Love at First Flight

"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." 

-St. Augustine

Nah-ah! I'm not going to tell you about a love story of how I met a good looking blonde guy (with British accent) on a plane while going to a foreign country because I didn't meet any! (how I wish! haha!). This is not about a romantic love affair because (sad to say) I have none. (at the moment, haha!)

Seriously now, I just feel like sharing how my love for backpacking started.

Let's begin.

It was last year (2012), that I had my first ever backpacking trip. I joined a tour with one of my good friends, Ate Aileen. The tour was called "Backpacking in SouthEast Asia" organized by TravelPack. To be honest, I had no idea what backpacking meant that time. I actually thought we're supposed to use backpacks hence the name of the tour, but of course I travelled with my pink trolley instead! :p. All I had in mind was that "I'm going on a trip in 3 countries in Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia & Thailand). Yay!!!" -the highlight of my Summer break! (I'll talk about my SEA Adventures on another post.)

So having no idea what backpacking was all about, I had visualized myself staying in a fancy hotel, taking a photo of my sumptuous lunch then uploading it in my Instagram (cool eh! Haha!), reading a book while I sit comfortably inside my train cabin and the list goes on and on and on..  but guess what! All of these didn't happen. Contrary to what I had in mind, I didn't sleep in a fancy hotel, I ate fried rice almost all of the time, read a book while I sat and slept UNCOMFORTABLY inside the train cabin for 36 hours, YES! THIRTY-SIX LOOOOOOOONG HOURS with just a view of the mountains and rice fields. Define BOREDOM. 

It was indeed the longest 36 hours of my life. I wanted to go home so bad but obviously I had no choice but to just sit quietly (while I complain on my mind). 

*I would personally like to thank my headphones and mp3 player for keeping me company during my whole trip, and of course my favorite book, the Bible.* 

To summarize my experience... 

Well let's just say it wasn't really what I expected. Surely, I didn't have the comfort I had in my mind. But the overall experience.. it was REWARDING. The pain, the sweat and all the other discomfort I felt during my whole trip were all worth it. The 36 hours of doing nothing but staring blankly outside my window is like a blessing in disguise, a temporary escape to free my mind and to think about my life in general.

Just like my backpacking experience, I'd love to think that life is not all about the luxuries and comfort in the world but it's also about the pain and discomfort that we feel which help us become stronger and better. Experience is our best teacher and we are all students. Hence, we are all backpackers! After all, I'm happy to have experienced all of that and to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way! :)

So that's it! That's the story of how my love for backpacking all started. My idea of travel changed after THAT. 

This time it's not about the hotel you check in to or the food you eat, but it's more of the adventure itself. :)

I now end this post by leaving you with some of my inspirational travel photos I found in We Heart It. 

Have a blessed & happy weekend! 

- LMB xx