Planning the Escape

   Maybe "it" shouldn't be called the escape but rather the liberation to something new. The freedom to explore new surroundings, the excitement of being in the unknown, the confusion on to whether you made the right choice or not; all the while having an overwhelming sense of anticipation that you are going to find some sort of treasure. Travelling is the best. Yes, there are moments of absolute fatigue, money counting frenzies, misplaced passports, absolute loneliness and homesickness for comfort food... but that is minimal and countered with: adventure, rapid external information of scenery, music, people and experience. At the end of the journey there is this increased awareness of how huge but small the world really is.
  This is my list of pre travel enquiries that I think encompasses what is important information to have to when planning the greatest of escapes:
1. What kind of weather do I like?
2. Do I need a visa? and how long does that visa last?
3. Create an intention and write it down
4. Plan how to get from point A to point B, but not all the details in between.
5. Set a date and start MAD SAVING
6. Research some of the language and customs
7. Get excited... people are people everywhere!
  Travel is wild, uplifting, unveiling and most of all fun. Being able to laugh with people that have a completely different upbringing, views on life, perspective and personal experience is pure knowledge and education. Being able to try food from all areas of the world has made me realize how much I love sticky rice and coconut, that mango with condensed milk over sticky rice is beautiful and that eating with my hands is one of the best things EVER. (Oh, wow... even thinking of this makes me happy.)
The only solid advice I have for travelling is: Try not to pack too much shit! You have to carry that crap on your back and at some point there may come a time when you flying elbow your backpack, absolutely irritated, with a faint memory residing in the back of your mind saying: "You did this to yourself."