Day 6: Heading home...

I managed to wake up early this morning despite not sleeping well last night. It was raining but nothing was going to stop me from witnessing sunrise at Uluru today. Arrived there just in time for the first break of light and it was beautiful. There were buses and buses of tourists there as well but I don't seem to notice them. Occasionally you would hear comments from them like, "Huh? Is this all?", "...and we're here for an hour for THIS?" and "It looks just the same to me...". Well, I pity them. They were not here because they wanted to be here - it so happens to be in their tour itinerary. I bet most of them would rather be in bed or enjoying the early morning buffet at the resort. For me, you have to be here for a reason to be able to appreciate it. But still, I can't understand why they are not able to appreciate something this majestic. Glory be to God who created all this and all the rest of us on this earth...

I took a series of shots with the camera on my tripod and it was fascinating watching the colour changes by the minute and then how the sky in the background gets brighter and brighter slowly revealing many other beautiful parts of the surrounding. I can't help making full use of the time pondering over the whole journey that took me there. It was not a particularly good year for me. First it was something about work, then my Dad passed away. This trip was in a way to run from it all and at the same time to help me look at things from a different perspective. Sometimes you have to be out to be able to look in and properly see what you have never seen before. It was also meant to pause from the normal rat race routine and put myself in a totally different situation and reflect on everything.

Last night I was busy rearranging my itinerary with the help of my dedicated "home base support". I was planning to join a 3-hour walking tour around the base of Uluru today at 8:00 am. But I also don't want to stay here another night (it costs me $235 for a room last night! Any cheaper options, you'd say... now, that's a story for later...) but I don't think I can reach Coober Pedy by tonight. My wife finally managed to get me a cabin in Erldunda Roadhouse. But that also means, I would have to rush back quickly to hotel now, check out, leave my stuffs at the concierge, no time for breakfast, no time for anything else and quickly return back here for the tour. And after 3 hours wandering around in the desert, I would have to ride to Erldunda at noon!

But hang on... why did I keep doing that? Rush, rush, rush trying to achieve what I want to achieve? So what if I missed the tour. So what if I didn't get to walk around the base of the rock. I just realized; it was probably not about the rock after all... I did the journey. I get to ride my bike for as much as I ever wanted. I have seen interesting stuffs along the way. I arrived here safely and I proved to myself that  I can do it. Perhaps; it was not about the rock after all. Perhaps I found what I was looking for all along... Yes, it then struck upon me. I did. I found what I was looking for! The treasure that I was looking for (for those who have read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho) was where I left it 6 days ago. What matters the most to me, is waiting for me at home, right now!

I quickly gather all my things (hey, but first a few quick self-portrait shots now that all the tourists are gone!) and head straight to my bike. Forget the tour. I found what I was looking for and I'm going home for it now...! Some might say that you don't have to ride your bike alone like an idiot for days in the sun and the rain and the thunderstorm to figure that out... well, good for you then. Maybe it took me the whole journey to figure it out (one guy said, "If you want to find yourself, pegi umrah lah... buat apa nak pegi tengok batu!"). Maybe the rock was only the source that triggers the inspiration. But think about this; and maybe also, the fact that what I had to put myself through and endure for the last 6 days have given me a totally new perspective of everything... The time I spent reflecting, and later on reflecting some more on my previous reflections and all the solitary time I have with only me and my bike have given me the opportunity I never had to think things through, again and again. It was a soul-searching journey indeed. Hence, you will never see what I see and you will never have what I have found...

The "Red Centre" is my heart.

It's time to ride home to what matters the most to me... my family...!