Thailand Chiang Dao

Traveling through Asia for the next 2 years

This is it, I have left Switzerland to travel around Asia for at least the next two years!!! This is so exciting and a little scary, my dream is finally coming true!!!

Sri Lanka, Colombo airport

My husband and I have been saving our money like crazy these past years. We have wanted to travel around the world since we were teenagers, but between my fascination with Japan and China, and having a magical trip to Thailand and Sri Lanka two years ago, we were hooked on Asia.

Why I left everything to travel?

Getting out of my comfort zone

3D museum in Chiang Mai in Thailand
3D museum in Chiang Mai

So why did I leave my home with all the comfort and safety that it brings? Well, besides the fact that I wanted to see beautiful countries and their culture, I also felt the need to push myself to get out of my comfort zone. When you’re stuck in your everyday life, always living the same routine, you know what to expect, so it feels safe but can feel meaningless and boring. Traveling is exciting and sometimes yeah they are things that make you want to run away, but if you face them, you take one step closer to building yourself into a stronger version of yourself. Getting out of your comfort zone helps to make you more confident, especially when you’re usually shy around new people and situations. Fear of the unknown can stop you from accomplishing your dreams. Start small and you will get used of leaving that secure nest of yours.

I wanted to push myself to live some experiences that will make me grow and evolve. I am kind of nervous about going to study Tai Chi in a temple on top of a mountain in China, but for me when you learn to surpass yourself and face your fears, it turns you into a warrior of life. I don’t mean the type that fights against people just to prove you’re the strongest, but fighting to accomplish your dreams, making you stronger emotionally and physically. I have so many fears (going under water, heights, spiders, scorpions and so many more), but I don’t want these to stop me from living life! I want to be braver and stronger by facing them each day.

Self-discovery journey

What I think is very important is that traveling teaches us who we really are. Since you are not influenced by everyone’s opinion anymore, you can just listen to your own thoughts and desires. You learn how to react in an environment that is not your own. You can discover your strengths and weaknesses, but you may be surprised by how much stronger you truly are than what you initially thought. Sometimes, it feels like it’s the norm to underestimate ourselves in our society. But when we’re put in a situation where we don’t have a choice we must act; we find this inner power that wasn’t there before.

Traveling truly changes your perspective on life which makes life easier, you take things less personally. When you learn that the way you look at the world isn’t the only way, you open yourself up to so many possibilities and I think it makes you into a better person. You judge people much less and you learn to have more compassion. So, this is my self-discovery journey and maybe the lessons I will learn from wiser people will help other people along the way. I know how easy it is to get stuck in life and in your mind. But opening to others brings so much happiness and hope. If what I share about the different healing methods and healers that I find during my trip help some readers that would be so amazing!

Heal myself

I feel like life has sent me such painful moments to live through and this trip is also a moment for me to take the time to heal my heart and mind to rise above it all and become that warrior of life!

 I am looking toward to discovering new healing food options from different countries that will boost my energy levels and make me healthier. Stress is also an element that brought my body lots of pain and traveling seems to make me so happy that I don’t feel that chronic stress anymore. Inflammation is such a b…!

Healthy fruits and vegetables from Sri Lanka
Here are some exotic fruits and veggies!!! Yum!

A better place to accomplish my dreams

Wanting to write about what I am discovering, and learning are wonderful things but are sometimes difficult when you live in a country where it’s so expensive to live. Traveling can give you the freedom to live that life especially when you love countries that are so much less expensive than the one you come from. You can find opportunities, see beautiful places and meet interesting people that you wouldn’t find just where you live. Talking with people I have just met and shared about our interests have brought me so many more possibilities to see wonderful places off the beaten track than any book guide specialized on the country. By talking to them, it can also sometimes bring you exactly what you were looking for professionally or emotionally.

Born to be wild

Buddhist monk and volunteers give rice to wild monkeys at a meditation center in Sri Lanka
Monkeys love rice, who knew?!!!

I am a huge fan of wildlife. I absolutely love monkeys!!! I was so excited to have seen some wild ones up close the last time I traveled in Sri Lanka and Thailand. I also saw some huge and gorgeous butterflies there too and some Komodo dragons. Now I am looking forward to seeing some pandas in a Chinese sanctuary, some wild deer in Nara Japan, some more monkeys pretty much all over Asia and so much more!

