Throwback III: The absurd as the new normal

As it is a saying among backpackers, you only grasp travelling after you’ve been outside of your comfort zone for at least 3 months. And to be fairly honest, without judgement of one’s capabilities, it does take that long to adjust and to actually come to one’s senses. I did startle me when I came to the conclusion, not so long ago, that I am in that momentum. Though, quicker than I hoped. This defs due to my previous experiences but also because of the fast pace of living in this country. Nevertheless, the typical stuff is always something that I try not to take for granted. Apart from eating with chopsticks, try doing that without using your brain..

Hence, travelling is still a weekly thing and really does keep me w(o/a)nder. Though, during the last 2 trips it wasn’t so much about the tourist attractions. It was more about really willing to connect with this Asian culture, have fun with the people and just get more involved on a more profound level of understanding. The picture above, however, depicts typical things that one comes across in China, but what about the general outlook in cities? Take a look at the picture below.

No one really takes these kind of pictures out of awe. It’s not in their itinerary such as visiting the great wall or seeing the bund. But these are the kind of places you walk past for at least 80% of the time. Don’t underestimate the combination of the first and second world in this country. A whole lot of things may be further developed in comparison with the West, but the other side is at least as big. It even took me a couple of years of travelling before actually grasping this and its gravity. Though it’s not really the first picture you’d show your friends after coming back from a country whilst trying to convince them how great the trip and what a beauty of a country it was. In addition, there is nothing as good as actually being able to share these moments with friends and contemplate about these areas and standards of living with them. Tho talking about friends:

They still make the difference, we have heaps of banter during lots of dinners, crazy nights out in an ineffable outgoing Shanghai, by being somewhere in the outback on a forgotten bridge discussing who has the biggest hands or just by attending network events or seminars and having some great informative evenings. It’s the diverse and broad amount of personalities in one group that make all of this happen. Though, we all do have these 2 things in common: being abroad and being really hyped about not having any boundaries. And that’s actually enough, everything just goes from there, cause in the end, you really do rely on one another at some point, which is why it just works.

It all comes down to this one thing, doesn’t matter what road you took on your travels, it’s worth it, legit!