Ever since re-entering working life, I realized my social life has plummeted drastically.
I have less time to travel, less time to chat with friends online; and even though when I was staying in Melaka, I didn’t go out much, at least I was still socializing with most of my friends on the net, so whenever we do catch up, I don’t feel that we have not kept in touch for a long time.
Working 8:30am – 5:30pm is a sad life. But it is life. At times I wonder what it would be like to let go of everything and just leave, at times I was really tempted to do just that. But then my parents came into mind, and this sense of responsibility as a daughter churns up and I am brought back to reality.
“I can’t, I just can’t. I have no choice!”
THAT is the MOST COMMON excuse everyone, especially Asians, not to be racist or anything, use.
I call it an excuse because, well, it is. Think about it. Did anyone literally force you to stay, as in, tie you down with a rope to a chair and ask you to work 24 hours. No right? If yes, well, you have my condolences; else to most, no right? Right??
“I am far too busy with work”, “I have a business to run”, “my parents need me”, I have commitments”, etc.
Yes, they are very reasonable reasons, or excuses, whichever. But you choose to be that way. You choose to work, you choose to start a business, you choose to be a good son or daughter, and you choose to have a commitment.
Now, before you start flaming me for being an inconsiderate asshole. I am not saying that it is a bad thing. But it is a choice you made, good or bad, a CHOICE nonetheless.
Life is full of choices. For me, I choose how I wanted life to be, I choose to work so I can support myself and hopefully one day, my parents. I choose to be bonded by heck loads of commitments so one day I can actually own properties. It is a choice I made. Saying “I have no choice” is irrelevant and selfish. It’s an excuse to push all YOUR inability to take that risk and step out of your comfort zone in order to venture further.
Tell me, why is it a dream to travel the world, at one go. Whoever said it is impossible?
Since my appearance on national television TV3 “Wanita Hari Ini” last Monday, I have received hordes of emails on how people are amazed, impressed and envious of my ability and courage to backpack as a female traveller, to many parts of the world, alone.
How do I find time? How do I find the money?
My answer to that is “there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Seriously, who ever said women cannot travel alone? Did the law state that? You said it is dangerous, have you tried it? Sure, there are many crimes on the newspaper where this girl is raped and that girl is kidnapped and killed; come on, there are crimes everywhere. Crimes happens everyday, every hour, every minute, and it can happen any where! Who ever said staying at home is safe?
And since when money is an issue for those who spend at least RM50 on alcohol and clubbing every weekend, or more than RM20 on meals every day?
Do you know, if you stop clubbing on weekends and cut your food cost by RM5 per day, you can save up to RM75 or more per week? In a month, you can save up RM300. With RM300, I can go on a 3 days 3 nights trip to Koh Samui, Thailand.
Hey, no one asks you to stay in a fancy hotel or fly there. If hitching is not your cup of tea, take an overnight bus or train. It will save you a night AND it is cheap AND you get to see sceneries along the way!
Then they will ask: “but why alone?”
My question is “why not?”
Maybe I’m a loner; maybe I have few friends that share the same passion in travelling as I have; maybe whenever you arrange a trip, everyone will bail out in the end due to work commitments; maybe no matter how many people you invited on a trip, you will end up being alone due to unforeseen circumstances. There are so many reasons I ran out of breathe just thinking about it. So why not alone?
Maybe because you think that going alone won’t be as enjoyable? Maybe because you think that it is dangerous? Maybe… maybe…
I can only say, the most outrageous trips that I have embarked so far are those when I go solo. On these trips, I met people around the world, and they are there and then my friends, my food-mate, my clubbing-mate, my hitch-hiking mate…etc. Three years ago I met this Dutch girl who was 19 years old back then, and both of us hitch hiked our way through Isle of Skye and from Kyle to Fort William in Scotland; we rented a bike and cycled through the most beautiful glens in Europe and cycled back drenched in rain, it was wild, but it was fun.
I was hiking up the third tallest mountain in the UK with a 21 year old American guy whom I just met a day ago on the bus, and we celebrated our conquest over a glass of (and my very first) self-brewed ale at the foot of the mountain.
I met this remarkable 17 year old girl of what nation I have forgotten and of what name I couldn’t recall in a small hostel in Westport, Ireland who had been travelling for 3 years then and decided to continue travelling for the rest of her life. And then I met this adventurous Australian divorced woman in her late 40s who had last spent each of her 6 months in Ireland, Germany and the UK and had this crazy wild relationship with a 21 year old Irish boy. They were in love, so deeply they parted the day she left Ireland because she knew there were better girls out there for him, and they cried.
There are so many things one can experience when one travel alone. And these people I met throughout my journey are the people that have my deepest respect and envy. Because they took risks like none other, they are the ones that made their choices in life, despite their sacrifices; they proceed to pursue their dreams. How are they different from the rest of us? We are, after-all, human beings.
