Paulina | Paulina on the Road, Author at Brazils on Tour

What lead me to the best decision of my life?

Ever since I was a little girl, I was fascinated by different culture and how different people lived in countries all around the world. When my cousin and I played with our barbie dolls – hers would have a big white wedding, a house, a husband and lots of children. My barbie wanted to travel the world, trek through jungles, stay with tribes in the Amazon or help build houses in Africa.

I desperately wanted to travel after I left college but nobody else was interested. I barely had an ounce of self confidence when I was younger and nobody encouraged the idea if I spoke my mind out loud.

I got a job and still spent my days dreaming of travel and adventure; I settled into a mis-matched and eventually rather destructive relationship.

Things came to a head after that. The month after my relationship ended I took a 4 week break from work and backpacked with an old school friend in Thailand and Cambodia.

Once I realised it was nowhere near as terrifying as I thought it would be, I started to wonder, could I really possibly do it on my own?

View from Mount Bromo (Java)

I scoured solo female travel blogs and met a few friends that actively encouraged me to pursue it.

I had already been planning on leaving my job for some time but I was still lacking that final push, a reason that made me take the leap.

Well, the final push I had been looking for eventually came from a series of unfortunate experiences. Some tragic incidents in my family, overworking to the the point where I felt close to a mental breakdown and with my mother chronically ill – something had to give.

I was depressed and constantly on the verge of tears. I am a very strong person, and it takes a lot for me to ask for help, a lot for me to say “I can’t cope”. When I didn’t receive the support I needed, it was the final straw that broke the camels back.

Tegalalang Rice Terraces (Bali)

I knew I needed to leave for several reasons:

For my mental health.
For my physical health.
To pursue my dreams.
To achieve my goals.

Little is known about my mother’s condition (a severe type of Rheumatoid Arthritis) but some research suggests that it could be hereditary. After blood tests showed my rheumatoid levels were higher than average, I knew that I was on the verge of making the best decision on my life.

What if I did what other people suggested? What if I stuck it out at a job that didn’t pay me well, overworking myself, being miserable, making myself tired and sick. What if I bought a house? What if I settled for the wrong person and had children just because I was “supposed to”?

What if I listened to people who said, do all of those things, and travel when you’re retired?

Koh Lipe, Thailand

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What if I did all of this, and like my mother, then have a sudden onset of a progressive and chronic disease that would leave be disabled before I was even 50?

There was no guarantee this would happen, doctors assured me there was an equally good chance that I would lead a perfectly healthy life. But the fear was still there. The fear of a life of unfulfilled dreams, and being bitter later in life for not taking that one leap of faith. For not having the courage to just do it.

I had to get over my fear of failure and accept that, maybe I would come back earlier than I wanted and broke but at least I tried. Or it could work out perfectly, the way I wanted it to, meeting amazing people, getting once in a life time opportunities, experiencing new cultures, witnessing awe inspiring beauty, traveling and working on my own business…

Luckily it has worked out perfectly.

The Canyon, Pai (Thailand)

I’m in my 8th month of backpacking Southeast Asia, funding my travels with my Freelance business (writing, content creating, social media management). I have seen and experienced things I never could have imagined, met the most amazing people and healed myself mentally, spiritually and physically.

The road hasn’t always been smooth but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Travel was the best decision of my life.

To me the best thing about travel is meeting people — the locals and other travelers.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve just traveled to a town 50 miles away from your home or if you’ve traveled 5000 miles to a completely different culture. Connecting with the locals is always a wonderful way to get a sense of the destination you are visiting — the history, the traditions and customs, the culture. That’s why I follow many of the best travel blogs for insightful stories.

And meeting other travelers can lead to friendships — whether they be in the moment or lifelong.

While my stories — and my memories — including seeing a place or a site, the best stories and my favorite memories are about the people — the kindness, the smiles, the laughter.

I think we forget that people are inherently kind.

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Greek man watching the sunset in Oia on the island of Santorini. Though we didn’t really speak, I felt our connection over our appreciation of the gorgeous sunset that was before us.

And travel has taught me that a complete stranger can quickly become a friend. Or at least can lend a helping hand.

I’ve seen this time and again during my travels — a complete stranger helping a fellow human being with directions, offering food or drink, or helping to change a flat tire.

We humans have good hearts.

Yet on the news we seem to be bombarded with all the bad people out there. I always say, “If you’re losing faith in your fellow humans, go travel!“ Because I have no doubt your faith will be restored.

