Making dreams come true

A thought came to my mind.

What if I could make all my dreams come true?

What if it wasn’t about the money I earned? What if it wasn’t about the career or the success I achieved? What if it wasn’t about all the material possessions I gathered?

The truth is, all material possessions you have or you want to have will turn into dust and disappear one day.

What if you didn’t need all of it? What if the only thing you need is to be connected with your self?

It might sound strange to some people, but that’s it, that’s where the magic lies. Within you. That is, where you find your answers and solutions. We all have the potential within us.

So I ask myself. What if the only person stopping me to do everything I ever wanted, was I?

How many times in life you’ve stopped and asked yourself, is this really what I want? How many times have you listened to yourself and bravely followed your heart and your guts, your intuition, instead of thinking about what other people will think or say if you do this or that?

People’s opinions can define you and your life, if you let it.

Hmm. What if the only thing I’d need, is to believe in myself and have trust in life? Now some of you will think “but life will always happen, it’s not just having the trust or being all optimistic”. Of course it’s not. We cannot change the future. But we can change this moment, the only moment we’re living.

Life, it goes in circles. There will always be ups after downs, downs after ups. But everything that happens will take you forward. Every downfall will teach you a new lesson and it will push you forward, out from your comfort zone, meanwhile breaking all your limits. Actually, you realize that there is no such thing as a permanent, unbreakable limit. The limits are flexible and they move and change as you move forward in life and grow. So they move when you move.

What if I could do all the things I’ve always wanted to do? What if everything I needed to do was to embrace the unlimited potential within me and start making the difference towards a life that suits me better, the life I wish to be living? Towards the person I wish to be.

What if I would, for once, be honest to myself and let the illusion of control go.

That’s a big sentence and that’s something to think about. How many things that are not serving your best anymore, are you actually holding on to, just for the sake of comfort? What would happen if you’d let it go?

Whatever happens in life and whenever (in the end) we pass away, is not in our hands. It’s life’s circle and the end will come to us all, one day, one way or another. There’s no way denying. So there’s also no room for “I’ll do it later, one day” type of thinking. If you want something, you gotta make it happen.

What if I would accept the facts, accept that life will always happen, no matter where we were or what we were doing. Just let it all go, set ourselves free and live every moment as we wished. Be conscious for your choices, as you know, life is full of choices and it will be what you make of it.

Life is exactly what you make of it and how you take it. It’s all about the attitude.

You gotta stay positive, you gotta believe in yourself, whatever you did. Believe in your mission and the progress. Just keep on going forward.

This what I’m writing about, is all from an inspiring thought stream that started flowing in my mind when practicing yoga. It happened when I finally managed to slowly and steadily lead my body to a headstand. There I was. Breathing deeply, trusting my body and my balance. Trusting the ground under me and that I could do this position if I just gave myself a chance and, most importantly, be patient with the progress.

So that’s when I started thinking, what exactly are all the things I’ve always wanted to achieve? And so I ended up here, writing about it. I wanted to make it something to get grip on, you know. Something I can look at, not just a thought, but an idea, a dream. A goal. (This is what I courage you to do as well; write all the things down you’ve always wanted to do, it doesn’t matter what it is, whether it’s a trip or a course to attend, a new skill to learn or an ongoing process you want to finish but for some reason you just haven’t [like me with my paintings]. And then, you can look at the list and start making the difference! Just remember, it all starts from you.)

So this moment right here, is the moment you’ve waited for.

The only things you need are a pen and a paper, some faith both in yourself and life’s endless opportunities. Be open. Don’t close the doors just because you don’t believe it’s possible to achieve something. You need to know that everything is possible. There’s a saying that goes like this: “It’s not money you need to have to travel – it’s courage.”

So, I guess it’s me first. I’ve always dreamed of…

#1 – Attend a yoga festival somewhere in the world. There’s a nice one in Costa Rica and it’s called Envision Festival. So I shall try my best to end up there.

#2 – Go skydiving in New Zealand. Easy, that’ll happen for 100 % certainty.

#3 – Walk through a (big) country. I will do it, one day. No matter how crazy my mum tells me I am.

#4 – Go volunteering in South America. Yep. I feel an urge, a deep need within me to go and help people who are in need. So that’s what I’ll do.

#5 – Learn gardening, grow your own food. That’s an ambitious goal, I’d love to grow at least some of the food I eat, all the fresh ingredients, potatoes, herbs, vegetables… 🙂 Yammy for my tummy!

#6 – Attend a massaging course. I want to learn about the acupuncture points and just holistically know how body works and how to heal it. And then I could help the people around me. My body is my temple!

#7 – Trek to the mountains, set up a tent there and watch the sun set and rise. Nothing more peaceful and beautiful.

#8 – Hitchhike through Europe. Fun, fun, fuuun! Gotta do that. Imagine those stories afterwards…

#9 – Travel around the world without flying. Yep, it’s possible! Gotta just see some trouble, but it sure is possible!

#10 – Having my own hippie van and driving the west coast of North America. (And why not go down South as well!) Also, the hippie van shall stay with me for the rest of my life and for the rest of my travels as well. That’ll be my home on the road.

 #11 – Live in Hawaii for a while 🙂 Maybe go there as an exchange student, or something. Or just casually go pick some pineapples, haha!

#12 – Travel by the Trans Siberian Railway, all across Russia, Mongolia and then China. That’s relatively easy, not even too expensive either.

#13 – Get a TEFL English teaching certificate and teach English meanwhile traveling. That’ll happen in a near future.

#14 – Learn how to surf! Or at least stay on the board and wave it away!

Byron Bay, Australia.

#15 – Beat my fear and go diving (in Indonesia, please). Yep. To beat your fears is what you gotta do, and I ain’t gonna let my emotions to stop me from doing something that incredible. I went snorkeling in those waters… I couldn’t believe in my eyes. Crystal clear water, hundreds of fish, different colors, corals, manta rays, turtles,… and the list goes on. Wonder what could’ve been waiting for us in the depths of the beautiful blue sea.

Halong Bay, Vietnam.

#16 – Learn how to speak Indonesian, Nepali and Quechua (fading Inca-language). Yes, you heard me. Why not!

#17 – Be fluent in Spanish. Sí!

#18 – Travel to Iceland during the summer and go camping there. One day.

Vik, Iceland.

#19 – Go to the northern parts of Canada and/or to Greenland. The nature there…

#20 – Make all these come true. 😉 Well, this was obvious.

Now, I know these might sound like a crazy business for you guys, but these are actually the things I want to do and achieve, one day. Baby steps, I’m telling myself! Some people want to have a house, a baby, a husband and a dog, I want to explore and live fully on the road. And maybe then, one day when I find a place to settle down I will do it. But not in a long long time. I am made for traveling and if I couldn’t travel, something would die within me. That’s my life style, that’s my mission. And then share my knowledge and what I’ve seen and experienced during my travels with others, and maybe even inspire them. That’d be amazing.

 

And then I wanted to just write down my life-long goals… 🙂

I can’t imagine a better life for me than spending it while working in a job in which I’m able to guide people out from their comfort zones and so that they will find a more satisfying and fulfilling life. So here’s what I want to do. Help. Be my best self. Guide others be their best selves.

#1 – Become a meditation / yoga teacher / life coach – anything to do with wellness and helping people to find their balance in life. (It’s incredibly important in this stressed, unhealthy, busy world of ours. Too many things to do, too little time. And no time for taking care of yourself and the environment. So I want to help and courage people to find the change towards a better life.)

# 2 – Having my own wellness retreat one day, with my own little garden. Becoming as self sufficient as possible, respecting the nature and growing my own food would be perfect.

# 3 – Work as a experience travel guide, anywhere in the world. Giving people the unforgettable experiences and journeys they could’t even dream of.

So… that’s me. Let’s see where life leads me to. I’ll be sure to tell you first what’ll happen and when!

How’s your list looking like? 🙂

Here’s a video from Prince  Ea. Please watch it.

“Hey You, why do you exist??”

I hope from now on you will listen to your heart and seek for the ways to nourish your inner self in order for it to start blooming again, like when you were a child. Your body is your temple and you are your best friend, remember that. The way you would treat your best friend, that’s how you should treat yourself as well.

Much love,

stay healthy, stay strong, believe in yourself and your missions in life and it’ll take you far.

Peace!

-Jenna

 

Keep the Love Flowing (and Your Eyes Glowing) ;)

So…

It’s been a while.

No traveling, no blogging.

But I’m back!!!

It’s 20th of January and almost exactly a year ago I had my flight to Bangkok – from where I started my Asia adventures. I can’t believe it’s been a year. I came back in June, and since that I’ve “only” been to Italy for five days and UK for five weeks. To be honest, I was exhausted of all the traveling… Oh man, nearly 20 countries in a bit over one and a half years. That’s crazy. Absolutely madness. No wonder I started feeling a wee bit like going back home in the end…

All my globetrotter friends out there, I don’t know how you do it. Just keep on going, some of you for even years. Traveling from place to place, endless number of bunk beds, no permanent things in life, just change after change, all day long all year around. No own toilet, no own fridge and only few pieces of clothing with you. I mean, okay, that’s all easy, the clothing and stuff. The worst part is that if you have no permanent friends around you, no family, no pets, usually not even a partner or a permanent travel buddy. That’s… I respect. You’re close to superheros there. Not all of us could do it. For me 1,5 years was enough (for a while, now).

But oh. It surely is tempting. Imagine. Just you, a sky full of stars and the big wide world around you. You and your freedom, and nothing else.

You let the wind blow you to the right direction and you don’t stress about time. You probably don’t even know what time it is when someone asks you. You let go the things that don’t matter anymore and you focus on this one moment and this moment only. You’re the lord of your own kingdom and you can choose whatever you do, wherever you go and whenever you do it. There’s no routine. Let the things flow their own way. There’ll be no one stopping you, no one to tell you you can’t do it. No one to have expectations of you. You’re free.

I gotta admit. At first that did sound like an ideal life for me as well. And it surely did feel like it as well! I took everything out of it, and gosh, I lived. I was alive, like never before. It’s like a drug that makes you feel you have the power, and not just feel, you actually have it.

It’s funny what believing in yourself does to you...

And when you feel the power, you’re not afraid to use it. You take everything out of every experience, you’re braver than usual, you’re more social, you try new things – even if you were afraid. You forget who you are “supposed” to be (according to the society and assumptions surrounding you, imprisoning at home) and just, god dammit, you let go of all the things that held you back before and just… you go with it! And you grow with it. You go with the flow and you let the life happen to you. As it does. Always. No matter where you are. Life will happen. (When you travel, it all just happens in fast forward-mode or something.)

But my friends, I’m afraid that’s where the problem lies. It’s when we, the ‘free-souls’, the ‘hippies’, the backpackers, return home. In time, not of course in the beginning, but in time when we get used to the old life, we forget what and who we are, how alive we actually are. You forget how this is the only moment you’re living. You just do whatever, eat whatever. You forget how important this moment really is. You forget that great power, great potential that lies somewhere within you and you surrender to the old life’s routines. Sentences like “I’m afraid I don’t have time” and “I don’t have the energy to do that” become soon the most common used ones.

We let the old way of life drag us down. You fall to what they call “reality”.

I think… the worst part here is the fact that we forget the person who we are when we travel. We forget, how that person lives. And how that person hasn’t gone anywhere. It’s still here, within us, all the time. It’s all here, and we need to listen to that guy if we don’t want to feel trapped. We have the same freedom as we did on the road. The circumstances might have changed, but you have not.

