The first time my friend said he had travelled through over than 30 countries. I was stunned a little bit. I kept asking him: Where did you go? What did you do? What did you see? How did you feel? How did you manage such long travels? How did your family react?
I thought he was so lucky that he could travel a lot. When seeing me was astonished, he just smiled. He told me everyone can travel and wondered why I didnt take some sabbatic and go.
I shaked my head and thought that he had asked me to do the impossible. Travel was not something easy like that. What would my parents say? How about my job? Office would not allow. My life was settled here. It would be too expensive and I need save money to do something more significant.
I thought these are big problems. But I did do it. I just travelled without solving those problems.
And my mind was changed. Can not say that I completely changed just after a trip. But definitely thinking about my life and my world was a bit different from then on.
I understand that there is nowhere we belong.
When we live in our own world, our problems are something named "comfort zone". And bigger problem is most of us feel satisfied with it.
Limited air, light, limited vision. We ponder over the same things that the same people around us are thinking. We follow the same traditions and rules that exist in the society for a long time. That’s how we are — confined — in our own cell.
Travel is the key to us break away that cell.
There are so many wonderful, amazing things too see, so many different cultures to explore. Dont be imprisoned just one place, dont let your vision being restricted. Remember that there is nowhere you belong. Then get the opportunity to discover the world you are in but just a small part.
Most importantly, traveling is a gift I give to myself. It opens up my mind and enriches my life. The memory of that trip is priceless.
I met new people that are there for diffirent reasons, appreciated diffirent perspective, heard diffirent languages and enjoyed incredible food. I recognized that this world is really immense and wonderful.
Travelling is everything that I never imagined it to be, like when seeing the adult entertainment trade, a lot of "ladyboys"dancing in nearly naked situation on stage with my own eyes. Or seeing some girls in "redlight street" - Soi Cowboy, grabbed hand of men and put it inside her skirt absolutely without underwear. It was socked a little bit. ^^
Traveling is not just about going new places and posting on Instagram, making FB check-ins or updating your status. It is about the feeling of freedom from ton of working pressure, responsibilities which keep you occupied like as if that’s the only life you meant to live, but my friend, that’s not true. Travelling is when you feel yourself a free soul. Find who you really are and live for yourself instead of living for others.
Go somewhere, maybe beach on sunny day, or mountainous on rainny day, rural or urban or another countries, ... Come back and you are going to see your country differently, you are going to see your tiny world with diffirent view.
Before, I couldnt understand why my friend took photo whenever seeing some "vietnamese things" even it looked normal, nothing special. But when I went to Thailand, I did the same thing. Anything was able to make me excited.
After that, I came back Vietnam and saw the daily life around me with concentration. I realize my country is also beautiful and amazing. From road, transpotation, bridge to people, sky, weather, clouds,... everything looks so gorgeous. Small things around me, I see them everyday but I never feel special or excited because I have not ever paid any attention on it. I can not feel how much awesome my country is if I dont have any experience of another country to compare with it. Yeah. Travelling teaches us about our country as much as it teaches us about the country we visitted.
The more you travel, the more you realize that it is not just about you. When you go outside of your comfort zone and learn about yourself, your strengths, weakness etc. Also travelling provides you an opportunity to meet people from different cultures and provides a new perspective of life. You realize that you are just a speck of dust in this vast world and everyone around you has ambition and dreams as yours. The sooner you leave your comfort zone, the sooner you begin to become aware of your own self as well as everything around you.
Love, HB
