I Did It Again...11 Months In!

I did it again! In October, I packed up my faithful backpack, Fiona, and she and I departed for the second leg of my trip. This time, I am spending 9ish months in Asia and Europe. At this very moment, I am sitting at my hostel in Pai, Thailand…almost three months into my trip. Time is flying, my friends!

These three months have been both familiar and different. When I left San Francisco, I was feeling quite confident (read: cocky). I mean, I had just spent five months traveling solo through Central and South America. I got this!

Wrong.

I got my first reality check when I disembarked the plane in Seoul, Korea. At the airport, all the signs were written in Korean characters. I could not read the signs even if I spoke Korean. At least the airport had the English translation, but that was not the case once I got out of the airport. Unfortunately, I have this habit of not venturing out of my hostel if I cannot read the signs. During my first leg, I learned Spanish early on and spent the reminder of my five months exploring; blissfully forgetting my fear. But my fear to venture out in Korea flashed me back to the first couple of weeks in Mexico and Guatemala. I remembered the cry fest I had in Guatemala because I was intimidated by the language barrier and had no idea what I was doing. Maybe I did not get this as much as I originally thought.

Eventually I got hungry and decided to go eat by myself at a restaurant around the corner. It paid off too. A Korean girl started chatting with me after she caught me posing my chopsticks and plate for a photo. Embarrassed, I admitted that I am bad with chopsticks, and then she said, “Yeah, even I have trouble with them sometimes.” I laughed with relief and at my silliness. And then I got over my fear and ate all the food in Korea (which was the main reason I was visiting Korea. Seriously, I went for the food.).

Following Korea, I spent the next two weeks in Singapore visiting family. Then I flew to Thailand to meet a friend from the States and we traveled together for two weeks. Spending a month with others was a switch for me. First, it showed me that this leg of my journey will have a special element as I will be visiting family along the way. All of my cousins grew up together in India. They have stories and jokes with each other. As the baby of my generation who grew up in America, I did not have that opportunity so I finally get to add some memories of our own. Traveling with a friend from home was a pleasant change as well. It was so much fun to share a glimpse of my life on the road. Plus, due to my friend’s limited time, we did many more adventures than I normally would. We had to take the approach of, “Hey, we’re only together in Thailand once,” and run with that. It was great fun!

After my friend flew home, I moved on to Koh Tao, Thailand and returned back to solo traveling. I was surprised by the ease with which I slipped back into being alone. But I find backpacker travel in Thailand different compared to my previous travels. In the first leg, most people were traveling in the same direction, to the same places, and along similar timelines. It was easy to find others to travel with and to continuously run into them during my trip (I met one backpacker in my third week in Guatemala and we kept crossing paths until my last week in Peru). Therefore, I would find people that I connected with and spend a couple of weeks to months with them. These relationships were quite strong and personal. But once I had my group or travel buddy, I kind of stopped looking for more people to meet.

Thailand is the opposite. Everyone is moving at different speeds and in different directions. Most people that I have met have overlapped with my trip for only a few days. This frustrated me during my first couple of days in Koh Tao. Once I got to know someone, they would leave the next day. So I changed my approach. Instead of aiming to meet at least a couple of people in my hostel (which was typically my goal during my first leg), I aimed to meet EVERYONE. Or at least as many people as possible. Whenever I was sitting near someone at my hostel, I would start a conversation. A conversation was already going on? I would ask if I could sit in and join. The result: I have met so many people! The types of relationships are different – brief and not always as deep – but I meet such a variety of people. When you talk to everyone you meet, you hear perspectives and stories from all walks of life. And in these relationships, I have learned more than before. More specifically, I have learned how limited and sheltered my perspective can be. It has been enlightening and opened me in a way that I had not experienced during my first leg.

Finally, I have done more in these three months than in my entire first leg – hanging out with elephants, cooking a Thai feast, Half Moon Party, scuba diving, a meditation course, scootering everywhere, eating tons of street food, beach days, family days, and so much more. I am finding that saying, “Yes” is becoming easier and easier. That has both impressed and relieved me. I thought my sense of adventure was a baseline instinct and that mine was at a low level. I now know that it is dynamic and continually growing. It has taken me to experiences that I never dreamed of and I cannot see what else I discover on this journey.

So lots has been learned in the past three months with so much more to go. Cheers to a new year and a new month! I am heading to Cambodia in the beginning of January. As much as it saddens me to leave Thailand, my visa is expiring and I have no choice. So onward I go!

*Note: I am catching up on blog posts so get excited! Blog posts on Thailand and Cambodia are to come but let’s start with the first stop on this leg – New York City!