It’s because that guy has all the power you need to feel alive. To live. To face life’s everyday adventures and opportunities with great passion and open-minded attitude, instead of with fear or something else.

That little guy over there, he knows how to live, how to enjoy every moment as it is. How to not only see but also feel the beauty all around us. How to sit on the beach and watch the sunset. How to dance on the table, how to go skin dipping under the bright moonlight with a group of cool Germans you’ve just met. How to face challenges with great bravery, or at least, with your head up, and how to believe in yourself even when you’re not sure in which Asian language you just said ‘thank you’ to the waitress in Malaysia, or, perhaps, when you’re desperately trying to bargain some price down. You do all these things. You jump into that freaking crazy current in the middle of a dark blue sea somewhere in Indonesia, only with your snorkel on, just to swim with these massive sea creatures called manta rays.

You keep your head up.

When you’re on the road, you don’t give up. You’re there only once, why would you lose this great opportunity? I’ve heard this kind of sentence for so many times among my backpacker friends. They all share the same attitude:

“hell yeah, let’s do it!”,

no matter if it was someone who’s just signed up for skydiving (even though she’s afraid of heights), or some crazy Aussie who just simply decides to take his clothes off and run into the ice cold sea in Iceland. (Not mentioning any names, Andrew.) And what they all have in common is something remarkable. They all have faith in themselves, and that faith, my friends, helps them to overcome their fears and grow, become something greater.

Oh, that ice breaking attitude! You will find that place to stay for the night in the middle of the night in Cambodia, because there’s no other chance. It is going to happen, even if that was the last thing you did. Or you will find that yoga place everyone kept telling you about, and after that you will go to the beach and meditate and focus on your inner peace. You will get back on that surfboard again, and after that you will go grab a beer or two and go play pool with your new Canadian roommates.

Little misfortunes and setbacks won’t stop you. You have the attitude, and that’s all you need to survive. At home and during your travels, no matter where you are.

But then… When you’re at home… I feel like everyone’s just too tired and in a hurry all the time. We rarely focus on the moment or our own well being. We have all these schedules and calendars and watches on our hands, just to make sure we know exactly what time it is. It’s funny – we know so much about what’s happening at that moment, but at the same time we know nothing. We’re just running around aimlessly, trying to chase whatever, instead of opening your eyes and observing what’s actually around us all the time. When’s the last time you’ve looked up and wondered about the sky? Or people around you, like you do when you travel? Or basically, anything else than you computer or your phone?

What is important anymore? How come life changes so radically when you return home?

In time, we’ll exhaust ourselves with running around like that. Then we need to go for a holiday, a place where we’ll be feeling the moment’s pure beauty and joy surrounding us again. We’ll be looking at the sky, listening to the wind and feeling the warm sun on our skin. We go there to be the “holiday-me”, to enjoy the moment and not feel stressed about anything anymore. It’s all good, until we get back home. The stress crawls back. It’s absolutely horrible. People get sick because they stress so much. “There’s not enough hours in a day”, is a fairly well-used sentence. How does it sound like to you?

And the answer is right in front of us, all the time.

So, the question is, how could we make the holiday/travel-me to follow us back home as well?

There’s an ancient saying that goes like this:

“You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day — unless you’re too busy. Then you should sit for an hour.” -Zen proverb

You do have the time. You just don’t have the energy, the willingness, necessarily. But tell me, why not go to the shore to watch the sunset when feeling anxious or stressed? Why not take a relaxing yoga class or a long, slow, walk in the forest to feel better? Why not eat healthier, taste new things, find all that excitement from around you, again.

Why not?

Anyway. That’s something to think about. Maybe even a new year’s resolution. “To feel more alive again”, “to focus more on the moment”, “to give time to yourself”. To try new things, find the joy in the little things. It’s all here, it’s all there. You just need to look a bit closer.

There’s also an another thing I wanted to share with you. For me, it was life-changing. It’s something I learnt after I came home. Please, think about it. After reading this I wish you will feel more grateful and… loved.

After traveling I felt really exhausted. I just wanted to stop for a while, be in one place, be with my closest ones and just… breathe. I had realized what actually mattered and what did not. The stamps on my passport did not replace the hole in my heart, the loneliness, the cold sadness in my heart.

I decided I would stay in Finland and then see where that leads me to. What I learnt, in these past seven months being at home, is that, in the end, love is all you need. Love, is what will cure you, from the deepest of the deepest darkness. Love. It is all around you, all the time. It has many forms, it might be hard to see, but it’s there. And it’s the people who matters the most. People who will stand with you, for you, help you hold your head up. Be there for you. Support. You only need your loved ones to feel like you belonged somewhere, to feel like you’re at home. Nothing else. The place you are at is irrelevant. You only need is the right people and their love will surround you. It’s all in the the love you receive and the love you give.

What I realized after being away for so long, was all the things my life was missing.

Love.

I came back and tried to settle down. It was a bit of a panic, I must admit. (Still sometimes I feel like I’m still trying to recover…) At first I had no sense of belonging, to anyone or anything. I was used to having no permanent place and no permanent people around me. When you travel, it’s sad, but you have to learn to let go. You say goodbyes all the time, you move on. And now suddenly I was at home again. What is home? I had to learn to connect with my ground again. Be in just one place. Settle down. I also had to connect with myself again. Take a break. Breathe deeply and slooowly. I had to connect with my friends again. I had to learn to live in one place again, and only in one place. No more moving around, chasing adventures, changing cities and people and bars and beaches and jungles. It was time to focus on the important. 

People. Closest ones. Friends. Your partner. Your family. Your grandmother. Your dog. Your home.

And I’m glad I did. ❤

One needs to feel loved, in order to function properly. One needs to feel important and that he or she mattered. It helps, if there’s a mission. A purpose, goals. That’s when you manage to maintain your balance and healthy mind. And you know what? Behind it all, there is always love. To love and to be loved. To love yourself. To believe in yourself. To know that there is a bigger self waiting to be discovered, a potential you never thought there was. But oh it is there. In every single one of us.

Just need to seek a bit deeper.

Good luck! 

Remember…

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches

 

Peace y’all, keep the love flowing! 🙂 ❤

– Jenna

 

Under the Same Sun

Sometimes I forget how incredible people I’ve met during these past two years. Then I go back to browse my photos, and suddenly it all comes back to me.

First Copenhagen and the magical selected seven. Then Australia, European Bartender School, surf camp, Christmas, New Year’s eve. Chicken papa. A giant spider on my shoulder, a giant spider on the floor, a giant spider in the tree. Eating pizza on a deck and witnessing a random dolphin just swimming around in front of us, among all the rest random things Australia made us encounter. New Zealand and free seafood meal from a random hostel friend who was just feeling lonely. The craziest tide but the most beautiful views in Kaikoura. Walking around the Hobitton. Swimming in smelly Rotorua. Dragging some abandoned Christmas tree in Budapest in a February night with some Aussies. Ireland and trekking in Killarney. Legendary night in Dublin. Edinburgh and my dear hostel and all those people. Nine months. Captain’s. The Jazz Bar. Finnegans and Opium. Road trip around Scottish highlands and Isle of Skye with my Finns. Le-gen-dary. Falling asleep in the staircase. Hanging around in the hallway and karaoke at the reception. The list is never ending. Iceland and the people. The road trips. The people’s pool and the snow storm. Northern lights and lying on the snowy ground, staring the dancing sky. My birthday and a surprise cake. Human dartboard in the cellar. Drunken hostel owner. Will never ever forget that week… Asia. Oh boy. Hitchhiking in Thailand. Meditation retreat and turtle lake. Oh my Buddha. Tubing and getting sick in Laos. Camping on a beach and swimming with glowing plankton in Cambodia. Sleeping in sleeper buses, trying not to get hit by a scooter and having my friend’s birthday on the top of a skyscraper in Vietnam. Almost getting drowned in Malaysia and having to trek hours in the rain in the middle of a jungle to get to our hostel. Having a coffee with a millionaire in Singapore at one of the Southeast Asia’s best luxury hotels. Singing Backstreet Boys and sipping Singapore Slings. Practicing yoga and climbing up volcano in Bali. Enjoying cocktails at a beach bar in Gili Islands. Getting almost eaten by dogs in Lombok. Spending four days on a boat in Indonesia, 100 % sure about being shipwrecked at any second, especially during the big storm. Snorkeling at one of the best spots in the world, swimming with giant turtles and manta rays and hundreds of different colored of fish. Having the best green tea frappe in Flores. Traveling all the way from Bali to Koh Phi Phi in Thailand, in 24 hours. (Too hot hot damn.) Phi Phi, Krabi, crazy times. Never again. After that Bang!, Bangkok, and finally Finland, home sweet home.

So many places. So many memories. Too many places! Too many memories! I seriously need to calm down with this traveling. 😀

If anyone ever asks me what was the best part of my travels, I will answer the people. One of the best things about staying at hostels are the other travelers. Life can be really colorless and, well, meaningless if you don’t have the right people there sharing it with you. When you travel you get to meet these amazing people from all around the world. You become friends with them, you experience all sorts of stuff together and if you’re lucky, you might even meet the partner of your dreams on the road. I’ve heard that happens actually quite a lot. But oh boy, I love travelers. They’re such an amazing source of life. They live in the moment. They’re so chilled. No stress, they just let life happen at it’s own phase. No rush. No schedule. They’re always willing to help out, whatever issue or mission you’re on. They’re always up for having fun and making life worth living. They’re exciting and interesting, I’ve had one of the best conversations with travelers. It’s because their eyes and minds are open for new. Every one has their own stories and so you learn a lot about different people and cultures. One of the most common expression among travelers is “sharing is caring”, which all travelers know to be true. Me and my travel mate Maija, we’ll always be grateful for our friend Rob who brought us juice and electrolytes when we needed it the most. Food poisoning hit us and we couldn’t move from the bed, and he kindly came to us and asked if we needed anything. Thanks to him, we survived! 🙂

I often think about the people I’ve met on the road. There’s someone from every continent, except Antarctica. I have so many couches I can sleep on!!! It’s crazy! But what’s even crazier is that we’re all here, living on the same planet, under the same sun and the same moon. Right now, everyone I’ve met are living their lives somewhere else, continuing writing their own stories. My brother once told me to think that the planet earth is a house, a home, and countries are just rooms in it. So when you go anywhere, you’re just in another room. The thought of that brings comfort, it makes you feel you were closer to both home and all the rest of your friends, no matter where you are. 🙂 I like that.

My dear travel mates, I hope you’re all well and happy, wherever you are. I don’t know what most of you are doing right now, where you’ve ended up or how life’s treating you. I know we can’t live the past again but instead, let us cherish the memory of us and the good times we’ve had together and then embrace it. It’s important to remember, especially if you’re feeling down or lonely after your travels. Oh boy, me and you, and our adventures together. And you and the rest of your travel buddies. All the unforgettable memories we’ve created, the breathtaking moments we’ve lived. Only travelers can understand what kind of a richness in life it is to have friends and experiences like that. So I thank you. 🙂 xx

Here’s some beautiful people who I’ve been lucky to meet during these past two years. I’m so grateful our paths crossed and that you’re a part of my life and memories now and forever more. 🙂 xxx

Sleeper’s Square. / Phu Quoc and crazy boat people!

My lovely people in Bali and Lombok. ❤

Maija and Kuala Lumpur. / Edinburgh, Salla and Rob.

 

(N)iceland.

Edinburgh and my hostel.

