All by myself

Inspired by all that I read and see, I dream of going on a backpacking trip all by myself across countries, across continents. While I waited to start my job, I made a small promise to myself that once I receive a few paychecks and have enough money to spend for myself, I would go on a trip alone, to some place not too far (because I still need a lot of courage), but far enough for me to feel like I am leaving familiar territory behind. Thus occurred the idea to go to Portland, a city in our neighboring state of Oregon. Everything about it seemed to beckon me – the Columbia river gorge and the many waterfalls along it, the food trucks (street food, they call it!) in downtown and the accessibility to the zoo and other parks nearby.

I put the memories of a bad day with a bad meeting where I was admonished (or so it looked and felt like) for not meeting expectations as I packed and left home for two days of solitude even when I would be surrounded by people. I am starting to think that ladies picking me up when I order a ride to the airport is a sign that everything will go well. It has happened a few times now for me to consider it a good omen. That good sign did not give me enough courage to ignore the turbulence during the flight though. The flight and our poor forsaken souls shook the entire one and a half hours and I thanked goodness that it was not any longer. I arrived at the place I was going to be staying at and tiptoed to the room I would be sharing so as not to disturb the occupants well past midnight, only to see that the girl in my room was wide awake watching something on the phone. I knew this was bound to get interesting.

I went on a tour of the waterfalls with two other ladies on Saturday, guided by a man who could not stop talking about the history behind the names of the waterfalls and about everything else associated with Portland. The most interesting fact I thought was about the bridal veil falls and the small town called bridal veil in which it is located, where they have a small post office. That office has the longest queues during wedding season every year because people believe it is good luck to have their wedding invitations sent out with the bridal veil postmark on it. One of the ladies recalled something similar about a town named Valentine in the state of Nebraska.

I had delicious lunch at one of the food trucks and went to the Oregon zoo. I could not hide my excitement as I was at a zoo after many years. I saw a polar bear and many other animals for the first time. My favorite discovery was the Mandrill, immortalized as Rafiki in lion king. I never thought that was a real animal. My amazement made way for sadness as I observed that the animals had minimal space for themselves. Seeing a giraffe in a room that looked only slightly bigger than my bathroom without a roof was depressing to say the least. Maybe I will not step into another zoo anytime soon.

I returned home feeling feverish owing to the rain. The thought-provoking conversation with my roommate that night made my stay all the more fascinating. She is a pole dancer who was there from California too, to learn from a Russian pole dancer who was there for a few days. Little did I know that pole dancing required this kind of commitment! She seemed amiable and we spoke about how we wanted similar things and had the same insecurities even though our cultures are so different. I thought it was sweet of her to make sure that I would not get offended by any of her dance videos, which did not involve any stripping, as she repeatedly mentioned. I, on the other hand was wonderstruck and quickly gave her a follow on Instagram. I always hear about culture shock, but this was more of “culture awe”. The lady who owned the house was another surprise. She is an American who follows many Hindu spiritual leaders. I patiently listened as she talked about her experiences visiting them but was rather annoyed that she assumes all of us are into religion and spirituality just like her. She even suggested temples that I should visit as that is “what I would be interested in”. I am much more than that, I thought.

I did not have any plans for the Sunday and decided to take it as it comes. I sat at the bar in a popular restaurant and treated myself to a heavy brunch. That was another perk of being alone. I visited an arboretum (I learnt the meaning once I went) and a Japanese garden. The arboretum was a nice escape into the woods and the Japanese garden was an utter disappointment, with an entry fee too.  I roamed around looking at different stalls in a Saturday market that is on both days of the weekend soon afterwards. I was intrigued that there were henna stalls urging I get it done for good luck and prosperity in life. I have enough of those already.

I happened on the waterfront park as I strayed away from the market. Here was a place I had not read about, nevertheless perfect to spend a good two hours of my time. I walked along Willamette river. Any city by the side of a river has to be beautiful. I paused, looked around and took a long breath many times as I let the good looks and the calmness of the surrounding sink in.

I went to bed early that night and flew back on Monday morning without bidding adieu to my roommate or the host. Again, a lady dropped me to the airport in the wee hours of the morning. All I had to remember were the lovely exchanges and no goodbyes. That is probably how it should be. The trip was everything I hoped for and more. I shall go back driving and explore more. It was a good start to my solo-expedition ambitions and left me pondering over others’ goodness that helps me achieve my dreams, however small or big.