One of the frequently asked questions: HOW DID YOU FUND THIS TRIP? Can’t deny the fact that MONEY played an enormous role in realising this dream of mine. I used to have a pretty well-paid job that allowed me to travel several times a year, to indulge in consumerism… in short, I lived a fairly comfortable life.
One day, my star signs misaligned (Yes, I was trying to cover up by not over-sharing the world about my very private life), I quit my job (I sometimes wonder why did it take me this long to leave this soul-sucking industry) and went straight into FUNemployment for about 2.5 months. During that period of time, I performed some soul-searching acts; similar to what Elizabeth Gilbert did as described in her bestseller memoir ‘EAT, PRAY, LOVE’, but on a milder and much smaller scale. I took this opportunity to figure out what my next steps in life were. I changed my lifestyle to a more ‘sustainable’ one; eating at home, stopped buying things (only things that I needed and not wanted), cutting down on ‘socialising’ (that means saying NO to a lot of social events that would require me to spend a considerable amount of money), exercising more (e.g. I fully utilised my gym membership by attending yoga classes 3-4 times a week, running and cycling outdoors, hiking…) and others. Though I would fall into mild depression every now and then as I couldn’t sort things out, I still tried my very best to live a healthier life. Healthy body, healthy mind and healthy soul was what I believed at that time.
One fine day, I went for an interview in a kindergarten nearby my house and got accepted on the spot. From that day onwards, I adopted a brand new identity- Ms. Lee or Teacher Lee. While the salary was not appealing (as compared to my previous paycheque), I thought my life has changed significantly for the better. My heart was full as I had the burning desire to educate and mentor the little ones. The other perks that I enjoyed tremendously were having the chance to bike to work (HELL YEAH, no more traffic jam and parking fee!) and free lunch on working days. Some days I got to leave work earlier so that I could attend yoga classes. SPEAKING OF YOGA, I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH ON THE IMPORTANCE AND BENEFITS OF PRACTISING YOGA! Anyhow, this work-life balanced lifestyle gave my life a new sense of meaning and purpose. After a year of living my newly reformed lifestyle, I made a life-altering decision to travel with my bicycle. I bid my beloved day care centre (my second teaching job after the kindie) farewell, packed all my belongings and moved everything back to my hometown, and sold my car. ​
There, you got an ONE LINE ANSWER: I bloody sold my car to fund this trip.
Now, you might also be curious about how did THIS GUY (picture as below) make and save enough of money to travel around the world for 3 years (and still counting… it’s insane, I know).
Jonas (Pronounced as YONAS) had been working as a receptionist in a Swiss ski resort for about 1.5 years. The hotel provided him with cheap accommodation- this is very important as everything is so bloody expensive in Switzerland. He led a rather disciplined life while saving for one of this BIGGEST trips of his life. Jonas prepared and cooked most of his meals, picked up hobbies that didn't require him to spend a dime, e.g. running and biking outdoors. While devoting most of his leisure time and energy doing sports and training for sports competitions, he didn’t exactly have the urge or energy to indulge in other social activities anymore. Jonas is a rather huge advocate on anti-consumerism; this is perhaps one of the most valuable takeaways I have learnt from him. He used to call himself a ‘minimalist’ but the fact that he’s been traveling with 40kgs of stuff suggests otherwise. Hence I guess the correct term to describe his ideology is ‘anti-consumerism’. According to him, it was relatively easy for him to buy and consume less as he’s never been a big spender to begin with. While I, on the other hand, have had quite a tough time adjusting to the change as I was formerly a shopaholic and loved to pamper myself with retail therapy every now and then. Jonas owned no car and that helped him to save a lot. No more cinema, concert and even drinking (both alcohol and coffee)!
All in all, I guess if you had a burning desire to realise your dream or to achieve your goal, you will do whatever it takes to get there. While lifestyle change can’t be done overnight (like, Rome wasn’t built in a day), you can however take baby steps. Also, if you were to do it at your own pace, no rush, you will be able to avoid setbacks that might hinder your progress and discourage you to keep going.