One year on the road, one year alone in the big amazing world, one year without a place to call home and one year full of action. How is it to live on the road? And how did I change in the process? Which were the best, and what were the worst moments?
Well to start with I can tell you that such a journey isn’t just fun all the time and there are bad times as well, and more then I could have imagined before leaving. But the good times will overweight in the end and the bad times only make you stronger.
The best time I had was while traveling through Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and Laos. But also, Bali and the Philippines gave me unbelievable good times. One of the best things I ever did was my motorbike tour in Vietnam, the Ha Giang Loop – that was incredible and will stay in my mind forever. Taking a motorbike and drive to Lombok and the Gili Islands was also a trip of a lifetime. I learned the first time how to surf and had the feeling of pure freedom on my way while driving my motorbike across the islands. Relaxing and wandering around Bangkok for a month in June was also worth every second. I found a new home and a comfort zone in Bangkok with the wish of moving there after my big travels.
Bangladesh, India or also Australia, however, didn’t give me the best time. In Australia, it was mostly my fault because I put my budget too low for the high cost of living in Australia so that I couldn’t enjoy my time there in full. Bangladesh was just a nightmare to its fullest, so I left after a few days already and came to India where the nightmares didn’t stop. Lost baggage for six days, scams all over the place, chaos and the worst tour organization ever gave me this mixed feeling about India. I call it a love-hate relationship. The food is fantastic, and nature is unbelievable, but then the scams and the shit mentality of the people make you go crazy, and you end up complaining half of your time. Adding the fact that in the last two months of my travels I hardly met any other tourists and I met nearly nobody I could connect with gave me this feeling of loneliness but also this just made me stronger.
The most important messages and lessons I learned in these few months are patients and that everything will work out in the end. So I got a lot more relaxed about many things in life. I also saw how stupid religion is, and I started to take more and more distance from any religious activity. For example, I decided not to enter any temple or any religious building anymore, and I don’t spend one cent on religious activities, entry fees, or whatever. I take total distance from it.
At the end of the day, I took all this information and experiences, and I grew with them. I know a lot better what I want and especially what I don’t want. I got a professional in bargaining; I got a feeling when someone isn’t honest with me, and I learned how to manage some difficult situations on my own. I learned more then any master could have thought me, and I grew by at least ten years of life experience in only one year. It was the best decision I could possibly take, and I don’t regret any second of it.
I can’t wait for the next few months of traveling and all the things I get to know and see in that time. But I also can’t wait to settle down a little bit; hopefully in Bangkok. Until I feel too comfortable and start moving again. See you on a never-ending adventure.
- Total countries I visited until now: 40
WorldTravel:
- Planes: 26
- Busses: 49
- Trains: 20
- Boats: 24
- Km driving: 8000
- Km running: 3442
Flo's WorldTravel 