Follow Amarins on her solo journey through South-East Asia and Australia

On October 12, 2022, I departed from Amsterdam, with Bali as my first destination. I had 25 wonderful days here and then boarded the plane again to fly to the main destination of my trip: Australia. I've been in Australia for 3 months now as part of a working holiday programme, and after a month I'll leave Australia behind to go on an adventure in Malaysia and Borneo! The plan is to travel there for about 3 weeks and head to Thailand for another 3 weeks before finally flying back to the Netherlands.

Since I've got a big love for animals, all the incredible experiences where I could see rare animals in the wild were definitely highlights for me! For example, I saw and swam with wild dolphins in Lovina in Bali and saw wild kangaroos, wallabies, koalas and crocodiles in Australia! Snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef was an unforgettable moment too with all the colourful fish and beautiful coral surrounding me. I also especially enjoyed all the cool experiences I shared with all the wonderful people you meet when you travel. I cruised across Nusa Penida on scooters with the funniest Canadian boy band, I met my dear friend Inge in Sydney with whom I decided to travel along the East Coast of Australia and shared so many unforgettable moments. I just met even more great people down here because of my work at a hostel in Sydney. Everyone has been amazing companions to laugh and sometimes cry with whenever necessary.

I can't pinpoint one reason that made me decide to travel alone, it was mainly a combination of several elements. Partly it's a practical choice as before I left I recently graduated and wanted to do a gap year, something many people around me couldn't do because of work or study obligations. Having said that, I have to admit that even if one of my friends could have joined me, I probably would've preferred to go on this adventure alone. I think a big part of why I wanted to do this was because I want to enjoy and live more. I went through quite a difficult period in my life in which my world seemed to get smaller and smaller due to all the obstacles I imposed on myself. Fortunately, things have been going very well for some time now and going through this I've really grown as a person. It made me realize that you can't just take life for granted that no matter what, you will always be fine in the end. So you should enjoy life as much as possible at all times, and stick with what makes you really happy. The travel bug has always been around though, as I have the best and most travel-hungry sister in the world. She has inspired me with her own 14-month round-the-world journey and has always encouraged me to travel solo if I ever wanted to.

That's not to say things can't be a bit scary. The start of my trip was a bit tumultuous, with a considerable rollercoaster of emotions in which I went from super excited to panic, to sad to excited again. After that, my journey went smoothly. I'm personally not a fan of flying on my own for long distances, mainly because it forces me to ride that emotional rollercoaster on my own, but as long as you keep your destination and all of the adventures you're going to have in mind, you'll make it!

Before I started travelling I had many doubts about whether I would be able to do this on my own. I thought that maybe I would feel alone or miss home too much or that I would find it difficult to decide and arrange everything on my own, but no, I enjoy every moment and despite some small bumps in the road, it's all going so well and I'm enjoying it immensely!

After a month of constant travelling, discovering new places, meeting new people, always being on and all the stimuli that come with it, I was pretty broken. I think I underestimated that travelling, something that is so incredibly fun and addictive at first, can also be really tiring and that it is extremely important to also take moments of rest where possible. Those first moments when I decided to take some extra peace and quiet I felt very restless. It felt wrong that I was on the other side of the world doing nothing because I wanted to see and do everything my destination had to offer. Slowly but surely I started to appreciate those moments of absolutely nothing and now I see that they are absolutely necessary to recharge your battery to get the most of your trip.

I think it mainly depends on what you need. If you want to be alone, that is perfectly possible, and people will leave you alone to do your own thing. I myself find it much more pleasant to be around other people, apart from the necessary me-time moments where I recharge my social battery. Since so many people travel independently, everyone is in the same boat which immediately creates a bond and makes social contact very easy! Everyone is out there to have a good time and get the most out of their trip. Plans together are therefore made easy, there is always someone who wants to do the same as you!

Before setting off, safety was one of my major concerns, so it's quite bizarre to think that in these four months of solo travelling so far I have never felt unsafe in all of the unknown places or with unknown people I've been, while at home in Rotterdam I often already feel unsafe in the evening or night when walking outside on my own. 

I know it's easier said than done, but I urge you to try travelling on your own! Try to rationalize for yourself what you are afraid of and you will soon find that all these fears aren't really necessary. Of course, something can always go wrong, but that's just as likely in the Netherlands, Denmark or wherever you live. Also, keep in mind that there is no right or wrong in travelling. Sure it's super cool that some people stay away for a year, see twenty countries and still don't suffer from homesickness or get tired of travelling. But if you need to go home after two months to catch a breather, that's totally okay. We're all different. My last piece of advice: try to imagine all the cool things you're going to experience and what a shame it would be if you'd never gone and regretted it later!

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