Showing posts with label backpacking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label backpacking. Show all posts

Monday, August 25, 2014

Seeking alone time and getting much more in Indonesia



A month ago, I awoke on my last day on the largest of the Gili Islands, tucked between Bali and Lombok islands in Indonesia. I awoke to birds chirping, leaves lightly blowing, plates clinking, oceans waving; I awoke to the sounds of paradise. I also awoke to a deep sadness to be leaving not only a tiny beautiful place, but the unexpected group of friends I had made there as well.

Going to Gili Trawangan was my getaway. To rinse myself from the noise and pollution of Beijing, to take advantage of being in Asia again, to see a new place, and strap on my backpack again. It was mainly a scuba diving trip, as diving is a huge hobby of mine, and I don't have a chance to do it when I am in Toronto. I had heard from Brenna that there were lots of turtles in the water, and that the island was a good place to chill out and enjoy beautiful beaches.

I was going to be by myself.

Early to sleep, I'd wake with the sun for my dives. I'd stretch and meditate, and try my best to breathe slowly underwater to conserve my air. I'd look carefully under rocks and in coral for creatures of the sea, and move myself with subtle movements of my flippers. I'd be cautious and calm, and take every moment of the dive in. Once finished the dive, I'd go through the fish identification book with the other divers to determine what we saw. I'd learn the names of everything we saw and research them.

After my dives, I'd write in my journal on the beach with a cocktail or seashell in hand, and sand on my skin. I'd reflect on my time in Beijing and try to determine what it was that made living there so hard for me. I'd write about my life of late, and reflect on what it means to be almost thirty. I'd make a list of all the people I love, and write postcards to them. I'd spend these ten days quietly nurturing myself. I wouldn't meet many people, and I'd keep to myself.

It didn't quite turn out that way.

When boarding the boat for the 2 hour journey from Bali to Lombok, I met a traveller named Martin who enthralled me with stories of med school and hiking Mount Bromo. We rode the boat next to each other and exchanged ideas about travelling and realized we both share a need to travel that many of our friends at home do not understand about us. When we arrived on the island, we decided to share a room because it was cheaper than bunk beds at the popular backpackers. With that, I was inducted into the established travel-friend group of Martin. He had stayed at In Da Lodge hostel in Ubud a few weeks earlier, and had met a group of solo travellers there who were all travelling to Gili in the coming weeks. As soon as Martin and I arrived to the island, he kept an eye out for his posse.

Within a day, serendipitous reuniting hugs abound, the In Da Lodge crew was together again. There is something very sweet about meeting a friend at one time on your trip, and then seeing them again in another place. It feels extra special to see them again, and upon reuniting, those new friends feel instantly like old friends from the road. They shared inside jokes from Ubud and teased each other in a way that good friends do. Instead of being an outsider who wasn't among the original group, I was adopted in like I'd been there the whole time. I was greeted with hugs and smiles and curiosity and  warmth. I was on the receiving end of the openness of the travelling spirit.

We ate dinner together at the night market on the island, and more friends showed up. We gorged ourselves on pretty cakes and desserts and stories from our various adventures. Afterward, someone mentioned a silent disco, and we danced together in silence with earphones on until 3 am.

The next morning, I rushed to the scuba shop and was kindly teased for showing up 15 minutes late. I had to throw together my gear and barely had time to squeeze in a cup of tea before heading to the boat.

Once under water, though, the quietness came. The sound of my own breath and the entire ocean surrounding me, entirely wrapped up in the underwater world around me. Slow motion bubbles and an anemonefish with two tiny babies, barely visible in the swaying coral. An octopus curled under a shelf, camouflaged black, with only a large white winking eye to give itself away. A strong current pulling us along, leaving us expending almost no effort to move across the dive site. That precious dreamy sense of weightlessness that I can only know when I dive. The only sound is a distant tap of metal on tank as our instructor points out a family of sharks cozy between large boulders. I see three, and find out when we surface that there were six. The dream comes to an end as our tanks run light and we slowly surface. During our three minute safety stop, a massive hawksbill turtle comes up for air nearby, and I realize we are both going up for air in this moment, the turtle and I.

