Day 181 – 186 : Discovering Kathmandu

24/02
My first day in Nepal consisted of arranging all my practical stuff. Changing money, getting a Nepalese sim-card, arranging all my documents to get my Indian visa and look around what I could do around Kathmandu.

After giving away my passport for my Indian visa I called the Vipassana center where I would do a 10-day meditation course. They told me that there was no way they would accept a copy of my passport, they needed the original document. And obviously I couldn’t give them the original document because it was in possession of the Indian Embassy for the next 10 days or so… After being a little bit disappointed I decided to accept it and start looking for other options. Eventually I found a volunteering project and a host-family to stay with. I would go there on the 2nd of March and stay for a week and afterwards move on to Pokhara.

25/02
The next day I went to the bus station and asked to go to Durbar Square in Patan. A bus driver said he was going there so I hopped in and after driving for 45 minutes I realized Patan wasn’t this far… I asked the woman sitting next to me where we were heading and she replied me happily “Bhaktapur”. Oh well, I wanted to do Bhaktapur anyway so it didn’t really matter. At first I was thinking about not entering, because of the high entrance fee (15$). But I took an hour long bus ride, I might as well visit it while I am there.

It turned out to be a really peaceful and architecturally gorgeous small town. When children came begging for money I offered them a candy (which Fanny sent me), which they accepted with a broad smile on their cute faces. After having some good conversation with some local Nepali people I decided it was time to head back. I was excited to pick Silke up from the airport that evening! After waiting for a really long time (due to organisational problems in the airport) I surprised her when she walked out of the bathroom unknowingly. While waiting for her backpack we started updating each other on the past 4 weeks we spent separated. The talking continued while having dinner and stopped when we turned off the lights and wished each other a good night.

26/02
A cold and rainy day we didn’t really do much. When we went for a tea and a hot chocolate in the late afternoon we met 2 incredibly friendly men from Australia. Who were in Kathmandu for business. We shared experiences, talked a lot and eventually our evening turned into a small but very interesting pub crawl. We said our goodbyes and wished each other the best of luck. Again another unexpected encounter which was fun and amazingly enriching.

27/02
(Happy birthday Daddy!)
After going to the Indian Embassy for Silke’s visa we met the friendly man who arranged the trip Silke and her parents for the next 3 weeks. After these formalities we decided to walk up to the Swayambu temple (aka. Monkey Temple) which was situated on the other side of the river up upon a hill. Wow, once we got there we were offered an enchanting view over Kathmandu valley.

It was a clear day, so we were lucky to enjoy the view by bright sunlight. We had lunch on a rooftop restaurant on the hill next to the temple and walked back to our hotel. We both noticed the friendly and open-hearted attitude from the moment we set foot in Kathmandu’s airport. Yet every day I get to see a side of Nepali people which is even more warm-hearted than the day before.

28/02
Today we would be picking up Silke’s parents from the airport, so cute to see how they missed each other!
Tears were rolling down from 3 pairs of eyes, adorable! In the evening we introduced them to one of our favourite local restaurants and it was wonderful to see how happy they all were to be reunited! Their happiness was contagious!

01/03
The four of us started our day by walking to Durbar Square, we contemplated its greatness and even saw the ‘Kumari” this is a young girl, which they believe to be the “living goddess”. The living goddess lives in one of the buildings on Durbar Square until she has some blood loss. Whether it is a small wound or her first period, whenever she bleeds for the first time, they replace her for a new living goddess. Afterwards we left for The Boudha Stupa. An impressive temple surrounded by a lot of small and cosy restaurants. After lunch we walked through the rain to our next stop, Pashupatinath.

