Indeed, Alexandra could not forget the "captivating Tibetan music", which she heard for the first time in northern India. In 1890-1891, thanks to an inheritance from her godmother, she was able to spend over a year in India, which she explored from South to North and from East to West. She was fascinated by the magic of India, spellbound by Tibetan music, awed by the peaks of the Himalayas ! and vowed to return !

Swami Bhaskarânanda, Alexandra David's master, met at the time of her first travel in India, in the years 1890.

But, before returning to Asia, which she found more fascinating every day, she went off to North Africa. She wanted to hear the muezzin call the faithful to prayer from atop a minaret, especially in the evening, at sunset, she said. Of course, Alexandra also studied the Koran.

Arriving in Tunis before starting off again, she stayed a little longer. There, she met an attractive distinguished railway engineer, Philippe Néel, who managed to convince to end her celibacy. That was in 1904, when Alexandra was 36.

Although a determined feminist, she agreed to the marriage, but, after barely a few months, she was on the brink of depression ; the life of a housewife was not for her !

Philippe Néel understood that his unusual wife was possessed by the demon of travel. The short cruises on this sailboat "l'Hirondelle  (the swallow) were not enough. He then suggested a far more ambitious voyage. She enthusiastically accepted his proposal, but before going to India, she made a brief detour to England to improve her skills in a language that was essential for her Orientalist studies.

She stayed several months, returned to Belgium to say goodbye to her mother and visit her father's tomb (he had been a friend of Victor Hugo's and a revolutionary in 1848), then was back in Tunis to stay with her husband and finally set off.