogance and pride. The workmanship that went into creating the country's temples and their contents like Rengeoin (Sanjūsangen-dō) Temple's 1001 buddhas and Daishon Temple on Miyajima Island, is awe-inspiring. Likewise castles like Hijema Castle bring to life the ingenuity of ancient Japan's achitects and engineers. The simplicity of Hiroshima War Museum and Peace Park brings your focus to the tragedy and the real impact on real people, bringing more than one tear to your eyes.

The cities were tall, bold, busy organised chaos. Tokyo's shamble crossing was fun to behold and Osaka modern architecture was a feast for the eyes. The big cities were incredibly busy making the London underground's rush hour look modest, as usual us tourist created the "chaos"and the Japanese brought the "organised" to the city.

And then there was the quirky stuff like the Daiso's who raise the bar on Poundland full of fun and crazy things, meeting your needs for most things you can think of for example snacks, stationary, cosmetics and... kinky toys. There was uber fashionable thrift shops selling amazing pre-loved designer gear, there were animal cafes, of course I frequented a cat cafe and the list goes on.

And in between there was food. Food glorious food. Everywhere you go your in close proximity to great food, often street food. If it was halal I tried it. And it was delightful. Of course you can pay an arm and a leg to have fantastic sushi and sashimi in the UK, but in Japan thats just the the baseline (and it doesnt cost a fortune), but trying the local specialities like Takoyaki, Okonomiyaki, Ningyo-yaki, Dango, Tamagoyaki, Kobe Beef, and then the more famous things like Japanese Pancakes and of course Ramens. And of course there was copious green tea and it was hard to escape mochi and red bean. I was usually and always eating something. My group made it a running joke - "more food", "eating again" and so on. I do consider myself a foodie aka always eating and so the food culture of Japan was the gold dust making my entire experience sparkle.

And... my bottom was sparkling too. No matter where they came from in the world, every member of our tour group had one thing they unanimously loved about the country - the toilets. The warm seats, with remote operated bidets, including water temp and pressure controls and even the ability to play music if you don't want anyone to overhear your business. Not only did the toilets aid you being cleaner, every public loo in Japan was pristine, you would never be nervous of using them.

Above all of this, Japan's natural beauty was outstanding. Travelling between mountain towns on the Shinkansen (bullet train) gave you a chance to stare out the window and take in some phenomenal views, one train trip even gave me my best view of Mount Fuji. Sadly the day I went out to see the crater and observe the view of the volcano was the same wet day I described earlier - atrocious weather. With a fixed tour itinerary we had no flexibility to rearrange our day even though we knew well in advance that this day was the only day in the entire week with bad weather. However I was placated with other beauties around the country, whether it was natural landscape or nurtured zen gardens, you were never far from green beauty. Walking through the Bamboo Forest, I genuinely felt like this was nature’s heaven, it was magical, stunning. For me, it was the nature that kept me feeling grounded, calm and recharged. And I was lucky I got plenty of plum blossoms to see and smell and some early cherry blossom (the famous Sakura).

Upon leaving Japan I was relieved that my obsessive endeavour to fit as much as possible in, meant I walked enough to negate any weight gain from all the glorious food. More importantly I left Japan feeling my every adventure itch scratched. This adventure gave me what I was looking for and what I wasn't looking for... New friends, great cities, history, natural beauty, great food, memorable moments, some shopping, wonderful locals and the best toilets in the world.

So I came home satisfied with what every part of my careerbreak giving me more than I had anticipated. Feeling ready to spend one last week off at home with family, friends, cats and time in London town. I was ready to begin my new chapter feeling confident about who I am, the value I bestow, and open to enjoy and embrace every aspect of the future.

#Careerbreak: The End