Who am i?
I’ve always found it difficult to write a summary of who I am and what I do. Perhaps because both are changing rapidly and to a great extent. Because since a child it seemed difficult for me to choose a way of life. I watched adults for years having the same job in the same office, going out with the same friends to the same restaurant and going on vacation to the same beach resort on the same date every year.
And I always asked myself, how are they so sure that they have chosen the ideal lifestyle? Why don’t they want to try something different, something new? After all, they seem full of stress, anger and like something is going wrong. Don’t they see that life is slipping before their eyes and they are busy with nonsense? I blamed the routine and the box that had been closed in and promised myself that I would live many different lives.
So I started from the age of six to live the adventures of my imagination through books. Literary heroes became my role models and distant mysterious places my dream destinations. I have loved philosophy since I was a child, I had a particular love for Kazantzakis and I started writing poems about how I imagine the world at the age of eight.
Years passed, and as a teenager in a small country town I began to forget my childhood promise. I too began to build a little box and let the opinion of the small society that surrounded me define who I am. It was necessary to push myself to be the best at what I do, I had to ask for attention either with my appearance or my speech, and I didn’t see any harm in hurting other people for my own advancement and pleasure.
The only thing that didn’t change was my love for travel. At the age of 16 I managed to represent Greece in the European Youth Parliament by spending a few days alone in Strasbourg.
I felt so full of the experience, and so sure that this was for me that when I got back to Greece I couldn’t get out of bed for days.
I did well in the Panhellenic exams and got into the school I wanted, or rather the school that was more difficult and would win the admiration of others.
FROM ELECTRICAL ENGINEER TO FULL TIME TRAVELER
The university years were the first period of independence. The electrical engineering department, although it interested me because it was demanding, never filled me.
Alongside school I continued to live many lives and seize every opportunity that presented itself. For five years I sang and played guitar in bars and restaurants of Patras.
For two years I worked in the robotics lab on a Mercedes project. Two years of broadcasting on university radio.
Two engineering conferences representing Greece in Finland and France. Erasmus exchange in Prague and work on neonatal brain abnormalities, practice in Austria and G.Tec one of the most innovative brain training companies with electrical signals. And finally, a multi-year effort for my diploma in Medicine and the creation of a neurofeedback system.
Many partners, many acquaintances, intense experiences, one could say a full young life. But there was still something missing, something that selfishly did not let me feel at peace, something that distanced me from myself.
This feeling grew in the last year of the school. Shortly before I graduated, a Swiss consulting company made me a very good offer of cooperation immediately after my studies. Dazzled, I thought of the bright future ahead. A large office, suit and briefcase at work, a sports car. I signed, and I was counting the days to start my new life.
A few weeks later, I was just passing some time looking for jobs in exotic places. Now, confident already having a job, I sent off rough applications to neuroclinics in the oddest destinations I could find. Singapore, Thailand, India. And a few days later I received an unexpected mail from a neurofeedback clinic in Bangkok. After a phone conversation, I now had the option to follow a mysterious path in Thailand.
Switzerland now seemed very sterile to me, the future predetermined and far from the adventures of my Kazantzakis and Zorba. “When you’re at a crossroads, take the path that scares you the most” is a phrase I’ve always stuck in my head. So, with a 180-degree turn and with family turmoil over my extreme choice, I broke the contract with the Swiss company with an excuse, and packed my suitcase for my flight to Asia. Maybe there, this inner emptiness would finally leave me.
The first period was difficult and integration was slow. The work was not what I expected and the relationships with people were cold and more complicated than I had faced. I felt alone, and there were times when I thought I made the wrong choice.
But I was stubborn and didn’t want to give up so I continued to give my best at work and look for new opportunities. I quickly learned a good level of Thai.
Soon, the high demand for the clinic’s services led me to move to a nearby seaside town to assist people suffering from brain problems in the surrounding area. There I met the founder of a cryptocurrency company, and other members like Matej who liked me and taught me a lot about crypto and trading. I was good at it and soon I was offered a permanent job with very good pay.
The scene in my life changed completely. I had money and good friends in a foreign country, I lived in an impressive apartment, and my western face attracted a lot of attention from local women. Once again life seemed complete, but the inner restlessness remained.
A few months later I asked my employer to work remotely so that I could travel to Asia for a year. He accepted, I put the laptop in my backpack and gave myself a year to try this way of life. Who knows, maybe there was finally the secret that I was looking for around me and it would heal me inside.
I traveled for months, had unforgettable moments, and met countless people.
Among them was my first Zorbas who changed my way of thinking a little. And the first big moment, that moment you wait for in the movies to shake the protagonist, came to me as well in the forest monastery near Chiang Mai. Spending a week in isolation and meditation, I felt for the first time in my life peace. But most of all I learned that all that I was looking outside for peace was actually inside me, and only I had the key
With this new tool, I continued to travel differently.
One year turned into four and they’re still going. Along the way I met more Zorbads, experienced moments that shook me even more and changed my way of thinking. I met people from all over the world, who we still keep in touch with, and tell me how they think of me and share our adventures with their friends and family. For me this is the greatest satisfaction. I became a bit of a hero with a multidimensional life, setting a good, I hope, example for others. And that was the reason I wanted to start this page. To have you with me on this journey to the world and on this journey to myself. Because if my stories manage to improve, challenge, and inspire your own life, then my journey takes on a deeper meaning.
On this page you will find the experiences I singled out and stories from people I met along the way who have something to say. You will also find travel guides and useful information on how to travel, and how to be more prepared to take the first big step. Finally, I consider that an important part of a traveler’s life is physical and mental health and alertness. That’s why I have a library of bodyweight exercises that have helped me improve my health and I’d like to share them with you. My stories are how I see life in the journey of self-improvement and exploration of this wonderful world. Take from them what suits your own life.