The Hashish Trail - Chapter One - 1969

It was 1969 and the hippie[1] buzz was all about travel and identifying with other cultures. We had walked in many a peace rally in protest of the war in Viet Nam. But with no noticeable results, we realized that our world needed more than a change in leadership. Therefore many young people were headed to the Far East in search of enlightenment. We were really searching for God and the entire meaning of life. We felt that we somehow had to transcend materialism and rather cultivate freedom, peace and love. “Love the One You’re With” carried us into the arms of many an unlikely boy! People were turning on, dropping out and tuning in to being here now, - giving your attention to the moment, which of course is all there really is for sure – past gone, future uncertain.
We were swept up in the newness of this concept in our time, fascinated by the possibility that one could actually drop out of the rat race of getting a job, pushing for success and accumulating all the stuff that says to the world “We made it!” Just maybe we could start, or fall into, a culture where peace and love were the indicators of success. Maybe we could raise children who would never experience hatred or war or the lust for power. The idea of transcending the prevailing notion that one must keep up with the Joneses was so captivating that we began to talk of ways to make it happen.
Early that year four young ladies devised a plan which would take them half way around the world and would forever change their consciousness. This is their story.
[1]A hippie is defined by the English Dictionary as a young person, especially in the1960s, who rejected the accepted social and political values of their time and proclaimed a belief in universal peace and love. Hippies often dressed unconventionally, lived communally, and used psychedelic drugs.
[2] Wikipedia Encyclopedia