Saturday, April 20, 2013

That Psychedelic Village Named Nimbin

Duuude, it's 420! We ain't celebrating with a slice of space cake though. No Puff, The Magic Dragon either. To commemorate this uhm, counterculture holiday, let's do a different kind of "trip", shall we?

A psychedelic visual trip.

The talk of spliff takes me down two travel memory alleys. That of Amsterdam's (where possession of  cannabis is legal) and that of Nimbin's... Nim-what? Precisely why I chose to feature the latter today. I shall save my story about "dining" in a Dutch brown cafe for another 420.

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Nimbin Museum. Groovy!
 
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Nimbin Hemp Embassy. Since 1992.

Possession of cannabis in the state of New South Wales, Australia is a criminal offense. But northeast of this state, in a village named Nimbin, locals have a high tolerance for its trade and usage. And it is for this reason, alongside permaculture, that peregrine hippies flock in busloads 'til this very day.

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Titled: The Last Session
 
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Kaleidoscope of tins.

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Postcard with a photo of the annual MardiGrass Festival. The highlight of this festive weekend is the Cannabis Reform Protest and Parade.
 
The once-sleepy village that lived off dairy farming morphed into a vibrant town in 1973 when the Aquarius Festival, a huge experimental shindig attended by uni students and alternative people, was held here. A small population of which stayed behind. And the rest, as they say it, is history.

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The hunt for hemp soap.
 
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Shops that line the main street.
 
On day 122 of our 2011-2012 round-the-world trip, my hobo family did a pilgrimage to Nimbin. It is the real deal. No poser hippies like me around. Just spiritual beings who live in isolation or in communes, and live off the land and/or tourism.

Nimbin remains to be one of my fave places on Earth.

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"Chip hemp not forests."
 
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Run free, my wild child.

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For vintage vultures.
 
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Oh those pretty sidewalks!
 
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May the entire universe conspire to help us relocate somewhere nearby this village someday.

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12 comments:

JR Riel said...
April 21, 2013 at 4:13 PM

Haha. When I read '420' I thought, "Does she really mean 420?" You really meant 420. Believe it or not, I totally forgot it was 420. That's good right?

JR Riel said...
April 21, 2013 at 4:14 PM

PS Your baby is adorable!

Gay Emami said...
April 21, 2013 at 4:55 PM

Thanks to Twitter and Facebook, remembered 420 :)

Gay Emami said...
April 21, 2013 at 4:56 PM

Aww... Thanks!

arlyne said...
April 21, 2013 at 9:30 PM

another excellent post! i am always a fan!

Ding | The Pinoy Explorer said...
April 21, 2013 at 10:33 PM

That "Last Session" diorama seems blasphemous! LOL! Cool, nice post!

Micamyx|Senyorita said...
April 21, 2013 at 10:33 PM

Ang cute ni wild child! Hehe ang sarap pisilin niya dyan

Gay Emami said...
April 22, 2013 at 10:13 AM

At ang dali lang buhatin! Haha.

Gay Emami said...
April 22, 2013 at 10:13 AM

Thank you :)

Tago Fabic said...
April 22, 2013 at 10:50 AM

Groovy indeed! Explosion of colors! :D

carissa inez said...
April 22, 2013 at 12:36 PM

amazing and beautiful colors! i confess how i am in love with colors.

will be heading down your archives and see more :)


carissa
flightvintage.blogspot.com

Oliber Blue said...
April 26, 2013 at 5:36 PM

i thought it was in the Philippines! Awesome place! Wish we got a 60s-themed place like this here! We have our own fair share of the rich 60s culture as well! :)

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