Higher

In 2015 I had a 9 to 5 job. Life was a routine of checking to-do lists and I got used to it. While living a routine, I had a deep desire to experience some adventure. I took my yearly vacation all at once and left for a month – alone, with a flight ticket and no plans. 

Hello South East Asia

I started in Bangkok, went to Cambodia and decided to go to Vietnam next. I want to share my experience at the border between Cambodia to Vietnam with you.

My journey from Kratie (Cambodia) to Mui Ne (Vietnam)

It was 7 AM and I left my hostel. A minivan drove me and 18 other people (in Europe we would sit with max. 9 people in this type of van) close to the border. I felt comfortable because everyone smiled at me.  Everyone gave me a good feeling, because of a nice and warm smile. A man on a motorcycle gave me a ride to the actual border. I wasn’t prepared at all. I didn’t exchange my money to the local currency & I did not check that there are two accesses to go through the border and apparently I took the one that was less travelled by tourists.

When I finally entered Vietnam, I realized that I was in the middle of nowhere. No taxi, no ATM, no Wi-Fi. I felt lost & felt slowly tears dripping down my cheeks. I took a deep breath to clear my thoughts. I asked a trustworthy looking man, if he can give me a ride on his motorcycle to the next city. I felt this was right to do -and he did.  I wanted to give him some money (I only had some Euros), he denied and only smiled. Again one smile and I felt better. I was thankful.

The kindness goes on. Because the next city was too small to exchange money, I was not able to buy a bus ticket. A young kid, maybe 17 years old, bought me a ticket and gave me a huge smile. Again I felt lucky. As I arrived in Saigon, I was able to exchange money and buy a ticket to my final destination Mui Ne. I took a night bus. Since I was the only person getting off in Mui Ne, the bus driver wanted to know the address of my final destination. I did not decide yet which hostel I would like to stay in so I opened quickly my guide and picked a place to stay at the spot. Again I just trusted myself making the right decision. We arrived in Mui Ne in the middle of the night. The bus driver opened the door, I got out, he closed the door and went off. And there I was again – in the middle of nowhere, no streetlights, no reservation I made at the hostel. I was standing in front of a big iron gate and could not see anything behind it. I felt lost and lonely. The iron gate opened, a sleepy man stood in front of me. He had a free bungalow for me and of course a huge smile on his face.

I am thankful for the experience I made that day.  I appreciate the helps and smiles I received from people, who didn´t know me.

From that day on I promised myself something. I will smile more!

To people I cross paths and especially to those, who do not look like locals. You never know what they have been going through. A simple smile maybe brightens up his / her day and it doesn’t cost you anything.

What more did this experience teach me?

1. If you feel like living too much routine, get out of your comfort zone and try something new. It feels weird at the beginning, but after leaving the comfort zone you feel proud and alive.
2. Listen to your inner voice and trust yourself. You always know what to do, just listen to your gut feeling.
3. Do not regret a decision you made in the past with the knowledge you have right know. You took the decision with the best knowing you had in this moment.