Before you go.

First, you are faced with the incredulity of your loved ones who clearly don’t see the main purpose of this new travel idea. (I am not talking about fancy hotel trips here! There are nice though, from time to time, don't get me wrong!) Often you don’t just jet off like this as most people think. There is almost every time a quest, a thirst to satisfy.

So you start thinking of this newly found purpose - aka the trip - and you become obsess with it, nothing and no one can really stop you at this point.

But leaving your comfort zone is not easy, far from it. Especially after you settled for a while. I traveled to many famous places, slept in many hotels, hostels, people's sofa. When you are on the go, it seems easy. You see, you almost have a routine. At some point I was changing location every three days. Once you get into the habit of something, it becomes natural. You reach your comfort zone again.

But once you stop, it's hard to get back on the road. You get back to your settled habits quite quickly to be fair. And it takes every ounce of courage to pack that bag again and leave for the unknown. You know you've done it, you know you can do it, but at same time you don't want to leave. So trust me, at this point just book the god damn plane ticket without thinking.

People will ask you why you are going there. They will project their fears on you. They are likely to tell you you are crazy to go by yourself. Here are the answers: I do not want to have a croissant every morning when I travel (I am French, a croissant is mandatory), I don’t want to speak my language, I want to learn a new way of thinking, of doing certain things, of speaking, I want to try new foods.

This is what a traveler seeks, a new approach to life. So how is it in other parts of the world? Far away, mysterious lands, have always fascinated mankind. We, travellers, do not seek superficiality, we are looking for connection with others, for discovery, for limits to be broken.

I do not travel to just visit. I want to live like the locals as much as possible, I want to share their daily life, create habits in a new town, incorporate a new culture to my life, open my minds to new ways of doing, of seeing the world. This is why going somewhere has to be more than just a holiday vacation.

As the day of the big move arrives, most people think we are the happiest, it is actually the saddest day. Saying goodbye to everyone, reading the fears and the worries in their eyes is not easy.

Plus, we do not talk about it, but we are scared. It's human, you just gotta learn to embrace it. We wonder what the hell went through our mind when we had this new obsession. The challenge you will face is what actually make you go through this phase of doubt.

Once you land on the unknown territory, your happiness shot is gonna kick in and you'll know, you made the right choice, relieved you did not listen to your fear (or anyone else as a matter of fact). And that my friend, it's the hardest part of the trip. The rest will just be a more or less smooth ride with the anecdotes along the way.

Follow my journey here in Central Asia, as I am going to spend 2 months there.