This is the cremation temple. Dead people are subjected to some rituals before the actual cremation takes place. There is also a building called “The hospice house” where people who are dying can wait to be cremated. In this house their is also marijuana, provided by the government. You can see this a their way to soften the pain. Also in death Hindu people are not equal. There are multiple cremation places, 1 for the royal family, 1 for monks and people with prestige and multiple ones for the other people. When you die your family gathers for the ceremony.
When the man who died has a son, it is the job of the eldest son to light the fire. If it is a woman who died, it is the job of youngest son. If it is not yet an adult, it is his/her father who has to light the fire. A woman may never light the fire! The fire must also be started by the throat/mouth, because they believe that the soul leaves the body through their mouth. This visit was one of the most impressive ones so far. I had never before seen a dead body and now I saw them carrying dead people, setting them on fire, etc.

It was shocking, but I wasn’t disgusted. I can actually see the beauty of these events.
After going back to the hotel and having a nice Nepali dinner it was time to let all the sights and thoughts slowly sink into my mind. Goodnight!

Day 158 – 180: February (part 1): Family & Muay Thai

After a month without any blog posts I’ll give you guys a quick update on what I’ve been up to.

February started in Phuket. The most touristy place I’ve been so far… I don’t like the place but since my brother would be visiting me in a couple of days I couldn’t care less. It was great seeing my brother again and wonderful to see that nothing had changed. Our first trip together was an island tour. Enjoying the mesmerising views while snorkelling, jumping off the boat, roaming around the beaches but most of all… Laughing our asses off and having a great time together!

The next trip was to Phuket its crossfit, Unit 27. After almost getting lost we finally got there and had an amazing workout! Thank you Unit 27, you’ve created a great place!

Our last ‘trip’ was visiting Patong. The fascinating Bangla Road. Where anything is possible… We were amazed by some of the pole dancers capacities, but shocked by the amount of girls actually being up there… After saying goodbye to my brother I went to bed and got ready for a long and exhausting journey the next day.

After a day of travelling I arrived on Koh Phangan. I couldn’t wait to see everybody from Diamond Muay Thai again and of course to start training the next day. The following days felt like being home again. Surrounded by the people I love. I spent 12 days here (10/02-21/02) which is not even close to enough… The training is good, the food is great and the people feel like family. What else could you wish for?
Ahh Diamond, I hope I will return quickly.

After spending 1 day in Bangkok it was time to leave for my next adventure, Nepal.
23/02 A flight from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur and from Kuala Lumpur to Kathmandu brought me to this unknown but exciting city. Because I arrived at night I couldn’t see what Kathmandu looks like but there’s one thing I did notice really fast… The cold and in contrast the warm hearts of the Nepali people. Goodnight Nepal, I look forward to be exploring you.

Day 138 – 155 Oh, wonderful Cambodia

Cambodja has already come to an end, unfortunately… What a wonderful time we’ve had here! Teaching might have been a big part of this experience, yet I can say that the friends we’ve made are an even bigger part. We’ve explored Siem Reap’s day & night life together, enjoyed Spa visits, sang our hearts out on the countless Tuk-Tuk rides, created our soon to be bar and so much more! 

The second week of volunteering flew by and every other day there seemed to be more volunteers. Saturday we went exploring Siem Reap and on Sunday we went to the spa again!

The third week of volunteering there were too many volunteers at the house and to my opinion. The coziness in the evenings evaporated… Luckily we still had our little ‘crew’ we still had so much fun. Friday felt kind of weird, knowing that it was my last day of teaching. My last class are youngster from 16 – 19 years old. When I told them class was over and it was time to go home, they told me they had a present for me. I got a handmade paper box decorated with a ribbon! Inside were some candies, a decoration piece for back home and a scarf! *photo*
I was so happy, I’ll miss those kids…

Friday evening we had our goodbye party, all of the volunteers came to town and we enjoyed a fun night out!
Saturday morning five of us left for a weekend in Battambang!
After a cozy bus ride an English speaking Tuk Tuk driver proposed us to stay in his hostel. Sadly when we arrived there, they only had 3 beds left… Well, 3 beds for 5 people it is! In the evening we went to see the sunset on the Bamboo train.

