I partially wrote an entry in March 2013 that I never got around to finishing and publishing. I polished it off today and so here it is:
Today marks the start of my final month of travels. Traveling has been a whirlwind adventure, but I’m looking forward to changes soon. In the last month, I’ve significantly lagged in sorting out and organizing my photos, haven’t really been in touch with my friends and family back in America (except for the occasional postcard), and feel relatively unaccomplished as a person. Traveling is tiring me out and I can’t wait for time to process everything that’s happened on this trip. In quiet moments to myself, I reflect. Here are my thoughts so far:
1) Long term travel should have meaning and purpose, or else you’re just aimlessly wandering from town to town, unpacking and replacing your luggage, looking at endless maps. Luckily, before my trip, I had a question in mind: “Where do I come from?” Yes, obviously, Indonesia. But what is Indonesia beyond a country? I wanted to know where I fit in, in this idea of Indonesia. I believe having this goal throughout my trip helped me focus on why I was there in the first place.
2) Traveling is really a continual act of trusting. Trusting God, the universe, Life, oneself, whatever your higher power is, that all of your needs will be met. There was a time during my travels when I ran low on cash, and none of my ATM cards worked. I was in a very remote part of Indonesia that was so rural one had to use a flashlight if you had to visit the convenience store after sunset. Luckily, I had the company of a friend I recently made a week before. He loaned me cash until I had access to an Internet connection to Skype w/ my bank, which was five days later, and I paid him back. This is just one story out of many. Traveling taught me about the kindness of strangers.
3) Next time, bring half of what you initially intend to pack. These last months, I’ve given away shirts and socks to cleaning ladies, an old pair of headphones to a bicycle taxi driver, my old leather wallet to a village girl (as an attempt to downsize my important cards and documents in one location), and even left my bulky hardcover travel guide in a bungalow lodging by the ocean. I began to rely on the traveling advice of locals, other tourists, and the Internet to decide where to go next and how I was going to get there. As I let go of dead weight, I felt more free. Undoubtedly, less is more.
Bendera merah & putih 