Urban Conglomerate 

 

I live in a dirty corner of Babylon. at the bottom of the big mountains. The last corner of the city where a bunch of paragliding pilots temporary settles down in the hippy compound for the flying season. Is now the month of April for the Gregorian calendar. Which year is now is something less clear to me: some time ago, around mid winter There was a Gregorian new year with his media coverage. Later, at the early beginning of the spring was Chūnjié and the year of the tiger begun with dragons and drums. And than was The Tibetan Losar with monks and monsters. On the way to the summer with the month of Baisakh arrived Navavarsha with sadus and tablas. We are now entering the year 2079 of the Bikram Sambat, Nepali calendar.

Here In Babylon the year is always in beginning. Depending from the community i stay, my year has many endings and many beginnings. Gregorian, lunar, luni-solar or solar calendar. And at the end the date really does not really matter to me anymore. I follow the good weather traveling around the planet. I go where the season is good there is no end and no beginning in this samsara.

I arrived late in the season in Babylon. My seeking for springtime went out of bearing because of some happenings. But is good to be late. The city is flooded by travelers from al over the world after two years of a strange pandemic blocked everybody at home, the thermals are mellow, the vultures are patient with para-gliders.

Do they understand each other in Babylon ? Who cares. This is the land of joy, the amusement city. they are here to have fun, to reach the apotheosis of pleasure in mortal life. If there is a tower today that's the tourism industry. Adrenaline from extreme sport, pleasure for the body yoga massage and sex, pleasure from food, getting numb for shopping and finally getting stoned. Here all this is for sale, Babylon provide it all, to every race to every nationality.  

And, yes, the tower falls, sometimes, but than resurges again. Sars, Covid, Asian flu, Bird flu. Pandemics periodically tear down the tower, but after one year she is up again, like an immortal dragon who always reborn from ashes.

I am always asking myself were I can stop and build a life, a house, an activity. But the answer never comes. When the question becomes insistent the reaction is always the same, find an airport and take a plane, head to a place were the season is Better. But Babylon has a special place in my roaming: Season after season I always come back.

8.5 kg Backpack, I go to mountains. Some food for a night, the tent, power bank, and a liter of water, the garmin satellite, at this point useless. No solar panel, too heavy and electricity is everywhere now.

Do I bring the laptop ? That would mean endless time out of town, no need to be back here. But that goes up to 9.5 Kg No laptop then... 10 kg is too much... no laptop...I'll be back in Babylon