My dream, is to travel the world.
I have less time to travel, less time to chat with friends online; and even though when I was staying in Melaka, I didn’t go out much, at least I was still socializing with most of my friends on the net, so whenever we do catch up, I don’t feel that we have not kept in touch for a long time.
Working 8:30am – 5:30pm is a sad life. But it is life. At times I wonder what it would be like to let go of everything and just leave, at times I was really tempted to do just that. But then my parents came into mind, and this sense of responsibility as a daughter churns up and I am brought back to reality.
“I can’t, I just can’t. I have no choice!”
THAT is the MOST COMMON excuse everyone, especially Asians, not to be racist or anything, use.
I call it an excuse because, well, it is. Think about it. Did anyone literally force you to stay, as in, tie you down with a rope to a chair and ask you to work 24 hours. No right? If yes, well, you have my condolences; else to most, no right? Right??
“I am far too busy with work”, “I have a business to run”, “my parents need me”, I have commitments”, etc.
Yes, they are very reasonable reasons, or excuses, whichever. But you choose to be that way. You choose to work, you choose to start a business, you choose to be a good son or daughter, and you choose to have a commitment.
Now, before you start flaming me for being an inconsiderate asshole. I am not saying that it is a bad thing. But it is a choice you made, good or bad, a CHOICE nonetheless.
Life is full of choices. For me, I choose how I wanted life to be, I choose to work so I can support myself and hopefully one day, my parents. I choose to be bonded by heck loads of commitments so one day I can actually own properties. It is a choice I made. Saying “I have no choice” is irrelevant and selfish. It’s an excuse to push all YOUR inability to take that risk and step out of your comfort zone in order to venture further.
Tell me, why is it a dream to travel the world, at one go. Whoever said it is impossible?
Since my appearance on national television TV3 “Wanita Hari Ini” last Monday, I have received hordes of emails on how people are amazed, impressed and envious of my ability and courage to backpack as a female traveller, to many parts of the world, alone.
How do I find time? How do I find the money?
My answer to that is “there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Seriously, who ever said women cannot travel alone? Did the law state that? You said it is dangerous, have you tried it? Sure, there are many crimes on the newspaper where this girl is raped and that girl is kidnapped and killed; come on, there are crimes everywhere. Crimes happens everyday, every hour, every minute, and it can happen any where! Who ever said staying at home is safe?
And since when money is an issue for those who spend at least RM50 on alcohol and clubbing every weekend, or more than RM20 on meals every day?
Do you know, if you stop clubbing on weekends and cut your food cost by RM5 per day, you can save up to RM75 or more per week? In a month, you can save up RM300. With RM300, I can go on a 3 days 3 nights trip to Koh Samui, Thailand.
Hey, no one asks you to stay in a fancy hotel or fly there. If hitching is not your cup of tea, take an overnight bus or train. It will save you a night AND it is cheap AND you get to see sceneries along the way!
Then they will ask: “but why alone?”
My question is “why not?”
Maybe I’m a loner; maybe I have few friends that share the same passion in travelling as I have; maybe whenever you arrange a trip, everyone will bail out in the end due to work commitments; maybe no matter how many people you invited on a trip, you will end up being alone due to unforeseen circumstances. There are so many reasons I ran out of breathe just thinking about it. So why not alone?
Maybe because you think that going alone won’t be as enjoyable? Maybe because you think that it is dangerous? Maybe… maybe…
I can only say, the most outrageous trips that I have embarked so far are those when I go solo. On these trips, I met people around the world, and they are there and then my friends, my food-mate, my clubbing-mate, my hitch-hiking mate…etc. Three years ago I met this Dutch girl who was 19 years old back then, and both of us hitch hiked our way through Isle of Skye and from Kyle to Fort William in Scotland; we rented a bike and cycled through the most beautiful glens in Europe and cycled back drenched in rain, it was wild, but it was fun.
I was hiking up the third tallest mountain in the UK with a 21 year old American guy whom I just met a day ago on the bus, and we celebrated our conquest over a glass of (and my very first) self-brewed ale at the foot of the mountain.
I met this remarkable 17 year old girl of what nation I have forgotten and of what name I couldn’t recall in a small hostel in Westport, Ireland who had been travelling for 3 years then and decided to continue travelling for the rest of her life. And then I met this adventurous Australian divorced woman in her late 40s who had last spent each of her 6 months in Ireland, Germany and the UK and had this crazy wild relationship with a 21 year old Irish boy. They were in love, so deeply they parted the day she left Ireland because she knew there were better girls out there for him, and they cried.
There are so many things one can experience when one travel alone. And these people I met throughout my journey are the people that have my deepest respect and envy. Because they took risks like none other, they are the ones that made their choices in life, despite their sacrifices; they proceed to pursue their dreams. How are they different from the rest of us? We are, after-all, human beings.
My dream, is to travel the world.
Wrote by Nicole
