Eyes on the Prize - #thinksellachieve

A friend of mine back in Vienna asked me recently if I have any advice about how to have the “best travelling experience” and if there is something I would do differently if I could go back and start my journey anew.

I have been kicking around for a while before coming to Vietnam, that’s why.

There was this girl in Bangkok I’ve met online. We lived together in an Airbnb for a couple weeks. One night she took me to Chinatown and we had chè next to a food stand. Sometimes we’d eat at a food court to spare a few bucks. She knew that I wasn’t staying forever but we enjoyed our time and when I jumped on my taxi to the airport she kept it together because this was our arrangement.

Once I played chess with a guy from Tamil Nadu in Palolem, India. We kept in touch and to my utter surprise he joined me for 10 days in Bangalore. His family was totally baffled that he was embarking on a 5-hours train journey to meet up with a white guy he just met. But he came all the same and we had fun on the streets of Koramangala with a bunch of guys from the hostel.

I’ve been taught unrepeatable things in Vietnamese from a local dude who later on threw up on the floor of the restaurant and was taken home heavily drunk. This happened at the Old Quarters of Hanoi, where Andrea and I have been invited to a hotpot dinner. I remember this skinny guy telling me to hit him up if I needed ANYTHING in Vietnam. I should just let him know. ANYTHING. He might have been fuelled by the liquor (which we all had in large quantities, anyways) but I could see that he was serious then. He had a big heart and really wanted to help.

Back in Osaka Andrea started dancing alone in an Irish pub. There was live music going on on the stage but nobody was giving any consideration to the band. And so it started, just like magic. About five minutes later we were surrounded by a huge party crowd, as people had taken inspiration and flooded the dance floor to show off their best moves while showering Guinnes and Gin Tonic to the poor geezer next to them. Admittedly it was all about impressing a couple girls we noticed from the entrance, but we’ve still got an invitation to come back every thursday for drinks on the house. The owner had never witnessed such a thing in twenty years.

So, I have a long list.

It is easy to focus on what happened. Some “adventures” you might get into while you’re backpacking around the world. But my personal advice is not to get distracted and keep your eyes on the people. Because people are the prize.

While on a journey as well as back home, I think human connection is the key to any meaningful experience. People have stories. And if you let them, they might MAKE new stories with you.

They might accept you in their own world. They might offer you their friendship. They might let you peek at life from their own eyes.

As we are all on a search for meaning, we have to accept that meaning lies in our connection with other human beings (and possibly with pets. Honestly I never had any. You tell me).

So put down the phone for a minute, please. That temple is still going to be there when you’ll be back. See those guys half-staring at you near the corner? Looking a bit shy?

Say “Hello”.