My 2019 in Review

2019 has been a wild ride, and I want to make a post commemorating such a great year! The year started on the tropical crystal island of Koh Phangan in Thailand, where I was volunteering at an Samma Karuna, an Awakening and Healing School. I entered the new year at a conscious sober NYE intention setting ceremony with beautiful souls, with a Breath-work followed by a cacao ritual that led into an Ecstatic Dance.

After Koh Phangan, I flew off to India to meet a friend and have an adventure around Northern India (Amritsar, Rishikesh, Jaipur, Pushkar, Johdpur, Delhi, Agra, and Varanasi). Afterwards I flew south to Hyderabad, Hampi, and Goa. I got stuck in Goa for a few weeks because I found a Noname, an Organic Sustainable Community and stayed there, celebrating Holi and meeting so much amazing people! Finally I finished my time in India with a trip down to Kerala(Kochi, Allapey, Munnar), and Mumbai, I flew off to Europe.

I visited old friends in Amsterdam ,Budapest and Vienna, I settled into a new apartment in Belgrade for a month. Little did I know I would end up falling in love with the city, and ended up staying almost 4.5 months there this year!

After some time in Serbia, I went on a 3 month journey to Russia, Latvia, Belarus, and Ukraine to get to know my roots and speak some Russian. I was shocked by the beauty in Moscow, walking the sophisticated streets of Riga, and getting to know Minsk on a very intimate level, thanks to my local friends. Ukraine was freaking incredible too, with Kyiv being a city I am dying to go back to!

I found myself gravitated to Berlin after Eastern Europe for the freedom and crazy parties, but didn’t like the city at first. I didn’t get into the clubs, and felt rejected. But after making some friends and getting to know the culture better, I found myself captivated by the Techno clubs there. I left to Dublin and then Toronto just as I started liking Berlin. Spent some time back with family, and then flew off back to Belgrade.

Belgrade the second time was even better then the first. Since I already had friends and a community in Serbia, I eased back into the European lifestyle in the city I love so much. From the parties to the streets, the nature, people, culture, comfort, friendliness, I see a home in Belgrade. Much love to my Serbian Beogradski Crew where I’m the only foreigner(except for Peter, but you’re Serbian enough for me to feel like the only foreigner haha).

As Europe was getting colder, I fled to warmer and spicier lands: Thailand! Arrived to Bangkok and spend a few days exploring the metropolis deeper. Then I came back to my second home of Chiang Mai. This is my third winter coming(in a row!) and I love the ease and culture of this city. Here I’m getting back into a more productive routine, reconnecting with old friends, and making some new. Reconnecting with old friends was so wonderful, seeing how we’ve all changed in this last year.

Although my life was full of adventure across three continents, I am most thankful the the lovely people in my life. You all make me come alive! I hope this post inspires you to see more of the world next year, if you aren’t doing it already. It is by far the most incredible aspect of my life, and I can’t recommend it enough. I hear many excuses as to why people can’t travel: It’s expensive, unsafe, and they have nobody to go with them. Well, many countries are cheap where meals cost less then $1 and accommodation can be as low as $3-$5 per night. Most of Asia and Central/Eastern Europe is very safe, much safer then American cities for example. And travelling solo is the most exciting and least lonely thing I can do, meeting people along the way. It is SO easy to meet other travellers.

I am not sure what the next year will bring, but I am hella excited! The next country I am going to is Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 where I’ll be surfing in Weligama with Johnny’s imported Nomad Crew, and then eventually heading towards Europe through Tbilisi, Georgia or Baku, Azerbaijan. I’m itching to go to Israel, back to Serbia and Ukraine, and visit Mexico or South America at some point in this coming year.

This year I went to: Thailand, Malaysia, India, Netherlands, Hungary, Austria, Serbia, Romania, Macedonia, Russia, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine, Germany, Ireland, Canada, Croatia, and Slovenia,