AndSheXplores

It’s been exactly 5 months since we became full time travelers! I’ve been receiving tons of questions on how and why I decided to travel the world full time. Then of course there are even more questions on how I am able to afford to travel but let’s leave this one for my next blog 🙂

I decided to write about how we did decided for such a bold step and why if that’s something you want – you should too! I know plenty of people who’ve been talking about wanting to go travel the world full time but that they’re waiting for the right moment. Where we come from though most of the time this is when you get older and then it’s just different.

Most of people feel that following the guided path is what should be done regardless of what their inner child is telling them. Well, we were on the verge of buying a big nice apartment in the city center of Ljubljana in Slovenia and more settling down. We would definitely be crushing that inner child but somehow we listened to it and didn’t look back.

How it all started?

Growing up we were both often traveling and discovering new places and cultures. I was always waiting patiently for school holidays to visit beautiful places predominantly in Europe. For Summer holidays it was nearly always Slovenia and Greece whereas for Winter  Italy, Austria or Switzerland. So as a child I had traveler patches already, while Ziga in fact spent 5 years in Paris as a child.

We continued to travel the world in the past few years but being limited to these 4-5 weeks per year felt more and more daunting. Why spending so little time on the thing you like most? Despite looking for a clear reasoning behind this question, we just could not find it anymore.

The turning point

The turning point though was in fact in May 2017 when we visited Ubud, Bali. Just after 2 days staying in this beautiful place, Ziga promised to himself that he will live here some day for a at least a few months. That was also the time when he turned 30 so I did not take him too seriously back then 🙂 After our return back home though, this wish was also transferred to me and as weeks went by it became bigger and bigger. This had to do something with being free from the employer, my super boss quitting his job, a fact that I haven’t created something of my own, pushed me to do it. One beautiful day in the middle of July we decided – let’s travel the world full time for 6 months!

The decision and execution

I wanted the travelling experience, Ziga wanted Bali for a few months. So we decided to do both. 🙂 Once we made the final decision we prepared a plan on how to start traveling as fast as we could. Acting upon of what was supposed to be difficult went actually well. My family was super supportive, they knew if I wanted something there’s nothing in the world that would stop me, so they helped planning, giving me travel inspo and promised to take best care of Ava while we’ll live on the road.

Things we took care of before taking off

You can probably imagine that there are tons of stuff to do prior departure. We decided where to go and turned 6 travel months into 9 months (coz 6 months is waaay to short!) and picked most of the destinations until November, but in December we finalised everything. So here’s what you shouldn’t forget about before leaving:

• Quitting jobs and everything that comes with it
• Moving out of the apartment and selling useless stuff
• Making sure we were both healthy physically
• Getting Travel Insurance
• Getting International Driving License
• Getting Visa for Sri Lanka, our first destination and checking out for further destinations
• Buying travel gear: photo equipment, external hard drive, mobile phone, backpack, suitcase, powerbank etc.
• Cancelling subscriptions: mobile, TV etc.
• Saying good-bye to friends and family
• Planning the finances for the upcoming trip (super important) – yes, we started living on a budget already in the summer!

And last but not least planning out the actual trip! 🙂

It was one heck of a holiday season for us but I would do it exactly the same. Once you made the decision, act upon it quickly and fly out as fast as you can!

The toughest part

In depends on who you are leaving behind. I get super emotional as I write this but for me by far the toughest part was saying goodbye to our dog Ava. Having always wanted a dog, Ava came into my life 4 years ago and she is my guardian, soulsister and biggest joy. I felt and still feel so guilty for not taking her with me but what makes me feel better is that she is in the best possible hands with my parents. We Skype every second day and give her virtual treats through my parents, they take her to trips and adore her.

Traveling in Asia and Oceania with a dog is nearly impossible without quarantine at some stage. Importing pets to Bali for instance is even strictly prohibited! Not having Ava by our side is the most difficult thing for me and I promised to myself that I would take her wherever I could in my future travels.

What about now

After 5 months on the road is easy to say that this was probably the second best decision of my life (first one is getting Ava :)). Taking time to getting to know myself, meeting so many fascinating people, discovering new places, developing our own business and so many beautiful adventures I could never forger. Thank you inner child for being so loudly annoying and letting me have this amazing experience.

Still not convinced?

In only 5 months I have learned more about the World than I ever did in 20 years of education. You can’t really know what freedom feels like until you have no idea where to go the next day and you’re standing atop of the most beautiful waterfall in the world with shaky legs because of the tough climb. I had no idea what’s gonna happen next but I’ve never felt happier, scared. But. So. Alive.

When we were leaving someone told me “Hope you will find, what you’re looking for”. I found the best adventure in my life. We developed our morning routines involving yoga, meditation, being thankful for everything. Realising that if you see the magic in everything, life itself is magic. I found out that we need to live more sustainable, our beautiful Earth can’t stand 7bn people living Western lifestyle. And I found inspiration. If you don’t use well your time that’s been given to you and do something meaningful, it won’t matter when you’re gone. I read such lines thousands of times before, but I can only understand it now, away from everything I’ve been learned my whole life.

What I have learned and my suggestions to you

• If travelling is always on your mind, just go. You’ll figure it out! Life is short and don’t wait for the perfect time since there isn’t such a thing.
• Before making the decision make sure you understand travelling is not just pure fun. You’ll have bad experiences and feel homesick so travelling for a long time is not for everyone.
• Once you made the decision, do it and fly out as fast as you can.
• Reach out to friends or people online who’ve been travelling and ask for tips. I’ll be sharing more of them in the upcoming weeks.
• Be in contact with the people you care most. You’ll meet many people on the road but don’t forget about your best friends back home.

And now it’s your turn to share your stories, plans or doubts with me, would love to read them all!

Read more about our travels to Cambodia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Laos, as well as our living in Canggu experience.