After six months of non-stop fun in Thailand, we moved to Vietnam. Gone are the palm-sized cockroaches (we even started naming them!), mosquitoes (Vietnam, what did you do to the mosquitoes?), and those cute little geckos that always lifted our spirits. But something new appeared in our lives. What exactly? Oh, six interesting things!
1. Creativity, more creativity
In Da Nang, we have (wow!) three big rooms and a full balcony (unlike the tiny studio in Phuket). But now we’re practically getting evicted: playdough, clay, paints, coloring books, markers, and colored paper have taken over. From early morning until late at night (with breaks for meals and school), we’re drying flowers, gluing, cutting, drawing, and sculpting — why?
Here’s the sad part. In Thailand, our 7-year-old daughter spent most of her time outside with her wild gang of neighborhood friends. Here… she’s alone. At first, she was upset, but then she asked us to buy more brushes, sketchbooks, and… well, off we went. Now we have a constantly changing art exhibit on our walls (and shelves, couches, floors, and even the fridge!).
2. Homemade food is the best!
At first, we were too lazy to cook and decided to try all the street food Vietnam had to offer. We’ve never ordered so much takeout before! We had Korean, Vietnamese, Indian, and Mexican food in all sorts of boxes. And how did it end? Yep, disappointment. It’s not that it was bad, but it just lacked that special touch. Homemade food, even the simplest kind, is always made with love, so we stopped being lazy and started cooking again. Especially since the kitchen here is so nice. Lots of greens, salads, chicken, bread (yes!), rice, and we’ve recently gotten hooked on fried tofu and Korean kimchi. Superfoods!
3. No more wine, beer, just water!
Ta-da! We’re pretty much alcohol-free now, though we didn’t make any official announcements. It’s tricky in Asia because it’s so hot, and you just crave the sound of a cold beer can opening — such a perfect drink! Not too sweet, goes with everything, feels light… But here’s the catch: after a beer, we just wanted to sleep. Heat + early southern sunset + exhaustion from busy days = dinner, then straight to bed. We realized alcohol really lowers productivity. All you want to do is lie in front of the TV and yawn, and that’s not the kind of evening we enjoy. There are better things to do! So now it’s sparkling water + ice + natural juice — refreshing, not too sweet, and it energizes instead of relaxing. Just what we need!
4. Shells in the closet (instead of skeletons)
When did we last buy clothes? Hmm, tough one. In our Vietnamese apartment, we have several spacious closets with drawers, but instead of clothes, we store shells in them. We have a few t-shirts, shorts, and flip-flops. What else do we need? Overconsumption? Never heard of it. Fewer things, more freedom. We just open the drawers and listen to the ocean in the shells instead of our own thoughts saying, “I have nothing to wear.”
5. Heat is awesome. And so is rain!
We arrived in Vietnam at the peak of a heatwave. Every morning, day, and evening, we whined, “When will this heat end?” Then it ended. And the rains came. The sky was covered in clouds, and it poured nonstop. We started whining, “When will this rain end?” — until we began laughing at ourselves. And once we finished laughing, we grabbed an umbrella and went for a walk in the rain.
Life doesn’t stop for a second! Lying on the beach is great, but so is walking barefoot in puddles. And wearing a scarf while strolling in the snow is amazing too. We are the creators of our mood. Being light-hearted magicians feels way better than being grumpy ones — proven by experience.
6. Wanting things is important.
Right after moving from Thailand, we were hit by a wave of apathy and exhaustion. We didn’t want to do anything. Read a book? Why? Start creative projects? For what? Learn something new? What’s the point?
These phases happen to everyone, no doubt. But they end as unpredictably as they begin. Actually, we decide when they end (I’d rather say “finish them off,” it fits perfectly, pew pew). After such black-and-white periods, it becomes clear how important it is to want things — dream, desire. That’s the most important thing. You don’t need to have everything; you need to want things. To have a goal, a spark, a drive.
We had our share of feeling down, being bored, and grumbling, but then we got tired of it. It’s like getting out of bed after the flu. You just get up, make the bed, and start putting yourself — and your life — back in order.
Our life will be in order as long as we have dreams and desires. We haven’t even left this trip yet, but we’re already dreaming of the next one. We haven’t finished admiring the South China Sea, and we’re already imagining new oceans. We want to keep traveling, flying, exploring — and making a cozy home whenever we feel like it again. We want again, woohoo!
And that means we’re back on track.
