Asia Light: Don't dream your life. Live your dream!

I guess it feels a bit overdue to write a final post about holiday that happened two months ago but then those thoughts settle best when you give them time. Let alone the current circumstances which throw a completely different perspective on things as well. Timing is everything, as I have always said! Had we picked a date just a few weeks later we would have been likely stuck in New Zealand, or Martin would have had to cope with the tropical climate for a much longer period than planned and/or wished for. True, either of those scenarios would not be a major disaster or trauma but it would either way kind of scratch that carefree happy holiday feeling.

None of us really expected that this might be for some time last longer trip. Not that I wouldn't have a few quick getaways long weekend planned - just to enjoy the last bits of that tropical paradise before swapping for the European four seasons climate right! But any travel is under a non-compromising dictatorship of coronavirus at the moment....and there is really not much else to do than train up your patience (which I am totally crap at), wait, and hope we'll get through this on the other end in not too damaged state. That of course sucks a bit...but then, if New Zealand was my last destination before the European move, I think we have ended the Asia Light adventure journey on high. I should say a cherry on top, or maybe rather its New Zealand variation 'amazing avocado on top'!

Those two weeks were for me in many respect very memorable and unique holiday. For a long time I was fighting any sort of comparisons because I simply felt it would be ungrateful. I am so incredibly lucky to have been to so many extraordinary and amazing places, most of which were way beyond what my mind could have imagined or fantasize about....and to be honest, without my Singapore mission I might have not even known about their existence. And throwing those little tropical paradise spots against a travelers' wet dream like New Zealand just felt a bit unfair. Despite all that though, I must admit - to you but mostly to myself - that this holiday was one of the top ever, if not the best one.

Dream came true

I have always been dreaming about New Zealand. But from Europe it is like travelling to the end of the world and even a bit further, and at the time there was just no way I had that time, and money to do that. So the Kiwi land on my bucket list has been constantly overtaken by other places, leaving me with that long sight every time thinking 'ah well, maybe one day''. My move to Singapore made this milestone somewhat closer, both from the air miles as well as symbolically - it just feels a bit more real if you are at least on the same hemisphere right! Maybe that is why the New Zealand stamp in my old passport has become so precious. Although it was just from my quick business trip in Auckland in October 2017, it was proudly kept by side of with my treasured stamp from beloved Canada. The key side effect of this brief yet charming visit was though that New Zealand trip was pushed suddenly all the way up the priority list, and I have promised to myself that before I leave this part of the world to whatever the next destination is, I will get that New Zealand trip in. Simply not negotiable, full stop.

The following year I planned a holiday in Tasmania which is really a younger brother and a warm up for the New Zealand trip, but 2018 has been due to external circumstances a bit unlucky with any longer holiday... I was dreaming about running on those endless green hills and then jumping in the chilly glacier lakes. About photoshoots with crazy amazing views and cruising the island with upbeat party music...about avocado overload and picnics with mountain views. And about long silly conversations with nice bottle of wine, under the night sky, and with a bit mad morning runs to chase up sunrise on the top.....for once, about a different type of travelling that I somehow got used in Asia. And although even 2019 did not look all that promising for getting the right travel buddy for this adventure, I have just decided to plough ahead either way. I planned it all up, locked two weeks in February 2020 and most importantly slowly came to a conclusion that although things won't probably be all that perfect as in my fantasies, it is time to start living the dreams...and maybe, bit by bit, changing them into reality.

You know the next part of the story but maybe just worth a reminder that you never really know what is behind the corner. It was a bit random catch up over a lunch with a few jokes that rather unexpectedly turned out into a travel buddy. It did seem a bit uncertain if the burning Australia bushfires may put a hard stop on this crazy trip but with a wink and cheeky smile of Mr. Luck somewhere up there my dreamy New Zealand holiday got a green light at the end. Whohoo!

Pretty fucking awesome

This country is just amazing...honestly, the outdoor lifestyle, chilled people, unlimited avocado daily intake, nature so beautiful and untouched you'd cry for that...just really really nice, and not much more I can wish for to make it perfect. And the crazy thing is that you don't even need to be on the mountain ridge of Fjordland! Impressive scenery is everywhere, and you can just be simply driving from one part of the island to another.

I know, this is not really groundbreaking...of course we all know that New Zealand is beautiful....but damn, it really is! I have seen a lot of very pretty places on this planet but some of those just feel a bit different. It is this internal, hard to describe feeling which you won't capture in the pictures or in the stories you tell. It is like a 'wow' somewhere inside, when you're just standing there and think damn!....The world is an amazing place and in New Zealand it just seems even more amazing. Put it in layman simple terms - pretty fucking awesome.

Magic of sharing

We have known one another with Martin for a long time before this trip but I was still quite nervous about the prospect of spending pretty much 24/7 together for two weeks. Not to say that travelling on my own would be my preference (although it does have its benefits) but it is just something I got used to. With all the technologies today you can also quite effectively share the pictures and stores with others, right.....but it is times like these that make you realise how limited that virtual sharing is. There is simply no real replacement for a travel buddy with whom you can live and share the experience. So I am really grateful that Martin was crazy enough to join me in this adventurous ride. And I am pleased to report that to my surprise there has been hardly any conflicts over that time, if I don't count a few moments of silence in the car (you know, men and driving on the winding roads). Maybe we just focused on having a lovely time - and you can't not to in such a pretty place!

It was nice for a change not to be on your own and escape that 'if you don't do it, there is no one else who will'. I was glad to have someone around to share the joy with, even though my excitement was sometimes rather childish. It was fun to have a company to go crazy on the party songs in the car and chat through the evenings with wine or cidre (and often both!). I enjoyed our debates on the names of the different constellations and chats about all sorts of silly things as we were fuming up the hill with backpacks....But most of everything, it was the magic of the shared experience and adventure...because experience is something that no one can ever steal from you.

I am very grateful for such a nice travel buddy....and big thanks to Martin for putting up with me for the whole trip!

So what to say to wrap this up?

Probably a big thank you.

My dream came true. Maybe not in all its aspects, but that is not what it is about. It either doesn't really matter, and if it does, always good to have an excuse for another trip, right! Because New Zealand is definitely a place I will go back one day!

And also - live your dreams! Even if they seems crazy and unreachable, unless you start living them, they will never turn into reality!

Simple truth on the chair in a coffee place at Haji Lane in Singapore

And here is a little summary of our amazing holiday. Loads of pictures taken but you can check out the best of album - the link is already in the photo gallery on the right. And for the particularly interested ones, there is also a video available - even in English (how cool is that, right!). Unfortunately, it has almost 20 min so way too big to upload it here...but you can view it through this link:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ITumpB_zaAMFVsX19TprPfP26kczV9sb