Happy new year! Bonne annee! Feliz anio nuevo 2014!!!

Dear friends,

My apologies for the delay in sending you my new year's wishes. Traveling back and forth between India and Morocco and not having access to internet has not been helping.

In any case, I would like to wish for al of you an absolutely fantastic 2014. May it be beyond all your expectation and may it make 2013 feel like a boring and bad year.

2013 has been such a spectacular year for me.

I started the year by taking a hard and drastic decision to end my employment with LVMH where I had spent two unbelievably challenging yet insightful years learning about the luxury world but more importantly about sales, marketing, finance, and overall business. 

I must admit that turning 33 years old in March was an excuse I used in order to make all the key decisions of that year. Quit my job, and backpack across Asia. What a grand way to celebrate such a trivial day. But I do not regret one second the choices I have made.

I became the uncle (for the first time) of a beautiful little Lola on June 5th. Such a quiet and joyful baby. And my sister is expecting a little boy for this coming May!

I met such amazing people since the beginning of my trip and really rediscovered the beauty of friendships and human being interactions. 
Rebeka, Maria, Marina, Sheila, Jason, Julie, Frank and Delia in Malaysia Borneo. 
Jon, Orie, Federico and Giulia in Kalimantan. 
The Kurva (Ximena, Mauro, Chantal, Jyrki, Pierre, Marie, Aslan) gang in Sulawesi.       Janice,Dina, Kartika, Amaelle, Roland in Tana Negara.
The Warm Heart crew, Thea, Lourens, and Russel in Thailand.
Sha in peninsula Malaysia.
Nik, Alberto, Sergio, Elgina, Susi, Afri, Maruli, David and Sara in Sumatra.
Angelina, Ho, Karen and Denis in Burma.
Om, Babu, Carmi, the whole SECMOL crew, Naina's family in India.

And I also got to see all my DC crew right before leaving for my adventure, and my Toronto crew for Carlos wedding. Gosh I miss my friends!!!

I met numerous other wonderful human beings along the way, and have no doubt that I will meet many more as I keep on going.

Many people have asked me what was my favorite part of the trip thus far. Ha! What a hard question to answer.

My trip has been a series of magical moments every day.

Indonesia and the people I have met made me become conscious of how much I care about the environment and how dramatic the situation of the planet is simply due to a lack of education. Indonesia also made me discover a passion for scuba diving, and a respect for the ocean. Indonesia is probably also by far the country where the locals, were the most welcoming, curious, and kind toward the stranger that I was. (This opinion is perhaps bias since I spent 4 months there and since it was my first real long stop in my trip...).

Malaysia, well...not a big fan at all of the culture, the people, and the scenery. If it wasnt for Sha, the Indian food, and the night dive I did, Malaysia would rank way worse.

Burma, magnificent mix of religion, colors, ancient architecture, and a country stuck in between two centuries. A bit like what I felt in Cuba, but with the religious factor more, and without the music and dancing.

And India, well...it is so hard to sum up the land of contrasts. Magical, chaotic, colorful, dusty, flavorful, loud, peaceful, joyful, dense, sad, very sad, polluted, pure air, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, huge, tiny, green, grey, safe, dangerous, monkeys, goats, buffalos, cows, camels, yaks, bicyles, trucks, cars, pedestrians, cripples, cricket, cricket, cricket, cricket...whatever happened to soccer???!!! the only country in the world (where I have been) where soccer is almost nonexistant. 

And well, my very first meditation course...a 10 day Vipassana silent meditation course. WOW! talk about a life changing experience. I must admit I was very doubtful before doing it. I wasnt sure what to really expect from meditation. Vipassana is not just any kind of meditation. Practicing makes you work so deep in a way that takes you a while to realize how it is impacting your life and your mind. And so yes, I believe I have changed in so many ways. And I really like how I have become, and intend to do more courses. As a matter of fact, I have decided to celebrate my 34th birthday by taking a course in Rajastan. The last day of the course will be my birthday. 

 As you can see, I have a lot to say about my 2013 and my adventure so far. But I will stop here. I just hope that in some small ways, my adventure is inspiring a few people here and there, the same way that I got inspired by reading other people's adventures before deciding to travel. We often tend to get stuck in our little routine that we forget or ignore the magic and magnificent beauty the world around us has to offer. And I truly believe that the more we interact with people who are different from us the more we learn about ourselves but also about the world. And globalization is taking such a toll on the world, the sooner we start the better prepared we will be for the future and in many ways for the present.

One of my initiative during my trip is to write a blog, as detailed and expressive as I can regarding what goes in front of my eyes and through my mind, and to share photos to illustrate my adventure...so that when one day I have children, I can share my journey and adventures with them.

May 2014 fill you up with inspiration, love and compassion.

I sincerely hope that our paths will soon cross again.

Enormous hugs from Mumbai, India.

--
Grégory 
www.dare2dream2013.blogspot.com

"Experience is what you get when you did not get what you wanted."