Check out my travels through Thailand a few months back!
Post Travel Mourning
“There is no path to happiness, happiness is the path.” – Buddha
Well, here I am… my first day back in my apartment after being away exploring new places for a month. My first reaction walking in was holy shit my apartment is huge( not really though but after living in hostels in the jungle it looks like a fucking mansion) second reaction was, “wow, I forgot how PRIVILEGED I am to have a toilet with running water and toilet paper” Never forget that line people.. its a luxury!
But something was different this time around. There was a feeling missing this time coming home and i didn’t miss it!! the feeling of sadness and emptiness… like you’re in the wrong place. I know there are other people who have felt this feeling out there so I wanted to share my past experience.
Back in 2015 I came to a point where I was very unhappy with my job which leaked into my social life and my love life.. Toxic, toxic, dreadful love life it was. So I hit a wall and decided I needed to make a drastic change in my life. I ended up landing an amazing 3 month contract job over the summer where I was going into small communities across Canada and teaming up with local charities…. This job was my calling and everyday still I am over the moon grateful for it. I “escaped” .. (key word) my reality and evolved drastically as a person in that three month span. The people I was travelling with became my family and I even dabbled in a summer fling. My life was perfect… but when that contract ended I was back to my reality and I was devastated. I spent the next 6 months back home in the darkest places I’ve been. There was this empty feeling in me as if I had just suffered a loss and it was such a confusing feeling to figure out.
Coming back from my trip around Asia, I had the little thought in the back of my mind ‘Here we go again..’ dreading that feeling that had consumed me before. But this time was different… Instead of feeling drained or empty I feel enlighten and happy … but why?! I met with a friend of mine today who is a frequent traveller and he asked me “Are you sad to be home?” and I said “No, and I’m surprised I’m not” and he laughed at me. He told me that when he first started travelling he would be a different person away then what he was back home… but then when he started being the same person he was at home as when he was travelling he never felt that loss anymore. LIGHTBULB! BOOM!
Of course when we are in a hard place we want to run from our problems and escape our reality. and YES a lot of amazing decisions are made at low points and pivotal moments. But, we have to remember that we can only run from our problems for so long and we need to face the demons and the hardships in ourselves. You can run to Neverland to escape but will that fix everything? This time traveling I was no-longer running to escape my life… I was traveling to enrich my own and gain new perspective and step out of my comfort zone.
My new understanding from this experience is that when you create peace and happiness in your mind, in your soul, and take care of yourself, paradise can be anywhere you are.
Alicia in Wanderlust xo
Vaccines for Thailand… better safe that shits .. literally
Coming up in three weeks will be my first trip EVER out of cozy North America. I have titled this trip as my “Quarter-Life Crisis Trip” as I just turned 25. Before booking this trip one thing I never thought about is the vaccines you need to take before going to Asia and no one really briefed me on it until after my trip was booked. So I thought I would share my personal experience with you.
Step 1: Plan ahead knowing that when you are booking your trip that there WILL be extra medication experiences. Me personally, I don’t health benefits so in total I spent around $300 in vaccines and medication which was a bit of a shock to me. This was a travel expense I hadn’t thought of prier to my trip and I wish someone had told me. So PLAN AHEAD!
Step 2: Visit the CDC Website. You are able to punch in your destination and what time of year you will be travelling and it will give you the list of recommended vaccines and medications you should be taking before and during your trip.
Step 3: If you have a family doctor schedule your appointment with them! They have your medical history so they will make sure all of your routine vaccines are up-do-date. I was surprised by the things that I was due for. If you don’t have a family doctor you can visit a travel clinic but do your research and make sure they aren’t trying to oversell you on things you don’t need! I’ve had a few friends that told me they had a poor experience.
Step 4: This is the step I am currently in. I have now taken all my shots and I am now in the process of taking my oral vaccines. As I write this blog I am currently sipping on my first round of Dukoral… the flavour is far from good but my motivation through it is knowing in 3 weeks Ill be eating delicious Thai street food.
I hope this advice is helpful to someone because in my personal experience these were all new learnings to me!
This is me enjoying my dukoral currantly.
Cheers Wanderlusts xo
Get Lost!
“We must get a little lost in order to find our best self”
Exploring is my greatest passion and the more you explore the more I learn and evolve. This blog will be a memoir of the good, the bad, the embarrassing, and the fucking hilarious experiences I have during my travels . Some tips and travel hacks that I have found very helpful. The best of the best food and photos of places I have explored and new adventures that are yet to come.
Big and small, all of my travels have taught me so much about myself and it has become my greatest passion explore it is the greatest way to learn about this beautiful planet we live on. I hope this page inspires you to follow the wanderlust in you.
Go Places. Meet People. Stay Wild
Alicia in Wanderlust xo
Alicia In Wanderlust 