On the plane to Jaipur, India [Post #9, Day 40]

And so the first leg of my travels has come to an end. I started in Bangkok, and over the last 40 days have made my way clockwise around the so-called “Banana Pancake Trail”, traveling from Thailand to Laos, to Vietnam, to Cambodia, coming full circle and returning to Bangkok, where I have just departed from Don Mueang International Airport. Now I am on my way to India! I keep thinking it’s a long flight ahead, like flying from the US to Australia, but it’s only a 4.5-hour flight. I am scheduled to arrive in Jaipur at 10:30 pm Indian Standard Time (IST). I am feeling exhilarated and excited for the next leg of my travels. I have been told that India will be like nothing I have previously seen or experienced, that sounds pretty great to me.

Southeast Asia was a fantastic place to have my first solo backpacking experience, and to get the hang of hostel living and overland travel. I had many wonderful and meaningful experiences, saw lots of cool things, ate many new and delicious foods, and made connections with amazing people. I felt safe. Thank you Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia!

I’ve learned a lot so far. I found that there are highs and lows just like other times in my life. But I am always extremely grateful for the opportunity to travel. I really enjoyed all the interactions I had with others, conversations and shared experiences with fellow travelers and locals, and calls and messages with family and friends have been a real highlight.

I’ve been carefully tracking my spending, down to every penny (or Bhat, Kip, Dong, or Riel) over the course of each day, which I think is something I will carry with me moving forwards. Part of the reason for this is nearly all my transactions were in cash, the act of counting bills and handing them over is a change from the card swiping and tapping that I’m used to, and makes me more conscious of each transaction.

I’m still working out what the ideal pace is for my travel. I felt rushed these last couple weeks (particularly in Vietnam), going from city to city, and not really having enough time to get out to explore the more rural areas. I want to try to have more nature experiences moving forwards, and to pursue more volunteering opportunities. It’s also more expensive to travel faster, because every other day or so I’m having to buy a bus or train ticket, pay for a visa, etc.

So far I have had two moments where everything seemed to hit me all at once. The first was when I sat down for dinner midway through my stay at Watchara Farm. The dinner that particular night was a translucent gelatinous soup with a boiled egg and small bubbles suspended in it, I heard everyone talking in Thai around me and I had no clue what they were saying, one of the dogs on the farm had a nasal issue and was making a wheezing/snorting noise. I had just had a cold shower in a bamboo hut, my hands were cut and blistered from cutting bamboo with a machete, and I was far from anything familiar in the middle of nowhere in the mountains of northern Thailand. This all came over me like a wave, and I felt a bit of a panic attack building. But after a few minutes, helped by the fact that I could chat in English with fellow volunteer Max from Ukraine, I calmed down and felt normal again.

The second moment occurred in Hanoi. I was walking and chatting with a friend when I started to feel off balance a little bit, like kind of top-heavy, and my vision seemed off, like it was zooming in and out and I couldn’t focus on objects. I made my way back to my hostel and laid down on my bed. Based on my Google self-diagnosis I determined I had a mild bout of “visual vertigo”. I think all of the constant activity and motion coming from every direction as I walked through the Hanoi streets, especially the Old Quarter, was a lot for my brain to take in. Every time you cross the street, you have to assess speed, distance, and direction of dozens of scooters, cars, carts, dogs, chickens, you name it. I think in general I am ramming so much new information into my brain constantly with my fast pace of travel that I have had these moments where it hits me all at once. The visual vertigo gradually went away after some more rest and a good night’s sleep and I felt back to normal again through the course of the next day.

So with Southeast Asia in the books, India is up next. I’m looking out the window at the many lights of Jaipur as we come in to land now, the first time I’ve laid eyes on beautiful India. The training wheels are off, and it’s time to enter Backpacker Level 2. It’s going to be an adventure!