Report from March 2024
From: New Zealand
The storm in the head subsides
In one of the last posts I wrote about the storm in my head. Here I would like to expand on my thoughts and answer a few questions.
The storm in my head subsides
If you look at the van live or the long-term travelling on social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube, you might think we are the happiest people in the world, with the sea or the lake on our doorstep every day.
Of course, you can also stand there on your own. That's definitely how it always looks in the photos: Yoga at sunrise, breakfast outside in the sun, an afternoon nap in the hammock, beach walks and surfing on the most beautiful beaches and tofu specialities in the evening. Then a selfie in the sunset, switch on the fairy lights in the car and with a big smile, it's off under the covers to wake up with that same smile the next morning.
That's the perfect life, isn't it?
Admittedly, compared to the average everyday life, that's pretty cool. But is that really the reality or does it just seem that way? Is it possible that a romanticised world is being created intentionally or subconsciously? And everyone who is travelling feels the pressure to experience exactly that.
And if everyday travelling isn't like that, are you doing something wrong?
We've been travelling for 16 months now. Most of the time with the rucksack, and now with Günni our van.
And somehow our everyday life doesn't look like that. We've also had beautiful pitches and had entire beaches to ourselves. But that's not the norm. Of course, everyone mainly posts their highlights on platforms like Instagram. We humans prefer to brag rather than show our weaknesses.
This creates a platform full of highlights that you look at day after day, unconsciously raising your own expectations. This is not a good basis for having a good, relaxing time. Instead of standing by the water all day and sunbathing, the reality is often different for us and probably for most others too.
You spend hours looking for a pitch, only to discover that at the end of the 6 km gravel track to one of the great pitches, there are huge stones in the way so that nobody can drive through.
In many countries, there are more and more restrictions for travellers, such as toilets that lock automatically at night. That's down to us, of course. Even we are simply too many in certain places and some people behave in such a way that the locals don't like us any more and then measures are taken.
Life on the road means freedom and self-determination and that's pretty cool. On the other hand, it also means not being able to plan anything, as everything always turns out differently anyway. You have to plan an enormous amount of time for everyday things like shopping, fetching water and looking for a parking space, and you live in close quarters and are constantly dependent on each other.
Why are we doing all this to ourselves? Are we in search of happiness and contentment? Or do we want to create as many beautiful photos and videos as possible for social media or the next blog post?
When you have managed to leave everything behind and travel the world, it is not only the environment outside the window that changes. Travelling through Asia is also a journey to yourself. You automatically get a different perspective on many things.
When you grow up in a country and spend most of your life there, you get used to the mentality, the views, the rules and the society in that country. As soon as you get out for a longer period of time, you broaden your horizons by meeting new people. You get out of your comfort zone, discover new cultures, and reflect on who you are and what you want. And the great thing is that it comes naturally.
Well, almost.
It comes when you take your time.
I think we were too busy with life and adventure for a long time.
Due to the very minimalist lifestyle, you realise what you need to live and what you can do without. However, there are a whole range of things that you only buy if you have the money and because you think it will make you happy.
Am I becoming a minimalist now?
Certainly not.
Of course, many things in life are wonderfully useless and you still like to own them. But it is also very pleasant to know that you don't need them.
A life with only the essentials, which you have with you all the time. It has so many advantages and you have much more time and freedom and can enjoy and appreciate the nature around you.
Having the opportunity to travel for so long is not a given. But I think you can do it if you really want to.
There are many reasons that can stop you from taking a trip like this, but you can influence many of them yourself. But the reasons shouldn't be something like, "what should the others think?" Or something like that is not appropriate.
When you're travelling, you can be someone else every day - after all, nobody knows you.
We met some great people in Thailand who travelled by bike. And there are families who bring up their children on a sailing boat.
I think a lot of people who consume van live content on social media and dream of living this lifestyle themselves one day don't want to hear one thing. After a while, van live is no longer what it was in the beginning.
Like everything in life, long-term travelling loses its charm at some point.
Don't get me wrong.
