NathanWith the advent of social media, the world we live in has become a lot smaller. We are now connecting with others and uniting with people from different walks of life. Social media has given us the power to even distort some of the realities we experience today. There are so many people who feel the need to flaunt the kind of good life they live. People have become superficial and judge each other based on what they post online. So much so that a 25-year-old Dutch was the envy of her friends, peers, and family members when she posted pictures from her trip to south-east Asia back in 2014. But there was a huge twist to this story that seemed like this girl was living the life. No one expected her to be where she actually was all along.
The Exciting News
It is always exciting to go on trips and experience a new world we have never been to. Everyone needs a break from our busy work and schedules from time to time. It is not healthy to work throughout the whole year. This girl knew that she wanted to take some time off to spend by herself and indulge in some self-love. So in the month of April back in 2014, this 25-year-old Dutch student, Zilla van den Born though of a plan. She informed her friends, family members, classmates, and professors that she was going to take a leave for some time. She told them that he needed to take a 5-week-long vacation all around South East Asia.
Preparing For The Trip
So after getting the approval she needed, she was getting ready. She excitedly packed all of the stuff she was going to need while going on her trip. She was beyond excited to go to a place that she had never been before. So, everything was cleared and Zilla’s flight had been scheduled to fly on April 23, 2014. Her trip abroad was documented every day on her social media and so everyone knew just how excited she was. Her trip to south-east Asia was just for about 5 weeks long. But Zilla was packing a few items as she could because everything was not going to fit in a single backpack and a shoulder bag…
The Send-Off
Everything was all set, it was all going smooth. Zilla was up and ready to explore this new place that she had never been to before. The look in her eyes showed just how ready she was to go abroad. So on the morning of April 23, 2014, Zilla made her parents take her to the Amsterdam train station. Since the train was going to take her to the airport, they said their goodbyes in the train station itself. It was necessary to know all her whereabouts because she was a girl and her parents were very concerned. So what Zilla did was, she gave her itinerary of her trip to her parents to let them know just where she was every day.
Tearful Goodbyes
As we all know, goodbyes are always hard, even if we will meet the other person again very soon. So it was a very emotional time when Zilla was about to leave. Her parents were a little upset to see that their daughter was about to go away. They also worried because she was about to travel alone, to a place where the cannot see her. At the same time, they were quite excited to know that their daughter was about to travel the world and experience a new culture that was alien to her before. They soon exchanged their goodbyes and so Zilla was about to make her move towards her train which would again transport her to the airport.
Documenting Every Step
Since Zilla was an avid social media user, she made sure to click photos every step of the way. So as soon as Zilla made it to the airport, she would then continue her journey. After reaching the airport, Zella would be one step closer to enjoy her 42-day adventure to explore Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. As she was waiting for her flight to reach, Zilla shared some pictures of herself before she started her adventure. She clicked pictures at the train station and took photos of her passport. She made sure all of her friends and family were a part of her journey through her social media updates.
Arriving In Paradise
Like any other child, Zilla was sure to keep her parents posted on all of what was happening around her from the start of her adventure. When she boarded her flight, Zilla sent her parents a text message informing them that the plane was about to take off and that she would tell them when the plane landed at her destination. The flight was a long one, since it was an international flight, taking over 15 hours. So Zilla would keep her parents in the loop, updating and posting on her social media every chance she gets to make sure that everyone she knew was there along with her virtually.