Why I decided to travel
I have always loved travelling. Unfortunately, this was the real world and I had to work and make that sweet moola. At the same time I was completing my Masters degree. The only problem with working and studying was that it was making me a dull boy. Against all odds, I completed my Masters in Mechanical Engineering. The world then opened up, full of possibilities.
I had been thinking celebrating the end of my schooling (finally). What better way than to do what I loved and go travelling. It was the perfect time, I had finished my degree, had enough money and work experience. In my last month at work while things were winding down I started researching where to go and what to do. All of this was just in the realm of fantasy and just a fun thought experiment. I’ve been hearing about this “recipe” my entire life.
- Unwillingly be born
- Go to school from ages 6 – 18
- Get good grades
- Go to a good university
- Get a good degree
- Get a good job
- Work, save money
- Get a good house
- Get a good wife
- Have good kids
- Blah, blah, blah
I wanted to rebel against this “recipe”, believing that there was more to life than the ~ 20 days of “freedom” per year. I decided that “life” could wait. It was a tough choice, on one hand leaving the freedom and security of a good job and risking it all for who knows what. Against better judgement, common sense, pressure from family, friends, and my bank account, I decided to throw caution to the wind. I decided to explore. I could leave my job, had no tangible assets to my name and had no girlfriend (#foreveralone).
There were three choices, backpack through SE Asia, Latin America or go to Europe. It took me awhile to decide but eventually I settled on SE Asia, mainly because it seemed easy to travel and there is a popular backpacking route known as the “Banana Pancake” route. Coincidentally, I used a methodology I developed during my degree to help me decide.
Selected for a once in lifetime opportunity – Hah! JK Get Rekt Lozer!!!!
Initially, my trip was not supposed to start in Thailand. I had applied for a programme through a certain consulate here in South Africa. The consulate had a programme for diaspora of that country, of which I am. It included an all-expenses paid trip to that country. Awesome right. My plan was to go for that trip and from there, fly to Thailand. It was a lot cheaper to fly from there than from South Africa. After my application the consulate informed me that I had been selected. I was excited and planned my trip from there, however, as the departure date came ever closer I had not heard any specifics.
My cousins whom had previously attended the programme informed me that they were disorganised and I should not worry. Subsequently, three days before the departure date I was informed that I was no longer selected due to an error on their side. I was furious but decided to “screw it and just do it”. Once I had been informed of the error, I immediately booked a one-way flight to Thailand.
Why Thailand? Because I did not need a visa, it seemed like a great way to start the Banana Pancake trail and lastly (and actually the only reason that mattered), it was the cheapest flight.
Preparing (or lack thereof) to leave
The flight was less than a week away. I bought a backpack, a water purification filter and a GoPro. Furthermore, I gave myself some extra chromosomes by taking every vaccine that I could. Packing as light as I could to stay below the 8kg had luggage limit (my packing list can be found here). My parents gave me a broken bag that I stuffed full of snacks and odds and ends. No matter how much I prepared it seemed that it was not enough. I was scared and nervous. This was only the second time I had solo-travelled, with the first being an exchange programme I did to Germany when I was 15.
At this point I didn’t know much about how to travel and got myself into some trouble at the OR Tambo airport, Qatar immigration control and lastly once I got to Thailand. That’s a story for another day though.