Today it is exactly seven months ago that my dream became true and this “just half a world away” trip began. These subjects ruled my thoughts about traveling in the past month:
Safety issues
During my trip I always get information about potential risks, especially for female solo travelers, as well as travel warnings of natural disasters and terroristic attacks. This is limiting my travels at all and made me feel nervous as I arrived at the Philippines. Of course I won’t travel to no-go areas, but what about the regions with a potential risk? I had long discussions with locals and people involved in the safety problem, always with no result. Filipino people chat me up so often; always I was in doubt if I should tell everything about me as I could exposure information which makes it possible to get kidnapped. But at any point I just stopped making myself confused. I can be at the wrong time at the wrong place, that’s true. This place could be the Visayas, a remote area in India or the heart of Germany. I guess it’s more likely being seriously injured by a fallen coconut (this nearly happened to me twice).
Hospitality
I’ve met lots of hospitable people in Asia, but my latest experiences at the Philippines and Palau are just unbelievable. People who don’t know me before offer everything I could need, even before I knew that I could need it now. Whether it’s food, transfers, accommodation in various places in the world or travel tips. Without expecting any return. They only want to listen to my story. That’s a new level of hospitality I never experienced before.
Expectations
Expectations seem to be unnecessary at all. Of course I have a certain expectation when I travel to a desired place. Someone tells me amazing stories about that, my travel book shows breathtaking pictures, a travel blog describes it as paradise, my fantasy does the rest. A place is being glorified before I arrive. This has to result in disappointment. Even if a spot is heaven on earth actually, it’s not surprising anymore. So how can I keep my expectations as low as possible? I guess the only way out is not to inform about the destination at all, just pick a point at the world map and go there with a few necessary details in your mind. That sounds strange for a moment, but when I remember my trip to Nepal for example, I did the same. And it was one of the best choices I ever made. Otherwise the expectations could destroy the joy to discover a unknown place, which is certainly a wonderful piece of this earth.