   

NZ and Australia. ❤

 

Iceland / Edinburgh

 

  

Cambodia / Bali

 

Chicken papa and Saana in Australia. / Copenhagen and selected seven. 😉 / Iceland.

Cake competition in Edinburgh with Rob. Yum.

 

It’s surely been quite a couple of years! No regrets. Thanks for sharing the moments with me. You people are the light of my life! Keep your head up and mind set in your ways, sings Ben Howard. ❤ I wish you all the best and who knows, maybe we’ll meet again one day. 🙂 x

“Travel light, live light, spread the light, be the light.” -Yogi Bhajan

Peace n love, until the next time xxx

– Jenna 

My Memoir: The Big Bang – Chiang Mai

Tomorrow it’s been eight weeks since I left Asia (barely, but I made it) (I overslept and almost missed my flight) (#forevergrateful for the taxi driver who drove like a maniac for me in the streets of Bangkok). Phew!

Anyway… There’s not a day I don’t think about my travels. It’s with me, wherever I go, whatever I do. It’s like a new pair of glasses or shoes you wear, nothing’s the same anymore. You see differently, you feel different. I’m at home, working and living normally, but I find myself quite often just wondering a lot. I’ve been to a lot of places, I’ve met a lot of different people and learnt a lot of things about life. Here, I find myself observing people. I wonder what are they doing and why. Are they grateful for the things they have here? Do they know how well things are here compared to the rest of the world? They are the lucky ones. Do they even think about it? Do they care?

I’m sitting in a bus. It’s quiet. There’s loads of space to sit. Nothing stinks. The aircon works perfectly. The traffic is easy, calm. I didn’t even have to pay for my ride, I have a bus card. No hustle and bustle with a strange currency. Everything works, even the landscapes are beautiful! There’s a lake and a sunset over it. Unfortunately you soon realise you’re the only one who sees it, everyone else are too busy with their phones or whatever, looking unhappy and dissatisfied. It’s a shame, really, Finland is gorgeous but people often forget it. Makes me sad. Why don’t we stop and look at the beauty around us?

No vans, no curvy mountain roads. No monkeys on the streets, (in fact no monkeys at all!). No chickens in the back of the bus, no “NO SPITTING” signs in public transport. No wondering whether this bus stop, the next one or maybe the next one is the one you’re supposed to get off. No confusion. You know the stops and everyone speaks your language, it’s easy. Everything’s so easy.

So, just like I mentioned in my last post, you get bored. There’s no excitement! Not even problems with the language. Nothing to make you really feel alive and Yourself. You’ve tasted the best of the best that life has to give and now feel like you’d have less. Even though, I know, there’s always stuff to do at home, but it’s never the same. You feel like it’s all out there, somewhere else, and you’re not there.

I’m really confused with all this. Coming back just makes me want to go back.

I’ve traveled the craziest roads, by the craziest vehicles… I’m actually quite grateful I’m still in one piece, and nothing too serious has happened to me (*knocking the wood*). I’m all okay, no traumas (much), no need for a therapist (yet). So far wine’s perfectly good!!

It’s time for me to get over my after-travel confusion and get my life back into order (or at least try). It’s really not easy at all… to just live as fully as you do when you’re traveling. When traveling, every day feels like it’s going on for AGES. You’re memorizing ‘the good old days’ and then you realise it actually just happened LAST WEEK. Or when you try to remember what happened when:

You: “Remember when…”

Your friend: “Yeah, but wasn’t that yesterday??!”

(The confusion. You thought it happened a week ago.)

It’s insane, nobody except the ones who’ve traveled can understand this; This magnificent way of life, no sense of time. Who needs time?! You live, you don’t care about time! You have no schedules! You’re alive and you know you are, and there’s nothing that can stop you. You go, you be, and you live.

You gain stories from all these places, you gain confidence and trust in the flow in life. You know that you’ve lived and it makes you glad. You know that you have all these people, these new friends with whom you’ve experienced the craziest stuff with, and they’re all around the world. They’re all there, somewhere. How amazing is that. Sad, that you can’t be there with them, but still more amazing than sad. You’ve had your moments with them, and that’s all that matters.

In addition to human beings, I found myself connected with a few animal as well. I became friends for ex. with two of the dogs at my meditation retreat in Northern Thailand. I loved those dogs, I could go back for them. Here’s a nice pic I found of one of them 🙂 (there’s also my travel mate Maija in the photo) (and yes, we looked like we were in a mental hospital)

We had a little turtle lake there as well. 🙂 xx

Here’s some life advice from the Buddhist monks. Wise, eh?

Cheers, for life!

My travels in Asia begun on the 2nd of February 2015, precisely 7 months and 1 week ago. It feels like only a moment ago since everything happened. And I look at myself now and once again I’m confused. I’m glad, I’m grateful and happy I got to experience everything I did and grow from it. 🙂 What makes me keep on going, is that I’m even more glad when I start thinking about all those journeys I yet have not lived. They’re all there, waiting for me. And I know the day will come… I’m on my way, I know I am. (Sitting by Cat Stevens, YouTube) 😉

So I’m gonna start now. I’ll be honest. I’ll tell you what happened, how it happened. Short (or long…) stories from my travels around Southeast Asia and Indonesia. Correct me if I forgot something! My memory is not the best one (unfortunately), but I’ll try my best. 😉 Kop-khun-khaaaaaaa!

It all begun in Thailand…

I flew to Bangkok, what a big bang. Bang Bang Bang. My mind was blown. We were staying at this crazy hippie hostel in between Bangkokian backyards (story for the term Bangkokian will be told later…) (there’s always a story behind everything). The taxi driver barely found the place and almost crashed his car when trying to drive in these smallest alleyways there is in Bangkok. It was ridiculous. We tipped him.

I was excited. Everything was ahead of me, and I knew it. Will I like Asia? Will Asia like me? I wanted peace and balance, instead I got a BANG. Asia hit me. And it hit me hard. 😀

Everything was different. It smelled different. It all looked different. People, houses, food, atmosphere. There were the Buddhist temples everywhere. Also, on bigger hills and mountains, there were massive statues of sitting Buddhas. In the middle of the hills!! Crazy!! But it was beautiful, we only have churches here and there, blah. They have a golden Buddha on the top of a mountain. Asia…

The traffic was chaotic, there were way too many scooters around. People didn’t really seem to care too much about the traffic rules. I was terrified to go on a tuktuk the first time. But after the first time, it was all fine.

Slowly, the backpacker’s laid back -attitude sneaks into your mind and builds a camp there. It’s all fine, everything’s always fine. Things will happen, problems will arise, but you’ll always find a way. Just let go of the control and you’ll be fine…

We took about 12-hour train journey to Northern Thailand, to famous Chiang Mai. There’s was a Canadian girl sitting in front of us, and we started chatting. She was traveling by herself, like most of backpackers does. Then an older man from South Korea or something saw her, and they started chatting. He sat next to her and sat there the whole journey. I was sure he was harassing her and that she’d need help. 😀 Unfortunately I was right, I mean, ‘harassed‘ as I’d say when a man follows you to the train’s bathroom when you go to brush your teeth and sits next to you and keeps asking you if you want to go for a dinner with him this evening. My friend took it well, she was just like “nah, he’s just being friendly”, and politely refused man’s request. Then he asked her to join him in his bed tonight. I was peeing in my pants, I was sure he was a rapist and a serial killer and I kept giving the guy bad looks so that he’d know she’s not alone. 😀 Girls got to stick together, hahah! In the end, we wanted to make sure she was safe and we decided to go to the same hostel together, me, my friend and her. The guy left when he heard it was a package deal, us three instead of one. Ha!

Long story short, that’s basically how you make friends when you travel. 😀 Easy! And with that girl, we got to experience a lot of fun stuff together. Haha, oh boy… I think the best one is when we decided to go to the Elephant Sanctuary. 😀

We took a random local bus there, but didn’t purchase a return ticket. “We’ll figure something out. It’ll all work out.” Turned out the Elephant Sanctuary was in the middle of a jungle, with only a motorway next to it. Nothing else. 😀 We went to the sanctuary and found a cool elephant hospital as well, and then we went back to the bus stop. “What now?” There’s no transport from the Sanctuary, no one has local phones nor numbers. No one spoke English, only Thai. We knew how to say “thank you” and “hello”. What to do when you’re in the middle of a jungle and you need a ride back to the city few-hour drive away? You hitchhike.

Hahaha. Omg, we waited there for ageees! Well maybe not ages. But enough, because it was getting dark really soon and there were all sorts of animals living in those jungles (I was sure of it). Mostly I was afraid of the malaria mosquitoes. Argh, such an annoying species; bite you everywhere without a reason and then the bites itch like hell for the next weeks. (But thank Buddha for Asian Tiger palm!!! And no, it’s not just a cream. It’s a heavenly product created by magical forces.)

Anyway,… after waiting for a while and desperately trying to hitchhike a bus for us back to the right direction – with no success unless you count the numerous local cars that stopped for us, wanting to help us. Aww. But we still wanted a bus, so we decided to wait for one. It got darker and darker, and it was not fun unless we found a transportation for us. Then we saw it. A little local bus stopped and we got a ride back to Chiang Mai!!! The bus was awesome. It had no doors, no belts (obviously), and barely even windows. The ticket-woman sat us down in the back of the bus (separated from the normal seats, usually for monks…) and there we were. Next to an open door, laughing our asses off. It was hi-larious! I suddenly heard some weird sound, like a chicken. I was like, nah, it can’t be. But then again, we are in Asia, Anything is possible. And then I looked at a box behind me. There was a cardboard box with a chicken in it. Aahahahahaaaa!!! Amazing! A random chicken in a random bus! I love my life!

The ride was slow and bumpy but we were so happy. The feeling was unreal. Life just… happened (once again) and somehow we survived (once again). Apparently that’s just how things go. 😉

To be continued.

Meanwhile, here’s a great song with great lyrics. Enjoy! 🙂

Follow The Sun – Xavier Rudd (YouTube)

Follow, follow the sun
And which way the wind blows
When this day is done
Breathe, breathe in the air
Set your intentions
Dream with care
Tomorrow’s a new day for everyone
A brand new moon and brand new sun

So follow, follow the sun
The direction of the birds
The direction of love
Breathe, breathe in the air
Cherish this moment
Cherish this breath
Tomorrow’s a new day day for everyone
A brand new moon, brand new sun

When you feel life coming down on you like a heavy weight
When you feel this crazy society adding to the strain
Take a stroll to the nearest water’s edge, remember your place
Many moons have risen and fallen long, long before you came
So which way is the wind blowing
What does your heart say

So follow, follow the sun
And which way the wind blows
When this day is done

Thanks for reading! See you soon. 😉  Hasta la vista, beibi! See you in Pai!

Love ‘n peace,

Jenna

The Ride

"It's a lifestyle. It's almost like another life in another world."

Traveling,

What a beautiful way to live.

Just think about it. Every day is a brand new day. You’re not in rush, you don’t even have schedules. You just… are.

Here’s a sunrise from Mount Batur, Bali.

When you’re on the road life flows so well. You see, experience, grow and learn. It’s the circle of life. It is exhausting, yes, but also very rewarding. Life rolls forward, like a wheel going down the hill, and you actually feel like living. It’s like a new world, a new life.

Traveling by yourself pushes you far out from your comfort zone, that’s for sure. It turns your life upside down, both, in a good and in a bad way. You will have to face reality in many ways, including challenges you’ve never even thought about before. Whether it was getting stuck at the Singapore border when your bus has brutally left you there and you have no money and no one speaks English, or when you’re deadly sure a boat you’re on will sink soon because of the massive waves. (Yes, been there.)

