Why I quit my job

One morning my friend stated that he has got the world's best job. For him design is lifestyle and passion, and he does not mind spending all his time at work. I felt envious of him, because I have never been paid for doing what I really enjoy.

My previous job was secure and well-paying. I had reasonable working hours, enough vacation days and great colleagues. The only thing lacking was enthusiasm. I never used my full capacity but just performed well enough to pass. At times I was so frustrated that during days I counted hours till end of work, and when I was not in the office I got crumpy thinking about going there. I admit, I have got very high expectations of life. While many people are satisfied to do just something to pay the bills, I want my work to be filled with interest, challenge and impact.

If I work 8 hours per day and sleep 8 hours per night, in a week I spend over a third of my waken time at work. It is a lot of time. Sure every job is sometimes boring and difficult, but for most of the time I want to feel good about mine. Unlike my designer friend, I have no childhood dream profession. When I quit my job I did not have clear ideas about what I would prefer doing for work. I just knew I was not happy, and later on I would regret if I had not even tried to change it for better.

So when my company had contractual negotiations, I saw it as a good change to voluntarily leave with a resignation package. In no way it was an easy decision, as I feared ending up worse (extra reading: Unbeaten stress). But I wanted to have a strong push and enough space to create myself a new career. I decided to do it through traveling.

Now I have been on the go for five months. In the beginning my job search was relaxed and casual, but over time it has become increasingly focused and strategic. As I have been familiarizing myself with the international development field - including its different parties, systems and characteristics - I have found out what I would ideally want to work among. Already this is a break-through for me, since now I finally have a direction where to head to.

Entering the new field has proven to be extremely difficult. I am competing against hundreds of experienced people for positions spread around all over the world. It seems that sending out applications is waste of time unless I have connections backing me up. I am getting discouraged at trying my hardest and yet still barely getting any answers. It is stressful being in this situation alone; deciding where to go and what to do in order to maximize success, without proper information on job markets and conditions.

But now giving up is not an option. Even though some people are getting doubtful about me ever finding what I want, I must keep trusting on myself. As long as I believe that I am determined, smart and lucky enough, I will be alright. I anticipated that this career change would require lots of boring hours on the computer, persistence and even correcting lapses made on the way. Now I must stick through it until I find myself in a new, exciting and fulfilling job.

After all, hitherto I am closer than ever to my dream job. I actually know what it is, and I am putting effort into getting it. And anyways, true achievements are those that one has worked hard for. So when I eventually wake up one morning happily thinking about going to work, I know this struggle has paid off!

When climbing (or life or whatever) gets touch, have a mojito!

Temporary stability

I have been in Hong Kong for six weeks now. I came here with an intention to live more of a normal life for a while - to stay in an apartment, make lasting friendships and network professionally. I have gotten what I wanted. People have been unbelievably helpful in making me stay in this bustling, diverse and functional city.

Offerings at a buddhist temple

When I was homeless after the flat scam, a friend of a friend of a friend let me stay in his apartment. Now we are also seeing each other. After backpacking for months I enjoy cooking my own food, inviting friends over and just chilling in peace. I even have a daily routine: morning run, breakfast, work at home, lunch and more work at a cafe, dinner meet-ups, sleep.

My favorite cafe (downstairs is a sports store)

Hong Kong is very compactly built; it is full of tall buildings with numerous small apartments. Its transportation structure is excellent with well planned metro lines and extensive tram, bus and minibus service. Therefore commuting times are reasonable compared to other major cities. Housing is extremely expensive. As an example, the average monthly rent of a downtown studio is over 1600€. Due to lack of space, many Hongkongers extend their living rooms to restaurants, gyms and even offices, thus spending long days outside.

Expectantly Hong Kong has a huge banking sector, but there are various other industries, too. To my interest, sustainability - corporate social responsibility, energy efficiency and green environment - is an increasingly hot topic. Since there are prospective global consulting companies here and Hong Kong's job market is all about connections, I attended networking events. Wearing my only smart outfit and sipping free wine I talk with as many influential people as I can. They have turned out to be very willing to help; introducing me to right persons, circulating my CV around and inviting me to further events.

This gentleman knows my home town Kajaani!

I am quickly getting into the climbing society. It consists of locals, who all seem to climb solid 7s, as well as expats. They actively open whole new sectors, re-bolt old routes and keep approach paths safe, while providing newcomers with accurate route and beta information. And naturally, like everywhere, after each day out we sweaty, chalky climbers populate a random local restaurant for food and beers.

