Jan. 25/12 – I have this crazy new idea. Got inspired by this girl from Belgium whom I met in cooking class. She’s been backpacking for 4 months now. She doesn’t even arrange for accommodation until she gets to her destination, this time, it’s Vietnam, Laos & Thailand. Then she goes and gets herself a room in a guesthouse for $3 USD to $10 USD a night. She likes the “adventure” in that. She says stats state $800 as the monthly cost for a backpacker; this covers food, accommodation and shopping (no brand name items of course). She also says that there is adventure as well in not planning the trip in details; it’s part of the fun part and it can be “addictive”
I have always been curious about the life of a backpacker and have always wished Kel and Jo would do it after they graduate from high school before they start university but they didn’t. So what’s my new inspiration? I decided I want to experience this myself (I know I am kinda old but like many other things, I am just catching up on what I’d missed in my younger years). And if I were to take De’s age + my age divide by 2 then we still fit the ceiling age of a backpacker’s age group (18-26 yrs old). Haha. It was pretty hard to imagine myself going from a big luggage to a backpack but I think I can visualize it now.
Therefore, I have decided that I will not join any more volunteer organizations after our India trip (March 10-31/12). I enjoyed my teaching experience, no doubt about it, but I feel it is time to explore other areas now.
Originally posted on Amy’s travel blog: TravelwithAmy.ca