What does Traveling Mean to You?
I come from a small town in Eastern Germany and very fortunate to grow up shortly after the wall in Berlin went down, as the country was unified and opened up plenty of opportunities to travel. My dad became a frequent traveler despite being stuck on the same factory job for most of his life while my mum, also for health reasons, barely stepped outside of the German borders ever since I finished school.
With jobs stretched rather thin in the entire region at the start of the new century, I skipped the step to university despite acceptable grades and instead signed up for a business school. The course of “foreign language correspondent” appeared to be the most promising for an escape out of what seemed to be a boring nine to five office job. And it may have still ended right there if it wasn’t due to a sheer case of serendipity after all.
Due to fortunate circumstances and a lot of effort from my side in a very specialized niche market, I have traveled more than one million kilometers on planes since 2012. One decade has passed in which I got to visit more than 50 countries, explore places that were mere dreams in my childhood and experience different cultures from up close.
This is not supposed to be a brag but somehow still feels like a weird kind of dream for a random average guy who grew up in the middle of nowhere. You had to be creative and think outside of the box to get anything but a boring nine to five office job yet here I was in a hotel in the south of Thailand, attempting to finish my thoughts for this article. That was, however, only the case weeks later in the middle of two trips and a rare visit of my apartment in Germany.
To me, being able to travel means freedom.
Glazing into the clouds and sky from above while staring out of a plane window is something magical for me. My mind feels free and I get a lot of motivation for random articles during this stage of the international trips, open my iPad and just brainstorm some quotes into the notes.
Personally, I consider the opportunity to travel regularly as a gift and incredulous form of wealth. Being able to combine it with my work is a huge benefit and motivation to keep going, always giving my utmost effort because it enables further chances to continue this journey and discover new places at a bargain.
The latest example just now were visits to Thailand and India, sandwiched between live poker events in the South East Asia region. Both countries have a very rich culture that is worth exploring and I will certainly have to return there, because it’s only possible to scratch on the surface of it all during the span of a few weeks at a time. While not always satisfying to explore a tiny fraction only, this kind of “country hopping” keeps my wanderlust alive and I continue to enjoy seeing new places.
This time off is also urgently needed as mandatory break from a very stressful and challenging work environment. Especially during and after the global coronavirus pandemic, I tried to pay more attention to the physical and mental health. Whether or not I already went through a sophisticated burnout I don’t want to personally judge but should reserve to hold a grudge.
It took me long enough to realize a way to balance stress and traveling to unknown destinations has become a reasonable solution for the time being. Of course, that also comes with negative side effects to always be on the road as I ought to settle down sooner rather than later. Living out of a suitcase can be quite fun for a while and I don’t mind the nomad style, but the late thirties are kind of pointing towards are more settled lifestyle eventually.
Up until now, I have already seen more countries and places than I could imagine in school. This has undoubtedly generated the inevitable craving for more and I am well aware that am enjoying a very privileged role without any major amounts of money at my disposal. It didn’t need the very subtle reminder while witnessing the severe poverty on display in the streets of New Delhi, but that has once again give me a lot of confirmation to cherish what I have.
A few countries certainly remain on my personal travel wishlist such as New Zealand, Iceland, Portugal and a whole slate of South America. Perhaps, Egypt should also be on there, too, to witness the enormous architectural achievement of the pyramids. Whether or not any or all of those will indeed be accomplished remains to be seen. There is no need to be greedy or build up unrealistic expectations after all.
Perhaps, even an opportunity arises to turn the travel experiences and adventures into more than just Instagram posts, stories and reels. Photography has always been fascinating for me and the unusual angles typically garner my attention. However, the skillset is certainly not good enough yet to put all eggs into that basket.
Regardless of what happens in the next couple of years, I have most certainly exceeded my own expectations and look forward to more travel shenanigans all over the world.