On the boat as we ride back toward the beach, I realize that diving was what I really needed. The dive was my meditation, it was all the contemplation I sought for this adventure. I didn't need the afternoon alone to write about it in my journal over a coffee. The notes in my logbook would remind me of the life we saw underwater. What I really wanted after those dives was the company of my new friends.

After a long chat with the friendly scuba staff, I felt so lucky to return to the room for a shower and then meet up with Martin, to ride bikes along the beach and find the rest of the gang for sunset watching over Bintangs on the beach, for storytelling and photo-taking and those momentary blips in time when you really feel like this is it, this is the sum of all of my life. This is where the choices I have made have taken me, and this is where I am now. These people are my friends now, and all of us have been brought here by different forces in our lives. Though we might not meet again, right now, we are watching this sunset together.

It gets me every time. Heading off for solo adventures, seeking time alone to contemplate the depths of my soul, but instead finding new friends and new places to bring you into the moment and realizing that "it wasn't being alone that I needed, but travel".

Flying home is always emotional, but this time I felt so full of life I could hardly contain it. Those mad feelings came out in tears and laughs and deep sighs during the days that followed my return. I glued the log book pages into my dive log just yesterday, and a seashell from Gili T sits on my bathroom shelf to remind me that the sea is never really that far out of reach.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Natural Risk-Takers

Sitting in the Porter lounge at Billy Bishop airport in Toronto, my flight to Boston cancelled and rescheduled 5 hours later, I pull up some readings for my online masters program. This week we are discussing how to teach listening:

"Those who are cautious need to be encouraged to take risks and to make inferences based upon the words they have managed to identify. Natural risk-takers need to be encouraged to check their guesses against new evidence as it comes in from the speaker. And all learners need to be shown that making guesses is not a sign of failure: it is a normal part of listening to a foreign language"
('The Changing Face of Listening', by John Field, English Teaching Professional 6 1998)

"Natural risk-takers". The idea that some of us are naturally predisposed to a life of risk. 

As a traveller, I often reflect on situations where I ought to have made different choices than I did. Should I have hopped in that car with the man who worked in the Underground in London? Should I have drank that mysterious cloudy alcohol in Turkey, given to me by a person whose name I didn't know? Should I have slept alone in all those airports? Should I have had that Chai tea with that stranger in Kuala Lumpur? Should I have pulled out my camera and taken that photo of the 'no photo' sign at the border? Should I have gotten on that bus without checking that it was the right one, not knowing it would drop me off in the dark next to a garbage dump at midnight? Should I have made those choices? Should I have taken those risks?

Should you really have trusted me with all your worldly belongings?

Maybe not. 

Maybe I shouldn't have gotten drunk with my roommate and spontaneously booked that one-way ticket to London back in 2006. Maybe I shouldn't have gone to Korea without knowing anything more than the voice of my boss. Maybe I shouldn't have held my camera in one hand while trying not to fall on that slippery border crossing above a rushing river. Maybe I shouldn't have had that lemon shake that tasted a bit funny. Maybe I shouldn't have sat on the stairs of that train carriage. 

Maybe I shouldn't have talked to that guy at that party. 

But, what if?

If I hadn't booked that ticket to London, I wouldn't have travelled those 22 countries in 4 months, and I wouldn't have learned that I could travel alone. If I hadn't gone to Korea, I wouldn't have spent 4 of the happiest years of my twenties making friendships and memories that will last my lifetime. If I hadn't filmed that border crossing, I wouldn't remember how unsafe that bridge actually was. If I hadn't had that lemon shake I wouldn't have gotten traveller's diarrhea... okay so that was one risk I shouldn't have taken, but it was so thirst-quenching! If I hadn't sat on the stairs of the train carriage I wouldn't have dropped my purse and leaped off the moving train (James Bond style) to get it, but I also wouldn't have learned that a train in Burma will stop for that one idiot traveller who jumped off.

If I hadn't talked to that guy at that party, I wouldn't be sitting in this airport lounge now, with him at my side, waiting to board this plane to Boston. 

In language learning, in travel, in life, we take risks every day. We have heard that getting in a car presents more risk than boarding a plane.

