Halfway…ish
It feels like I’ve been travelling for a lifetime. I’ve stacked up so many fantastic memories that the beginning of the trip has already started to get a little blurry. Singapore and Malaysia feel like forever ago. Yet somehow I’m at more or less the halfway point. Actually, 5 months have now passed of the 8 or so that I’ll be travelling for, so a little over half, but as I leave Southeast Asia this feels like the end of part 1.
My primary objective when planning this trip was to feel totally free to travel at any speed, in any direction I wanted to. That objective has been solidly completed. I’ve rerouted to meet up with friends I’ve met along the way or in the case of diving to do more of something I really enjoy. Upon learning I was about to suffocate in burning season in the north of Thailand I diverted my path through Cambodia, and I even broke my usual no-fly-unless-completely-necessary rule in order to keep pace with a travel companion who needed to speed up to make her flight home. And sometimes, I just hung out because I liked a place. I stayed over a week in Siem Reap because the city and the school I volunteered at felt like a temporary home, and it was difficult to drag myself away.
I’ve also succeeded in my secondary objective - to get more comfortable in water. I’ve always been able to not drown, but until recently I’d never really found the joy in being in water. While I don’t think I’ll ever make it as a surfer (balance is not my strong suit) I gave it a good go. I also loved my time scuba diving, and I’m now one of the first putting my head under any waterfall I encounter.
After five months in Southeast Asia, I’ve been feeling like I need a change of scenery. I’ve loved the temples, the waterfalls, the limestone caves, the mountains, the rice, the noodles and the curries, but I’ve found I can’t appreciate them like I did when I first arrived, and I’m in need of a change. With my remaining few months, I’ve booked flights taking me to New Zealand, Australia and Sri Lanka and I’m excited for what new adventures and new cultures I’ll get to experience in those places. Please take your seats. Part two is about to begin.