Live each day fully

I don’t want to watch life passing me by. Each day was the same routine, you cook, eat, go to work, watch an episode before going to bed. I felt empty. I want to feel excited about life. Seeing new beautiful places, trying delicious foods that awakens your taste buds and sense of smell, hearing beautiful music that opens your soul, touching the waves of the sea or the rock on the mountain seems like the keys to a fulfilling life. I’m looking for adventure! When I was a kid, I felt so excited when my uncle and I would go in the car and he would just drive. He would ask me “Which way should I turn?”. You might think we were crazy for getting lost, but we never knew what we would find and that was such a fun and exciting time for me!

I want to finish the day and feel happy and proud of what I have accomplished.

It is so easy to lose yourself with trying to live the way society expects you to, that you never feel satisfied. It is easy to find excuses to not accomplish your dreams. By getting sucked into that day to day life, you just don’t have the time or energy to give to your passions, unless of course you are working a life of passion.

See my friends

I wanted to see my friends I had made in Sri Lanka who are Buddhists monks. They are caring, always smiling, making jokes and are so special to me. They opened my heart when I had lost hope. They taught me so much in such little time. They share everything, they help people in need every single day, they put their intention on love and kindness. I was truly touched by how they worked as a unit to help others.

Healing is my dream

Li Shifu, daoist master gives Traditional Chinese Medicine course in the Wudang mountains
Picture from: http://fiveimmortals.com/wudang-media/gallery/

I will also learn about Traditional Chinese Medicine when I will be in the Chinese temple. I have been reading books about natural healing for a very long time now and I have wanted to learn to heal people since I was a small kid, I have always felt like this was my calling. This is an important reason for my travel, I want to learn and understand about traditional natural healing methods from different countries. It can be physical, mental or spiritual healing.

In Sri Lanka, I learned the last time so much about compassion it opened my heart that had closed up after meeting some people who made me feel angry back in my country. Healing is not only for a broken limb or illness, but also your emotions and your state of mind.

I am also very passionate about nutrition, since I have discovered several years ago that I could heal my body through eating foods that are rich in nutrients, anti-inflammatory, real and healthy! So discovering special teas, herbs and foods from other countries that have healing properties is another one of my dreams.

I am definitely ready to learn about Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tai Chi, Qigong, Ayurveda, yoga, nutrition, herbal medicine, happiness and peace of mind!!!

Why Asia?

Sri Lanka and Thailand

kao sok national park in thailand
Thailand from my first trip

I first came to these two countries two years ago with my husband (fiancé at the time). I not only discovered two beautiful countries but I also lived so many emotional moments between meeting really kind people who have become life-long friends, facing some of my fears, learning about important values that we have forgotten in our society and so much more. I will write about these later or not you will still be reading this until tomorrow!

Japan a life-long dream!

My obsession for Japan started about 15 years ago and has become stronger over time. As a teenager I discovered like many others the world of manga and anime. It made me want to try their food, which is totally awesome by the way. I am not just talking about sushi, they have a ton of delicious foods such as sashimi, okonomiyaki, onigiri or my favorite natto!!! Yes, most European people cannot stand that last one, but I think I was Asian in my past life…A friend of mine who is Japanese taught me how to make miso paste, it’s amazing.

I had also practiced some Aikido in junior high, since then I have wanted to go back to learning martial arts so badly.

Finally, I have been lucky enough to meet really interesting people from Japan who have taught me a lot about their culture, and I find it fascinating. I saw a matcha tea ceremony once, it was beautiful, I can’t wait to see one in a traditional Japanese tea house! Between manga and my friend, I also really want to try an onsen, they make it sound like heaven.

All these reasons made me want to discover this country and I am so excited because it will be my third destination, so soon!!!

A mysterious temple in the Wudang mountains in China

A couple years ago, while doing some research on the internet, I found a school in China up in the mysterious Wudang mountains, the birthplace of Tai chi and Kung Fu. It’s called the “Five Immortals temple”, sounds pretty cool right?! Since then, I have been dreaming of going there. I filled out their form to come to their Tai chi classes for a couple of months and I was super excited to have been accepted for this coming fall 2019!!! I was so happy to learn the news but at the same time so nervous! The classes will have two parts. The first part is more about the slow and healing tai chi and the second will be more dynamic and about martial arts.

A new life awaits…

When I got rid of a lot of my stuff and boxed up the rest, I felt sad and at the same time it was like I was leaving behind me the old Brittany. It was a chance for me to start living the life I truly wished to live. Now I am so ready to go on this wild adventure and discover the mysteries of Asia!!!

What are your dreams and goals? What is holding you back and what are you going to do to make them happen?

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