Finally, I am writing my introduceyourself post after being on Steemit for a while. I thought, it's really time to give a shout out, argh!
Here I am, a small time YouTube vlogger who recently moved to Steemit blogging due to more fan interaction and the ease of content creation.
It has been more than one year and a month since I quit my job to go on an unlimited journey around the world to find myself, know more about the world and do the most important things in life that I always wanted to do and never saw the chance. I am now in Laos, my 20th country that I have visited so far, cycling and backpacking from HK to France together with my girlfriend whom I met while I was cycling and camping throughout Japan.
I have to admit that I am very lucky to be able to sustain such a long time of travel. I went bankrupt once in Hong Kong after trying my hands on crypto but magically recovered by Airbnbing out my flat. So, here I am now, still travelling with some highlights in Thailand and Laos such as meeting monks.
Cycling through Chiang Mai.
Enjoying a slow boat on the beautiful Mekong river.
Meditating in retreats, meeting old friends, finding odd ways to find happiness.
So, you might ask, have I found my goal or what I was looking for? The truth is that somehow I lost everything I thought was important before. Family, friends, career, academia, ambitions, money etc. But that was exactly what I was after: To try to find out what happens if you cut out everything and see what is left.
I was unhappy with my life before. I knew it must change but I didn't know what. So, my strategy was to radically change every single aspect of my life and see if that which remains is happiness.
I moved from Austria to China, travelled three months in Northern China, then three months of volunteering in Japan, one month of cycling in Japan, a few weeks in South Korea, then Hong Kong for a few months because I had to financially recover, and now cycling from HK to Macao through China and ending up backpacking in South East Asia.
Along the way, I killed my career, my CV has a complete blank of two years, my experience being next to nothing in a specialised branch of any industry. I have no friends who I can meet, only occasional travel buddies. I have no stable income. Anything I own is within my backpack and on my bike.
The result: absolute freedom and ultimate bliss.
Why?
I found my love during my cycle tour and she is travelling with me now. I have total freedom cause I don't need to obey my parents nor any society. I pay no tax cause I am always a traveller. I can stay wherever I want for as long as I like or if I don't like a place I can leave the next day. There aren't any ties that can bind me. The only signifiant restriction is my girlfriend but I decided for it myself. It's not forced upon me.
Before, I was classified as the unattractive Chinese in Austria, cause most of the girls there didn't like Asians in that particular way. But after I travelled, I got my six pack and became the lady killer, especially in Japan. A YouTuber from the US even told me to start a channel teaching travellers how to pick up girls. I gave it a thought but soon I got my girlfriend which meant death to the career as a pick up artist.
Long term travel changes your life, it changes your perception of what the world is like because if you would like to ask me what is the essence of what I learned from my travel so far condensed into one sentence:
Each country is an entire universe, crossing one border is like waking up from a dream, what an example of impermanence, nothing lasts and everything is changing leaving no one-sided truth the truth.
The Entire Travel Series
Read even more from the Journey to the West series. Start from the top.
The Begin
Donated Rear Panniers
Last Shopping
Buying Supplies
The Map
First Day of Ride
If it Rains, it's Not Laziness
Long Ride in Shenzhen
The First Mistake and How We Fixed It
Don't Give Up the Bike Tour
Last Days in China
Biking Thailand Starts in Chiang Mai
Updated Travel Mode in Chiang Rai
#travelfeed #minnowsupport #blog #photofeed #steemrepo #mspsteem #travel #photography #food #life