A glass half full

5/19/11 10:28 PM: it's finally over. i fly home tomorrow and i'm more sad to leave than excited to go home. is that bad?

This is how I started a conversation. Getting on the plane back to LA meant leaving all of Asia behind—no more backpacking, no more shake ladies or noodle guys, no more street food, no more of the last seven months. My adventure was done. El fin. Finito. NO MORE…

…or so I thought.

5/19/11 10:30 PM: …try to look at this next step as really, truly, another adventure.

This is how he ended the conversation.

Home, an adventure?

Light bulb.

In the purest sense of the word, adventure elicits excitement and fun—going to Thailand, bus-sickness three times in one hour, solo explorations, etc.—enticing the inner child in even the Scroogiest, Grinchiest of folks. But how does home fit under the same category as living in Thailand, snorkeling with sharks in Malaysia, or caving in the Philippines?

MY answer: Home is the only place where a dichotomy of me comes out of the woodwork.

budget-minimalist-walk-everywhere Kristin

vs.

label-whore-drive-four-blocks Kristin

I’ll explain:

If change is inevitable, especially when traveling, then half the fun in traveling IS coming back to experience that difference. I know I’ve changed and I’m curious to see where I’ll balance myself out. The brighter side of leaving. It was at this point in the conversation that I felt the transition from homeward reluctance to homeward enthusiasm. Going home became so exciting that I couldn’t help but smile. For the first time, I was compelled to leave the nomadic-backpacker lifestyle behind to move into the back unit of my parents’ house (I can't believe I just said that).

Long story short: getting on my flight didn’t signify the beginning to the end of my adventure but rather catalyzed its relocation, a realization that did wonders for my attitude.

Random Rant: Life, an anthology of everyday adventures and misadventures.

This conversation, in all is brevity, opened a new door to tackling each day that passes, a new lease on life so to say. My adventure isn’t just in finding personal change but living. Each day we’re confronted with life—fantastic things, little things, okay things, bad things, big things, blown out of proportion things, things. Life is as good as we make it out to be; I choose to revel in the fantastic, better the okay, and take on the rest.

LIFE AS AN ADVENTURE, a glass half full approach to living.

Clichéd but true

I wanted to go to the Philippines, so I went to the Philippines. If I wanted to make friends, I accepted their friend request. If I wanted to spend twelve hours on a bus, I packed socks and a sweater in my purse. The world is my oyster. I know that now. How grand! How grand! How grand! (enthusiasm soberly inspired by the infamous, not-so-sober Dean Moriarity aka Neal Cassady). This is truly a liberating mental breakthrough:

If I wanted to, then I did it.
If I want to, then I'll do it.

In the beginning, traveling scared me because anything is possible. And now I love traveling for exactly that. Merdeka! (by the way, fear is possibly the worst excuse for not doing anything not just traveling).

How do you do it?

I'm not as brave as you are. I can’t travel alone.

I can't be away from my family. 

A year is too long.

So here it is...

I’m not the next star of a travel channel original (....or is that Disney?), BUT I do know what it’s like to want to travel but not want to travel; limbo is weak and you'll kick yourself in the head if you don't pull yourself out. trust meee. There's no secret to it AND you're never “alone”. Scouts honor (I've met amazing people even when I didn't want to). So, coming from a person who just crossed over to travelside, the transition is painless and fairly easy. Take it from me, there's nothing to fear. Once scared to leave home, I'm reluctant to go back. And mind you, this is coming from someone who will more or less resume an incredibly fortunate life--a decently paid job (hopefully soon), great family and friends, and all the other luxuries of a North American way of living.

so if you want to,
JUST DO IT.

Cheers to nothing to lose and everything to gain

Common Sense, it saves lives.

Alright, so I've never said this out loud, let alone admitted to it for all the internet to see, but I was terrified to travel before starting this epic journey (hence putting it off for so long). Intimidation of safe house absenteeism made me question my trip to Southeast Asia; leaving meant vulnerability and uncertainty.

Outside of uni, a lot of what I knew about Asia could be sourced from the media (and, well, we all know how unbiased, accurate, and constructive they can be). Two months before leaving, some ex-cop with enough issues to fill Qualcomm hijacked a bus in the Philippines. The result: seven dead Chinese tourists. And in April 2010 (six months before I came to Thailand) a dozen or so Thai people were killed in a Red Shirt vs. Thai Army clash at Democracy Monument. And when I was leaving people wished me a “Don’t get trafficked” or “Hope you come back with all your organs” type of goodbye.

