Living in Between One-Ways

Last summer when traveling through Bali, Indonesia for two months, I learned the most valuable life lesson.  Do not ever book a flight home, until you are ready to leave. I arranged for my Bali trip months in advanced and purchased a return ticket. I regretted every minute of that decision. I vowed to myself, to never purchase a flight leaving a country until I knew it was time to leave. This vow to myself has yet to lead me in the wrong direction.

I can’t imagine this method works for everybody. In fact, I can not imagine that this method works for many. But for me, this is the only way I seem to truly be happy with my travel related decisions. There is nothing that scares me more than a plan, and a flight is the most permanent plan I can think of. Yes, people say that you can save more money when you book in advance. I prefer to pay the extra $100 for the ability to change my mind at any moment.

I chose to travel to Taiwan in a very unique way. I applied to a bunch of surf related work-exchange  opportunities all over the world and I told myself that whoever replied to me  first is where I would travel to. There was zero method to my madness. I didn’t have a region of the world I wanted to go, nor did I really care. I could have ended up in Nicaragua or Morocco or anywhere in between, and that was just fine with me.

I got a message from a surf school in Taiwan, offering me a position. I checked the map to reinsure my geography skills and said to hell with it. Two weeks later, I booked a flight and decided I was gonna go to Taiwan. I put in my two weeks notice, at my job in the Virgin Islands, and prepared to go to Asia. I instantly knew it was time to leave the Caribbean island life and head for the Asian island life.

I quit my job. I bought a flight. And I didn’t look back. 

It is really that simple. The hardest part about traveling, or anything for that matter, is committing to do it. It’s the initial decision to buy the flight. Once you get over that, leaving is the easiest thing to do in the world. You just go, and life does the rest for you. Kick back, put your feet up, and enjoy the ride.

I left for Taiwan unsure of how long I wanted to stay. I figured I’d get here and then figure it out later. (Still working on the “figuring it out later” part). I will know when it is time to leave; I have complete faith in my ability to do so.

Two weeks in, as of today, I am starting to try to figure out where to go next. I absolutely love Taiwan, and I do not think any amount of time would ever be enough. But, there are other parts of the world that are calling, and I must listen to those instincts. I am certain I will spend at least two more weeks here.

I really prefer not to travel to a country for less than a month; it is just not long enough for me to fully connect with the culture as deeply as I would like to. If time was no factor, I would stay here in Taiwan for probably eight to ten months. There is so much to see and do, the locals are absolutely incredible, and it hasn’t been hit too hard with tourism yet. Some of the people back home still think I am in Thailand, for crying out loud.

“That’s great you’re traveling to Thailand.”

“No, I am going to Taiwan.”

“Yeah, but that’s in Thailand right?”

Fun fact: Taiwan is its own country, near China. Thailand, completely different country about 1,500 miles away. Not the same place, at all.

Now, with roughly two to three ( five? seven?) weeks left in Taiwan, I have to go through the hard part. The decision of where to travel to is always the difficult, more frustrating part of traveling, for me at least. I struggle with this because I am open to almost anything.

I find myself in a predicament because there are endless countries that I am dying to visit, but there are a couple of places that I hold very close to my heart, and would spend all of my time in if I didn’t push myself to get out of my comfort zone. Bali, for example, is the place that means the most to me. In a heart beat, I would move there tomorrow and be completely satisfied living there for the rest of my life.

But, life is about continuously growing. If I stay within the limits of what is comfortable for me, there is little room for me to grow. Even though every little thing inside of me is screaming “Bali,” I am looking elsewhere for after Taiwan.

I am currently considering Sri Lanka and the Maldives, the Philippines, or Nepal. (Technically, I already have a flight booked for the Philippines that I bought a few months back).  If you know me, you know this will change by tomorrow morning. I recently met someone who informed me of a pretty strict ten-day mediation program, which is a huge reason why I am considering the above countries. I applied, so now I will wait to see what they say. Fingers crossed!

My favorite of my traveling experiences root from suggestions that people have given me. I am using my resources to the extreme, and fellow travelers are the absolute best resource. The beauty of living in between one-way tickets is that you are never fully locked into a decision. If I had booked a return flight, before meeting the man who educated me on the mediation program, I would have been so bummed knowing I couldn’t attend. This is exactly what I mean when I express how valuable other people’s experiences are to your own traveling.

If you have any comments or suggestions about these places or future travel plans, please let me know. They would be greatly appreciated.

Interested in everything, committed to nothing.