It was a beautiful sunset and a fun experience! On the other side of the rails, some kids taught us how to make rings and bracelets out of grass. They were amazing!
The next day we decided to go to Battambang’s killing fields. A good hike up the mountain got us to temples and caves with a terrible but interesting history. Sunday evening we prepared bags to leave to CESHEO’s new project. A school in a rural village about 2 hours away from Siem Reap. The school was yet to be build so we were given the opportunity to get creative and bombard them with ideas! Since we could only stay here for 3 days, we decided that our main focus would be the school’s name sign. We stripped trees, put 2 white base coats, a blue top coat and red decoration. We are really proud and extremely excited for the school to open in the beginning of March!

The village were the school is located is everything but touristy. Most of the people have never seen a ‘barang’ or white person before and were really amazed to see us. We were also the first volunteers at this school so we everyone was really grateful. A unique experience.
Remarkable is that the school is being built by all the people from the village. So everyone just comes to help whenever they can. This is something people in most western countries have completely forgotten about. Helping without wanting anything in return and doing so with a genuine smile on your face. Joining forces to build a better future.
Wednesday afternoon we returned to Siem Reap for a last evening in a town we will definitely miss.

Thursday : Goodbye Cambodia, see you soon. Hello again Thailand!

Day 131 – 137 : The first week of teaching English in Cambodia

Monday 5th of January, the start of yet another amazing experience.

We start teaching in Papa’s school with a small group of 3 girls; Izzy, Silke and I. Our daily schedule goes like this :
7 am: Breakfast
7.40 am: Leave to school
8 am – 10 am: First class
10.30 am – 12.30 noon: Break with lunch
1 pm – 3 pm: Second class
3 pm – 5.30 pm: Break & pineapple time!
5.30 pm – 6.30 pm: Last class
7 pm: Dinner

Teaching turned out to be a lot more exhausting than expected, but it is so worth it… On monday we started by figuring out what they’ve learned from the teachers before us. Soon we realized that it must be really difficult for these children. Every month or so they get a new teacher with a different accent, different expectations and a different way of teaching. This is probably why they make such a slow progress.

Tuesday we got our first problematic situation… 5 classes, but only 3 teachers. Eventually we took the 2 youngest classes together and the 2 oldest.
Fortunately we got company from another girl on wednesday, Morgana. It didn’t take long for the four of us to bond and we got along really well!
Wednesday was the 7th of January, which is Independence day in Cambodia, so no school!
Thursday and friday each of us slowly started to create their own routine and started to feel like real teachers!
The best thing about this place? The smiles. They are everywhere you look, genuine smiles. The people here smile not only with their mouth, smile comes from within their eyes. And such smiles are one of the most beautiful things in the world. During the breaks we quickly realized that the Cambodian kids play similar games to the ones you see western children playing. The only big difference is that these children are a lot more tough than what we are used to. They smack on to the floor, bump into eachother head to head, get bitten by spiders and they don’t shed one single tear. They just start laughing hysterically and play on.

After a first fun but exhausting first week we had the most amazing weekend!
Saturday we visited the world famous Angkor Archeological Park. This world heritage site is absolutely amazing. We walked aroun din awe for the entire day. The four of us had an amazing time and we saved the last most famous temple (Angkor Wat) for sunset

We realized that these would be friends for life. Saturday evening was the birthday party of another volunteer. We went out in Siem Reap town and had an amazing night!

Sunday we decided on going to a nearby spa. There we could enjoy a swimming pool, hot & cold tub, steam bath, sauna, gym, hot showers, massage and fast Wi-Fi for only 10 US$. After an entire day of relaxation we were ready for another week of intense teaching.
BRING IT ON!

Brainwave: Fear of getting hurt

Everyone knows this, even when you try to be brave. The fear of getting hurt is a universal and complex fear.
Yet it takes on different forms… One may be afraid to encounter physical pain, but I’d like to talk about being afraid of getting emotionally hurt.

