Elena's Journey

March 30, 2020

My story on how I started traveling!

Hey there! You are about to read my first ever blog post! I hope you enjoy it.

So how did this all happen? How did I end up here? Well, I am not sure what the answer is to those questions, but I think it is quite simple. I did it. I worked towards my goal and I took the decisions that lead me to where I am today.

I have always loved traveling and been fascinated by what it can offer. When traveling as a kid I always wanted to sit by the window just to be able to stare out, absorb the views and see everything that was different from what I was used to. I started gaining a deeper understanding of what traveling is when in 2012 I was 10 months in Prague for my Erasmus. There I had the opportunity to travel to nearby cities and countries and just in those 10 months, I saw Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, 3 cities in Germany, Holland and Spain. Being around people from so many backgrounds and interacting with them on a daily basis made me appreciate the differences between cultures and that they are all unique in their own way. This help develop my curiosity to learn and experience what the world has to offer.

Fast forward to 3 years ago, I started working in a company where I was surrounded by people from all over Europe and beyond. I started to see the smaller details in how each culture interacts and reacts in different situations and I gained more knowledge and experience of its people. Earning my own money did now allow me to start saving up but also to travel around some more! During this time, I visited Malaysia, Singapore, Denmark, London, Israel and Italy 3 times.

I enjoyed what I did and I was fortunate to be promoted which helped me grow even more and I have to say it did help me change to a better version of myself and strengthen aspects of my personality.

The last few months I wasn’t happy and nothing felt enough. I took 1 week off and spent it in a remote village with family, working hard every day harvesting olives. We managed to collect 3 tons in 5 days, but I gained so much more from that experience. First of all, I had never realized how my mind was constantly busy and distracted.

While my body was occupied in the harvest, I had so much time to think and re-evaluate my life and plan what my next goals would be. Needless to say, when I got back to work, I gave my 2 months’ notice. That was the same time I decided I would not wait around any more and that I wouldn’t have a better chance to finally start traveling.

I must confess that it wasn’t the easiest decision, but it felt very natural and kind of a relief. Along with it came stress and fear of the unknown and what would happen when I wouldn’t have a job anymore and that safety net would be gone. I had some small doubts to whether or not I made the right decision, but that faded quickly.

I slowly started to plan my trip and organize everything before I left the country, such as moving out, where to store my things and most important for me, who would take care of my cat while I was gone.

With time, everything came into place, my one-way ticket was booked and my cat safe with a friend.

I hadn’t realized what was about to happen until the very last minute, 4 hours before the flight, when I had to go back home from my last night out, grab my backpack, say goodbye and head to the airport.

I am very grateful I had my friends for the first month as they made the “transition” from my old life to my new, much easier, I had a wonderful time and gain many memories. Right now, I am in Bali “stuck” here until the situation will get better so I will be able to move around and continue traveling.

March 25, 2020March 30, 2020

Experiencing Nyepi, the “Silent Day” in Bali

As I am currently in Bali to wait out the virus, I had the luck to stumble upon Nyepi.

I first heard about it when I was searching for accommodation in Bali. Every local owner I spoke to made sure I was aware of the silent day coming up and that I should arrive before or after, as the airport would be closed on the actual day, and nothing would be working.

Nyepi Day — Traditional parade the day before Nyepi with representations of the good and evil.

Nyepi is basically a Hindu celebration and for the locals this day is for self-reflection, no work and some even fast or don’t speak at all. Anything that might obstruct that is prohibited, so on that day there is no internet (wifi or data), no one is allowed to leave their home or hotel, make loud noises or have any light turned on during the night. This applies to everyone on the island and what I found impressive was that the foreigners respected the local tradition and stayed home.

I arrived a few days early and I am very happy I got to experience it. On the afternoon the day before Nyepi I could hear drums so I followed the sound and saw a few locals parading the streets with drums and a few doll-like ogoh-ogoh daemons. I also noticed that some shops and cafes closed at 3pm and others at 6pm. They had even turned off most of the ATMs by 6pm even though the holiday wasn’t officially starting until 12hours after. I later got explained that they turn them off to prevent possible robberies but most importantly because nothing should be working on that day or emit light during the night

So what did I do on Nyepi?

During the actual day everything was exceptionally quiet and you could only hear the nature and occasionally a dog barking or a baby. I spent the day mostly in my room organizing and planning things and doing a bit of studying anticipating the evening.

Because all lights on the island would be off and the light polution minimal, I was hoping to be able to see the MilkyWay. I never go to see it but I was still rewarded with a breathtaking starry sky and I even got to see a few shooting stars. It was so clear and bright we could not stop staring up and you could only hear us say “wow” over and over again.

The next day we got to hear about a foreigner who went out for a walk and got caught by the local security designated to patrol the streets. The man was not cooperative and ended up arrested and taken away in chains!

The Traditions of Nyepi Celebrated at InterContinental ...

As Nyepi was over I reflected on the experience and came to realize this day left me much calmer and more aware of how differently I spend my day when I don’t have any internet access. I had so much free time to think and analyze my thoughts and it somehow felt very freeing. I will surely find a way to reduce my usage and take advantage of the free time to invest in something more productive.

I was amazed of how a whole island could completely be put on pause for a whole day and contemplating if this would ever be possible in any other country in the world, especially western countries. How would a whole nation react if they had to be locked in their homes without internet for 24hours under normal circumstances?

I definitely believe we should all try to do this for a day and observe our life without it and how more productive we become. Why not take the advantage of already self-isolating and turn of our wifi and data? Even a few hours would be beneficial.

I feel very grateful to have experienced this day and very proud for everything that I gained from it.

For now, my plan is to write down my experiences from the past month of traveling and focus on developing as many aspects of myself as I possibly can 🙂

February 9, 2020March 30, 2020

Another boring introduction post?

Hi! I am very happy you are reading this!

So who am I? I am Elena and I am doing my part to keep myself happy. Currently what is making me happy is this opportunity I have to travel. I managed to do so by saving up some money and quitting my job. Now as I am on the move I am exploring my options so I can stay on the road and keep on as long as it makes me happy!

Why did I create this blog?

I tend to forget so I want to have this as a reminder of what I have accomplished and to remember everything I experienced.
For anyone that might be interested in reading what I have been up to 🙂

To any few questions you might ask:

Why are you publishing it, rather than keeping a personal journal? Well, for the fun of it and in hopes that it might help someone else get inspired and chase their happiness.
Do you even have anything interesting to share? I am aiming to share parts of my daily life and why not some tips and tricks that I have learned along the way.

This is a small project that will allow me to develop some new aspects of myself, become better at what I am doing, and grow with the process along the way. One thing I know for sure is that everything keeps changing. I have changed a lot in the past year and seeing the benefits of that makes me want to continue building on it and see where it will take me.

This might be a very bad post, and the coming posts will probably also not be the best, but I am ok with that, as I cant expect from myself to be perfect at something I do for the very first time. So if you are reading this, bare with me and make sure to give me some constructive criticism and feedback !!