Awkward laugh

Ha-ha-ha

Wait……what?

I don't want to get trafficked or blown up on bus or caught in the crossfire of

socio-political warfare annnd I certainly like my insides...inside.

.................................

All pretty valid concerns, I'd say.

Here's the thing…

And to put this as simply as possible: shit happens…and it happens EVERYWHERE.

The probability of some mental brotha holding an entire bus hostage in the Philippines is the same as in the United States, where what do you know, human trafficking exists too (oh yes, it does). And, guns. I’ve been meaning to tell you, I’ve met a number of foreign folks who were hesitant to go to the US because everyone has one. That’s news to me. With that said, fears of outrageous media worthy events (which isn’t saying much) should not be the basis of a deterred trip abroad. Just gotta use some common sense to avoid crap situations. 

For example: 

• Don’t walk through dodgy allies late at night (duh)
• Be aware of your surroundings (another no brainer)
• Dressing like a video vixen, isn't even okay in music videos
• It's okay to leave your drink unattended NEVER
• Wear red to a Red Shirt rally, not yellow (guilty) 
• Sit on top of Jeepney on windy, mountainous roads just in case you have to jump off a cliff diving vehicle (Filipinos actually do this)

Oh! And if you find yourself in a hostage situation, well, sucks to be you. But you should know that it's not just Asia (or where ever you go), it can happen in America (or where ever you're from) too. 

Common Sense, it saves lives. 

More Malaysia

More Malaysia, a set on Flickr.

Me, myself, and my Sony point 'n' shoot

Asian Panoramas

A visual recap of the last two and a half months.
Just me, my point 'n' shoot, & Southeast Asia


You know the drill, click the pic for the larger version.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Tuol Sleng Prisoners, Phnom Pehn, Cambodia

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Mekong River Delta, Vietnam

San Guillermo Elementary School, Luzon, Philippines

Overlooking Baguio, Luzon, Philippines

Sagada, Philippines

Boracay, Philippines

Chocolate Hills, Bohol, Philippines

Cock Fighting, Bohol, Philippines

Siquijor, Philippines

Red Shirt Rally, Bangkok, Thailand

LRT, Kuala Lupur, Malaysia

Long Beach, Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia

Long Beach, Pulau Perhentian Kecial, Malaysia

Tea Plantation, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Call me Irresponsible.

The start of a conversation a few weeks ago...

-Do you miss anything enough to go home?
-No.
-Welcome to The Addicted to Traveling Club.

It’s now Tuesday, May 3, 2011, which means I have just eight days before I leave Malaysia and seventeen days before I leave all of Asia behind (temporarily).

Inserting tantrum…NOW:

http://www.iriscphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/storyboard-tantrum1.jpg

I don’t wanna! I don’t wanna!

I!
DON’T!
WANNA!

Seven months ago, I would have said seven months is enough time to travel. Now, I say seven months is just as much a tease as a shirtless Roger Huerta.  The thought of leaving, of ALL this coming to an end, hurts my little heart, crushing it into an infinite amount of microscopic pieces.

A tad bit over dramatic, I know.

Now, don’t get all bent out of shape (because I do miss you guys, I really do), but I’m going to be selfish and leave you out of the equation. This, my life, right now—new sites, overnight buses, dorm rooms, living out of my backpack, meeting people, leaving people, even just the idea of being abroad and NOT in the US, ALL of it—is what I've always wanted. I love waking up in the morning to new places, to people who are warm and welcoming by nature, and to a way of life centered on simplicity and happiness.

I JUST LOVE WAKING UP IN THE MORNING!

My days are just as bright as the day I got my placement in Thailand (see Five Fingers).

Just for fun…

Maybe I won’t come home, maybe I’m already home. What if I miss my flight? I have gotten job offers at hostels. I could work in a hostel for awhile, at least until I find a better job. I know enough people around Asia to crash on a couch (or tile floor). But! If I work at a hostel, lodging would be free or a very minimal amount. I WAS planning to come back anyway and I would SAVE the extra couple hundred dollars that I don’t have. The temptation to stay, leaving behind the few responsibilities I have back home, is there.

Realistically,

I could stay and see where it takes me.

Call me irresponsible, while I entertain the idea until the 20th.