2 months after

I got to Asia and almost nothing went well. I got sick, my mind got sick, I lost people, worried people like hell, and did other nasty bad things that I've never did before.
But then I met amazing people. I met friends, saw amazing things, did amazing things, and in the end I think I'm stronger than before.
Next week I will make a sum up of all of my travels since I came, as I've been just writing on Publico website. So I'll do my best to write small posts about it.
Now it's late and tomorrow I'm heading to Singapore where I'll be hosted by a new Couchsurfer. I'm quite eager for it, and well I'll have more things to tell really soon.

Lariam/Mefaquim – How I almost got stuck inside my mind

 When I first decided to start taking this medicine against Malaria, I listened to the doctor recommendations, actually to several doctors, and I never thought I could get to this point.

It took precious days from my life, where vivid dreams, extreme anxiety and even some paranoia, took my mind to places I never thought I would go to. I wasn’t the only one going to this dark place created by this drug. Unfortunately a friend got caught in it too.

In the beginning I believed that I could get over it. And most of it I thought I could manage the dreams, and all the strange side effects. After all, my dreams and my thoughts would never control who I am. 6 weeks passed already since I started traveling, and I feel I missed a big chunk of it. Whenever I was with someone I felt happy, I even had lots of fun. But whenever I was confronted with my own thoughts, everything was lost. I’m aware of the difficulties brought by traveling, still as many of you know, most of the times I managed to deal with things even if they weren’t in the best way possible. This time, I could do nothing to avoid this dark veil covering my eyes and poisoning my mind.

I can’t even explain how it changed who I am. I forgot why I came here, I forgot to look around and see these amazingly beautiful places surrounding me. I stopped loving food, wishing for chocolate, enjoying a nice warm coffee. I stopped being who I always have been.

Now that I’ve stopped this terrible thing, all I can say is that I will do my best to enjoy these 5 months I have left. Dark times they were, and now I need to see a brighter future ahead. Vietnam has still lots of things to offer and I’m here to enjoy them. 

All I can do is to thank my friends who never let me down, and who always stood there for me.

For you

Finally in Dalat. This is one of most beautiful places I saw since I came here. It's impressive how beautiful the mountains, the lakes, and even the bakeries are. People are different and even the air smells different.
This post won't be like the other ones. It passed one year since you left, and here reminds me of you. I'm feeling to start slowing down.The barrier is breaking and soon I hope I can get in touch with my thoughts.
We all take things for granted and in the end all the plans we make, all the things we go for, can go with the wind.
For quite a while I never had time to relax, think about my limits, or fears, about my hopes or wishes. Slowly here I'm starting to realize what they are, where I stand, what am I made of.
Now it's time to sleep.

Sweet dreams.

1 month after - Vietnam

I've started traveling 1 month ago.
I despaired so many times that I can't even count them.
I cried, laughed, had really dark thoughts on my mind, and in the end well I met this girls. Emily and Marleen. Jan I won't forget you either :). I would never guess how they would find a place inside my heart, and in the end this is the thing about traveling.
In one month I did zip sliding, visited amazing caves, relaxed with tasty cakes and fruit shakes. Laughed and cried with strangers. Shared my deepest thoughts, and listened to their funny or serious stories. I've made friends that probably I'll never see again that brings a strange kind of emptiness I was sort of running away from.

I met this 2 girls in the 4000 Islands. Well they were probably just 300, because the rest was totally flooded, but still I must surrender to the beauty of it. From bike riding, to happy spaghetti stories, or from crossing rivers, to having a 3m snake on my bedroom.
We've spent some time together after that, and again we never had a dull moment. One of the scooters broke in the middle of nowhere, and we got lost a couple of times. I've realized that with this I'm probably the worst person to trust when it gets to reading a map. We actually slept right next to one of the waterfalls we wanted to see, but we only realized that after riding our scooters, for 30km on the next day.

Well, in the end I miss Emily and Marleen, and I feel sorry that I couldn't say a proper goodbye to them.
I will miss you girls, and I send you both a big big hug :).