It’s not fun anymore, it’s facing the worst moments and worst fears in life and having to do it alone. But you learn to trust life and most importantly have faith in people. What ever happens, you will get back on your feet. Even though if you were by yourself, you will find a way. Besides, there’s always someone willing to help you. I’ve met the most friendliest and helpful people during my travels, whether it was a fellow backpacker or a local. It doesn’t matter, if they see someone in need, they will help. Countless number of stranger have helped me when I’ve needed it the most, and I am so grateful. One day, I will be in their position, helping someone else as well. 🙂 Just wait for it.

Our driver and my British friend in Lombok, Indonesia! Ah, the best driver in the world.

A local woman weaving in Bali, Indonesia. 🙂

You learn how to keep your head up no matter what happens. You become a real survivor. You become The Hero and The Ruler of your own life. You can do whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it. Just think about it, the freedom. There’s no one telling you what you can or cannot do, in fact, you can do anything! (at least try…)

You will learn so much about life, people, cultures and most importantly yourself. And when you go back home you will feel like another person from another planet… But we’ll get back to that very soon.

The best thing is that you will find yourself living the most incredible moments of your life. Those unforgettable moments when it’s actually hard to understand it’s your life you’re living right now. You are so in the moment it’s unreal, I’m sure you all know what I mean. 🙂 The best thing is that you’re most likely surrounded by people with the same mindset, and there you are, together, just chilling somewhere, watching the sun setting behind a canyon or moon rising over the sea. It’s almost like a dream, but it’s real! You create amazing memories with amazing people, your new friends from all around the world. You find yourself falling for strangers and life all around you. You enjoy life so much it hurts. There’s so much beauty around you it’s almost hard to comprehend. You really live fully. 🙂 You became fearless and face every day as a new adventure. Who will you meet? Where will you end up? Who knows! But you’re up for it!

@ Gili Trawagan, Lombok, Indonesia – The Sunset Beach

Traveling by yourself will enrich and rearrange your life, in a good way. Whatever happens, it will lead you forward to whatever it is that you’re seeking for. You know why? Because you will make it happen.

You learn how to go for the things you want in life. You learn to take chances, because in the end, that’s all you’ve done in the past months! Taking the chance when riding a scooter up a curvy mountain road in Northern Laos (where traffic rules are more like suggestions), or taking the chance when getting into a dodgy taxi (and getting scammed!), or just simply taking the chance when choosing blindly a meal from a menu that is completely in Vietnamese! You try, you go for it. You don’t think about losing. You’re curious! So what, if you will end up eating frog legs, haha. It doesn’t matter if it tastes like sh*t, it’s a great story!!

@ Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Traveling is great. It’s challenging, but great. Just like coming home…

---

Coming home.

Silence. Everywhere. Not really quite sure what to think and how to act. It’s a culture shock, it’s a shock in every way. Suddenly you have only certain kind of people around you, no new acquaintances. No new travel mates from Canada, no new roommates from Germany. No hostel staff, no different languages. Only one language, one culture. One bed, one room, one kitchen. One house. One city. One country.

Home?

I came home about a month ago. I apologize my dear readers for not updating my blog in six months, but I just couldn’t. Backpacking in Asia did not go too well with writing a blog at the same time, at least not for me. But I’m here now! After 4,5 months in Southeast Asia and Indonesia I find myself back in my old room in Finland. Feelings very much confused, not sure what to think about home anymore. What is home? Who am I? Who was I before my travels?

What do I want now? Should I go or should I stay? What will make me happy?

I’ve read multiple articles and blog posts, and had multiple conversations about the same issues and feelings I’m experiencing. After traveling or being abroad for quite a while (one and a half years for me), It’s perfectly normal to feel like an alien in your old home. As strange as it sounds, nothing is the same for you anymore although everything is the same. You’ve changed, a lot. You don’t feel like home home. Home is not just a place anymore – it’s the people, it’s where the heart is. Thankfully, I have my people here around me, helping me a lot. Friends, family, people who actually matter.

But for me, home country is now more like another destination, except this time you know all the people and you’re familiar with the streets. You don’t really get lost anymore. You’re safe all the time. You don’t have to ask for help. You experience hardly any new things or meet new people. Nothing’s really happening.

For me it was a shock, a proper culture shock to return home. It was (and is, still) really difficult to adjust. But I know it will take time. And during that time I will use my blog to re-live my travels. I will write you my stories, tell you where I ended up and how, who I met and why. I will share you my photos of the most beautiful places I’ve been to. I will share you memories that are golden. Through my stories I can feel a bit more alive again and I remember how lucky I’ve been with my life. And I hope to inspire and encourage at least a few of you to go and explore as well. 🙂

Anyway, just enjoy the ride!

P.S. If you want to sing out, sing out! (Thank you, Cat.)

@ Flores, Indonesia

@ Charlie’s Chocolate Factory, local kids, Bali, Indonesia

Remember, the world is open. Just let it flow. 😉

Peace and love xx

Jenna

Welcome to Niceland

Iceland. Oh Iceland, what did you do…

Before traveling to (N)Iceland, I wrote a blog post about “the land of ice, geyshirs and Vikings”. This is what I wrote:

“What on Earth am I going to do in Iceland?! I bought tickets very spontaneously. So basically I have no idea what to do or where to go. But then again, it’s Iceland. I can probably go anywhere and still feel amazed by the breathtaking scenery of one of the world’s most beautiful islands. I know it’s winter and relatively cold but I just won’t let the weather stop me. So Iceland! It’s going to be marvelous! I really want to go into the wild and so I’ll try my best to get to the rough nature of Iceland. Only the sky is limit when it comes to my travels…”

And so it was.

Here’s how it all started.

I was on a plane (EasyJet, sooo cheap from Edinburgh to Reykjavik!) (okay.., enough of commercializing. That’s not what my blog’s about.) with my “little” 20 liter backpack in my legroom. Couldn’t really sit with my feet straight / in a comfortable position, but oh well, I survived. My focus was not on my feet but the good company I had. There was this old couple sitting next to me, somewhere maybe at their 70ies. They had a wee Scottish accent and they were sooo cute! Loving life etc. Mainly they were wondering how a girl at my age had the guts first to live abroad alone and then to travel all alone to Iceland. But they knew what I meant when I told them that this is the life I want to live, this is what I’ve born to do. He told me he loves traveling, too. He used to feel the same as I do now, that the world is open and you just want to travel everywhere and explore as much as you can! He told me he used to work as a sailor on a big ship for many, many years. So basically, his job was to travel all around the world. He used to sail from Edinburgh to Cape Town, from South Africa to Hong Kong and all the way from China to Sydney and so on, just to mention few of them. He had been to every continent, even Antarctica. He had literally been everywhere and he had seen so much. You could see it from his eyes when I asked him questions about his travels, his eyes just… It was amazing. Like he traveled in time, back to the past. He had such a depth in his eyes, he had a sparkle in his eyes. You could see he had lived a lot and seen even more.

So I enjoyed that plane flight very much. No matter how uncomfortable my feet’s position was.

Oh, human connections. People, you rock!

So, after arriving to beautiful Iceland (later on known as Niceland because everything and everyone there are just simply so nice) I, somehow, managed to get a bus to Reykjavik and – I SWEAR, not intentionally – got a free bus ride from Reykjavik to my hostel, even though I hadn’t booked nor paid it beforehand. The driver didn’t really care because they were in hurry and it was a hectic situation so I got the ride for free. And! He took me to my hostel which wasn’t even on their drop off-list. 😀 Hehehe. Worth of trying!

The hostel was really nice and I would recommend to everyone. It’s called Hlemmur Square hostel and they have both, a luxury hotel and an upscale hostel up there. 🙂 I had a view to the sea and big white mountains from my room. So much better than the “another brick on the wall” view that I had at my home hostel in Edinburgh. (So basically there was about ten meters and a huge grey-brown-ish wall that blocked all the sunlight coming to the room. I mean, okay why am I lying, it’s Edinburgh. There’s no sunlight in Edinburgh. 😀 I think they, Scotland and the whole UK have some issues with the Sun, I don’t think Sun really likes UK that much… But rain does! And clouds. And wind. And storms… The list is endless.)

Anyways, Iceland. Wow. Nice, Iceland, you really are a nice land Iceland. Niceland.

It’s been now exactly four weeks that I left Edinburgh and flew to Iceland. Like I said, I had no idea what to expect. And it was good, I managed to let go and just go with the flow. Every day was a new day and I was open to all the adventures it led me to. I managed to let life happen at its own pace and not push it any specific direction. What ever problem or difficulty appeared, you dealt with it at its time. And because of all that, I was feeling very positive and confident about my time in Iceland. Everything was going to be alright, whatever happened. But I had no idea that it was going to be one of the best weeks of my entire life.

I was poorly prepared. And I kinda knew it, but I did it anyway. My winter coat was a bit so-so. It worked just fine only if and when I wore a massive jumper under it. But I manages just fine, the biggest issue were my shoes, they were tremendously bad. First of all, I had only one pair of shoes with me, so, when that one pair got wet I had nothing else to wear than the wet ones. And it was more wet in Iceland (in December) that I thought it would be. Whoops. Oh well, at least I learned something… It can rain in Iceland, too. And even though it didn’t rain, the snow that falls down might melt on the ground and become a horrible mess of slush. Ugh. So two pairs of shoes, everyone! Two pairs! Or if you have only one pair, please, do yourself a favor and check that your footwear is (A) waterproof, (B) slip resistant and (C) warm enough. I had none of those. So you can only imagine.

SO, WHAT HAPPENED IN ICELAND?

I’ve been telling you how awesome (and not awesome) it was, but I haven’t told you how it all happened. In a nutshell… this is what happened:

Even though I didn’t get to go to the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa because I didn’t have a swim suit nor I met any actual vikings, I still had a pretty good time in Iceland. I met the coolest people at the hostel and we were too hipster to take a tour so we rented a car, set our GPS and went on the road. (Just kidding ’bout the hipster part.) We just wanted something different, we wanted to go away from the touristic track and schedules. We wanted to go into the wild and so we figured that the best possible option was to rent our own car with a group of four and just… Go. If you’re thinking about traveling in Iceland, please, another favor to do to yourself, rent a car with a GPS and just… drive. There’s plenty of car rental places you can choose from. Or try your luck and find a person who has the international drivers license and possibly even a car already. Haha. That’s what I did and it worked out just well. Here’s some evidence.

Places we got to see during my week in Niceland:

Reykjavík

Reykjavík was beautiful – both day and night.

Even though I did got lost a bit one night and I kinda had to search my way home on my own back to the city center since my phone didn’t work in the freezing cold weather and there was no cars nor taxis driving by. When there finally was a car, it was already morning and those friendly locals with a warm car were – nope, not willing to give me a ride but – willing to help me to get back home. 🙂 Apparently I wasn’t too far away, approximately 45 minute walk or so only. Oh well, that happens. And after that little adventure (which includes having a cup of coffee in a local bakery with a local old grandpa who’s number I have if I ever return to Iceland, and other stuff) I survived and managed to get back home safely. Hooraayy! Long live the life!!!

