Backpacking around Europe

I was reading the Star online today, trying to catch up on the latest news happening around the country, when I came across an interesting article to note. It was about two cyclists who were on a mission to pedal around the world for peace and love. Have you ever wondered whether you could do such a thing? This made me think for a while. I have seen quite a number of people doing this kind of activity, some travel on bikes, some by car and even some by sailboat. I have always wondered if I could do it, I mean, drop everything, drop all responsibilities and go around the world on a bike or maybe go backpacking and living around Europe or around the world for that matter. Just thinking about it gives me chills, yet excitement at the same time. I always wondered, how do these people live and from where do they get their incomes.

I think most Malaysians as a whole are sometimes sceptical about doing this kind of activities. It just amazes me at how some Americans or Europeans can do it without even thinking twice about it, they just drop everything and move from one country to another, doing odd jobs and at the same time learning about the different cultures in that particular country. While I was on a visit to Cherating beach in Kuantan, Pahang, about 2 years back, I met a swiss couple who sold off all their belongings and came to Malaysia to open up a beach pub. They planned to be in Kuantan for a few years, after that move on to another country. I think most Malaysians, including me, are afraid of quitting our jobs and doing things like this since we are afraid, that if we do that, then we might be losing our income, which in turn means that we cannot buy a car, cannot buy a house which basically means we cannot get married. Yeap, the basic needs for a couple to get married in Malaysia during these modern days are you must have a car and you must have a house. Sad that materialistic stuff like cars and houses are driving us to live rather than us living to do what we love. Nevertheless, there are exceptions among Malaysians of course, one being Datuk Azhar Mansor, the man who sailed around the world alone on his sailboat for about 8 months if I am not mistaken. Now, this guy is really amazing. I am still wondering how in the world did he managed to pulled that feat off. My hats off to him. Anyway, I do hope that someday, I will be able to just drop everything, and go backpacking around Europe to learn about the different countries and the different cultures followed by backpacking around Australia and the picturesque New Zealand… dream, dream, dream. But then again, things are easier said than done right? :-)