I was a bit quiet over the last 4 weeks for a reason.
I went for a Mountain Biking Tour to Nepal.
Living in a densely populated City-Island-State like Singapore—where driving in any direction for about 30 minutes brings you to an abrupt stop in front of the water’s edge, or even worse, every minute (perceived that is) brings you to a halt in front of a traffic light—creates urges to see landscapes not dominated by man-made marvels and to drive non-stop until one’s lungs, or that occasional goat herd or Yak demand a stop.
All this can be had in Nepal’s Himalayas aka Annapurna Circuit: 
- Beautiful untouched scenery generously decorated with snow-capped mountains.
- Adventurous Jeep rides trundling over tiny rugged trails along “oh-shiiit-cliffs”.
- Friendly and helpful people.
- Relaxed and slower paced life where money does not seem to be the priority.
- Glimpses of undisturbed wildlife.
- Quality dining and back-to-basics accommodation.
- WIFI-free zones and no electricity for days = ample time for deep thoughts.
I am not saying that these are free (well, the last item on that list was).
The best things in life are hardly free.
What I want you to look at, are experiences instead of (always) material things.
Experiences full of great moments.
Like cycling or hiking through nature and taking in nature’s wonders along the way.
Like the moment when your lungs want to jump out of your mouth thanks to the thin air and the steep climbs, but you don’t allow it to.
Like the blissful moment when the kids from the Tibetan Boarding School perform an elaborate dance to thank us for our humble donations. 
Like the moment when you dig into delectable local dishes such as Dal Bhat or steaming hot Onion Soup after a long day in the saddle.
Like the satisfying moment after we planted 16 new trees to contribute our small part towards reforestation of this magnificent landscape.
Like the moments you realize how lucky we are to be able to live on this oh-so-fragile planet which rewards us with that delicate balance of hot and cold temperatures and just the right mix of gases in the air so that we can breathe comfortably (at least on sea-level that is).
Like the moments of joy when we hand over the framed portrait photos (produced on the spot by our Ms. Suet Hooi Lai) to the hardy locals who had never seen themselves in “printed form” before.
Like the moment of relief when you “survived” another boulder-sized rocky descent still unseparated from your trusted bike.
Like the moment of sheer bliss when you can snuggle up in your warm sleeping-bag when it is minus 4 degrees outside at 8 PM (there is nothing else to do).
Like the glorious moment when witnessing the sun throwing its first rays onto the snowy peaks on a brand-new day at 5 AM.
Memorable moments indeed.
I feel so grateful to have had the chance to experience and thoroughly enjoy Nepal and its hospitable people. It made me think again what experiences work best in contributing to my happiness. And all of them do meet these criteria:
- The experience brings me together with other people, fostering a sense of social connection.
- The experience makes a memorable story that I’ll enjoy retelling for years to come because of its emotional values.
- The experience is tightly linked to my sense of who I am or want to be.
- The experience provides a unique opportunity, eluding easy comparison with other available options.
Of course, these criteria might be different for each one of you. But I bet yours might not be so far off either.
For me, the conclusion is clear:
I do prefer to buy experiences over material goods by a (s)mile.
“The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.” — Lin Yutang, author
“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.” — Carl Sandburg, author
Interested to find out more about how easy and care-free it is to enjoy those experiences?
Do head over to http://www.yakru.com
They offer the highest-altitude MTB-race for the young and fit as well as a more leisurely paced and safe tour for the age-experienced like me (the oldest in our group was 72 – go, go, Uncle Tan).
Andy,
You had fun!
You the man!!!
Its good to reset our True North from time to time 😉
Nicely put, Jared.
Time for reflection is self-care. And self-care is essential. It allows us to go into the world refreshed and with priorities sorted.
If we don’t do this, we become an empty reflection of other people’s wishes.
Despite all the daily pressures, let’s not forget who we are and what we love doing in life.
Thank you for sharing your amazing discoveries and experiences. Thoroughly enjoyed reading your recounts of the event as if it was mine as I was one of the fellow explorer on this trip with you. You have summed it all up, didn’t leave anything for me to add. 😉
Why so humble, Sunil? You are not just a fellow explorer. You are the guy who made it all happen. You are the initiator, organizer, logistics expert, chef, pep-talker, and entertainer. And all of these multiple tasks performed with as little sleep as humanly ever possible.