On the road to wherever…

…look how beautiful it is everywhere. And so quiet, so peaceful…

 

Chasing Northern Lights…

…the famous Aurora Borealis and photo shooting sessions…

 

the sky lights literally danced upon us

 “Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity for human spirit.” -Edward Abbey

First road trip…

…from Reykjavik all the way to Vík, the southernmost village in Iceland, and back…

Waterfalls, such as

Seljalandsfoss

Skogafoss

and then, Vík and the Black Sanded Beach…

Vík í Mýrdal

 

 

…where my crazy Australian friend swam and almost got hypodermic… Aussies! 😀

So he swam in a freezing cold ocean. We had to get him warm, so we decided to go swimming in a hot spring, the People’s Pool,  we had read about. It was supposed to be somewhere there on our way back and I had the instructions on my phone. It was supposed to be easy to find the place but oh-noh, not even close. The site said that there was a path beside on a mountainside you first had to take before getting to the pool. Well, we got to the place the path was supposed to start but there was no path! Only snow everywhere. Couple of cottages and mountains. We got off from the car but after a while looking and a wee snowball fight we got back to the car. It was too cold and windy, “It’s not here, we can’t find it.” we thought. But then suddenly out of nowhere a car drove next to us. There was some Norwegian people who asked us if we’re going to the pool. They had been there before and they were ready to show us the way. 🙂

After a approximately 30 minute hike through rivers (I’m not kidding, this time not only mine but all of our feet were completely wet) and frozen pathways on the mountainside, we finally got to our destination. And oh boy, the views from up there…

There we were. Swimming in a pool on a mountainside in the middle of nowhere. The water was warm and it was snowing. It was amazing. One of the best moments of the week. After swimming a while a local man told us we should get back soon because the sun was about to set and soon it was going to pitch black. We had no torches nor nothing else, so we took our stuff, put our clothes back in the freezing cold weather and started walking back to the car. 🙂 Then we got on the road again and a snow storm hit us. We couldn’t see anything and we were just driving with our little car in the middle of nowhere, hoping for the best. Hoping that we will survive, get back to Reykjavík alive. Haha. It was a good day. And awesome company! I was so lucky with the guys I met. We got along so well and we basically spend the whole week together. 🙂 It was goood.

Second road trip – the Golden Circle

Couple of days after the first road trip we hit the road (Jack!) again. This time we wanted to go for the famous golden circle -route, which all the tourists knew and where all the tours went, too. Here you can see the golden circle route on the map and also the route all the way to Vík:

During the winter season the day is so short (about from 10.30-11am to 3.30-4pm, or even less) that if you want to see all those places during the sunlight and not in the darkness, you should be prepared to spend the whole day (from 9am to 6pm or so) on the road. If you want to return back to Reykjavík for the night, I mean. We did that and it was alright. Both of them – driving around the circle and to Vík – were day trips. So be sure to have time if you want to visit places!

Here’s how our day around the Golden Circle was.

First there was the Þingvellir National park…

…The place where the North America’s and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. So we actually were able to walk above the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; in a place two continents meet. It was amazing. And the landscapes were just incredibly beautiful.

…after that the famous Geyshir…

…and the last but not least Gullfoss, “the Golden falls”

It was massive! It’s the largest waterfall in Iceland. The sun was just setting when we got there and it looked amazing. Iceland just stole my heart, right there just then. It was… unbelievable.

 

Those two road trips were really amazing and they only made me feel like I didn’t want to return home, not yet. But I am sure, one day I will go back and this time during the summer when the sun never sets.

What a great week. And once again, the people I got to meet! Wow. Thank you guys! For making my stay unforgettable. 🙂 Until the next time! Here’s the last photos, very random ones. From jumping around snowy Reykjavík without socks on and having a surprise birthday cake in the hostel to looking stupid on the top of a waterfall and taking a photo of a guy and a bird. All those moments. All those people. Such a good vacation, such a good time and adventures. Can’t wait for the next ones to come! 😉 (Asia, here I coomeeeee!!!)

Cheers! Or tack tack as they say in Iceland.

Thank you guys.

Until the next journey!

– Jenna

The Year of My Life

It’s the last day of the year 2014. This year was The Year of my life. This year was the year when everything begun, and finally I started feeling I’m actually doing something with my life. I am someone. And the world is open for me if I choose to go.

How on earth this year went by so fast? It started in Sydney (Australia) and after that during those 365 following days I ended up traveling to a LOT of places, including New Zealand, Hungary, Tenerife, Ireland, Scotland and Iceland. I have been so lucky and I am very grateful for all the people I have gotten to know and meet this year. I hope you’re all doing well and enjoying your life, wherever you are. 🙂 This year, I have also gotten to witness the most beautiful landscapes I’ve ever seen in my life. You’ll see pictures, don’t worry. 😉

 

It all started in downunder, first Australia and after that New Zealand. Unfortunately I had a return ticket already booked so I had to leave kangaroos and kiwis and travel back home. I felt so depressed……but happy at the same time, because of the experience. And I knew I could always go back. I cried almost the whole flight from Sydney to Hong Kong (so embarrassing but I couldn’t stop it). I felt like I was leaving home. It was horrible. I felt like it wasn’t time yet, I wasn’t done yet. And I was so scared to go back home! I know I hadn’t been away for that long but still! All my friends in Finland, they’re just there, living their normal lives. How could I go back to that? Wouldn’t that feel weird? Would I feel confined there? And the most important question, how could I stay in Finland after such a great journey in such an amazing place? I couldn’t. It would’ve felt like settling to something less. I felt like I knew now after traveling a while, about something “better” and I couldn’t just settle anymore, never again. So I packed my 70 liter Osprey and took off. It turned out to be the best decision I have ever made.

Here’s some pics along the way. Starting from last Christmas in Noosa, East Coast of Australia. There’s the girls in the photo on the right, and two of them were the ones we got to spend both Christmas and New Years Eve with. 🙂 Such nice girls! And such a good NYE…. The third photo is taken the last day of the year, in Sydney in Wake Up!-hostel. Saana, a good friend of mine, was eating porridge and drinking goon (Aussie slang word for box wine). 😀 = our “last supper”, yum!

 

Soon after New Years Eve we headed to New Zealand and traveled all the way from Christchurch to Auckland. There’s a photo of me, Saana and Maaike (our Dutch friend), I can’t help smiling when I look at us. Such good memories. Also the photo of Saana looking terrified on the window floor is pretty amusing. 😀 PS. Yes, that is Hobbiton (last photo).

        

In the year of 2014 I was lucky to find myself from these amazing places, too…

Budapest

Tenerife

 

Ireland

 

I was thinking…

 

This year has been both the worst year of my life and the best year I’ve ever lived. Literally, lived. This year I really challenged myself and did things I had only dreamed of before – and I have never felt more alive. I feel like I have been incredibly lucky with everything that’s crossed my path. I smile when I think about all those memories, all those moments I’ve lived and people I’ve gotten to know. Wow. And all it took – all I took was a so called “leap of faith” . Would you make the jump?

My plan was basically that I don’t have a plan. I had just returned home but I knew I couldn’t be there for any longer. I have always known that Finland is not my home so now that I had once left the place, it didn’t really feel like a big issue to leave it again. I did some calculating and I decided that if I don’t get a job in Scotland, I’ll just come back home after when my money run out. The only thing I was certain about was that I just couldn’t stay in Finland anymore. I had lived my days there and I didn’t have to go back. At least not yet, not in a long while.

I had never been to Edinburgh before but I had heard about how beautiful the city was so I thought to myself, why not? It wasn’t exactly a place I had always dreamed of going (nor moving) but the only thing I cared was that there was English-speaking people and that it was outside the Finland borders. So I left. I got to admit, it was pretty scary in the beginning. I had to build my life all over again and I had not thought about it all through. (Idiot) I moved to another country that I didn’t know anything about. I didn’t know anyone and I was supposed to get an apartment (or so called hostel long term place in my case), get to know some people (make friends, nobody wants to be alone in a new city), apply for a job, get a bank account, get a new phone number,… everything. I had no idea where I was putting myself into. I hadn’t really thought about it and I never planned anything, so I was a bit lost in the beginning. But there I was, determined that I ain’t going back to Finland. I knew I needed to try my best now that I was in Edinburgh. So that’s what I did, and I ended up getting a very good job and I got to work with bunch of awesome people. Also, oh boy, the work experience I got. I am so grateful for that, I don’t know how it all happened but what I know is that if I would’ve stayed in Finland instead of going to Scotland I would’ve never gotten that kind of a work experience. Thank you Edinburgh!! I will be eternally grateful to you. 😉 So you agree with me on this one?

Here’s the some of the best photos of my time in Scotland 🙂 A picture is worth a thousand words…

                  

And then, outside Edinburgh – Isle of Skye, ladies and gentlemen!

  

Nine months it took until I started feeling “done” with all the hostel life and Edinburgh. It was my time to move on. I had built myself a home there, a home I could always return to and another family, both of which I will always have in my heart.

So I left, once again. I went to Iceland. Seriously, who would’ve thought my wee trip to Iceland would end up being one of the best weeks of my life – and all because of the people, obviously. 😉 Sure, Iceland is gorgeous, there’s no words for it’s beauty (later on I’ll make a proper post of it!) – but the people I met…. wow. I was there only for a week and it felt like I had known those guys for ages. Thank you Hlemmur Square hostel and its people! You rock.

     

Such an amazing year. Don’t even quite realize it yet. Traveling is… for me, it’s the perfect kind of life style. It’s not that for everyone and it doesn’t have to be. Just like any other kind of life style. The most important thing is that you’re happy, no matter what you do or where you are. This year I’ve learned some important lessons about life and myself, and honestly, I can tell you that it’s not about the place nor material, it has nothing to do with the luxury life you’re living or anything else – in the end, it’s always the people that matters the most. The people you have around you, who you feel good with. I would say that’s the best part of traveling, getting to know people from all walks of life. From all corners of the earth. It’s a richness in the heart cannot be measured with money. People. Cultures. Countries. Memories.

And for me, this is only the beginning. I just turned twenty and I realized how the world Is open for me if I just dare to take the leap to unknown. 😉 And I do. I’ve been sitting at one place, feeling stuck in a one place for too long, and now, FINALLY, after about 15 years of waiting it is the time for me to go and explore. So… basically, I have no idea where I’ll end up next year. Southeast Asia, yes at first, but after that? Any suggestions? 😉

I’m sorry I’ve been a bit poor with updating my blog often enough. I promise you I will make a progress with that next year! 😉 Happy New Year, my friends! Enjoy your day and night. Tomorrow when you wake up it will be another year and another time. You get to have a fresh start with everything. Use is wisely. Listen to yourself and what do you want. 😉 Life is full of choices. So what is your New Year’s promise going to be? If it’s something to do with traveling, please tell me. Maybe we can meet up somewhere!

Life is good. 😉 And oh, baby, it is a wild world. Can’t wait to get on the road again. ❤

One last thing… Mr called Xavier Rudd made a song about life. I must quote him on this one:

“Follow, follow the sun
and which way the wind blows
when this day is done.
Breathe, breathe in the air.
Set your intentions.
Dream with care.
Tomorrow is a new day for everyone,
Brand new moon, brand new sun.
So follow, follow the sun,
the direction of the birds,
the direction of love.
Breathe, breathe in the air,
cherish this moment,
cherish this breath.
Tomorrow is a new day for everyone,
brand new moon, brand new sun.”

Hope you had an amazing year 2014 and hope you will have even a better one next year!! Wish you all well xxx

Hasta luego!

