There ain't no going backs

by Peter
(Sitiawan, Malaysia)

Traveling is extremely addictive, at least in my case. I felt homesick to the days in Asia when being back home in Holland. No video, food, friends, even writing made it up.

My mom used to say I looked so much happier when on the road then being in Holland. She was, as always, right. It was therefore only a matter of time I would not only travel a much longer time than a "normal" 3 weeks holiday but simply stay in Asia and find a way to live.

After my first Asian journey, I came back in Holland and was within days planning my second visit, heck even thinking where I would go in the next 5 holidays! Obviously it was not the way to go back in normal life.

I lost certain friends who didn't understood the obsession, but I made new friends too. In the end, there was only one solution for me: go out to Asia for a much longer time and fulfill my dream.

The problem with that was that my dream turned out to be much bigger then being on the road in Asia for "just a year".

What I am trying to explain here is this: follow your heart. Do what you think you have to do. If this means one day you will leave everything behind, then that's what you have to do. If you feel you can handle the desire to travel in Asia until the next year because you find satisfaction in Amanda's points, your friends, family etc, then that is also great.

But again, the most important thing is... follow your dream! I did that and combined it with writing my Bicycle Adventures.com website and thus finding a way to finance my travels.