Easter Island was a place I had long dreamed of visiting – not seriously, of course. It was far too far away for someone in Malaysia. It was destined to be one of those dreams you never act upon. I didn’t even know that it had a local name, Rapa Nui.
But I hadn’t reckoned on the rise of online travel platforms, the growth of the budget airline industry, worldwide digital mapping, smartphone translators, and the share economy. And so, at the time in my life when I was ready to flip my mindset upside down, and asked myself, ‘What if I did the places at the bottom of my bucket list, first?’, it was suddenly feasible to really go to Easter Island.
Emboldened by my experience with semi-unplanned travel in Nepal and India, I went with only a loose plan, greatly daring. Releasing the pressure of FOMO, I vowed to be content with whatever that the destination allowed me to see. <
I found Rapa Nui to be an excellent host indeed.
Additional stories published by others:
On Travelmag | The Independent Spirit:
Easter Island: Sculptures by the Sea
Was I the First Malay on Easter Island?
On Written From Travel: Comparing Mountains at Rano Raraku
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I guess I have a sympathy for refugees since I’m descended from exiles. You can tell from where, and the rank, from my twitter name.
#TejaSundayVisiting French Polynesia all by myself was a bold decision, because my French is... 'not fluent' 😄 . I only felt capable of chancing it because I somehow managed to fumble my way through Chile, with an equally 'not fluent' Spanish.
But I met a French-speaking American Couchsurfer because I was looking for information on the street art that's supposed to be around Pape'ete, and so was he. We spent the day looking for street art around the city, and when we were done, he dragged me out to the food trucks for dinner by the harbour when I was tempted to give in to my jet lag.
Thanks Jon :) ... See MoreSee Less
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Jon Rosenberger 🙂
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