-Jena

Living in a hostel: Part II / ten reasons why to live in a hostel

When you think about living in a hostel, what do you think it’s like? Probably pretty nerve-racking after reading my last post… “Sounds rough”, some said. “You got it right”, my fellow long term residents told me. I got it right. Hopefully they’ll agree with me on this one, too.

What makes it so incredible, so much fun and so nice to live in a hostel? It is still a hostel, you share your accommodation with other people, you even share your bed because you only have bunk beds. So why do people actually decide to stay in a hostel? And, why did I choose to stay there instead of getting my own apartment in the suburbs of Edinburgh (in this case)? Here’s long-awaited (pardon me for having to wait) my ten reasons why to live in a hostel (in addition to cheap rent and awesome location). Here’s a pic I’ve taken just from about a five minute walk away from the hostel.

Here’s ten reasons why to live in a hostel

…Ready?

 1. No more cleaning the house

First of all; You don’t have to clean. A hostel is a perfect place to live if you’re a person who hates cleaning. We have our own cleaners who keep the hostel nice and neat. Toilets, showers, dorms and common areas are cleaned and vacuumed once a day, the kitchen properly cleaned twice a day. I can’t remember the time I’ve actually vacuumed the last time – and still everything is clean! It’s amazing. Although, gotta admit, it still doesn’t mean you don’t have to do anything. You need to wash your own dishes always after use and if you make a big mess, of course you clean it. But that’s just common sense. Obviously.

(But of course, if you like cleaning, our hostel can always give you a cleaning shift – if you really really like it. But if your name is not Monica Geller I don’t believe that you actually like cleaning. So just, please, stop lying to yourself and enjoy your life instead of scrubbing the showers. Let some one else do it for you.)

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 2. Reception

Reception is sooo handy! It’s the best invention ever. (At least almost.) You can go there if you feel like something sugary such as KitKat or if you’re hungry and you want some noodles. You can also go there if you’ve forgotten to buy a milk from the grocery store, they have everything! Or you can just go there and hang out with your mates. Also if you have a question or two about something that’s happening in the town, you can go there. They’ll know. Or at least Google will. They are there for you. It is a hostel so there is a lot of short termers always who want to ask the same questions as you. Where is that? How to get there? What’s on tomorrow? Reception is perfect for you if it’s a new place for you to live in. You get to know the city better, they have all the maps and knowledge you need and you don’t have to worry about a thing.

Sometimes we also do some crazy stuff in the reception such as set up a karaoke party (yes, you heard right) or just do about anything we feel like; dance, lie on the floor, read a book, talk to the fish (yes, we have a fish tank there)… Anything. Or you can just stare at the short termers who are checking in or out. Hahaha. Not going to admit anything. Just do what ever you fancy.

On the left there’s a pic taken at our reception. Pretty cool, eh? That’s my Hungarian friend playing a fiddle that doesn’t have any strings. Don’t ask. 😀

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 3. Facilities

Living in a hostel doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to cook, watch TV or do the laundry. The facilities we have are exactly the same as you would have at your home, they’re just shared with other people. Our kitchen is fully equipped and there’s free coffee and tea so you can help yourself when you feel like it. We also have a free food section where you can find ex. buns and cakes always once in a while because few of the long termers work at cafes and bakeries so always after work they take some of the dainties they can’t sell the next day back home for us. 🙂

We also have a laundry but you’d have to pay for it and it works only with cold water… So it’s not really very helpful what it comes to actually washing and cleaning your clothes. 😀 But! You still have a working washing machine. Oh well, no one cares, you’re living in a hostel. Hostels are the kinda places that have very laid back atmosphere, no one really cares about unnecessary things or at least they can live with the discomfort. Some of them live there because of a choice, some do it because they don’t have any other chance, might be because of the lack of money or something else. For every person hostel life would not be ideal for sure, but for the ones that it is… It is very ideal. If you’re fun loving, ready to live with other people and want to meet new people from everywhere, it’s perfect for you. But it is very necessary for you to set your mind into a certain kind of freedom from care -mode. Otherwise you’re gonna have hard times in settling. For me it was a top choice. Could have not chosen any better. Soon we’ll come to the reasons why.

In a hostel you don’t have your own living room but in my hostel you’ll have a TV-room with eight amazingly comfy couches and hundreds of movies you can watch at any hour of the day. No need to worry about noise-sensitive, irritated neighbors – our TV-room walls are well isolated. Whether it was the early hours when the sun have already risen but you can’t fall asleep or the early hours when you’re just coming back from the bar and still feeling a wee bit tipsy. That’s when TV room is your place. At any hour of the day you can just go there and hang out with the people. It doesn’t really matter if you know them or not. They’re just people and that’s the only thing that counts in the end. 😉 There might be guys who have lived there for years or just random travelers from god knows whichever corner of the Earth, guys who are just planning to stay there only for overnight. (Of course when they realize how awesome the hostel is, they kinda want to stay there and just… magic happens. It reminds me of the Eagles’ song Hotel California; “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave…”) 😀

There’s also games you can borrow, guitars and other instruments you can play and plenty of books you can read. Not all people (especially if you move into another city or country) have all the great nostalgic old board games to play at their new apartment. Those are the kinda special things only your childhood home usually provides – and even though if your apartment did have the games, how often do you actually have enough people there to play with? Not too often, I dare to guess. But think about when you’re living in a hostel… Only the sky is limit. You can play games in different languages, you can teach your craziest drinking games and funniest childhood card games to your fellow mates or – my favorite – you can make people say something in your utterly strange language when you play some card game such as “King’s cup” or some other game where you need to come up with a rule. I love it. I love Finnish language. It is so strange. 😀 The most memorable moment for me was when I was in Iceland just a few weeks ago and it was Finland’s independence day and I made the guys yell “HYVÄ SUOMI!!” with an attitude. I told them to mean it and wave their hand in the air with rave. It was awesome. It means “GO FINLAND!!” 😀 So that’s hostel life. It’s not house life in a normal home – it’s better. Oh, such a good times.

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4. The people – short termers

Just think about it. You’re living in a place where first of all there’s people from all around the world. The people change all the time and chances for you to meet someone actually interesting and important increases a lot. And it does happen, more often than it would if you’d live alone in your own apartment. It really moves my heart to even think about all the inspiring and such a great people I’ve met during my nine months there. All the people I’ll remember for the rest of my life. All the people who I got to know and who got to change my life, every one a bit. It’s such a richness you can never get with money. People. Love.

All the moments you get to live with these people, even if it’s only for a day or two, an evening or a few. The new winds will always come and take the old mates away, they need to continue their travels. But then again, you won’t be regretting anything. You had brilliant time with those guys and world is small, who knows if you’ll meet someday somewhere again. The best part is that when the new wind comes, it’ll always bring some new people with it. And then, again, new memories, new stories to live. After setting the sun will always rise again. Days go pass but life will go on.

All the stories you hear from the people you meet, all the places you had never heard before but now they’re suddenly on your bucket list. You want to do that too! You want to go there too! God, so many times I’ve found myself thinking: “I didn’t even know that’s possible and here I am, talking to the person who’ve actually done that and been there. Wow, shit, I want to do that too.” Life is short, why not. 😉 I find it so inspiring when people tell me what they’ve done. It gives you whole new perspective, you realize how everything’s possible if you really want it and if you are ready to try. The world is open and it is right there – you just have to have the guts to take your stuff and go. Just try. What are you afraid? What can you loose? This kind of thinking, a way of life became a part of my reality, it’s all not just a dream anymore. It became part of me, part of who I am. And here I am now, holding tickets to Asia for next February. We’ve already planned on doing cycling around Bali and practicing yoga in a retreat on a top of a mountain in northern Thailand. It’s all possible. It sounds like it is not but it actually is. You just need to buy the ticket and go.

Short termers are usually the funniest ones. The moments we experience together become so special because we both know that the time we have is very limited. Some people will leave the next day, some people maybe the next week. So we take everything out of the time we have together in this amazing place. We’re alive and we live only once. Why wouldn’t we go out and have the craziest time in our lives and just simply… feel alive. It’s such a good feeling. I looove people when they go traveling. It changes them, it makes them want to be alive and live. Sadly, a thing people a bit too often forget when they’re too busy drowning into the daily grind of work and obligations. “No free time.”, “No time.”, bullsh*t. You do have time. Life is full of options. Although, I do know that in nowadays’ world you can’t really do anything without money. But when you do, that’s what I’m talking about. When you do have the money but you still continue complaining about… well, everything. No time, not even to breath. How on Earth can you find yourself in a situation so stressful that you can’t even breath? It shouldn’t be like that. It shouldn’t go like that.

And then people take off and go traveling. Some people quit their jobs, some take a vacation. But it’s all because they need it. And then they enjoy. Traveling, just even a wee vacation. They’re suddenly alive again. No stress, no obligations. Just chill. That’s hostel life, that’s travelers. And that’s what I love. Traveling makes people remember to live and reasons why they live. It’s beautiful. 🙂

When you travel there’s no such things as obligations. Every day is different, no routine, no schedules. Anything can happen; The same thing what it comes to hostel life. Travelers are the ones who build the place and the atmosphere we have there. That’s why there’s no such thing as a similar day. 🙂

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5. The people – long termers

As much as I learned to love the short termers, I could’ve not lived in the place without all my mates. All the people you live with, all of your friends.

There’s all kinds of people. From the age of 18 to age of 40 or so. We’re all there together, living, chatting, having fun. We’re all one. No one cares about the age, we’re living together. Why wouldn’t you think someone who’s ten or twenty years older than you as a friend of yours, if you anyway do the same for the person who’s only three years older? Exactly, it doesn’t matter. Age becomes just a number. Such a clichè, but a true one.

But just think about it. Think about how you behave with your mates. All your good old mates who you like to hang out with, who you feel relaxed and good with. Now transfer all that to a life in a hostel. All of your mates, your whole group, get to live under the same roof. Awesome, eh? Think about it, you’ll always have a friend around who to enjoy a beer or a glass of wine with after a long day at work. You also get to spend all your free time with them. No need to set up a date or make a schedule. They’re all there, always. They live there! It’s their home also. You never have to ‘look’ for a friend, someone will always be there, someone to chat with. But then again it’s not like a little shared apartment only with five people – we have over twenty, sometimes thirty long term residents so you don’t have to be afraid of getting bored with the faces either. There’s always other people to hang out with. Plus the short term residents, of course.

Long term residents are your savior. They share the same kind of laid back attitude as you. Some of them are a bit quirky and special but that’s what makes it so good. Everyone can be themselves, no judging. It’s all of our home, no one wants to act anything else in the own home. Oh boy. After living in a hostel I believe I can say that everyone’s a bit weird in their own way. Some people don’t just admit it to themselves. 😀 Oh all those crazy things that’s happened at the hostel – from “dancing” ballet in the kitchen to falling asleep in the staircase, from playing table tennis in our dining room to witnessing all kinds of crazy things from the surveillance cameras. Hahahaa. Oh people. One of my ultimate favorites was the two Italians dancing in the kitchen. That was awesome. Radio had just started playing some song they know and apparently they had a choreography to it. We laughed so much. 😀

You get to know so many people from all around the world. You make friends with someone from England, Hungary, Argentina, Australia, Spain and someone from Slovenia. Just to mention few of them. They tell you about their countries and you find yourself really lucky to hear all these things from a local’s point of view. All the things from political issues to cultures and people. You get to know such a random stuff that makes your world view expand. Knowing this people makes you so much richer in a way you could have never imagined before. You know now better and it’s all the kind of knowledge you cannot just read from a book. One of the best parts also knowing this people is that they’ll be able to provide you a bunk when you find yourself in their home destinations. That is so cool. You can go anywhere and you’ll always have a place to go.

