Meditating on the meaning of life

Well, I've gone from flaming hot f*cks in a ski town (shots of Baileys and Midori set on fire as opposed to anything more interesting I'm afraid) to ten days contemplating the purpose of life in Kopan, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery just outside Kathmandu.

It really has been an amazing experience and at times extremely challenging. I can honestly say that my perspective on my life has shifted somewhat. Being exposed to your own delusions is very uncomfortable to say the least but I am sure what I've learned will stay with me.

The rituals associated with Tibetan Buddhism were at times rather too much but I suspended my disbelief for once and I even did prayers and prostrations. Did you know that before 1959 there were around 6000 monasteries in Tibet? Such a rich spiritual life, so imaginative. If I compare it to the dour Church of Scotland and all those hard pews and mournful hymns... it's a world away. It's no wonder nobody goes anymore.

I did also realise at one point that four years ago at this time I was away with the fairies at the closing parties in Ibiza... and now there I was chanting mantras and meditating for 5 hours a day. I guess it's all about altered states of consciousness really. I even managed to stay completely silent for a day and a half. Yes, that's 36 hours. (It was supposed to be 48 but I just couldn't do it. I actually started talking to myself. You know how I love the sound of my voice.)

Struggling to cope with frantic Kathmandu after so much peace.... so having spent a fortune on fake trekking gear I'm off to the Himalayas tomorrow. Back in about 4 weeks, unless I get kidnapped by Maoist rebels.

Pics of monastic life are here. Haven't got nearly as many of the monks as I'd have liked, it seemed somewhat disrespectful to snap away at them doing their mantras. Have a look at the sunrise ones. 5.30am over the Kathmandu valley. Just beautiful.

Wanaka moments

I'm typing this in Wellington having just left Catherine; it was so great to see a London friend! Here are the pics, she looks fantastic. We've drunk loads of coffee and caught up on the last 6 months.

I wanted to capture my favourite moments from the season in Wanaka before I move on to the next chapter. It really has been great, particularly the last month as I've got to know people better and relaxed into myself a bit more. Sod travelling proper. You never get beyond the standard travel chat: "so where you from? / where you been? / where you going?" It's all very superficial. I must start working on my travel chat-up lines. Something along the lines of: "so what mess are you running away from then?" would yield much more interesting material, I'm sure.

As ever, it's people who make your world. So here's the rolecall of those people and moments.

Jane, who has been the best possible roomie ever. I knew we were going to get on just grand when we had an evening swapping stories of misbehaving madness. Jane had visions of Medusa-style snakes in her companion's hair this NY. Fantastic. We have dominated 10A for two months; only Morton the Danish hunter has got close to disturbing this domination.

Russ and Jesse for arriving like little angels sent by the universe to play with me. The best night was being hijacked by them on the way back home from yoga class and dragged to Canteen. I'd been walking along the street feeling really sad about Nathan but several Speights and bourbon shots later, I had trouble even remembering his name. Thanks boys.

Hours spent trying to impress Jonno the chef with my cooking and baking. I must have made scones about six times and he still said they were rockcakes, not scones. But they did taste good. And you should have tasted Claire's recipe for flourless chocolate cake that I made for Russ and Jesse's BBQ.

Great chairlift chat with Daisy and Leigh, top ski mates and coffee drinkers. Or tea in Leigh's case because he is just so English.

Skiing fast with Russ one sunny afternoon in the Saddle; yet again, he helped me turn my day around. There was just so much life philosophy in that afternoon. And I rocked! At least until I fell over.

Hammering Jagerbombs with sleazy Colin and holding my own in the & Bar with the kids til way past 2am one Saturday - displaying my usual mature attitude to emotional upset. Yes, booze works. At least for a few hours and possibly longer depending on the carnage you manage to create! That night was pretty mild. I must finally be maturing. Pics of pub nights and things here. On the same sort of note, trying to get a hit from 'chew' supplied by Jesse - thus proving once and for all that I am a sensation-seeking nightmare all on my own and do not require the influence of Iain Cassidy.

Lunch at the Glenorchy Cafe with Russ. Shockingly beautiful scenery, lovely food, fantastic company. A really great day; in fact I'd go as far as to say awesome! (in a cheesy American game show host accent of course.) Pics of the day trips here.

Last day in the Motatapu chutes with Nick, and realising just how much my skiing had come on in the 8 weeks. It was so still and quiet and so beautiful back there away from the lifts and the people, I felt a bit tearful when we'd got to the bottom! Here's some pics of the ski area. Amazing skiing, amazing views. Oh I love skiing. Have I said that before? Oh - another top ski moment was landing that jump off the "cliff" (aka rock) with Jon. There's video evidence of me failing to land it (of course), but not of the success. Jon was great for terrifying the living daylights out of me; all very good for my skiing!