I'm not encouraging wannabe travellers to adopt a risk-taking attitude, or that natural risk-takers make better travellers. No, not at all. What I am saying is that our lives are made up of the sum of our experiences. And the experiences that we have are, sometimes, the direct result of the choices we make. Risk-taker or cautious, we are all making choices every day that shape the direction of our lives.

While we're getting deep, I'll also share that I suffer from overconfidence, a trait that can make or break a person, almost literally. Over the years, and throughout my travels, I have tried to keep my confidence in check, and to recognize when a particular situation merits more logical reflection than an impulsive choice. As I inch closer and closer to my thirtieth birthday, (pause for reaction), I am learning to balance my personal, educational, and professional life with my natural tendency to throw all my eggs in one basket, or (more literally) throw all my savings into a 6-month trip through South America. Trying to see the whole damn world while keeping my head on straight.

It is gonna take more than a few risks to get me there, or perhaps it will just take a few more cancelled flights.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Reunions and plane tickets








I'm now writing from the airport in Manila as I wait to get my flight to Boracay. The wifi connection I'm using is called "morefuninthephilippines". I hope that's a prediction about the time I'm going to have here!

Yesterday in Seoul I had a relaxing morning after a twelve hour sleep. I bought some sleeping pills for a pharmacy to help me get the rest I needed, and luckily they helped a lot. I got 8 pills for $2.00 (can't beat that price)!

For lunch, I met my good friend Hyunwoo Sun, CEO of Talk To Me In Korean. He and I became friends several years ago, and it's always a great and interesting time with him. I visited the TTMIK office and we all went out for lunch together. I really enjoy their company, and it felt kind of like a reunion! Actually, this whole visit is like a reunion of friendships. 

After parting with that group, I went to Insadong to meet another old friend who I met in Jinju. She is also visiting Korea now, and we just happened to overlap our visits here. Seeing her was great, and we made some travel plans together! I'll probably go to visit her in Washington DC sometime this year, and we might go visit a mutual friend in France who we met in Jinju. 

Then, it was the airport railroad. A familiar sight for me... but always a welcome one. 

Travelling makes me happier than pretty much anything else in my life. 



Monday, April 15, 2013

Travelling Alone: How to get the most out of solo travel

Istanbul, Turkey

“Hi Kerri, 

I found your blog a few days ago and read that you travelled solo around Europe after graduating uni. I'm actually just finishing high school (sixth form here in England!), and in the four months before I start uni I'm travelling to Australia, stopping off in New Zealand, Thailand, and hopefully Hong Kong. Although there are a few people I'll be able to stay with, and a few I'll meet up with, I will be spending the vast majority of the trip on my own, and was wondering if you've got any tips about how to get the most out of solo travel. I'd also like to meet people as I go - do you have any particular ideas about how to do this? I booked my ticket, also kind of an 'in the moment' thing, and was getting a bit nervous, so it was really cool to read that you did something similar and had a great time.

Thanks so much, 
Ruby, from Cambridge” 

I dedicate this post to you, Ruby, and to all first-time solo travellers who are reading this. There are a lot of solo travellers out there right now, on planes, on trains, and in hostels, and every one of them took the same leap of faith you are contemplating now.

Here I will outline what I've gathered from my own solo travel experiences in the hopes of inspiring some of you to book the flight you've been dreaming of. Be not afraid of travelling solo - the only thing you should be scared of is the fact that you might never stop travelling once you start.

London, England

Book Your Ticket Now

When I booked my one-way ticket to London back in 2006, drunk off the amazing conversation I’d had with my roommate, and perhaps a little wine, I felt instantly like something big was happening. I had put into motion a plan I’d had in mind for so many years, a dream, a wish: to backpack in Europe alone. All I did was log onto expedia.com, chose my flight, put in my credit card info, and clicked “Confirm”. I read over the confirmation email, marked the date in my calendar, and from that moment on, had a date to count down to. Nothing excites me more than having a flight coming up for a new adventure.

If you’re scared, worried, and feeling totally crazy, know that I was too.

When I arrived at the airport, all packed up, guidebook in hand, I said goodbye to my parents and realized I was on my own. I was actually starting my journey – alone. Waiting at the departure gate, I read my book and stared at the other travellers, wondering if anyone else was also alone. I was too shy to ask at that point though, so I was left with my imaginings of the other people.