Only a few people actually have the audacity to talk about this, which is understandable… Someone’s fears reveal their weakness and who wants to be weak, right? I’ve been struggling with some thoughts of my own lately, only to discover that what I was struggling with, was fear. So it got me thinking… I think a lot of us are held back because of fear, but aren’t we missing out?

I believe we are, sometimes you just know something could either sincerely hurt you or turn out to be one of the greatest experiences in your life.

Then, of course, it all comes down to trust. Unfortunately we live in a world where trust is too often put to the test, or even broken.
Every time your trust is betrayed, it gets harder to build it up again for whoever’s next. But what if, eventually, you deny it to someone who is actually worth it, who would cherish your trust? Sadly, there is no way to find out when a person is genuinely trustworthy. Does that mean you’d better be safe than sorry or that you should just jump in head first whenever you feel like someone might be worth it?

– that’s where my mind and heart clash.

… to be continued …

Day 124 – 130 New year’s eve in Bangkok & off to Cambodia

After leaving Koh Phangan and the wonderful Diamond Muay Thai gym, I went back to Bangkok to meet up with Silke again. Woohoow, reunited!

Unfortunately Silke was really sad that her brother left, so I came up with a couple ideas to keep our day busy and distract her a little. One of them was dying our hair… Maybe that wasn’t the greatest idea I’ve ever had… Oh well, as time passed I started to like my red hair.

Today, 31st of December. The last day of yet another year, the perfect time to look back on everything that has happened the past year. It has been a year filled with emotions and some big decisions. The biggest one was by far, leaving everything behind and going out to explore the world. I am no longer who I used to be, or should I say ‘I didn’t used to be who I am’?
I learned a lot, but most of all I’ve learned that there is never a wrong choice, or a right one.
Whatever you choose, give it your all, dive in head first. Accept the choice you made and stop wondering “what if?”, that my beloved friends is the only way of MAKING your choice the right one. Well enough talking, time to celebrate the end of a wonderful year and the beginning of a new one full of surprises and new friends.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Spending the first day of a new year in 2 different countries? CHECK
After our flight being cancelled, replaced and more than an hour at immigration we arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia. In the evening we attended an apsara dance show and had our first Khmer dinner. Excited to see what Siem Reap looks like in the daylight we went to bed, goodnight!

3rd of January, our plan was to go to the Angkor Heritage Park today and stay there until sunset! Unfortunately Silke was feeling sick again, so we stayed home and hoped she would get better soon. But she didn’t… So we decided to go to the hospital, she had been sick for 3 weeks, so she finally agreed on getting medical aid. After some blood tests and a general exam it turned out she had a bacterial infection in her stomach and intestins. This resulted in us having to spend the night at the hospital and her getting loads of antibiotics and other medication.

4th of January, we were allowed to leave the hospital by 1 pm and left to the place we would call home for the following 3 weeks.
CESHEO, an organisation that provides english lessons for children and yound adults from rural villages. After getting to know our fellow volunteers and preparing our first class we went to bed. Excited but yet nervous to meet our students!

Loads of kisses from Siem Reap!

Brainwave on expectations

Ahh, we all know them, expectations. You’re expected to study, to get a good job, to be fit, to have a family and so on.
But try to imagine a world without any of these… How would you feel? Would you finally listen to the voice of your own heart and soul? Would you, for once in your life, do as you please without wondering what other people might think?

What I’ve learned is, that whatever happens, whatever is being said, you can decide its impact on you. You always have a choice, you can either choose to let it affect you, or you can choose to observe it, accept it and LET IT GO. Because honestly, why should it matter what other people say or think? I know this is a well known fact, people always advise you to do what you love etc. But think about it, how many of you actually do it? I’ve been there, worrying about every little thing I did or wore… Well I am done now, done questioning and I’ve noticed countless changes, of which the biggest one is freedom. By devoting some time to myself, I’ve devoted double the amount of time to others. Sounds contradictory? Well, only a happy heart can open up to others.

