I’m back from backpacking South East Asia!

In January I embarked on one of the biggest adventures of my life thus far. I packed a 40L backpack, and set off to South East Asia, with a planned itinerary and 4 months, flying into Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, and flying back from Denpasar, Bali exactly four months later, in May. I quit my job to do this, as it was something I absolutely needed to do in my life. And now, being back… what a hell of a ride this was!

As I was approaching the last day of this long trip, some friends were asking me how I was feeling about it. All I could answer was a very honest “I don’t know”. It may sound dismissive, but it was the truth. I didn’t know how I felt, because there were a lot of emotions, thoughts and feelings in my head, and some of them were opposites, causing an emotional riot. Was I sad that it was coming to an end? Absolutely. This trip was months in the planning and years in the realm of dreams. More than sadness, melancholy certainly ensued, especially as I was admiring the last few sunsets in Bali. But I was also happy. Happy that I made it and that I didn’t give up… because there were moments when I really wanted to cut my trip short. There were bad days when I felt mentally and physically exhausted. I had a bit of an anxiety attack on the second week, feeling the weight of the cultural shock one does eventually feel, combined with a sensory overload that really caught me by surprise, even though I had been to Asia before.

Now that I’m back and the fogginess caused by jetlag and lack of sleep, what I can say is that I have a huge feeling of achievement. I bloody did it. And with it came a sense of pride. Mostly because when you are used to solo travel and you consume so much content around it, it’s easy to forget that actually setting off, all alone, planning everything by yourself, relying only on yourself, your decision/making and your finances… it’s not something the average person would do. Some people I met along the way reminded me of that – that it takes courage.

The other question I was asked was whether I thought four months was the right time, and if I could go on longer. The truth is four months was enough and maybe even a bit more than enough! After I passed the 2-month mark, I started to feel the dreaded travel fatigue. I had planned extra days in certain places dedicated to resting, but then on those days, I felt guilty because I was doing nothing… it’s just against my nature to be somewhere new and different and simply stay in the room! But it wasn’t just that. The constant being on the go, packing and unpacking, never spending more than a few days sleeping in the same bed… after a while, it is a lot. I met people who were going to be travelling for a lot longer, between 6 months to a year, and I must say I really admire that they can do it for so long. So one of the best lessons I’ve taken from this trip is that if I am to do a longer one similar to this ever again in my life, it probably won’t be for longer than 2 months. That seems to be my ideal time frame.

But don’t get me wrong. I absolutely loved this trip. It is definitely one of the most fantastic experiences I’ve had in my entire life, and I came back feeling accomplished. And, most importantly, despite all of the travel fatigue, feeling incredibly energised and ready to embark on the next chapter of my life, whatever that might be.

And, of course, really REALLY excited to share everything in this little corner of the Internet. This was one of the things I missed so much. Being at my laptop, typing away. Being able to see my photos on a screen larger than that of my iPhone.

Lots of new posts will be coming in the following weeks, so if you’re interested in my experience solo travelling South East Asia, don’t miss out 😉

Love, Nic