What I've learned by Traveling

It feels like so long ago now that I was searching for flights and hotels online and trying to fight the fear of the unknown. So much has changed.

I could have never expected the things that happened this year to take my life in the trajectory it has taken and had no idea it would all lead me to where I am now.

A moment that I will never forget is the sky with orange and rose shades over the Jakarta, Indonesia when the sun is coming down. It was my first experience of traveling and It taught me so many wonderful things.

I met an amazing group of fellow solo travelers at my hotel and spent the rest of my time in that amazing town of Jogjakarta. we walk around Malioboro with them and realizing that yes, solo travel is actually an extremely social way to travel, after all.

And then I thought, maybe it wouldn’t be so hard; maybe I wouldn’t be alone much after all.

I fell so hard in love with Jogjakarta that by the time I left, my heart hurt and I knew I had left a piece of myself behind there, with the smiling children who chased after me laughing and yelling ‘Datang lagi yaa!’ which means "Please come again later".

Malang taught me that I could ride on a (scary, scary) motorbike and have an adventure. The natural beauty astounded me and I still tell people it’s my favorite country I’ve visited so far.

Bandung taught me about finding love and losing it, only to fall in love with travel again. The beauty of local people and culinaries attracted me. Everything happens for a reason and I see that now.

Tanjungpinang brought me back to the roots of travel – hanging out with locals and experiencing previously unimaginable hospitality. I’m so glad I didn’t listen to anyone who said Tanjungpinang wasn’t worth spending time in. They were simply wrong.

The most surprising about all of this is that I’m still scared. I’m scared every day. Each time someone asks, “what will you do when you’re done traveling?” I shudder a little bit. That is the one question that, from the beginning, I never had an answer to.

“It will come to me on the road,” I always said.

So, Indonesia itself is already one of my favorite destinations. A destination where each of us can actually feel more “us”, more social, more intense and powerful. Power I would say, is the word that describes this country … Have any of you ever visited Indonesia? Feel free to come here and share your experience with me!

With love, Muhamad Rizky Suhandika.