Yes, this is another blog article on my travels.

I’ve been traveling a lot and it’s been relieving. I reflect a lot at the end of each trip. I’m someone who finds purpose in things and these articles really help me to collect my thoughts.

Here’s What Happened

I really didn’t want to have expectations for my trip. Lots of people told me that Budapest is fun, so, I kinda hoped for that. Budapest is known for its parties, nightlife and hostels.

However, I wanted to keep an open mind about Budapest.

Budapest was calmer than my trip to Prague (I swear, no trip will beat that one). I met up with a former colleague, Yana, and this girl makes me laugh. She’s a weirdo just like me and we’re really on the same wave length.

We booked our stay at The Hive which has over 300 beds. It’s the 3rd largest hostel in Europe. I wanted to meet new people but everyone seemed to be doing their own thing at The Hive. I don’t suggest it for socializing but it’s really affordable. Four nights cost me €20. Insane!

Yana and I went to parties so we did manage to hang out with some new people. Instant had seven dance floors and Morrison’s 2 is known with Erasmus students on Mondays. The parties felt like Paceville, just different. People are what makes parties fun.

And we also toured the city. We got to visit:

• St. Peter’s Basilica
• The Fisherman’s Bastion
• The Hungarian National Museum
• The National Art Gallery
• The Hungarian Parliament

There’s lots to see. The city itself is easy to walk around. The streets are organized. The buildings aren’t sky-high and they’ve got an old look to them. The city isn’t congested; it’s spacious. There’s plenty of stores but the city doesn’t look too commercial.

Yana and I also got to do some thrifting and oh lord… Our bags were packed. I suggest going to Cream, Humana and Szputnyik.

How Do I Feel

Budapest was a great 4-day getaway. It doesn’t matter that it wasn’t as wild as I wanted it to be. I got to visit another city and see its beauty. I got to hang out with Yana. And I had a lot of laughs.

Visiting these European cities and staying at hostels has made me meet a lot of back-packers, party guides and hostel workers. I sometimes wish I was them. That I could visit different cities or work at a hostel, meet new people and party. To not have responsibilities or have attachment to materialistic things. To not have to worry about where my life or my career is heading. To not have to worry about everyday stuff.

I wish I could cut myself off from work-life and be a back-packer. I want to try it for a month to experience how it feels but I know I wouldn’t be able to be a full-time traveler for the rest of my life.

I want to have a home base, a routine, stability and a steady income. I want to work on my career and achieve things. I want to constantly improve my life.

Although I admire full-time travelers, I also feel that they aren’t concerned about where they’re headed. They live in ‘the now’ which is amazing but doesn’t life get boring if you’re just constantly at the same stage in your life? Moving from one place to the other but really, are you going anywhere except physically?

I do wonder if back-packers are running away from something. Is it reality? Or responsibility? Or work-life? And is that healthy? Being a back-packer means that you don’t get to have any attachment or strong friendships with the people you meet on your journey too. Plus, constantly living in hostels isn’t fun.

I think that at some point, traveling all the time can make one feel too mundane – all the glamour and fun related to travel eventually fades away.

Sometimes I feel that I am a person of contrasts. I want to travel and city-hop but also want to live in one place and have stability. I don’t want to have 9 to 5 job but I also hate working online. I’m a reserved person on the daily but when I’m having fun, I can be wild. The list could go on.

My point is, I’m still figuring out shit. I’m still figuring out if I want to move and live somewhere new or city-hop for a while. One of my mom’s cousins who’s 60 once told me that he’s still figuring it out too. But really, I think the point of life is to just live in ‘the now‘.

Life doesn’t have purpose except to live – we give things purpose because as human beings, it makes us feel better.

So, we’re all figuring it out as we go along. I really don’t know how this year is looking for me. Things can really change but I’m not too concerned. What’s for sure is that I’m going to keep traveling in small doses.

To where and how it will look is still a blur.

Aaaand I’m going to keep working towards achieving in life.

There are things that I want to get done and to be able to do so, you need to suffer and work hard. That’s what makes the peak of your success worth suffering for.

I’m good at where my life is at right now. What is to come will come naturally.

So, Budapest was great. It was nice to be away from Malta. It was nice to remind myself that there’s a world of opportunity out there. And it was nice to feel the still cold.

Stay tuned for my next travel article… only two weeks away!