Giedrė’s story: “No one is holding you back.- it’s yourself. Overcome the fear, and everything that you are worrying about will solve itself.” – Mènuo

Meet Giedre; traveling has been a big part of her life ever since she was a child, and when she got married, she found a travel buddy.
After marriage, Giedrė and her husband lived in the Netherlands. Before they made the decision to travel, Giedrė was working a very stressful job. One morning she asked her husband about the idea of just quitting everything and traveling. He was, from the beginning, amazed and totally supportive. Now they are full-time travelers throughout Asia.

Tell us your story.

My name is Giedrė, and I am 30 years old. I was born and raised in Lithuania until I was eight years old. At that age, I had to face a big and hard change in my life – moving to Germany and integrating into this new country, language, and culture. This event has affected me till now. Since the move, I have been traveling a lot – to my home country, for school exchanges, to see family members elsewhere in Europe, or later than for Erasmus. Traveling has been part of my life since I was a child, and as I got married, I found a travel buddy. After marriage, we lived in the Netherlands for three years, after that, a year in Iceland, and for three months, we were full-time travelers throughout Asia. Our plan is to travel for half a year, but as I can say, our journey will most likely continue for some more time.

What was your life looked like before? Why did you decide to change it?

Before we made the decisiondecided to travel, I had a very stressful job in the Netherlands. The speed of living made me sick. People in the Netherlands have a very strongrobust working culture. When you ask them: How are you? They will always answer: druk, druk, druk. Which means – busy, busy, busy. After several mental breakdowns, black outs, tears, and just an inability to wake up in the morning, I asked my husband about my idea to just quit everything and travel. He was, from the beginning, amazed and totally supportive.

What were the biggest lessons you learned on the trip? What did you understand about yourself?

I am still in the process of finding out who I am as a person and what my mission on this planet is. I know that I want to help, to and contribute with my to this world by being positive, but I still haven’t found out how exactly I want to do it.

Do you feel your life has turned out differently than you previously thought? Maybe you found yourself different from when what you always thought?.

I never thought I would be that brave and strong to do what I am doing now. I was dreaming about it, but I never actually thought that this would be my reality one day. This shows me that if you want something immensely, you will always find a way to achieve it. Maybe the way or the path will be different as than you thought, but somehow you achieve the goal.

What would you do differently if you could go back to the beginning?

I would not waste any more time and just do it earlier. I had too many excuses and reasons not to quit my stable job and just do what I wanted, but I was just afraid.

If someone is secretly dreaming about the lifestyle you are living now, what would you tell them?

Don’t wait any longer,- just do it! No one is holding you back, – it’s yourself. Overcome the fear, and everything that you are worrying about will solve itself.

Is it scary to go on the adventure of a lifetime?

It is super scary.

What was happening in your head?

I had so many negative thoughts about what could go wrong. In the beginning, I thought I didn’t deserve it and that a tragedy would happen (kind of sacrifice has to happen).The first week of our trip to Thailand, I was so afraid to rent a scooter because I thought one of us would die or we would have an accident.

What are the most amazing things about living here?

The most amazing thing is to meet all the loving and caring people that have more or less the same desires, wishes, and fears.

Living the way you live. What was the hardest thing in this whole experience?

We are backpacking; the hardest thing is when your body does not want as you wish. Heat stroke and i had a fever, chickenpox, and a super bad cold. Besides that, the hardest thing is to miss all the important life events of family and friends back home. I still have a feeling of guilt for not being around them.

What would you suggest for people dreaming about this lifestyle?

Set a realistic goal, make a plan, save money, and just do it.

What are the first steps in preparation?

Inform your family and friends as soon as possible about your plans and keep on talking and reminding them that this is really going to happen. The second thing is to save money. The third thing is to get rid of all the material things – flat, furniture, cloth, etc. Then buy a backpack and a one-way ticket – this is the moment when it becomes real.

What are your next steps? Is there any adventure you are planning?

After my stay in Indonesia, I will spend a month in Vietnam. The plan after that is to visit some more countries in Asia, like: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and India.
The first thing I did after my adventure in Asia was go back to Germany & Lithuania to see my family and friends.

You can follow Meda’s adventure on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giedrex
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@norimtaidarom