Friday 26 July 2013

Extraordinary people from ordinary life

One of great things from travelling overseas is meeting people from everywhere. Engaging with people from different countries, different age groups, different religions and different social status happens very naturally during the travel. Funny enough we seem to be more approachable and opener to each other while we are travelling. 

Very unfortunately, my husband and I were born and grown up in our mother lands (Czech Republic and South Korea) and moved to Australia after university, it has been very hard for us to get stronger relationship or friendship which we could obtain our younger age. Therefore, we have been feeling that there are something missing especially, deep connection with people even though we are settling quite well in the new society in the new country. So meeting new people and learning about their life stories while travelling is like the cherry on the cake to us.

Before we started our trip, I arrogantly thought about us as special people who want to live extraordinary life but I am learning that there are plenty of people who are already living their dreams and the fact opens my eyes and mind more widely. It is such a privilege to meet people who are out of their comfort zone and enjoying their lives under their own wishes as much as they can. We all know how hard to break out common perspective and social ideology on our ordinary/standard life and try to lead and live differently so I cannot stop admiring people who live extraordinary life. 

Shelly and Richard are one of them who we met in Bali and I would like to share with you about their extraordinary life choice. They were staying at the same hotel, Yulia Beach Inn and we started talking to each other one morning by chance. Actually, they are still in the hotel and planning to stay in Bali for 3 more months (total of 7 months). They're ordinary Australian retirees and spending extraordinary lifetime in Bali. They worked hard and saved diligently while they were younger and now enjoying their life in the paradise (according to their comment) .I could not believe that how positive and open minded they are to the new culture and people from all over the world. They even started learning local language to be closer to the local people. Learning how to use computer to communicate with their family and thousands of friends in the world at age 65 was incredibly impressive to me. When many of their age friends are dare to try anything new, they have taken a big step to make their life exciting and enjoyable at a new place. 

I could easily see how happy they are when they can enjoy every single day with new people and unforgettable experiences. We have exchanged our contact details including email addresses so we can keep in touch with each other wherever we are.

I am glad that we have a chance to meet such a lovely couple who are still in love after 43 years of marriage. They showed us how important to have positive attitudes and openness to new experiences. Also, learning how to interact with new people and make them comfortable from them are priceless education to us. They knew what they wanted to do and where to be, made the decision, and took action to get what they want. When we checked out, they were lying down next to each other at the swimming pool and reading books peacefully. I wish them the best luck on their health and time in Bali. Who knows we may have a chance to visit them in Australia. 

I am sitting in the airplane on the way to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam at the moment. I believe that we will have countless opportunities to meet the extraordinary people during our journey in Vietnam and I cannot wait for sharing the exciting experience with you. So, be ready....

2 comments:

Rhino said...

Jealous!!! Show us your tan!!!

Unknown said...

Hey, Ryan. How are you? I am absolutely well and happy as you can see. I am so dark now that Cambodians think I am one of them. hahaha... I will show myself soon....