As soon as we landed at Gatwick, I made friends with another traveller while waiting to pick up my bag. He asked me if I was going downtown, and we shared a cab into the city.This brings me smoothly to my next piece of advice…


Guilin, China
 
Talk to Other Travellers 

You’re in a new city,and you don’t really know the ropes. You might have a place in mind to visit,but you’re not really sure if you want to go there alone. Lucky for you,there’s an army of solo travellers just like you sitting down for the free hostel breakfast, and this is your chance to find a friend and travel companion for the day. Ask others where they plan on going that day, and let them know what places you have in mind. If you have overlapping plans, before you can ask to join, the other will probably invite you to come along. If you're feeling shy, use my tactic for meeting people, and just pretend that you're already friends with whoever you're meeting. That way, you speed through all of the formalities and can get to the real conversations.

Travellers are some of the most easy going and friendliest people I’ve ever encountered, and they tend to treat fellow travellers as insta-friends. Meeting all these friendly people brings me to the next tip for solo travels…

 Hanoi, Vietnam

Talk to the Hostel Staff 

Not sure where the nearest ATM is? Wanna find a movie theatre? Lost your adapter? The staff at hostels are a great resource, as most of them are experienced travellers themselves. They can offer lots of good ideas for things to do when you arrive in a new city, and some hostels even offer free daily walking tours of the cities. If you're not sure where to eat, hostel staff can usually provide you with an extensive list of local choices, and they might even invite you to join them at their regular spot. If you want company, tell the staff you're travelling alone and they'll be happy to guide you in the right direction to meet some people to hang out with. Once you find your groove, take this next piece of advice and run...

Cheongju, Korea

Say Yes to Everything (within reason)

One of the greatest joys of solo travel is the ability to be spontaneous, and this means being able to say “yes” to unplanned invitations. At your hostel, when you start talking with other travellers, you’ll hear about places you never knew existed until that moment, and you might be invited to tag along and visit somewhere that you’d never planned on going. Even if you think the activity isn’t really your style, (like me agreeing to join a pub-crawl in Berlin when all I really wanted to do was sit in the park), by saying yes, you give yourself a chance to have a new experience. Isn’t that what all this travel business is about, anyway? Onto my next tip…

Dublin, Ireland
Keep a Journal

Travelling alone can be a very reflective time in your life, and many people say they travel to “figure out what they’re doing”. Although you might not get the answer to that question, you will certainly have a lot of time to think. Taking a train alone,having a meal alone, or even waking up in a hostel after everyone’s checked out: you are surrounded with as much alone time as you seek. I always like to keep a diary so that when I have an epiphany about something, or even just want to make a note about the name of the amazing food I ate for dinner, I can. To look back on old travel journals is a great pleasure, and sitting with a journal can be a conversation starter with other travellers. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been sitting in a hostel bar writing in my diary when someone comes up and asks what I’m writing.  

I never travel without my diary.One should always have
something sensational to read on the train.
- Oscar Wilde

Brussles, Belgium

Here's a little anecdotal tale in the spirit of journalling and Oscar Wilde...

Once when I was taking an overnight train somewhere in Germany, I met three American travellers. We chatted about our routes, and naturally I pulled out my diary when the conversation died down. At that point, the conversation livened up again as they all became very curious about my diary. After a while, I eventually handed it over for them to devour. They loved reading of my escapades, and it was fun for me to see how others reacted to the way I'd journaled my experiences. I really should look back on those diary entries… but first, the next tip!