So tell me if you could choose between hapinness or safety, what would you choose? It may not be an easy choice, but it is definitely one worth thinking about. Imagine talking to people who only have 1 week left to live, they would actually say everything on their mind and do whatever they have been wanting to do for so long. You want to know why? Because they realize they don’t have anything to loose.
What have you got to loose?

Are you afraid to go somewhere because people will have forgotten you by the time you get back? Guess what, people who care about you won’t.
Are you scared to say what you really think because people won’t like you anymore? People should like you for who you really are…
otherwise they don’t deserve you, ain’t that right Gutierrez mi corazon?
Are you afraid to gain some pounds, just because you think you will be marked ugly? This one deserves a more elaborated explanation…
I believe that, when it comes to appearances, you have 2 options. To be superficial or to look deeper.
Everyone could see the confident blond long-haired, model type of girl and tell she is beautiful. But right next to her walks this shy dark haired short and slightly plump girl. Though after a silly joke she starts smiling and you see the most beautiful smile you have ever seen… My point is that beauty lies within every single one of us. And those who are too self-centered to look beyond the obvious, miss out on all the beauty surrounding them. But not only when it comes to us, humans. It works the same with landscapes, houses, animals, etc. Open your eyes, and open your heart with them.

Day 117 – 123 : Diamond Muay Thai in Koh Phangan, I’ll be back!

A wonderful week with amazing people and unforgettable memories.

It would not make sense to describe every single memory, feeling or experience I had this week, because you could never understand unless you were there with me.
If you ever play with the idea of joining a Muay Thai camp, I can only encourage you. It is an amazing sport to which you might find yourself loosing your heart. Diamond Muay Thai did not only give me great training and experience, they also gave me memories for life. It felt like family…

Training twice a day for two hours, chilling in the hammocks, exploring the nightlife of Koh Phangan, experiencing Diamond’s first fight night (which was amazing!), getting to know thai culture more, meeting new friends, motorbike trip to secret beach (which is actually not that secret), Christmas dinner, getting soaked on a pick-up in the pouring rain, getting the best fruit juices ever at the food market, I could go on for a long time, but I think you get my point.
I had an amazing time and I will definitely go back in February.

I want to say thanks to some people who contributed in making this experience amazing.
Mon, thanks for being such a good trainer
Jesse & Simon, thanks for running this place and help everyone whenever they need it
Wang, thanks for the amazing food
Puh, Jom & Balloon, thanks for some amazing training sessions. Kop Kun Kaaaa!
Dave, you really have beautiful eyes! I’m grateful that I was your first.. (on the back of your scooter)
Nico, your first fight was amazing, keep up the good work & see you in February!
Jay, thanks for being an awesome neighbour, sorry for American History X
Ali, thanks for not telling me about your tattoo, mysterious little Colombiano
Sebastian, thanks for loosing the bet, smoking addict!
Sandra, thanks for punching me that hard while sparring, haha you definitely have a lot of power!
Melia, thanks for sharing thousands of smiles after kicking my ass.
Tina, I’ve known you the shortest of all, but I feel closest to you. It’s crazy how much we have in common. I really hope you’ll be back same same, haha! Thanks for being an awesome roommate and sorry for making you sleep in the hammock!
Ashley and Justin, you guys are an amazing couple, thanks for always smiling!
Kyle, thanks for making my night by walking through that door!
Christine, thanks for being the woman by my side with advice & action.
Ofcourse also a big thanks to all the other trainers whose name I might have forgotten, haha sorry guys, Thai names are not that easy!

I hope I will see a lot of you again, thanks for everything.

Day 110 – 116 : Being sick in Southern Thailand

Unfortunately I cannot write a lot on this week since we’ve been sick most of the time.