I'm not complaining here or anything. I just think you should be aware that the live van can be just like the Gameboy you used to get for Christmas. The thing was really exciting and you spent every spare minute with it until it got boring and ended up in the corner.
It's the same with travelling all the time. Unfortunately, people get used to everything. Even to being somewhere else every day. I kept forgetting that I was on the other side of the planet and how cool it was.
When I thought back, I realised that I wouldn't have described myself as a happy person in the last few months. We've had countless wonderful moments on our travels, we've been able to do whatever we wanted all the time and yet it still hasn't made me completely happy.
It's not that I've been feeling bad all the time or am feeling bad. I'm free, but something is missing.
Happiness comes from within and I think that many external factors can contribute to inner happiness. But you have to be at peace with yourself. And I obviously haven't reached this inner state yet.
We had planned to travel for 6 months. After 6 months, when the first people asked when our return flight was, I realised that the trip was actually already over. We were just in Vietnam, on our way to Laos, and I was on the verge of simply booking the next flight. I'm glad I didn't do it.
We have made new plans and have moved on.
We are now in New Zealand and literally couldn't be further away from home. From Germany, New Zealand is on the other side of the planet. Every further step will be in the direction of home.
The journey has made me happy so far.
No.
Is that okay?
Yes.
The journey has shown me in many places what is important to me and what is not. It also showed me what I can do, even though I didn't think I could.
And also that I probably overestimated my happiness. I don't have to come home as a honey cake horse. But I have experienced so many things that will always remind me how good I am. I can be happy that I have experienced all of this.
I am grateful that I have experienced this, and I think being grateful is actually the way to happiness.
Not only have I learnt a lot about the different countries and regions. I also learnt a lot about myself and nobody can take that away from me.
I think that many people for whom such a trip is a dream will probably never pack their bags. Because it takes so much courage and means change and stress. But the funny thing is, when I look at the time that lies ahead of me. With all its uncertainty and change, I find the way back to a "normal life" much scarier.
I wasn't afraid of travelling because I knew that I could go back at any time. And if everything gets stolen and I have no more money. Then I'd call my family or friends and they'd get me back.
Then I'll look for a job and rent a flat. I'll have my car, which is far too old, repaired and think about how I should spread my 30 days' holiday over the year.
The uncertainty of travelling has become the norm today.
I love this lifestyle. It has so many advantages: self-determination, adventure, variety and at the same time the feeling of always having your home with you.
I also know how my life in Germany will probably continue and during the trip I realised how deep the fall could be.
Now I'm afraid of coming home and never leaving again. After all, since deciding to go travelling I've been told "you only do something like this once in your life".
But what if that's not enough for me?
When you see photos of sunsets on the beach on social media, it awakens wanderlust in many people. It was always like that for me and probably always will be. I could never really imagine that you could experience so many sunsets that you no longer really appreciate them.
We've seen the sea so many times on our trip, been to so many beautiful beaches, seen so many sights and sunsets and all of this has meant that we probably don't appreciate it as much as we should.
How could they?
There's just a difference between spending your annual holiday in a country, for example, and knowing that you'll be here for three weeks and then you'll be back to your everyday life, and being able to spend an unlimited amount of time and see the whole country.
I think everyone who has travelled for any length of time has had this experience. I've also seen it with locals. Is that natural for the people who live there? Where others go on holiday? Is it completely normal for the sun to set directly over the sea? It's beautiful, but it's just normal for people.
That's why these people no longer look at it so often and don't take a photo of it every evening. It's a bit sad, but at the end of the day it's the normal course of things. Everything that is special becomes normal at some point if it is there permanently.
Heinrich Böll's "Anecdote to lower the work ethic" keeps popping into my head. Better known as "The story of the fisherman and the businessman", as one of my best friends explained it to me.
You've now spent quite a long time working your way through my thoughts, which are sometimes better, sometimes worse. But what am I actually trying to say?
I've changed on the journey, but I'm still the same.
I am me, and I am not alone. I am with me.
And I come home.
See you (soon).
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