On The Road To Thailandonesien
On The Road To Thailandonesien
vakantio.de/ontheroadtothailandonesien

Home, let me go home

Buga: 08.05.2019

Soundtrack of the blog post: Home by Edward Sharp & The Magnetic Zeros (also maybe play it in the background to create the perfect mood)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHEOF_rcND8



Wow my loves! I hope you really listen to the song, because it's my absolute "Homecoming Song" and somehow I wanted to try to transfer my mood to you. Every time I heard this song, I thought of home with a smile on my face and I was excited to be there soon. Maybe there is much more emotion in it for me than for you, but who knows: maybe it can still be transferred.
Somehow I don't really know how to describe my last 2 weeks, because so much has happened and at the same time I don't know where to start. In general, Yentl and I traveled around the Philippines for 2 whole weeks, which worked out so fantastic. We were a well-coordinated team and equally scattered. I was constantly stumbling over everything and Yentl somehow always made mistakes when booking hostels, which was really funny. But since we are both scattered, we never took it badly, but quite the opposite. We laughed ourselves silly. You see, Yentl once booked a day too late (so we stood in the hostel and he said "Huh, but you were supposed to come tomorrow"), the next time she accidentally booked a day too early (we were greeted with "Oh, you are the ones who didn't show up yesterday") and the other time she somehow booked 3 beds, but there were only two of us. We couldn't stop laughing because every time there was a mistake in the booking, but in a different way. Just amazing. Fortunately, we were able to fix everything and we were just laughed at when we explained that it wasn't on purpose. We really provided a lot of entertainment. Otherwise, we tried to keep things relatively relaxed and really took some time to relax. So we lay on the beach or by the pool, went snorkeling from time to time, and just went with the flow. We went to Malapascua Island and Moalboal together (and a few other stops like Cebu). That may not sound like much, but because of the transportation, it was the best we could do, as it really takes forever to get from one place to another. In any case, we enjoyed the Philippines so much and tried to experience everything we could. And wow, I am impressed by this country. Somehow I wish I had more time for this, because it is very difficult to say goodbye here. The atmosphere everywhere is just fantastic, you always feel welcome. So people just stop when you are standing confused by the side of the road and immediately ask if you got lost. Besides, for me, this is somehow the land of smiles. No matter where you walk, you are greeted with a smile, and that means a lot to me personally. And the mangoes here are so delicious that we bought and enjoyed at least 1 kilogram every day. Really, I haven't eaten mangoes this good in the last few months. Yes, the Philippines are a paradise in every way. So Yentl and I could go directly from the hostel to the sea and go snorkeling with turtles without any effort. Which is an incredibly amazing experience, because these animals are just awesome. Somehow a turtle always looks a bit dissatisfied and at the same time it swims calmly around. We swam with giant turtles. I also felt a bit like in "Finding Nemo", because it looked exactly like in the movie. Especially at the "abyss" I had to laugh a little because my first instinct was that I shouldn't swim out to the open sea, otherwise I would get lost like Nemo. I even saw a Nemo right at the edge, but it stayed put and didn't swim out to the open sea. Yentl and I were so thrilled that we went snorkeling every day (usually for 2 to 3 hours at a time). We also made lots of bubbles on the beach and enjoyed it like little kids. Yes, that was somehow our destiny and our big goal was to become masters of bubbles. That had to be learned first. Because you want to have as many bubbles as possible! That required many hours of perseverance and practice, because you have to have the perfect angle, blow out the right amount of air, and above all, there must not be too much but also not too little soap involved. Yes, you can tell that we really tried to perfect it and after a few hours of practice in the darkness (because we lost track of time), everyone had their technique of where and how to create a swarm of bubbles. And then Yentl went home. I really had a hard time saying goodbye to Yentl. Simply because we harmonized so well and had so much fun together, where others looked at us strangely and probably thought we were on something. I'm super glad to have met someone like her in my last days and I'm always amazed at how quickly you can get to know a person. Although we "only" know each other for 2 weeks, it feels like we are old school friends. It's crazy how differently you get to know each other when you travel together.
Anyway, I continued sailing alone to Bohol, where I immediately met lovely people again. And yes, I just held my belly in the sun and enjoyed the feeling of sand between my toes.
Home - Home! Wow, I can't believe that I've explored a small part of the world for a whole 6 months. Even though my route wasn't exactly "Thailandonesia" in the end, I'm incredibly happy with my decision to take this break and explore the world on my own. And yes, now I'm coming home, which will be beautiful because I can have all of you near me again. During my journey, the word "home" definitely gained a much stronger meaning. My home is definitely in Germany in a small corner of the country called Neuenklitsche, in the grey house with the green shutters and the huge garden, where you can either mow the lawn forever, relax in the hammock, spend hours watering all kinds of plants (if you're the caretaker), and just generally enjoy time with the family (be it at Christmas or at any other event). Yes, you are definitely my home.
And at the same time, I have found a wonderful home in travel. Sometimes it was the place, and sometimes it was simply the people who gave me a piece of home. I associate feeling at home with feeling comfortable. And I definitely felt comfortable in so many wonderful situations. Whether it was on the ferry, when the wind was so strong that I constantly had hair in my mouth, or on the beach, where we watched the sunset together with a beer in hand, or in the middle of nowhere at a bus stop, where the locals enthusiastically made soap bubbles. Wow, there are so many beautiful moments that I have collected in my mental library in the travel section, and I'm already looking forward to more! Traveling has definitely become a second home for me, which I am so proud of, because at first I was really unsure if I was really the type for it. The beautiful thing is that you can call several places home: be it Neuenklitsche, Nossen, Berlin, Leipzig, Halle, Feldkirch, Magdeburg, or simply the world of travel adventures. I have a piece of home in all of these places, and now I am just super happy to come back home and be able to fall into your arms.
So my loves, it won't be long now! Until then, keep your ears up and simply listen to "Home". Maybe we'll even listen to it at the same time, because I will probably be listening to this song on repeat in my final hours.
Amsa