Traveling makes you grateful for the little and big things that make your life richer and more complete. I was inspired to compile my list of things for which i am grateful after reading about another traveler's no so successful trip to Indonesia (making me extremely grateful that I have had no travel mishaps so far- knock on wood). (If you are interested, you can read California-based artist and Youtuber Kina Grannis' account of being stuck in Jakarta for 100 days. )
Here are some 10 things I am grateful for:
1. Hospitality- Good friends offering a bed to crash on. By far my favourite way to travel is to "courchsurf" with people I know, and while hostels are great for meeting people, friends' places are the nicest place to relax, to feel comfortable and safe. Bonus : often comes with good food and/or cooking and tea-making facilities!
2. Family and friends. Nothing is more important - and knowing your friends and family know and support your decision to travel has been hugely helpful in my case.
3. The Internet - Wifi and sim cards with data allow me to felt connected and informed about the news wherever I go.
4. I am grateful for smiles, nods and hand gestures that allow me to communicate with locals whose language I dont or barely know. I am also so grateful for people who make efforts to understand me and my sign language.
5. Fellow travellers who share their tips and experiences with you make the going even more pleasant (and help you to make more interesting travel choices).
6. I am grateful for my books & my e-reader (and grateful for my brother and his girlfriend who insisted i take the reader back after i had loaned/given it to them. Also grateful to my aunties who gave it to me in the first place hehe ).
7. Swimming and yoga have been my best ways to keep fit and healthy. And blogging and calls/emails keep me mentally happy and healthy.
8. Grateful for kids I have met on this trip who laugh at my funny faces and interact because they are curious. They keep me endlessly entertained.
9. Grateful for those little luxuries like air conditioning and aloe vera soap that keep me cool and soothe sunburns!
10. My passport and the privilege of having been born Canadian. I am so grateful that I was born by sheer luck in a country that is safe and has clean forests, rivers and mountains. Its only when you no longer have these things that you appreciate how lucky you were to grow up with clean air and plenty of space to play outdoors .
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