It’s hard to know where to begin. This journey has been stewing and bubbling for quite a few years. But today, or whatever day it is right now, it officially got under way. As I sit here in South Korea it’s still light out- but it’s also more than a day later than when I left Port Townsend- and I’ve yet to experience night since I left.

The truth is that this journey began several years ago. In order to finally bring it to fruition, I had to say some incredibly difficult goodbyes and let go of people, places and things that I really didn’t want to release. The universe finally got through to me, I guess, so several weeks ago I finally bought a plane ticket to Bangkok. One way. Go big or go home, right? It took me a while to settle on SE Asia as my destination, but in the end, I knew I needed to go somewhere that seemed totally foreign.

In the days leading up to this trip, I struggled to describe even to myself what I was feeling. It was a mix of relief at feeling like I’ve finally let go of lost love, excitement for totally new and unknown experience, anxiety for the same reason, a bit of fear, and probably a host of other emotions that escape me right now. But above all, I think, is the surety I felt knowing that this is exactly what I needed in my life right now. And there was never going to be a better time to do it.

I still have a 6 hour plane ride to go “today,” but I got the big 11+ hour leg of the trip out of the way without too much discomfort or fuss. I’ll surely be (even more) delirious by the time I get to Bangkok in another 8 hours. And then in a couple more, I’ll hopefully get myself into a bed.