Machu Picchu, Peru

Trust Your Gut & Be Smart 

The running theme here is that travellers are pretty nice people, and of course this is a generalization, but it is one that I have made throughout my travels in 45 different countries, and one that I hold to be mostly true. I believe trusting in people, both locals and other travellers, allows me to relax when I travel, and it helps me be spontaneous and have more enriching travel experiences. However, no matter what you might be doing, always listen to that little voice inside of you. If something feels wrong, it probably is. Since you’re travelling alone, no one else is going to take responsibility for you if something goes wrong. Be smart – you’re ultimately the only one who can take care of yourself if you need to think straight. I hope I’m stating the obvious when I say don’t get plastered drunk with a group of people you don’t know, don’t take drugs from anyone, and definitely don’t leave your belongings with a trusting stranger. Lock up your valuables (passport, money, credit cards, computer if you have one, hard drive, etc.) in the lockers provided by hostels, and you’ll feel much more at ease knowing your things are safe. Now that I’ve lectured you about safety, let’s get back to the fun stuff…

Cahuita, Costa Rica

Don’t Plan Too Much 

When I travel, I usually have a general route in mind for the cities and sites I want to visit. The way I find what I want to see varies, but a fun way to get ready for a trip is to Google map the place you are visiting, and click to view the images. You can click around and see street views of the places you are interested in, as well as discover amazing churches, landscapes, and things you never knew were there. So, do some research and get excited about seeing certain places… but don’t stick to your plan like glue. Travels rarely go exactly as planned, as trains and buses leave off schedule, certain hostels are closed for the season, and sometimes you just change your mind once you get somewhere. Leave room in your plans for change, as you might arrive somewhere and fall in love with the hostel dog and just want to stay there and chill out for a while. You want to give yourself options when you travel, so my advice is to always keep things open… and that’s our last piece of advice here! 

Perth, Australia
Be Open 

In 2006, before I set out for my first solo travels in Europe, I sat in the passenger seat as my dad drove me to the airport. I had packed everything carefully, and I was ready to go. We talked along the way, and as we approached the airport, my dad offered this timeless advice:


“When you’re on the open road, be open.” 

This was the first sentence I wrote in my diary of my Europe trip, and I’ve never forgotten it. There is no other time in your life when you are as free to do what you like as when you travel alone. Tired? Sleep in. Hungry? Eat another lunch. Don’t want to take a night bus tonight? Stay another day.

You are the master of your own destiny when you travel alone. To make sure you get the most out of the experience, be open to the places you go, and the people you meet. For me, when I look back on my favourite moments in my travels, many of them involve the amazing friends I travelled with. But, there are also many special memories and experiences that I had when I was alone...

Sitting in a park in Cusco, watching kids play in a fountain. Eating a giant gooey chocolate waffle in the streets of Brugges. Sharing a loaf of bread with some kids in Angkor Wat. Being asked where in Paris I lived when walking in Champ de Mars. Taking a selfie in front of Big Ben. Going for the same café con leche at the same café for 2 weeks straight in Santiago. Crying on a train from Berlin to Amsterdam. Coming back to my hostel bed in Warsaw to find a note from a fellow traveller with whom I hadn’t swapped emails yet. Memorizing the names of school children in Santa Cruz...

And I wouldn’t have these memories any other way.

Colonia, Uruguay


Travelling alone is scary at the beginning, but as soon as you realize you are completely in control of everything you do, you quickly learn to love the freedom. Give in to your temptations to be on the road alone - you never know what's drawing you travel, or who you might meet, until you're out there. Nothing quite compares with the feeling of sitting on a plane full of strangers, quietly bubbling with joy inside knowing you're doing it - you're finally travelling alone!

Join the rest of us solo backpackers hanging out on couches and wandering around airports and bus stations. We are waiting for the next solo traveller to share a taxi with...


Love Solo Travel? Add your tip as a comment below.

Friday, February 1, 2013

The Prettiest City in South America


Yes, South America is beautiful. The surfy seas, the cloudy mountains, the endless deserts, the deep jungles, and the cities which are situated among these landscapes.

Cusco, however, captured my heart because it is simply a beautiful city. It is surrounded by mountains, and the main square is framed by two stunning old churches. It was - by miles on the Inca trail - the prettiest city I've been to in South America.

That being said, I haven't made it to Rio yet...


Sunday, July 1, 2012

the evolution of a backpack (& the legend of the woman in the black dress)

My first extended backpacking trip was around Europe back in 2006, where I managed to see 22 countries in 4 months. I began the trip hopeful and naive with a bag weighing 12kgs (not including my carry-on), and I came home with a full heart and a dirty bag weighing in at a hefty 17kgs. It was getting hard to lift near the end of the trip, with gifts and ticket stubs and moments of life all fighting for space in my bag.

