It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,

When you pack your backpack for an adventure, you pack your expectations and you pack your plans. Enough happened this month to last a year. Were my expectations met? Yes most times they were superseded. Did things go according to plan? Not always, but I think that’s a big part of the adventure. A month ago I decided to change my trip from being a one week break with friends to an open ended journey from Yunnan in the South West of China eastwards back to Shanghai. This was one of the best trips I’ve ever made as a solo traveller but some days were really the worst of times. I can recall countless moments when my laughter echoed through the night and just in the same I have clear memories of tears streaming down my cheeks in a manner that was unstoppable.

It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,

I experienced a lot. I learnt a lot. I saw the beauty of generosity and genuine friendships especially with the friends I initially travelled with, this is always heart warming and restored faith in my hope for humanity (living in line behind the billions took away much of the faith I once had). I learnt the true meaning of mind over matter and how this permeates all aspects of ones life.

With each destination I learnt and saw a lot.

Tiger leaping Gorge- I watched in awe as the water rush through the gorge in a rhythm and then again in awe at the mountains after a 90 degree hike after four hours. Determination has never been a more important mindset.

Erhai lake of Dali- I rode for two days next to this vast and beautiful lake, passing beautiful Dai architecture and villagers tending their crops, feeding their babies, bartering in the local markets and building new homes. My second day of riding was over 40 km. As the sun disappeared behind the 19 peaks of Cangshan mountains again I had to drag determination out of hiding.

Xishuangbanna- on the border of Laos whilst still in China lies this city of multitude ethnicities. I made it to Xishuangbanna at a very touristically appropriate time. It was about to be their water splashing festival. To start the festival, 10580 men and women from a plethora of ethnicities danced in the water splashing square. This broke the Guinness world record. The next day we were back in the square with 10000 others splashing water from buckets and shooting jets of water from water guns at our fellow festival attendees.

Yuanyang- the UNESCO rice terraces bordering Vietnam, at sunrise and sunset the water in the terraces reflected the orange from the sun creating a magnificent view.

Nanning- I met a fellow East Asia enthusiast that introduced me to some good travel writing and some interesting situations that are happening in China. This provided so much fulfilment for my intellectual curiosity. I am currently reading Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler, a former china correspondent for the New York Times on China’s past and present.

One moment of foolishness changed the course of my trip.

In Nanning, the capital of Guangxi I decided to hop on the back of a motorbike instead of a cab to go to the train station. I did this to save a few kuai but resulted in me footing hundreds of kuai in hospital bills. I put my foot down ready to dismount the bike just a few seconds too early, the driver hadn’t turned the engine off. As a result I burnt about a 50 Australian coin off the calf of my right leg. Next minute I was on a 13 hour train to a Guangzhou where I am currently still located.

When you exercise optimism things and make the most of the situation you are in always turn out well. I started to make the most of the facilities and friends at the amazing Lazy Gaga hostel, playing foosball, ping pong, Wii, chatting with new and old friends and watching movies.

It was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,

My personal confidence peaked while travelling solo and shone in the way I easily met new people but was marred by accidents that came close to crushing my self belief. Upon my arrival in Guangzhou and due to the stress of the day before and the accumulated lack of sleep, I started coughing quite badly. I spent the first five days of my time in Guangzhou lying in bed, coughing, crying and feeling really down at my foolishness that could have been avoided. I was very upset at the thought of being gravely ill again as I had been just before I flew out. I kept looking to this quote to keep my head above water “it is not how many times you get knocked down; it is how many times you get back up”.

It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,

There were so many ups and downs in my trip.

I accidentally left my down feather jacket on the bus to Tiger Leaping Gorge and with my recent lung infection and weakened immunity it did not help that we were heading further and further into the cold but the owner of the guesthouse was kind enough to lend me hers.

I originally travelled to Deqin (north of Yunnan) with my four friends but as I had just recovered from a lung related illness, my body did not cope well being at 3000 feet above sea level. It was hard for me to breathe and any slight movement I made, my heart would thump a hundred times in disagreement. I was scared, I didn’t know if I could make it through that first night’s sleep. The next day I took a sleeper bus to Dali which was the beginning of my solo travels and my friends went higher into the mountains. I arrived at 2 am in Dali and immediately made a big group of friends outside a bar and for the next five days I was meeting new people and seeing new things each day.

As Xishuangbanna was about to have to water splashing festival, all the accommodation prices rose 3-4 times and I was in no means to pay 300-500 for a night of accommodation.

I found a hostel that allowed me to sleep on their couch for the first night and had a bed for the second.

It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair

Sometimes things can really get you down and make you mentally weak, it’s easy to let the darkness creep in and envelop you but with the support from your friends and family you can get out of that dark place and remember how beautiful life is and how much more you have to see and experience. This trip was a mentally rigorous trip but I’m glad I embarked on it. I have learnt so much about myself, about the fascinating hosteling culture in China, about Chinese people and about the possibilities in this world.

The world is your oyster if you let it be.