A trip to the mysterious far East to meet new colorful cultures, make my tongue go numb from eating spicy delicious food, meet people with lifestyles completely different from my own, and be left in awe by nature sights and a new world that's what awaits in 12 days time for me - or at least that's the plan. To be perfectly honest I'm still not entirely sure about where the hell I'm actually going on this adventure; how long time I'll be staying in one country before rushing off to reach the next point in exhilarating speed. I'm not entirely sure what to expect or how to prepare, what to bring or leave behind; and I've already convinced myself just about a few hundred times that 'I can probably just buy it much cheaper over there'. After all it's not a trip to the moon or three months in the deepest darkest parts of Cambodia's jungle - it's merely 40 days away from home, 8614 kilometers away from a place where I know how to be part of a society and have a fair idea of how the toilet facilities are.
My idea is that traveling is supposed to push you a little out of balance and challenge you with new thinking and ways to live. You'll go home with a new perspective on the world and maybe learn to appreciate things more, or be conflicted with the lack of certain things here in the West. You'll be out of balance till you realize what impact the journey has made on you - and how it leaves you with an even stronger fundament to balance yourself on. Prejudices will be challenged, ideas of living, thoughts about yourself will be poked to.
So maybe I'm not entirely sure what foreign currency I need to get my hands on; maybe I'm not sure whether to bring my digital camera or just use my smartphone - and a hundred other things, but what I am sure of is that it's going to be an amazing trip (as long as we at least stay out of prison - yikes).
Even though I'm not entirely sure what is going to happen on this trip - I know for sure two of my friends and I will be backpacking to four countries being; Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. I do know we're supposed to travel with local transportation and I'm absolutely sure it'll be a blast.
So far I'll have to wait 12 days before my plane leaves to Bangkok where I'll meet my two friends (who are currently in Nepal) and while on my trip I'll post photos, stories, and whatever else comes to mind from this blog.
Lastly I'll be posting photos from my instagram - so if you're interested you can follow me there.
Hugs, Louise
