#5

Wanderlust

/ˈwɒndəlʌst/ a strong desire to travel.

If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough – one of my dreams was going on a worldtrip and see more of the world. Mid 2013, I made the decision to take a gap year between my bachelor and master to make this dream come true. Now it was time for the more practical things, like how am I going to pay for this? There is the option to work and travel at the same time, for example with a working visa in Australia, but I decided to first work full time for half a year at home and then have enough savings to travel for 5 months.

Once the job was arranged, it was time for the more fun part – the actual planning of the trip! Based on friends that lived abroad that I wanted to visit and some other countries I wanted to see, I went to an office of Kilroy (travel agency) to see how much these flight tickets would cost me. Really a nerve wracking experience, but luckily the costs were around what I expected them to be. They helped me very well in providing the information and support I needed (travel insurance, what kind of visa were needed etc.).

Tickets booked, check! My departure day was getting closer and closer, so I needed to start packing. My first time travelling with a backpack, so it was a quite a challenge to make the choices what to take with me. Especially as I knew I would be in many different climates. I can say now 6 years and many backpack trips later, that it becomes a lot easier 😉 .

The fews days before my departure, I was getting quite nervous and on the day itself I really felt like “why did I want to do this again?”.

I still got on the plane on my way to my first stop: Mexico-City. I was going to visit a friend that I hadn’t seen in person since 2011. I was sure I would recognize him, but then I entered the arrival hall and there were all men with black hair and dark eyes. Luckily, he quickly recognized me.

Next stop was New Zealand. I had a transit at Los Angeles where you have take your luggage and then check it in again. That’s where I got pulled aside at customs. They didn’t tell me anything for an hour and after that I needed to unpack my entire backpack. In the end, it was suspicious that I came from Amsterdam (“drug capital”) to Mexico-City (“another drug capital”) and was travelling by myself. Just in time before the baggage drop-off of the next plane closed, I was allowed to pass customs. For sure, an experience I will never forget.

New Zealand was amazing! I travelled with the Stray bus. It’s an hop on-hop off bus that travels throughout the entire country and helps you with finding accommodation and tours. And it’s a great place to meet new friends.

One of these friends was studying in Australia and offered that I could stay at her place once I was Sydney. I think that’s really the great part of travelling that people are so open and share what they have with you – whether it’s clothing you need when going on a hiking trip together or offering your couch to a friend.

After Australia, it was time to leave Down Under and explore Asia. First stop here was China – I have to say this was the biggest culture shock to me where the local people want to take pictures with you, because you look like a Western person. One day I took a trip to the Chinese wall – this was really a moment that felt like I was in a movie. It was great seeing it with my own eyes.

Up next was South-Korea – super modern country. I of course went to Gangnam to see where the Gangnam style song came from.

Then it was time for South East Asia. First I did voluntary work in a wildlife centre in Thailand, in particular elephants. It was an experience to never forget – they explained a lot also regarding the use of elephants for tourists. I know for sure that I will never ride an elephant after their stories how they are being treated. Then crossing the border to Lao – where one night I’ve stayed in a tree house in the middle of jungle. Final destination was Cambodia where I got to see Angkor Wat with my own eyes.

This worldtrip is a period of my life that I will cherish forever. Although, the “problem” with travelling is that you get the tick some countries off your list, but then you get at least 3 new recommendations of countries from the people you meet. So I can so for sure the wanderlust is still there, so let’s see what the next destination will be!