After 19 days on the road away from home, seven flights, four hotels, some buses, boats, taxis, e-scooters, and now only two trains to go: I will be home again with a suitcase full of dirty washing, and a big smile on my face. Not only have I determined that the world is round, but I have also come to understand jetlag, doing upward downward dogs, and adapting to climatic zones all in one go.
It has been an exciting journey, not only to Malaysia, Singapore, Sydney and Brisbane, but also to myself. It takes courage to set out on a crazy trip like this one, I know. Travelling far and wide, and as often as possible means everything at home has to continue in the same fashion. And that requires careful planning. There will always that tiny voice in my head saying, “Shouldn’t you be at home?” And then the loud music starts playing, and I start enjoying, and realising yes, I can be at home, and I can be away, and everything can continue without me.
Solo travellers do face a few challenges though: Who takes the photos of me? Where do I eat so it doesn’t look sad? and What am I doing today? However, solo travellers also get to meet new people, design the day in their own way, and simply go with the flow. I met very nice people from the Netherlands, Australia, Germany, Malaysia, and the UK. I had conversations in lounges, on boats, in bars, with bus drivers, and simply people commuting home. My trip took place one conversation at a time.
Soon to be home, it will take me a few days to acclimatise, and there’s so much going on this month. ASAP this month will mean As Slow As Possible while still getting all the shit done.
I have come to appreciate that in this life, I won’t see it all, but I’ll be seeing some more of this beautiful planet for sure. I will be working hard on making the world a better place for women and girls (and everyone), and I shall be working at a pace that feels good and doesn’t overwhelm me.
Thank you to all those people that ensured life at home continued, and thank you to those people that joined me on my journey for however long they did. Thank you to the Zonta Club of Bielefeld for trusting me to make the right decisions at the world convention. Oh and thank you to my friends that don’t fly for nominating me to use their fair share CO2 emissions!
I will continue to feed this travel blog whenever I do travel, hoping it will bring joy to those that follow it. It seems there are really people that enjoy checking in to see what I am up to.
