I remember asking my parents for a big globe for my birthday when I was about ten. I wanted to look at continents, oceans and all the different features of our planet.
When we started geography at school, I learned where every country was. I could even find somewhere like Burkina Faso without any trouble.
I had one of those books along the lines of “100 Cities Around the World You Have to Visit.” I kept rereading it and looking through the photos.
I also grew up watching the travel show “Heads and Tails.” When they launched their round-the-world season, I completely lost it.
One thought settled in my head: how amazing would it be to leave somewhere with one suitcase, no return ticket, and the goal of seeing the whole world?
A trip that was supposed to last two weeks
I’m from St Petersburg, and my parents started showing me the world when I was still a child. We travelled around Europe a lot, and I think that was probably when the desire to see even more first appeared.
But my first truly independent trip began in August 2023.
At first, the plan seemed pretty straightforward: one week in Turkey, then one week in Georgia and an Imagine Dragons concert.
But something did not go according to plan.
When I arrived in Georgia, I decided to stay for another month, and then extended it for another two weeks. That was where I met my future best friend, who invited me to go to Montenegro with her.
After Georgia, we went there for another month.
So the trip that was supposed to last two weeks ended up stretching into two and a half months. During that time, I visited Turkey, Georgia and Montenegro.
When I returned to St Petersburg, I almost immediately bought a ticket to Phuket and left for Asia with that very suitcase.
After that, everything started snowballing: Phuket, Sri Lanka, a short return to St Petersburg, Georgia again, and more new trips.
You could say I have been travelling since childhood. But for the last three years, I have been travelling independently, almost without a plan, and living in this constant movement nearly non-stop.
Now, to be fair, there are already two and a half suitcases.
Travel has somehow become part of who I am. As you can see, I have always been drawn to discovering the world.
For me, travel is about freedom
About the chance to discover yourself through different cultures and situations. About learning something from local people.
For example, friendliness from Brazilians, calmness from Thai people, and that drive to achieve from people in Dubai.
And if I’m being completely open, every trip also brings joy and comfort to my inner child.
If little Dasha had known that one day I would see penguins in the wild or go hang-gliding over Rio, just like in the animated movie, she would have collapsed from happiness.
Where the hell is home anyway?
I genuinely consider myself a travel fanatic.
To some extent, maybe it is not entirely normal that I never really want to go back home. And where the hell is home anyway?
But I’m very happy that there are more and more people like me now. We can find each other, come together and share our experiences.
Otherwise, I might already be lying in a psychiatric ward somewhere in Cambodia 🙂
She unexpectedly found herself in Brazil and now lives here, sharing stories about a country she never thought she would choose.