And finally.... swimming in the lake after walking a couple of hours to this secluded beach. I was the only one there for miles. Sun shining, bits freezing, totally exhiliarating. Think this was better than swimming in the sea on the West Coast but only marginally. I've got some great pics of the scenery around Wanaka, have a look.

Another thing I've really enjoyed about Wanaka is the total absence of metrosexuals. Here, it's all about snow/ ski kit/ ski technique and maybe a bit of rugby/beer. You'd never catch this lot poncing around Selfridges on a Saturday afternoon drinking Pinot Grigio and spending shedloads of cash on Nicole Farhi jumpers. Or fretting about their 'issues' for that matter. Issue = a bad day on the hill.

I've just loved Wanaka, I've loved New Zealand and I'll be back. I've been living in a touristy resort town and hanging out with Brits, Australians and Americans, I've not really experienced New Zealand at all. I want to come back and do a road trip and some serious hiking and camping; so I'll need to find some proper outdoor mates who realise a walk is more than a half hour to the nearest gastropub for lunch.

Here are all the pics, you'll need a while but I have organised them a bit so you can peruse at leisure!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10618273@N00/collections/72157602035840437/

Skiing as life philosophy

I am constantly amazed at how much life philosophy there is in skiing. Yes, really. Quite unexpected, I thought I was just heading over here to indulge myself, but I've learnt some good life lessons. My life and who I am is reflected in my skiing. Honestly, I've not lost it (well, not any more than usual), it's true.

• Firstly, don't overthink. Just do it. Don't let your head get in the way.
  
• Secondly, it's not rocket science, it's really quite simple. It's all about staying in balance.


• Thirdly, commit. Don't stand at the top of the chute and scare yourself out of it. Go for it. And keep moving, don't hang out in the turn. Or you'll come unstuck and hit a rock.
  

I had a really sad day the other day, got a really upsetting mail and couldn't get it out of my head. It was even interfering with my skiing. (The bastard.) And just as I was feeling particularly sorry for myself, Russ came up behind me and asked if I wanted company for the afternoon; he's the instructor I've skied with the most and we've become friends. He had managed to escape the evil snow school clutches to get in some decent skiing at last. So I worked very hard to keep up with him for the afternoon, he's an old ski racer so it was quite hard (and I know he was being kind to me)....and then just at the end of the day, I took a huge fall whilst whacking unbalanced into an unseen mogul. Biggest one yet by far, I hurtled down the hill at great speed. And I got up, dusted myself down, smiled, put my skis back on and kept moving. Had a great afternoon, totally turned the whole day around. Russ told me I need to learn to self-arrest. How true!

You see? There are so many life lessons in skiing.

I don't want to leave. My time here is coming to an end all too soon as I knew it would. Here's a kea surveying the view. Keas are these cool kiwi parrots that munch everything in sight including inedible things like rubber on windscreen wipers.

Chris Burnie is a machine

I had suspected it all along but I got confirmation the other week. Hooked up with Chris and his girlfriend Chrissy the other day at Cardrona, it was so great to see a Batu Puteh face. It was Chris' first day on skis, so off he went to his lesson in the morning whilst we explored. (As best as we could as it is Cardrona after all and really boring unless you like terrain parks. I will post the pics of me jumping / falling off kickers when I get them. I am just too classy for the park. Something like that anyway.)

Chris was full of the joys at lunchtime because his instructor had told him he was close to parallel skiing. Yeah, right, thought I, they always tell you you're better than you are. But no. By the end of the afternoon Chris was skiing all over the hill. I was so impressed! So sick! Obviously it's those years as a gymnast which have given him those abs and that back. And the balls to go for it. It's so unfair. He's got a 1st in neuroscience from Cambridge too. And he's a great guy. In fact I hate him.... so I made sure to take him down some baby bumps just as he was getting really cocky. Result! As you can see above.

Life as a ski bum

Here's the view over the lake as the sun sets, it's so amazing and I still appreciate it every day. I've been here for a month now and life has settled into a nice little rhythm. But I'm really a very bad ski bum. Real ski bums are very very poor but I keep forgetting I'm not earning. I just cannot live without at least one latte a day and custom made footbeds for my ski boots.