One of my favorite stories comes from traveling in Turkey.

I didn’t think quickly enough to get a photo of the man who helped us, but this Turkish man gave me directions to a site in Ayvalik.

My friend and I had rented a car and were traveling around the country staying in various small towns. The GPS had quit on us and we didn’t have a detailed map. When we arrived in this particular town we had made a very long drive and we were smoked. And we only had the street address for the hotel — no map to even know which streets to turn onto.

We drove around a bit, but couldn’t find it.

I saw some locals hanging around a small shop so I stopped the car at a corner in hopes of getting some information. Deb, my friend, got out of the car to ask where our hotel was, figuring if we at least had a general direction, we would find it. But since we only knew about 5 words in Turkish and most Turks don’t speak that much English, we knew it was a long shot.

Deb approached the small group of people as I looked on.

The next thing I knew some man (maybe in his mid-50’s) was opening up the back door of the car, pushing our belongings on the seat over and sitting in the back seat. Deb, in the meantime, had taken her position in the passenger seat and looked at me as I looked at her. I knew we were both thinking, “Is this a car jacking?”

But the kind man in the back seat directed us — giving back seat driving a whole new meaning for me — using hand gestures. And we arrived at our hotel — safely.

We offered him a ride back to the point where we had picked him up. He refused.

Deb offered him money. He shook his head “no.”

This wonderful Turkish man did this out of the kindness of his heart — helping complete strangers find their way to their hotel. I have seen this over and over as I have traveled.

The goodness of people.

The kindness of humans.

This is Nanna, grandmother in Italian. She was working hard harvesting the grapes as I took a tour of the small vineyard, Sante Marie di Vignoni. She humored me and let me take her photo.

This wasn’t my first encounter with the kindness of strangers.

his man ran the farm attached to the agriturismo I stayed at in Umbria, Italy. His name is Corrado. And even though he didn’t speak much English, and I didn’t speak much Italian, we communicated through smiles, hand gestures and a love of nature.

On my first trip abroad I traveled to Andalucía, Spain — without any set reservations or plans. I knew I wanted to begin in the seaside town of Nerja so I took the bus from the airport in Malaga to this Mediterranean village. With my guidebook in hand I made my way to one of the hostels recommended and was promptly greeted by a lovely Dutch woman who told me she didn’t have a room but that her friend might.

So she stopped what she was doing, locked up her hostel and walked me to her friend’s hostel — who did have a room for me. I was stunned that this kind woman took the time out of her day to walk me over and not simply give me directions. I kept thinking that this would NOT happen in the USA.

And on this first trip I encountered more good-hearted people — Spaniards, French, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Brits — who helped with directions, invited me to join them on a drive and offered their conversation over dinner.

It was that first trip that I fell in love with international travel.

Not simply because of the fun of exploring and being somewhere new (although that’s certainly part of it) but because of the people.

And there are more moments.

I saw these Turkish people every day for a week as I ran by this little store. They always waved hello to me and had big smiles on their faces.

The couple in Ireland who stopped to help me change a flat tire.

An Aussie couple who invited me to join them for dinner at Lake Como, Italy.

The young man who walked my friend and I to our guesthouse (all uphill!) in Turkey. We didn’t know where it was!

The ladies at the hotel in Castelrotto, Italy who called my room, worried about me when I didn’t come out of my room — I was sick in bed.

Chatting with the workers at the boutique hotel in Bozburun, Turkey and laughing and connecting even though we didn’t completely understand each other.

These are the 3 men I walked with on the final day of the West Highland Way in Scotland. What a fabulous way to end the journey!

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Joining a man and his 3 adult children for a drink to celebrate his birthday in Dunfanaghy, Ireland.

Walking with 3 men — 2 Scotsmen and an Englishman — on the final day of the West Highland Way.

All these moments and more that remind me of the power of travel — the best reason for travel. And that is the power of connecting with another human being.

Travel really is about the people you meet.

Turkish hotel owner in Bozburun, Turkey. We became friends during my stay.

And something to think about as you plan your travel.

Don’t pack your time so much that you don’t have time to slow down and talk to the locals or other travelers.
Be open to starting a conversation with someone.
Don’t be afraid to say yes to an offer of help or to join someone for a drink or a meal.

You won’t regret it.

And these moments of connecting with another person will be the moments that become the memories that will be forever etched in your mind.