We flew from Chiang Mai to Krabi on tuesday. We stayed there for 2 nights, laying in bed, trying to get better and we visited the night market.

On thursday we took a boat to Koh Lanta, which was a really calm and slow paced island. We would only be staying here for 1 night, and for the first time in 4 months of travelling we decided to spend a little bit more money and treat ourself with 1 night in a resort. Lovely pool, relaxing view and amazing food.

Friday we took the boat to Phuket, we had incredibly good weather so we really enjoyed the boat trip. We made a little stopover at Koh Phi Phi, which was really stunning!! Coral blue waters, peach beaches and impressive rocks scooping out of the sea. Hmmm!

Our first night in Phuket was the worst one so far. By 0.30 am we noticed our beds were full of bedbugs. Fortunately we got to change beds… But you can imagine we could really feel bedbugs everywhere, plus we got a little stressed from moving everything so we really had an uncomfortable night.

On saturday we impatiently waited for Silke’s brother and his friends to arrive from Belgium.
Got dressed up, put some make-up on and headed for their hotel. While waiting there we had a good laugh with the amazingly friendly hotel staff. When brother and sister were reunited, bags were unpacked and gifts had been exchanged, we went for dinner. A good Italian meal with good company, loved it.

Sunday morning it was time for me to leave to Koh Phangan, where I would be practising Muay Thai for a week. Leaving Silke and her brother to have some family time! A long way of minivan, busses and boat brought me safely to a place I’d be calling home for the following week.
Diamond Muay Thai.

Brainwave on happiness & change

A couple of weeks ago I had a conversation with a fellow traveller on happiness. He read an article in which some scientists claimed to have discovered the secret to happiness.

Aparrently it is a combination of the following:
1. Feeling purposeful
2. Accepting yourself
3. Having some sort of intimacy

I couldn’t help my mind drifting off back to that conversation a lot of times. I believe that it is not possible to create a recipe for happiness.
This belief comes from what I’ve seen on this trip as much as from what I feel inside.
Every individual is different, some may ressemble, but we will always be able to find differences.
Yet we are all humans, so if we believe happiness to be purely physical, then it is indeed possible to create a recipe for happiness.
But is it physical? This is where a discussion opens up. We all know we get happy from toxins like endorphine etc.
Yet feelings are complex, but everywhere around the world we know the same ones. Whether it is Asia, Africa, Europe or any other continent we all know love, anger, sadness, happiness, etc. Yet circumstances are never the same. So tell me, do you really think a terminal, extremely poor woman has the same recipe for happiness than a wealthy woman who is celebrating her birthday? I don’t think so. I believe in a never ending evolution, in the mind, the body, nature, and so on. So I can even say I don’t believe in a permanent recipe for happiness individually.

A lot of us fear this evolution, they fear change. But the truth is that emotions lead to change. It even lays in the origin of the word… It comes from the latin word emovere, which means to set into motion. So if we look at it this way, we can say that happiness is an emotion which will inevitable lead to change. Scientific research has shown that fear either starts an action or makes people numb. For example one of the tests they did was introducing children to a big robot. 3 different reactions took place. Either they ran away screaming, they stopped moving and stood there, unable to move or they just started playing with it. You may be wondering where I am heading with this story… Well I want to show you that you always have multiple choices. When we are confronted with our fear, in this case change, we immediately have the reflex to either freeze completely or to start moving (either towards it, or away from it).  I feel like too many people stay locked, they don’t dare to move towards it, but they know they can do better than before.
I can only encourage you to take that leap of faith, it may sound cliché, but it’s true.
Forget about all the reasons why it won’t work and believe the one reason why it will. Something is only impossible if you believe it to be so.
So darling, open your heart and go out there. Leave some space in your life for unexpected things, for example: go somewhere without GPS, who knows who you might meet while getting lost.

Life is too short to miss out on opportunities, go grab them!