There are however are some tricks to being a bad ski bum. Firstly, hitch up the road. Not only does it save you $25 a day, you also meet some interesting people. And I am sure being female helps hugely with the transport process. I've even been lucky enough to get an extremely nice dinner out of it, followed by mojitos and some single malt. My (now extremely grotty) puma trainers didn't quite live up to the occasion.... Even better, I skiied with an ex ski-patroller (for those not in the know, these guys are God on the mountain, way higher than instructors on the cool scale. You've got to be able to ski anything with a stretcher behind you. And you get to set off avalanche bombs.) He reckoned the only thing wrong with my skiing was too much oestregen in my body. Praise indeed. Although I wasn't quite so happy as he zipped off down this gnarly chute expecting me to follow.

I had such a great day today. Probably the best one yet. It's all just coming together and I've been working hard at it for the last few weeks so it's very gratifying. I just love skiing so much. It's different every time as the snow conditions and the terrain changes and it's all about being able to respond to that as you move and maintain your balance and technique. Along with windsurfing, it has the ability to tune me out of all the other thoughts in my head - and for the whole day too. Skiied with a guy from Lake Tahoe today, he's really good and was taking me over jumps and down some really narrow chutes.... Oh I love skiing!! Have I said that already? I'm still not bored of it. I can talk about it for hours. I've even developed a penchant for ski perving. You go into a gear shop and spend time nerding over all the kit you can't afford. IPT bindings and side cuts anyone?

My roommate is a fantastic girl called Jane who's from Sydney and is a real free spirit, unlike me who's just playing at it for a while! We swap life adventures and indulge in vicarious gossip about the gang in the hostel. She's really making my time in Wanaka, it's a real stroke of luck.

You'll also be amazed to know I've been doing loads of cooking and baking. There's a real live decent chef in our place, he normally works for Bill Grainger (some famous Ossie chef). Many an evening has been spent trying and failing to impress him with my efforts. I've always mixed it a bit too long/ not cooked the flour enough/ created too many dishes to wash up/ not thought about the presentation enough.... Richard Valle Jones, eat your heart out. It's mussels night tomorrow. (I told you, a very bad budget traveller.)

Heaven

Here I am, above the clouds. This was my first day at Treble Cone. It was marvellous. Got my bargain new gear out, skied the bumps on my first day and it was all topped off with a great lesson with Jesse from Vail. The North Americans are always the best - just so focused on you! He was also a fantastic skier, so light on his feet, I could have watched him for hours. Jesse says I'm a sandbagger. An American term for people who say they're not that great at something but actually they are.... obviously he was referring to my skiing, I told him that was actually the story of my life.

New Zealand is stunning. It really is pretty much one big national park. Which is probably why there are so many tourists - 2.4million a year to be precise. And with a population of just 4.1 million, they are truly everywhere. Getting off the beaten track isn't easy; I managed to meet some 30 something kiwis in Christchurch over a few beers and an All Blacks game, great to meet some real people and not just travellers. I'm not entirely sure I'm cut out for travelling proper; I'm too lazy to pack up every day or two and move on. I like getting the feel of somewhere and seeing the same people for a little while. And of course I need a focus! I'm actually starting to miss work now. Yes, I know.... am I mad? Never mind, skiing is the new project. Oh how tough.

Here's the view I was taking in when I got a very wasted phone call from the gang on Saturday night/ Sunday morning, celebrating Greig's birthday. Me: 12.30pm, on the bus to Wanaka, just passing Lake Tekapo. Them: 1.30am. Iain's flat. And yes Iain, I feel very pure and virtuous, of course I do, I am as far away from your bad influence as it's possible to be! (-; Thanks for ringing. It really did make me giggle for a long time afterwards. And the rest of the bus too I suspect. It was lovely to hear all of your voices, even if they were a little incoherent. Oh, and Shim, my tooth is OK again now. Phew! It was obviously just having an off day.

Auckland

Here I am on the other side of the world. It's rather rainy and cold, but there's still not a lot of snow. I've been faithfully doing my prayers to the snow Buddha in the morning so I'm sure it'll come by the time I get down to the South Island next week. Found a lovely little house in Parnell, just out of the city centre, full of shops selling lovely cafe lattes and lots of Germans. Und ich kann noch Deutsch reden so I'm pretty proud of myself. I kind of thought New Zealand was the same size as the UK... and I'd get down south in about 6 hours or so, but no. It's taking 3 days on the scenic and environmentally-friendly route.

As for Auckland, it's nice. Safe, friendly, nice. Greig, you'd hate it. It doesn't have an edge at all. Even the supposedly trendy K Road is really not that trendy. I like it. I've had conversations with people at the bus stop and in shops and cafes. People have time for you. I was even invited in to an agency the other day for a look round after I got stuck staring at the cans of inspiration on sale for just 15 dollars. One of the agency's guiding principles is to go sailing every Sunday. Let's just say I can definitely see the appeal of living and work down under. Lots of sunshine, water to play on and cute little extinct volcanoes. What more do you need?