9 months in South east Asia (almost) without flying

After two months of field work in central Java of Indonesia I stayed for another three months in Indonesia witnessing the deforestation of rainforest in Sumatra among other things. I went to Malaysia by ferry and traveled by hitchhiking to Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia. 

It’s absolutely possible to travel for a long time without flying, every flight you skip counts! Even if you went there by flying, still be conscious about how you move around within a country or how crossing borders. My 9 months in South-east Asia was also a great opportunity to connect with local people. I used couch-surfing a lot. I had a simple life on a small budget and most of my days I read and just embrace the pure essence of existence.

The happiest year of my life so far.

Oversea migration in Indonesia

My bachelor thesis in economics was funded by Sida as a minor field study about oversea migration in Indonesia. I went there to interview migrant workers about the socio-economic reasons for migration. I stayed in rural parts of central Java and learned a lot about the culture of Indonesia.

It was impressing to see how established the market was of oversea migration and how much differences the remittances had on the local peoples livelihood.

After the thesis I traveled for another three months in Indonesia and it’s really a very interesting country.