Us long termers, we’re like a big family. At first before I moved into the hostel I was a bit afraid of what’s gonna happen, who am I going to meet, is everything going to be okay. Am I going to get along with the people? I didn’t know what to expect but I was ready to try. And now look where it led me to. I became a part of a big, freaking awesome family who cares about each others and help if someone is in need. We are there for each other, in both good and bad. We share the same rooms, the same facilities. We eat our breakfast together, we cook together, we go shopping together and we drink a beer after work together. We go out together and we enjoy spending time with each other. We become friends and we get to know each other so well. They give you a hug if you need it or a kiss on your cheek when they see you. I miss that so much. I’m in Finland now, been here for few days only but I miss it so much already. I miss about going home and someone comes to you and gives you a big hug and kiss on both of your cheeks. They smile at you and make you feel better no matter how down you feel. They become your family and you become one of them.

The best thing is that everyone’s welcomed into the group. We’re flexible, we’re open to new people. There’s no bullying or childish behavior – we’re not in highschool anymore. We’re dealing with adults now. We’re just there to live our lives peacefully and having fun, enjoying each others company. Nothing less, nothing more.

Except… sometimes someone might steal your phone when you turn your back and take a selfie or two (thanks Kalle)… 😀 Love u xx

They became my family. They became my second home. They teach you to cook if you don’t know how to and help you to carry your groceries. They are there for you. We are a commune, we are all in this together. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been there. And you’re always welcomed to come back again, whenever you feel like it. Here’s me goofing around in a hallway with Laura. ❤

I was really lucky with my time there. I got to live with some amazing people and I made some strong, hopefully life long friendships. They all made me one very very happy girl. There’s no experience like that, not a single one. And there is not going to be either. Nine months living and learning to live with people from different cultures, I am so thankful. I got to grow so much. I thank the guys for that. You’re the best. 🙂

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6. You’re never alone

In a hostel you’re never alone – in good and bad. This time it’s good. When ever you were feeling a bit down or lonely, ex. the worst moments when you were missing home so bad that it hurt you physically, there was always someone for you. Someone who would come to you and give you a big long hug, someone who would help you when you needed it the most. And that’s what made the strongest bonds, life long relationships. Young people, especially, they all knew how I felt. They lived the same crises as I did, it was the first place for me to move after living at home in Finland. They knew how you felt and they could make you feel better. You never had to feel lonely. You had your best friend, or best friends, right there. I made really good friends with some of them. For example with a Hungarian woman who became almost like my big sister. I will never forget her.

You sleep in the same room with the people, you share everything. You live with them. Think about how well you get to know them and they get to know you. You can talk to anyone. It is like the friend group you would have at home. You never have to feel like you didn’t belong there when you go to the common areas and you see that it’s full of people. You can go to anyone. And there will always be some who will come to you and hug you or smile at you, ask how are you. Someone who actually cares about you. How was work? What are you doing tonight? Do you want to cook with us? Do you want to watch a movie after dinner? They care, why wouldn’t they? They’re your family. They make you happy and they’re always there for you.

In the photo we’re hanging out in the famous hallway. There’s Maija playing ukulele and singing, and me just starting to paint 🙂 This is how we spent our free time. Together.

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7. Sunday dinners

Sunday dinners are the best things ever. We all gather together, everyone in the hostel. Some long termer cooks for about sixty people and we all go to our dining room and eat and chill together. It’s great. You remember those times when you used to live with your family and always when you were celebrating something you gathered and dined together. It’s like a Christmas dinner with all your family and friends, except it’s weekly and there’s bunch of random travelers in addition to your friends. It’s really nice. You get to see everyone and just eat. 😀 🙂 And often after that you all go out and drink some beer, dance, listen some good a live music and just have fun, enjoy life. That’s our Sundays. Every single Sunday of the year. It’s beautiful! Who wouldn’t love to dine and just hang out with their friends after a long and exhausting week at work? I thought so too. 😉

(No, that’s not a Sunday dinner in the photo 😀 That’s just my Finnish friend Maija getting some Finnish treats for the first time in ages! Hahaha, winning!)

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8. There’s always someone going out

If you’re feeling like going out, there will always be someone to go out with. Whether it was someone who’s there just for one night and who wants to see the best pub in the town or some long termer you’d like to go out with just for a pint or two. Whether it was just going out in the park and lie on the grass under the big sun with some beers, just play guitar and chill or actually go out and drink and dance the whole night. No one cares what day it is, people there are always up for a beer or two (it’s never just one, right 😉 ). It’s almost impossible to get stuck in to the nowadays’ circle of life, the famous treadmill of life. Wake up, get up, wash your teeth, eat breakfast, drive to work, be at work, drive back home, eat, watch TV, take a shower, go to sleep. Wake up, get up… For forty years. Nope. Living in a hostel makes your life pretty interesting. The people make it interesting and the experiences you will end up experiencing is something you would not have had if you would live alone in a small quiet apartment. There’s an actual life happening around you at the hostel, all the time. Now, sometimes it makes you really annoyed because there’s always someone around you. But that’s only sometimes. I prefer to look at the bright side and be happy for having that awesome people around me. I think it’s great that the days are similar and you will not get bored, there’s always something going on.

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9. It changes your life

Your life turns upside down when you move into a hostel.

You’re forced to live with people you didn’t know before and there’s people from all corners of the Earth. All those cultures, different kind of lifestyles and personalities you got to meet and live with. How they treat people around them, how they act towards everyone. Do they shake your hand, hug you or even kiss you? We don’t kiss people on the cheek in Finland, but look at me now. All kissing people, friends, family,.. my dog. 😀

At this age, living in a hostel was a top choice (as I mentioned before). You’re just growing up and learning all these things about life. In these last nine months I learned for example how to let go. How to beat the so called social pressure. Communicating with all people became very natural and easy. Even though it’s not even my first language. I am shocked now that I’m in Finland and they don’t do small talk here. You don’t talk to strangers and they don’t talk to you. What on earth!?! I don’t know how to be like that. I’ve just got used to chat with everyone! Fuuukin hell 😀 Oh life what did you do. 😀

You have people around you 24/7. Though the bathroom is private and showers too, but that’s about it. No more “my space”. You can try to conquer a couch in the TV- room but there’s always going to be someone jumping there, on you or something. They’ll make their way (photo). And so you can’t help but to learn how to live with people around you. And you think living with your family or a roommate (or two) is bad? Try to live with five other people in a six-bed-dorm, in addition to the fact that you’re sharing – not just your room but your bunk bed also. Plus of course the facilities and common areas. You share all these things with everyone, including the people you don’t know.

“Home is wherever I’m with you…”

I’m not going to lie. It was pretty tough in the beginning. But nothing good comes easy, right? 😉 Of course you need to try yourself and make the effort, try to get to know the people in the beginning etc. After a while it became actually quite normal for me to go home after work and just chat with people (even the ones I don’t know). It became so natural just to walk to the kitchen in the morning (or afternoon…) wearing only your pyjamas and make yourself a breakfast. No matter what time it is. You don’t really realize that there’s people around you anymore, after a while. It became so natural for me to hang out in the reception, yes, sometimes even (often) when wearing only my pyjamas. I just don’t care anymore. I don’t realize when there’s so called “normal” people (short termers) around me, I’ll do my stuff and continue my life. 😀 I’m so used to having random people around me that I’ve passed the point where I care anymore. It is my home and I will be there like I would be at home. 😀 But that’s the best part what it comes to our hostel. It is a home abroad for everyone. There’s people living so the whole atmosphere is just totally different than what it would be if you’d be staying in a hostel that has no long term residents there. In our hallways you might find us playing our guitars or ukuleles, singing Christmas songs – or about anything else from practice yoga to painting.(Yes, I’ve done it all.)

It just… it changes your life, the way you live and who you are. It changes your perspective to everything. And when you go back, you learn to appreciate your warm home with a great deal more.

All in all, if you add all the good and bad things together you get an amazing life experience that you will remember the rest of your life. It changed my life and moving to Edinburgh was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. It led me to such a beautiful places and people, such a memorable situations. Such a good life experience. I feel like… It opened the world for me. How great is that?

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10. A home abroad

It became a home abroad. I’ll always now have a place to go back. The people. The atmosphere. Of course things will change and some things will stay the same but all in all… Edinburgh is not going to disappear anywhere. And that’s where it all happened, on the rainy and windy streets of Ed, with the people of all around the world. People I will not forget and memories I will cherish for the rest of my life. I can’t wait to continue my travels, after all this. Who knows what’s waiting for me somewhere there elsewhere. Just like I said, the world is open. You just have to take the leap and try. What have you got to lose? 😉

Thank you guys. For everything. You’ll stay in my heart forever. xxx

Always counting

Always counting.

I confess, I belong to the group of wanderlust ones. Wikipedia puts it well:

“Wanderlust is a strong desire for or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world. —

The term originates from the German words wandern (to hike) and Lust (desire). The term wandern, frequently misused as a false friend, does in fact not mean “to wander”, but “to hike.” Placing the two words together, translated: “enjoyment of hiking”, although it is commonly described as an enjoyment of strolling, roaming about or wandering. —

In modern German, the use of the word Wanderlust to mean “desire to travel” is less common, having been replaced by Fernweh (lit. “farsickness”), coined as an antonym to Heimweh (“homesickness”).—“

That’s me. Wanderlust. Enjoyment of hiking, desire to travel – and that’s how we get to the ‘counting’ part.

Always counting. There will always be some kind of a countdown going on; Whether it was days left until the plane gets off or the days when an ongoing trip will end. We all know the feeling in stomach when the travel fever raises and we get butterflies in our bellies. “Two more days and London is calling!”  – that’s the exciting waiting part. You count the days to the becoming trip, you mark everything in your calender and imagine yourself there, lying on a white sanded beach or so. You start smiling when you know what’s coming. Then there’s the other part when you’re on the road. First you count the days and weeks and months you’ve already traveled, then the coin turns around and you start feeling kinda sad and anxious after realizing that your holiday is soon to be over. You start counting the final days before going back home. “One last week starts tomorrow… Ugh.”

It’s nice to go back home after a long journey but it’s still always a bit sad to leave, especially if you’ve been in that one place for a longer period of time. Like me; It’s been almost eight moths for me now here in Scotland. Six weeks left. Six weeks is nothing! Four weeks work, then one week in Iceland and after that one more week here in Edinburgh. After that it’s over. It’s time for me to move on and go back home.

So in six weeks I’ll be in Finland again. I’ll have my own room, my privacy (finally…). No more sleeping in a six-bed-dorm in a hostel. I’ll also be spending my time with the people I already know. No new acquaintances, no fellow travel mates around. No shared fridges nor queues for showers. No “CLOSED FOR CLEANING” signs on the bathroom and kitchen doors, and haha, no difficulties about understanding what someone with a strong accent is trying to say to you. Everything is going to be so easy. Even a bit too easy. How am I supposed to get used to that kind of a life style again? The same way as I got used to this one here, I suppose. But soon everything will go back to normal again. All the reasons why I left at the first place are still there. No excitement after the beginning, just routines. The questions about school, work and other life plans will start chasing you. The pressure about making permanent decisions. “What are you going to do know? Settle down, right? No need to go anywhere anymore now that you’ve just been away for almost a year.” Ha! You wish!

