A Little More Than Halfway In…

I passed the halfway mark of my adventures in Europe a while ago, having touched down on the 2nd of January this year. It has been a spectacular journey filled with surprises, both good and bad. I am thankful each day for this opportunity because I realize how fortunate I am to be on this grand adventure.

On the road, I take it all in. Eyes, ears and heart wide open. I savor and relish each moment, be it dancing at a Scottish ceilidh, clinking steins at a Bavarian beer festival or even the simplest things like taking a bus crammed full of locals in Morocco.

One of the things I’m really hoping to achieve these few months is to know more about the world and myself than the day before. I think I’m achieving that with my insatiable hunger for learning. But you know, sometimes the more I see and learn, the less I feel I know because of the vast ocean of knowledge out there. I try my best to make these months count for something as travels for me are not just times to take pretty photos. Experiences, relationships and new knowledge count far more than anything.

These few months, I’ve become a public transportation navigating, flight/bus/train-booking, cheap connection-finding super whiz. My cooking skills have improved somewhat, but not as much as my drinking skills. Don’t worry, I probably will never be a raging alcoholic but I can appreciate good beers and wine (and of course caipirinhas as always). I write furiously and extensively each day to remember each significant moment and my thoughts – this is something that I take really seriously and I do this mainly while on lull moments in transportation or at night. Takes loads of discipline but I’m glad I’ve been keeping up! Oh and languages. I’ve always thought they were important but conversations with polyglots have inspired me to become better and take up more languages. I have also developed the ability to sleep almost anywhere like in cramped buses, freezing airports and train stations. I have also learnt about the need to be super vigilant and careful about my stuff. Having my iPhone nicked from me, and my replacement iPhone stolen even before I got a chance to see it (it got stolen from my courier) was a blow for sure but I’m extra careful with my stuff and keep things on lockdown. I’ve done plenty of new things which have required me to push the boundaries of my comfort zone, like hitchhiking, which I can’t wait to do again!

CouchSurfing for me has become somewhat of a lifestyle and with each experience I become even more enamored with it. The CouchSurfing community has stepped in for me many times here in Europe and provided me with the finest hosts and friends. Thank you, Dani in Paris, Bertrand & Herman in Gent, Belgium, Rinke in Amsterdam, Stefan in Krakow, Mike in Warsaw, Sven & Milan in Berlin, Frank in Munich, JMK in London, Ula in Edinburgh and Pepe in Madrid 🙂 Not forgetting my old friends from CouchSurfing that I met in Singapore that I have surfed with as well – Mila in Windsor & Pedro in Glasgow! All of these people have been vastly inspiring in different ways and have such varied approaches to life that I can learn from. Some of my new friends have such a heart-bursting passion for life that just rubs off on the people that they meet and I think that it is something very special. I am fortunate to count these intelligent, hardworking and well-travelled people my friends.

One thing that I’ve learnt about myself is that I usually make good choices but sometimes in the name of spontaneity, my intuition goes out of the window and I choose poorly. I made a bad decision in Warsaw but thank goodness for Mike who ensured my last two days in Warsaw were amazing :’)

Here’s a little list of the stuff I carry with me every day which are crucial to my survival:
– Osprey Aura 35L Backpack
– Jansport Daypack
– iPad Air with special reliance on the apps CityMaps2Go, Evernote Premium, AVPlayerHD and Turdus
– Canon Powershot S120
– MacBook Air
– GoPro Hero 3 Black
– DryLite MicroFibre Towel
– Multiple locks hahaha

As you can see, I travel with way too many electronics but can’t bear to ditch any of them.

The purpose of my blog is never to incite envy but to inspire others to travel and meet new people. I hope that my little adventures will inspire people to travel more, as I have been inspired by the tales, pictures and posts of my insane globe-trotting buddies.

So here I am, a little more than halfway in. Travel has really opened up worlds within me that I never knew existed and I will make the next legs count. I carry all the things that I have learnt with me and am ready to share them with anyone who asks. Most importantly I want to continue on this journey of growing and learning about the world and myself.

“There are things in life that are bigger than ourselves. Life is short, live it well.” – Jerome Fontamillas

My planned travels will bring me to Cinque Terre (Italy), Bologna (Italy), parts of Greece and the Balkans (I haven’t decided where yet) then Central/Eastern Europe before I return to spend more time in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), then to London to visit Kwok and celebrate Pedro’s birthday as well as link up with Shaun, my boyfriend for our Iceland trip and other planned travels!

I wrote this in long bus rides travelling from city to city in Morocco on my way to the Sahara Desert, which was an amazing experience that I can’t wait to tell you more about 🙂

— Some travel statistics–
I’ve taken 8 planes, 21 trains, 11 buses, visited 38+ cities in 8 different sovereign countries (9 if you count England and Scotland as separate countries) and been to 16+ museums.

Some cities that have captured my heart include Barcelona, Granada, Krakow, Berlin, Gent and Amsterdam.

More here