The first time I have seen "The Beach" (movie from 2000, I was 17 back then), I was inspired with the idea of leaving everything behind, facing the adventure. I did travel and hitchhike in Europe but it either lasted too little (due to no money) or didn't have proper atmosphere (you are still somehow reachable).

I can remember that this feeling, that some day I will embark on a great journey was consuming my brain cycles day by day, accumulating for years it was giving me sometimes motivation, sometimes irritation.

Finally, when I was 27, I have accumulated enough money to travel for a year. Also the time in my life seemed proper. With my studies finished and 2 years in a startup right afterwards, I thought to myself, I can let this thought remain in my head and poke me from time to time or just pack my backpack and see what happens.

So I went by land from Poland, through Latvia, West Russia and Siberia, then to Mongolia, China, Vietnam, Cambodia then Thailand and Malaysia. It took me 6 months.

Now (I'm 29) when I look back at this experience. There are few things I can share with you.

• Earn your goal

The feeling of fulfilment when you reach your goal is magnificent. I could fly directly to Thailand and reach the beach in few days. But then I recalled a memory.

Some time ago I was hiking for few days through snowy mountains in Ukraine. It was freezing and we didn't have hot meal for a long time. Then while descending we found a small village in the night. The feeling of roof over your head and fresh fried trout was something I will never forget. We've earned it.

What I am saying is that if you are going for life changing experience, don't take shortcuts, don't be afraid of scars, go the whole nine yards. It will be unbelievable.

This is why I went by land so that when I reach "the beach" after several months, I wanted the feeling. The feeling that I not only consumed the final dream, but I have earned it.

• Write a diary

IMO, it's a must. Firstly, it is a great tool to harvest your contemplations and observations that will push forward your thoughts to your mental goal of this journey.

Also little histories in our brain evolve, sometimes to such an extent that after years they will represent something completely different. This is simply the way our brain works. Diary minimises these effects by having a stable version.

• Traveling alone or with friends

When you are backpacking you are rarely alone. There is always someone to talk to. If you go with your home country friends IMHO you will lose a lot of what traveling offers. You will be less vulnerable to new people and therefore adventures. The biggest threat to travelling is a situation when you speak fluently English and your friend is not. Then instead of connecting with new people you will spend reasonable amount of time helping him socially.

Generally it depends what you want. Traveling with a home country friend is more of a binding experience. Traveling alone is more of a character shaping experience.

• Job after you come back

I'm an IT guy. And I did not forget how to code. But I did forget how to live as a developer. Traveling like that teaches your body and mind a different way of living. A different way of interacting with people. I can remember I could not focus, I could not sit long in front of LCD. I wanted to go for a walk all the time. This is why they say that you caught a bug.

If you don't have children and wife (and it's highly probable if you are asking this question) don't be scared of living poor, because when you come back you will be somehow get used to it. You will see how many things you can live without. You will notice which things matter with more precision.

Another funny aspect is that I have reached my dream. I no longer think about reaching "the beach". Some other dream has taken its place. Which now gives me much more joyful life. It's all connected you see. It would be more difficult without the confidence of fulfilling the previous dream. So don't be scared now about finding a job when you come back, because when you come back you will probably be a different person. A person not scared at all of such a trivia as finding a job.

Now I aim for stability, I have no longer vision of traveling for a year or longer. I do however every year charge my batteries with 1 month of travel. Its' a sustainable balance. I will quote H.D Thoreau here:

"...this spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of it..."

It's a concept of mini-retirements I believe, I found it my own way.

Travel is the the best University of Life you can get.

Hope that was helpful and good luck!

When I reached the Beach... I just hugged it with my whole self.