Leaving Asia - Starting on a new path

Well, the time has come. It is just hours until I take off in an airplane headed for Uzbekistan and then Rome, Italy. It's been a wild 14 months that I've spent jumping around Asia and I've really enjoyed my time, even with the craziness that it has brought.

I'm actually feeling very nervous but also excited about this next step in my life, becoming a permanent traveler. I can't quite put it into words, how this all feels. Some people say they 'get it' but I'm not sure most people do. It's such an humbling experience, packing everything you own into two backpacks and giving everything that doesn't fit away. Do I really need that 5th pair of shoes? How many pairs of underwear will I really want to have. Which mementos from my time in Asia will I take with me, of the hundred of pictures my students have drawn to random papers that I seem to collect?

These past 2 months I have been traveling solo have been really hard and life changing at the same time. Truly understanding what it means to be on my own, not having anyone or anything to answer to except for me. No work, no significant other, no parents (sorry Mom...), I can get a tattoo (check), I can get smashed on Khao San Street in Bangkok (check), I can buy a one way ticket to another continent (check) and I can just vegetate in my room for 3 days at a time (check). It's all up to me and it is a breath of fresh air that is terrifying to take.

Well, those are my thoughts on the subject as I'm sitting here waiting for a bus to take me to the airport. By the way, Uzbekistan Airlines has really cheap flights from Bangkok to Rome. Hopefully I'll get a good story out of these plane rides.

View of North Phnom Penh from Phnom Oudong, Cambodia

Number 1 Lesson Learned in SE Asia

It is officially my last few days in SE Asia, and my last weekend in Cambodia. This country is one that has stolen my heart. While I'm very excited to head to Italy and explore a new continent, I am somewhat sad to be leaving this special and beautiful part of the world.

 

Downtown Phnom Penh



The Khmer people are some of my favorite people in the world, with their large hearts and very giving spirits. I have had some of the best relaxing times of my life, here in SE Asia. It is a place to relax, rejuvenate and experience the world around you. The pace here is so different from what I had in the United States. Its slower and you learn to live in the details.
I have watched locals sit at their shops all day, not talking to many people, maybe serving one or two customers, just existing. Not struggling, not moving so fast that they miss life, but really just living in the moment that they are in and watching the world around them. It's a very impressive talent they have and the fact that they are content with life as it is, it encourages me to slow down and experience things as they do. Not rush to the next goal.
One of many lessons I have learned, to be sure, but the most important thing, none the less.

Enjoying life, Sen Monorom, Cambodia