For a long time I have thought of going for a long trip around the world... I had never really thought of a specific destination to be honest. Just roam aimlessly as far as I have the energy to do so (or my bank account allows me to :) until I figure out why it is that I am so passionate about traveling.
Many of us marvel at a sunset, others at some awesome view over a city while I must say that what really stays with me during my trips are the people I have met during my journeys and with who I experience the places I visit. Those little moments make it all worthwhile and it can (and does!) entirely change the way you experience a city, a country, a nation. You will probably agree with me that it's much better to know a city when you know someone local - they will take you to the best/less touristic restaurants, bars, cafeterias, you name it! And this is what it really matters and is what you take home with you. Your emotions, the feeling that a certain place or situation caused in your gut... whether it is the best mojito you ever had or the most beautiful church you have ever seen, it does not matter! There are these moments that you just feel 'ah, this is why I want to travel and see what is out there...'. For me, these moments are mostly achieved when opening up to the local culture and embracing it!
For this reason, I have found traveling around Europe and North America to be on the dull side... of course we all have our differences and, don't get me wrong, I love Europe and feel that's home to me, but there are only little cultural shocks when you cross borders... oh wait, what borders? Slowly we're breaking down those borders, we began using the same currency (let's see how long that lasts :P) and expanding to more and more territories. On the other hand, Asia (and probably the Southeast even more) is a part of the world where European/American influence is less obvious and I have an amazing curiosity of seeing it all with my own eyes...
This is gonna be the adventure of the next nearly 3 months, where I will be flying to Manila in the Philippines and then head to Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos... hope you enjoy the reading as much as I'm sure I will enjoy the experience!
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