Rewind 1 year backwards, we were still working our heads off our daily routines jobby in Singapore!
At the same time feeling excited about our ventures ahead! Because we packed our bags and headed home! We gently kissed Goodbye our Corporate Dress and Shoes. It was a mixture of bitter sweet feelings. After 5 years in the Corporate no-full-stop-only-comma life, everyday is an exciting run! It is a Love-Hate Relationship; how we Hated it in the morning pinching our butt to leave our love for life (dear bed) and Loved checking our bank account come end of every month (pay is out!).
But… we chose to end this Love-Hate Relationship.
We got ready for a plan brewing behind for loooong. The Work & Holiday plan to The Aussie Land!
SO the first BIG question here: Why make such reckless decision? That’s not what an ambitious Asian should do during your prime age lah!
Look at The Career Advancement. The Money Money Money 2.8 times lea! The Stability!!!
5 years spent in Singapore, we climbed upway, sideway, noway and anyway trying to reach some point, where some called the “stable stage”. With considerable decent pay $$, right time to apply Permanent Residence in Singapore, settle down, commit to mortgages and the list goes on.
We QUIT! We moved everything back to Malaysia. Giving up the long list. Yah..Why??
Why go? Why quit? Why so dumb? Why such a waste? Why? Why……….Why?
Why plan for Work & Holiday to begin with? Do you feel a missed in life despite the growing figure in your Bank Account sometimes? Does your mind wander more than 10x7x8 times a day thinking about getaway and keep scrolling travel images? Do you feel like everything is annoying?
No specific intelligent answers. Maybe it sounded like this:
“We left on a quest to self discovery that spurred us out of our quotidian life and into the world of opportunities.”
Or
“To spend some quality time with family being a devoted daughter and caring friend. Before heading out again!”
Which one sounded better? There are no rocket science answers to feelings and emotions isn’t it? With some balance in between, We just do it!
Well, we have been sailing out for study, for work, for the past 10 years we were always outside. Our first independent travel trip to Europe was during University time. At that time, we were very excited about the 2 weeks trip to 8 or 9 countries across Europe. But now that I thought about them, they were all vague memories of places and things. The real quick touch and go, spending most of our time crossing borders in Coaches to squeeeeeeze everything in that 2 weeks.
It is like a Chinese saying: “分明马上看花，但过眼即忘，何尝在意。” (look at flowers while riding a horse; gain a shallow understanding from a fleeting glance)
Then we spent 2 months living in London by ourselves. We did not have a long lists of to-do and to-visit places because we have limited funds and didn’t want to waste the expensive and long hours flight since we were already there. So we lived normally, visiting parks, having lunch with pigeons, walking around the neighbourhood, and so forth. No proud checked list but we enjoyed the kind of soaking into different cultures and lifestyles. But at that time, we were less courageous and poor. So after a nice 2 months, we packed our bags and gently shelved the memories in our “a little” bigger heart.
Now…we are a little bit more courageous. So, we quit and have spent 7 months at home. That was actually one of the most valuable decision thus far too. People call this a career break?
We enjoyed the family moment of simple gardening time, going to the market together, having breakfast, lunch and dinner together for no random occasions… they were priceless. Personally, I’ve also gained a Momentos worth a life long memory with my beloved Gong Gong (grandpa in Chinese).
Well…come back to the topic, some may say we can move back forever if it was just about friends and family time. The irony in fact worked it’s miracle the other way round. We learned to appreciate friends and family time more through our travelling and sailing out.
Like a saying, we never appreciate if it was always there until we lose it.
We love the balance of maintaining the appreciation of beloved peoples and exploring life outside. Gaining a rich (unfortunately fortunate not in the pocket or bank account) life in experience, in meeting different peoples and cultures, in so much beyond the cubicle, beyond books, beyond luxury vacations in hotels and much more.
Then we will come home again bringing a bigger pumping heart. Because we truly grow (not literally horizontally, hopefully) when we stayed out. We learn some of the hardest things in some most cherishable ways.
What is the Grand Plan?
A journey to places to see and live differently. Singapore was all comfortable and convenient that we called our second home already. But, we now chose to live a life where we need to search for accommodations and jobs in every 2 to 4 weeks. Instead of sitting comfortably in that cooling aircond of pampering seat dressing professionally, what are we doing in the kitchen, in the toilet, in the farm?
“Being too comfortable could be uncomfortable”.
Because, somehow we were lost. We were unsure. We lose our directions, we were uncertain where were we heading to. Sometimes, being too comfortable could be uncomfortable. Feeling lifeless, tired, frustrated, agitated and upset…you name it. I often dream about being on the grass field, dancing freely, smiling at the sky and talking to the animals (maybe this is a dream of Cinderella or Snow White) while writing about this.With inspirations by many other Traveller’s Blogpost.
Discontent is the first necessity of progress. – Thomas A. Edison
So, we decided to leave the $$, luxury and comfort for sleeping in a tent, scrubbing the floors, cleaning the loo, bending in the farm regardless of rain or shine in exchange of finding that true smile from the bottom of our heart and the feeling to gallop when we walk!
First stop, we chose the biggest part of Australia – The Western Australia!
“This is something we can only do while we can afford it – in terms of age, commitments and mindset. In exchange of watching different lifestyles. Breathing different cultures. Galloping when we walk. Broadening our mind and heart! Before we ground ourselves again, somewhere over the Rainbow with a bigger smile and heart!”
The world is so much bigger than just the view from a coconut shell (seperti katak di bawah tempurung – a malay proverb). But we are not saying that we should all stop working and go travel tomorrow! There are lots of planning and sacrifice to make. To be real, we had lots of rough times too. Lots of self discipline required and we have bumped into many uncertainties. Not just the fabricated:
Quit your job and travel.
Pack your bag and GO!
We will share more in details on how we tried to overcome them.
“Uncertainty means Opportunity!”
ACMomentos 
[…] 100kg x2!! This is not a getaway vacation, it is not meant to be easy and relaxing. We talked about quitting from staying comfortable. Leaving our secure Corporate job diving into an ocean of some people call uncertainty, we try to […]
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[…] 100kg x2!! This is not a getaway vacation, it is not meant to be easy and relaxing. We talked about quitting from staying comfortable. Leaving our secure Corporate job diving into an ocean of some people call uncertainty, we try to […]
LikeLike