Travel story: Introduction Chapter

Introduction

Nov, 2014
New York City, USA

It was rather a windy afternoon on a late Autumn day with the cold wind blowing southwest from the Hudson River. The deciduous oak and maple trees lined up along the Jane Street sidewalk surrendered themselves to the forceful wind by shedding their bright yellow and orange leaves back to earth. I was taking a break from work to get some fresh air. The sound of the rustling leaves underneath my feet felt refreshing to my ears. Walking with some deep thoughts about my job and personal life, I couldn’t resist the feeling of the inevitable winter that was about to commence soon. Winter in New York is both long and harsh. I wanted to leave my mundane job and the hectic New York lifestyle behind me. My plan was to take a year off and backpack around the world. It would be a tectonic shift in my life. But there was just one major roadblock to achieving this dream. The eCommerce site that I was helping to manage was supposed to go live a few months earlier but got delayed a few times. I had been waiting patiently like a fisherman waiting for a fish to take the bait. As soon as the client approved, I would be able to sublet my apartment and book my flight tickets. It took a few extra months to get all the remaining pieces of the site functionality tightened up for client approval. When the final blessing came from the client to launch the site a week before the Christmas season, I felt a sound of joy inside me. I immediately booked my tickets to Vientiane, Laos!