Backpacking as my favourite one night stand
There I was, Cairns airport around 10 o’clock in the morning with no clue what a hostel actually was, let alone how to book one; but it was love at first sight and Nomads Hostel Cairns became the first of many. All with that one little thing in common: a cheeky quote, written down on the wall, the back of a toilet door or next to your dorm bed, a remainder of the previous resident of your little home for the night.
A couple of words acting like a motivational speaker: they remind us of all the things we are in fact perfectly capable of to do. We just need someone or something to tell us, convince us and push us into it. In this case that one quote written down in that one amazing place you visited and immediately fell in love with.
Travel and love are the winning themes in these matters. It’s not coincidentally they can keep on writing about those. Two adventures we all love and want so badly but in the moment we are fully into it, just makes us terrified.
More than I imagined, one comes with another. During my travels it was hard to explain to others why I travel or how the places I’ve visited are. Looking back at my twelve months living as a nomad I can tell you; it’s love. Traveling the East coast, in company of an awesome couple, some of the finest people coming from England, Germany and other corners of the world included one silly American, under a sky full of stars on Whitsundays, campfires on Fraser Island and never without a couple of beverages, it was love all around. And I’m still so surprised by how speechless those views and moments got me.
Cheeky getaways like the holidays road trip, Sydney, a lovely reunion with my mom and hitting West Coast with Alexander made me realize even more the gratefulness we should show for living together and loving every minute of it, how sad it is how fast it’s passing by. But you can’t procrastinate another adventure. Most of all I will treasure the love in the places I lived and worked for a few months. Base Brizzy and All Nations in Melbourne, even more the people around became family, through ups and downs, drinks and dances, love and tears. In a way I got amazed by the intensity of this all. I never witnessed so much love and friendship, so intense on such short time. Meeting and leaving people, knowing that chances you ever see each other again are small but you treasure the moments together, forever. Just like a one nightstand, you live in the moment, not thinking about tomorrow because the feeling never really returns. The place will be there, maybe with different persons, but even with the same people. A good time never comes back exactly as it happened. The next day it’s time to move on and to be honest; you never want to be that guy who overstays his welcome at a girl’s place.
So Australia, it was a beautiful love affair which I’m more than grateful for as well for all the people who were a part of it. Backpacking truly became my favourite one night, ehm one-year stand.