After being on the road you get used to the feeling of being free – and that’s what gets you in the hook. It’s almost impossible to go back home and act normal after traveling a while. All the routines creep you out, nothing feels the same again. Everything’s so normal that it starts to feel abnormal to you. You don’t feel free anymore. You’re expectations and the level of living has somehow gone up during your travels. You simply live differently. You’ve used to live in the moment. You know that the life is short. You’ve used to have a limited period of time in one place at a time so you’ve used to take everything out of it. You’re much relaxed now. Why would you be unhappy and live a steady life in your little comfort zone when you know that the life begins when you step out of the zone. You’ve turned out to be a yes person instead of a no person. You now refuse to live inside your comfort zone, a steady life is not enough anymore. You know better.

So when you come back home, nothing will be the same again. After all your experiences and things you’ve learned, after all those places you’ve seen you suddenly start seeing everything from a different point of you. You’ve grown so much during the past weeks that going back home feels like time traveling. Nothing’s changed there, it’s all the same. But you feel different. You feel very much separate and unconnected with everything and everyone that surrounds you at home. You don’t feel comfortable anymore. It doesn’t really feel like home anymore. Home should make you happy and feeling good. But you’ve seen too much. You’ve changed and it’s just not simply you anymore.

So you start thinking about new places to conquer. All those places people you met during your travels told you about. “The little village in the middle of a jungle in Laos… The hot air balloon flight in Morocco. Riding a bicycle around Jamaica. Hitchhiking the route 66. Eating street food in a Mexican city…” All those things. All those places. You’r at home browsing all the photos from your last journey over and over again. Oh, all those memories, all those places that you visited and people you met. Good times. So just like any other candy, you start wanting it more. Where to go next? When to go? And before you even notice, you’re already surfing on Skyscanner, searching desperately for cheap flights to Everywhere (All countries). “Just… please. Take me away.”

First it’s just a little itch in the back of your head and then it starts to spread all over your body. You’re hands can feel it and your feet want to lead you forward, somewhere away. You’ve lost the control. Every day, you start thinking about it more and more. You wish to be somewhere else, you want to go again, move on. The world is out there and it’s calling your name. You’re walking on a street and you look up and see a plane crossing the sky. I wonder where that plane is traveling to… I wish I was there too. Checking the new travel themed boards on Pinterest becomes your daily task. It is an impulse you just can’t control – especially after the first big trip. (For me it was my trip last winter to Australia and New Zealand. I’ve always known that I want to travel the world but after being there it just… I lost the control. It’s too late to stop now. It really is like a drug you get addicted to.)

It is always itching, it is always on your mind. The travel bug. No matter if you were on the road or not, it’s always there.. Next trip, last trip. When can I go again? You have your own travel savings and probably 90 % of your Bucket List has something to do with all the incredible places you want to visit someday. You start to feel anxious. The circle is closing, you want to be somewhere else. The itching just grows and grows, it really starts bothering. You find yourself dreaming about all those other places and new winds every day more and more, and then you reach the point when you just can’t handle it anymore.

And then you book the tickets.

Huh, the feeling. Finally you’ll be able to continue your life again. The wheel starts spinning and you’re able to breath again. The anxiousness is gone. Then you start planning the next trip and basically you’re mind will be with it all the time. You’re excited. The road is there and you’ll be hitting it soon. (For me it’s not the wee trip to Iceland I’ll be having in the beginning in December, but the almost four months trip to Southeast Asia starting on next February. I can’t wait to get there and explore all those undiscovered roads and pathways. It’s going to be magnificent.)

Into the Wild (my ultimate favorite movie and book) is such an inspiration. Jon Krakauer puts it well:

It  is all in the feeling when the airplane lands on another continent, the first bump when it hits the ground or when you see the land for the first time after hours of wondering above the clouds. It is in the feeling when you wake up in a train and you’ve reached a new city in a new country. Everything is so beautiful, so new and interesting. There’s so many adventures out there waiting for you. It is in the feeling of pure joy and happiness that’s spread all over you when after hours of hiking you finally reach the top of a mountain. And it’s visible, people can actually see it when they look at you. You have a sparkle in your eyes. You shine.

But when you’re at home, there’s no one to talk to about those things. All of the adventures, the stories about people you’ve met and outstanding places you’ve been to. They don’t know what you’re talking about, and it’s very possible they don’t even care. You feel that they don’t know you anymore and that’s the truth, you’re not the person you used to be. So what to do now? You start counting.

It’s because of the desire that forces you to move on and go someplace else, explore. The world is out there, why would you stop now? After the first journey it doesn’t feel a big issue anymore. It’s in fact very easy just to take your belongings and go. For the first time in your life you’re now aware of the things and places the world has to offer and it’s like candy you just can’t say no to.

Traveling gives you the feeling of freedom. C’mon, who doesn’t like to feel free? For the first time in your life you’re actually free to do whatever and go wherever. You can be whoever you want to be, you can do whatever you feel like. It’s like a superpower.

It’s the feeling. Almost like a new beginning, when you get to hit the road, you start feeling different. You feel new. You’re like another person, full of joy again. You’re not bored, as you used to be. All those old things in the past, nothing matters anymore. “It’s a new day, a new life, for me… and I’m feeling good.” You find yourself enjoying life again. You feel like you were living, and it’s a good feeling. So some people see it as freedom. There’s no chains anymore to hold you still. You can move and be free. No more obligations nor schedules, no more hectic life, no necessities. No unnecessary stress. Everything’s better now. You feel peaceful. No stress, no worries. Just… don’t worry, be happy.

Of course there’s always ups and downs what it comes to traveling and it can also get very stressful if you’re not for example prepared or laid back enough. But we’ll speak about that some other time. Now the main point is the strong, almost imperative, unconditional desire, an urge to travel and explore. A true wanderlust state of mind. The world is out there, why would I choose to be settled, “stuck” somewhere you don’t want to be – instead of going on the road and letting go. You can go wherever life leads you, go with the flow, they say. There’s so much to see. All the wanders of the Planet Earth. I’m too curious, can’t just stay home and “do nothing”. 😀

So I go.

Back my backpack and get a bus to the airport.

It’s the circle of life.

From head to toes, I am a wanderlust and there’s not much to do about it. No medication, no therapy. You just know that the world is calling your name and you decide to follow your heart and go wherever the intuition leads you. I think it’s beautiful, to be able to let go and see wherever the road might take you. The Earth will always carry you, no matter what happens. No need to be afraid. Go and try, explore. Soon you’ll find out a great deal about yourself, what you want, what you don’t want. Everything’s more clear now. You become you. No wonder people go traveling to find themselves. It is very possible that that’s exactly what will happen.

My beloved travel mates. I believe I can trust you on this one, you will know what I’m talking about when I speak about the desire and counting. It’s in all of us, we’re all the same in a way. We all know how it feels when you get to hit the road again. It’s unspeakable. It’s unforgettable. Nothing beats it. It is the life as we know it.

So don’t stop me now… Cus’ I’m having a good time, having a good time. 

So where will you be going next?

 

Spontaneously: The land of ice, geyshirs and Vikings

Iceland. Sooo I booked tickets to Iceland. What on Earth am I going to do in Iceland?!

I bought tickets very spontaneously.  So basically I have no idea what to do or where to go.

But then again, it’s Iceland. I can probably go anywhere and still feel amazed by the breathtaking scenery of one of the world’s most beautiful islands. I know it’s winter and relatively cold but I just won’t let the weather stop me. So Iceland! It’s going to be marvelous! I really want to go into the wild and so I’ll try my best to get to the rough nature of Iceland. Only the sky is limit when it comes to my travels…

Look how beautiful it is! It’s stunning. It’ll be like stepping into a fairy tale.

I could try to ride a horse? Or something. I love horses. I wish I knew how to ride one.

So what can I do in Iceland? I’ll fly to Reykjavik, so, obviously, I will stay there for few nights of my week-long journey. How and where? I have no idea. Couch surfing? Hostel? Who knows. But something cheap, for sure. Reykjavik and its colorful little houses, Christmas lights and little markets, friendly people and fireplaces. Warm atmosphere, northern lights. Trees and roads white of snow, air glimmering because of the falling snowflakes. Red noses and red cheeks, vapour coming from everyone’s mouth when they try to speak in the freezing weather.

After wondering around Reykjavik’s pubs and wee shops, I could imagine myself trying to hitchhike somewhere. Although I only have seven days and six nights, so might as well spend it wisely. I think I’ll just create a list that I really want to do and then just go with the flow, not really make any specific plans.

It’s Iceland. It’s kind of like Finland during winter. Everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere during the winter season days are way shorter than during the summer season. I remember those days when I went to school in the morning and it was pitch black, and then when I got off, it was pitch black again. So basically we couldn’t see the sunlight at all. It’s horrible. So depressing. So that’s where I come from and where I am traveling to. The shortest days might be only for about four hours long. But then again you’ll see the stars better and better chance to see the northern lights when it’s dark all the time (if the weather is good). I really thought that the temperature would colder than in Finland but it’s not! Not even close. It’s about zero degrees Celsius, maybe -2 to +2 degrees, when in Finland we would have over -20 C degrees. The reason for the relatively “warm” temperature is because of the gulf stream that brings warmer water up to Iceland from lower latitudes.

So, what should I do?

One day, maybe after some shopping at the Christmas markets, I would like to go to the world famous Blue Lagoon. In Icelandic Bláa lónið, the Blue Lagoon is artificial geothermal pool that gets its 38˚C warm water from the nearby Svartsengi thermal power station. “Svartsengi taps into steam vents fed by sea water seeping down into subterranean hot pots, and by the time it emerges at Blue Lagoon it has cooled to a comfortable 38˚C.” I’m super excited because they have a sauna there! I haven’t been to a sauna in ages. In Finland almost every household has its own sauna and before moving to Edinburgh I was used to go to the sauna for several times a week. Now it’s been almost seven months without it! Aaaa

 

After Blue Lagoon, I could try to go to see one of Europe’s most powerful waterfall, Dettifoss or maybe some other massive waterfall, like Gullfoss. I could also go to see the Askja, a volcanic crater that has a geothermal lake víti that you can swim in (SAY WHAAT). Then there’s also of course the Geysir which is probably one of the most photographed nature’s phenomenon in the world. Then there’s also plenty of national parks to conquer and wildlife to experience… Oh boy, is a week enough after all?

 

Aurora Borealis, the northern lights would also be a pretty amazing thing to see in the wilderness of Iceland. Did you know that actually the name Aurora Borealis is named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and Borealis is from the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas. The best time to see them would be between September to April, so I guess my trip will have the “perfect timing” then. Lucky me!

On the road again, can’t wait to get on the road again… And there I will be. On the road, don’t know where I’m going but it’s definitely somewhere. In Iceland Reykjavik is a good start, then we’ll see where after that. Maybe a glazier walk?

“During the winter months, the glaciers get a bit sturdier, and groups of tourists are led across them. There’s no better way to see the glaciers than to walk on them. Release your Arctic explorer across the glaciers of Iceland.” 

Glazier walk, selfies with the biggest waterfall I’ve ever seen, ice caving and glacier lagoons. Horse riding, hot toddies, hanging out in a local pub with vikings, old saga tales and warming your frozen fingers in front of the fireplace. I found a perfect site, https://www.extremeiceland.is/en/winter-tours where I can find almost any tours that they have in Iceland during the winter season. So maybe I’ll go on for a tour. 🙂

Until the next time! Hafa a ágætur dagur! 🙂