Here in 2012, I begin my second extensive backpacking trip, as I head off to Nicaragua to meet up with my friend to navigate our way through central and south America until we get to Rio de Janeiro. We're planning to be on the road for a few months (but it could end up being longer if we love a certain somewhere). I vowed to myself not to bring too much stuff, and in particular not too many clothes.

Having recently moved out of my apartment in Jinju, Korea - where I had lived comfortably for 2 years - I parted with a lot of clothes. Some were old vintage items I just wasn't wearing, some were new items that I hadn't quite worked into my wardrobe, and there were lots of colourful scarves and pretty skirts that just fell somewhere in between. With the simplicity of fewer things in my apartment in Korea, I also seem to have adopted a bit more of a simpler wardrobe in the past month. Fewer costume changes, and more well-liked clothes on repeat. It is with this principle that I packed my backpack for my upcoming travels.

What clothes did I pack? A pair of jean shorts, a black skirt, a white skirt, a blue button up collared shirt, 3 pretty tops, a longsleeved shirt, a cardigan, a short dress and a pair of leggings. Just one dress, and this is odd for me, since my four-season wardrobe consists of at least 50% dresses. The reason is that I know I will find dresses I love down south.

Yes, there are other items in my bag, and that's what makes up the other 6kgs. I have a netbook and terabyte of storage for videos, a 1068 page guidebook, a GoPro camera plus the user guide (since I have yet to memorize it), a silk bed liner, a pair of blunnies and a bunch of other little things which I want to have with me. Of course I want to have dresses with me too...

But, when I'm traveling in a new city, and I find a dress that I love, I buy it. These clothing items are my souvenirs, and when I wear them I'm filled with the memories of the music, food, and the city where I bought it. Going to the land of floral dresses and handstitched patterns only makes my heart pine for beautiful dresses, and I know I'll find ones that suit me perfectly. This way, the dresses I wear on my trip will be of that area, and I can create memories and take photos wearing items from that region.

At the airport en route to Managua, Nicaragua, my backpack weighed 8.8kgs (with a carry-on at 4kgs). Here I have a much more organized and well-prepared backpack than the one I carried in Europe, and as a bonus I'm starting at a lighter weight. Remember, my first backpacking trip was 6 years ago, and I was pretty much as novice as a backpacker can get (I'd been to Paris and London for 2 weeks each on a high school exchange, but high school exchanges are far different from solo traveling, oh and that one trip to Barbados when I was 16 with my family...). I've picked up a lot of tips and tricks throughout my other travels to places including Turkey, China, Burma, Vietnam, and Thailand.


My very first time leaving Korea in 2007, I rode by boat past this bridge while it was under construction. The bridge stuck its half-contructed spine out into the sea then, weak and unready. Leaving Korea most recently in 2012, we rode along the very same bridge, now confidently providing commuters a more convenient road to reach the airport.

No umbrella, wearing my heaviest shoes instead of keeping them in the bag, using air compressing plastic bags to organize clothes, and carrying fewer liquids are some of my current strategies keeping my bag lighter. But another strategy is just simply having fewer clothes. When traveling Europe in 2006, some clothes in my bag would go a month or more without being worn, which is too long to simply be carrying clothing on the road. This time, I plan to wear everything in my bag in the span of a week, and just wash what I wear every other day in the sinks (with my handy traveler's laundry soap sheets).

It's a new strategy in practise for me, but an old concept. I remember reading of the legend of the traveling woman in the black dress who carried no backpack. They say she washed her dress and underwear every night to have it ready and clean for a new day. Sounds pretty amazing to me, and I'd love to try that on my next adventure - after I stock up on Peruvian alpaca sweaters.
Now, to you dear reader, what's your strategy when packing your travel bag? Are you a notorious overpacker, prepared for every rift of inclement weather? Or do you bring less and adopt a more frequent washing cycle, as I'm going to try? Please share your tips and ideas as a comment here on the blog, or tweet your tips and ideas to me on twitter @expatkerri.

I'm already imagining all the beautiful things I will find in Granada and beyond. I guess I'm not ready to be a legend in a black dress just yet.
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