From Jan 1 – Feb 6, I’ve traveled to Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Thailand and China. Why am I writing about this so late? Because I’m lazy and I procrastinate. But anyway, imagine hiring a prostitute that doesn’t give “happy endings.” Two words: blue balls. Five countries in five weeks= blue balls.
Do I have more stamps than you in my passport? Perhaps. Do I care? No. Because I spread myself so thin, the trip wasn’t as meaningful as I had hoped. Throughout the five weeks, I looked to counteract fits of boredom, loneliness by actively attempting to build relationships with others. However, once I established the grounds for friendship, it was time to leave. Oh, that cute Korean girl wants to take you out Thursday to the bustling bar scene in Itaewon(Seoul)? Nahh can’t, my flight is on Thursday morning. Oh, the English engineer is looking to rent a van to venture through the fresh powders of Japan for the weekend? Sounds fun but I got a flight to catch Friday. Of course, I planted the seeds of friendship with a variety of individuals: my motorcycle- ridin Singaporean buddy, the horny-ass Welshman, the cop-destroying danish, the comedic korean girls etc. However, I didn’t give it time for the seeds to sprout.
If you’ve read my other post on “solo-traveling,” I explain the benefits of traveling alone. However, let’s talk about the yin of solo-traveling. Remember those times when your friend pours excessive amounts of alcohol down your throat, you walk into your old high school restroom or watch “two girls, one cup”? In Japan, rather than seeing the powder white snow-caps of Mt. Fuji, I slept next to the beautiful ramen lake with islands of chashu floating in the toilet. On a positive note, I got an incredible ab workout while losing five pounds in three days. Amazing! Nah. Can’t speak Japanese. Don’t know where to buy medicine. Don’t have anybody to care for me ( cry…cry….).
So no, I didn’t “find” myself through this trip. I probably suffered a bit more than I wanted. It’s all about managing expectations. I went into this trip believing that I’d be adding my next round of epiphanies. However, growth should never be fueled by sudden epiphanies but rather the constant struggle to throw ourselves into uncomfortable situations. And discomfort is available to us everyday, with and without travel. GoPro video coming soon.
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