Beginner's Mind

A.K.A “Same, same but different”

Back in 2009, right before pursuing my undergraduate degree, I decided to leave my beloved home and backpack Asia on my own. I booked a one-way ticket to Goa in India, not knowing when I would be back and where my journey would take me. The only thing I was sure of was that I needed to be back in seven months latest and my budget was very tight.

I ended up travelling for five months through India, Nepal, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia. I roughly spent three full weeks on buses, trains, boats, and planes throughout my journey. I stayed in more than 60 hostels, not counting the numerous overnight trains to save money for accommodation.

Undoubtedly, these five months had a profound impact on me. Here are four reasons why you should travel in your twenties.

1. Putting things in perspective

People take many things for granted. These are some of the experience that opened my eyes.

- Nepal’s capital Kathmandu was eight hours without electricity every day.

- While walking through Kathmandu, I saw a little homeless boy in dirty clothes on the end of the street. I was a bit surprised when he didn’t beg for money until I realised he was blind.

- Delhi was so polluted that my feet were pitch black after a day of sightseeing. 

- It was unreal to see photos of torture of what Paul Pot and the Khmer Rouge did to heir fellow people in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh.

- The War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) showed horrible photos of bodies without skin caused by Napalm and disabled kids due to use of Agent Orange. 

Most people in the first world know that their problems are not real problems. However, if you haven’t seen poverty first hand, it is hard to relate. When backpacking through Asia, you’ll be exposed to poverty. 

Despite current challenges, I believe that today is the single best time to be alive on this planet. People are living longer than ever, fewer people live in poverty, and the internet is empowering hundreds of millions of people to communicate, access information and educate themselves. 

Terrorism is dominating news these days, but people are much more likely to be killed from literally almost anything else. We are experiencing a long period of peace in continental Europe, compared to the bloody past. My grandfather was captured in World War II and had to work two years in a Belgian mine. That is only about 60 years ago.

I do not want to downplay the current challenges we are facing in the world. I want to help to put things in perspective, especially when you are watching the news these days. Our brains are programmed for survival which means it does pay more attention to threats or negative press. Objectively speaking, humans globally are better off today than yesterday, not vice versa.

2. Overcoming challenges

While attempting to take a picture of the sunset on the third day of my trip, I fell and cut my ankle. It was bleeding heavily. The whiskey they sold in the bar next to the beach was so bad, it didn’t even hurt after pouring it over the wound. So here I am in the middle of nowhere in India with a bleeding foot. Oh, I forgot: I broke my camera, too.

I went to my hut, showered and sprayed my general-purpose disinfection spray (pretty strong stuff) right into the wound. I have never again felt such pain ever in my life. Today, this wound still reminds me of that moment.

My trip from India to Nepal took a total of 37 hours, 17 more than expected. At one point the train stopped and didn’t move a single meter for eight hours. When we finally moved on, we found out we were just minutes away from our destination before hopping on the bus. I sometimes remind myself of the eight hours pause when I am in Switzerland, and the train departure is scheduled for 3:01 pm. Guess when it departures: 3:01 pm. If not, people look seriously annoyed.

I also learned another lesson the hard way besides never taking a bus in India - 12 hours over rocky roads overnight didn’t help get rest. What I meant is to avoid eating meat in India even if the restaurant looks fancy. I was sick for more than three days. Again, there I was. Close to the Pakistani border in the desert with 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) puking immediately after taking only a sip of water. I dehydrated heavily until my landlord offered help. He gave me a homemade mash which wasn’t particularly enjoyable. However, it helped. Until today, I avoid taking medication whenever I can. Going for a run is mostly much more effective than taking a chemical pill to kill your headache.

Life challenges all of us. However, it is not how hard to get hit. It is how you deal with these challenges to overcome them and move forward. This is the only way to build up resilience for times life seriously hits you with a brick.

3. Trusting your gut

On my second day in Mumbai, a guy on the street started talking to me. My first response was: “No, thank you.” I was already suspicious of anyone starting a sentence with "hey friend" after travelling India for a few weeks. He didn’t want to sell me anything but instead offered me a job. How can someone offer me a job without even knowing anything about me? He went on: “I want you in a TV commercial in a studio four hours drive away from Mumbai.” I was supposed to be a cricket player trying to hit the ball and saying afterwards: “Refreshing Pepsi!”

Seriously? I asked for his business card and told him I would get back to him. I did my research and found out that his company belonged to BBC, so it seemed to be legit. I tried to call him but never got hold of him.

However, even if I missed this opportunity – maybe I’d become a star in India, I do not regret my decision until this day. Jumping into the car with a complete strange didn’t feel right.

This is the point. I would consider myself a rational person. However, when looking back, all the important decisions in my life were based on my gut. And gut needs to be trained with little things. Such little things often occur in unknown situations while travelling.

4. Discovering minimalism

It's incredible to see how I adjusted to my new living standard. I had a budget of 25 Euro per day which included accommodation, transportation, food, entry fees and any fun stuff. One time, I didn’t book a “fancy” single room for eight Euro per night, but instead a dorm with 15 other people for two Euro. The difference for one night is less than a pint of Guinness in Dublin these days.

I still remember very clearly one time when I was about to miss the train from Mumbai to Udaipur. The journey was supposed to take 17 hours, and the ticket cost 12 Euro. I had to take a taxi to make it on time which the driver knew, so he took full advantage of my situation. I spent 13 Euro instead of 6 Euro. I got ripped off. Remember, my daily budget was 25. I still remember how pissed I was.

Have you ever wondered why poorer people are often happier than wealthier? Why are the people of Bhutan the happiest in the world, even though they are ranked 132 in the United Nations Human Development Index? Because no money in the world will make you happy if you are not happy already.

I am not saying we should go back to the caves and live like in stone age. Of course, I also like to treat me from time to time. However, it needs to be valued as a special occasion. It can't be a weekly routine to go shopping, hoping this will make you a happier person. I have a different relationship with money once I had lived on such a tight budget of 25 Euros per day. Again, let me be clear. I am not advocating poverty, but sobriety.

Conclusion

Besides these four things, luck is undoubtedly an element in such endeavours. When I finally convinced the bus driver in Vietnam to stop for a moment - I had quite a few beers earlier - I went out and thought: What if the bus driver leaves? I was in the middle of nowhere. Or even worse: What if I am stepping on a landmine while finding a place to relieve myself? There were more bombs dropped during the Vietnam War than in the entire World War II.

The world is not just how you think it is where you were brought up. You see everything through a lens, biased through your home, unique experiences and the people you surround yourself with. This counts for everyone, including the stereotype Asian shop owner with limited English knowledge I came across numerous times, describing his products like this: “Yes, it’s exactly like ...(fill in blank space). Same, same...(pause)...but different.”

It made total sense for them, not really for me. It was entertaining though. You need to learn how to embrace these differences, especially in a globalised world. They were not wrong, and I was not right. 

“Same, same ... but different” also applied to me once I returned home. It felt like the world stood still while I’ve been away. But that’s just how I felt. It wasn’t true. It’s because I returned as a different person.

Because the experience you make in your twenties massively shape your personality, you should travel far away from home for a more extended period. Not only because you meet great people and see new places, but because you need to deal with yourself. I cannot stress the importance of being alone enough. These days, we are all constantly distracted. You need to face challenges, overcome them without the help of your parents and question yourself. These things help you tremendously to develop a growth mindset, be positive and figure out what you want in life. So don’t be afraid and book your one-way ticket to…(fill in blank space). Life rewards courage.