Climbing circumstances are frustratingly tricky here. The first factor is hardly predictable weather. Elsewhere it is simple: If it rains, the crag is wet. If it does not rain, the crag is dry. But in Hong Kong high humidity can make crags wet even when it is not raining, that must be taken into consideration when deciding whether and where to climb. The second factor is lack of weekday partners. Since most residents work and there are few climbing tourists here, it has taken some effort to scout around for other weekday climbers.

Sadly soaked crag :(

The quality of climbing is excellent. There are numerous easily accessible areas around the city and its nearby islands, totaling to hundreds of routes. I like the general route setting; lines are clean and straight with frequent bolting. However, grading is random, as I can sometimes do better on a 6C than on a 6A. And yes, I have finally climbed my first 6C! I actually on-sighted it, thinking that it was just a 6B+.

Check out this beautiful video of Tung Lung climbing! (You can even see me for a few seconds on it.)

Bad ass difficult 6A!

Generally Hong Kong is very work and money oriented. On average Hongkongers work 49 hours per week, while expats work even more. Those having money like to show it around; driving posh sports cars, dressing in luxury labels and dining in fine places. Families hire low-paid Philippine helpers to take their dogs for walks, raise their children and in entity run their households. It seems like appearance is more important than well-spent time.

Taken this all, I would be willing to stay in Hong Kong more permanently if I got an opportunity to get my new career started here. I could enjoy what I like, ignore what I do not like, and make this my home city for a few years.

Let the year of sheep be a  lucky one!

Going outdoors Hong Kong style

Many assume that Hong Kong is just a busy, tightly built city. They miss out on various walking trails, beaches, cliffs and water sports. Those spots offer unique settings, where one can move on peaceful trails overseeing simultaneously lush hills and blocks of skyscrapers.

Sai Kung Country Park

Mount Nicholson

When I was searching for jobs I came across an announcement about Outward Bound looking for candidates to their outdoors instructor training programme. Since a few years ago I had actually considered becoming a wilderness guide, I attended an interview and got accepted to a 3-day-long selection trip. It took place in the nationals parks near their base center; to test participants' hiking, kayaking, swimming and camping skills, as well as teamwork and leadership ability.

I was placed in a team with nine young Hongkongers. My fear of being least fit vanished quickly, as I was constantly waiting for them both on land and water. Even more than being exposed to clean nature and impressive views, I enjoyed learning about the Cantonese culture. Our head trainer, an energetic Malaysian guy, tried to step back as much as possible to observe how the team functions on its own. Two things caught my attention: communality and exactness.

We had to swim to a boat, and then return to a pier to jump down from a 3m high platform. The water was uncomfortably cold, so after completing the task I hurried to take a warm shower. The others unselfishly stayed to wait for the slowest swimmers and to encourage those fearful to jump. They were also keen on carrying lots of common gear, ready to provide assistance in smallest things and willing to wait for everyone to complete one task before starting next ones. To me this appeared as caringly putting the team ahead of individuals, however a bit inefficient at times.

Most of the team had little camping experience but had to be explained how to operate the gear. Once having learnt it, they politely corrected me when I used the trangia lid with its sides facing up or lifted up my backpack without holding it on my knee first. Guidelines prohibited walking without shoes, required hand sanitizer usage before touching any kitchen ware, allowed cooking only on ground level, encouraged people to move in pairs even to use toilets etc. When it was time to pitch tents, our participant leaders started by asking whether it would be ok for everyone if we first picked a few persons to go explore possible tent spots, and then they would present alternatives for everyone to discuss about.

During the whole trip everyone stayed in a cheerful mood. Even when we were by surprise woken up at 4am to hike up a peak to watch sunrise, I heard no negative comments. At at all times people thrived to show their best. It was delighting to see their motivation to become outdoors instructors; they truly want to help others by taking them to nature. My favorite moments were late evenings, when we gathered in a circle to share our thoughts. The otherwise reserved seeming Hongkongers revealed interesting and truthful dreams, motives and insights.

I am glad I joined the selection, even though at the end I decided that becoming an outdoors instructor is not for me. Firstly, I have done similar things as a scouts troop leader so I feel like I need more challenges. Secondly, the job would be too time consuming as instructors stay on the field for weeks and otherwise live at the base center. Thirdly, I prefer enjoy outdoors at my own terms as a hobby rather than as a profession. So after the trip was finished I enjoyingly returned home to be close to comforts. Now I am back sitting on a sofa with my laptop and a cup of coffee, searching for academic jobs.

The grand scam

I am stupid. I am stupid. Did I mention that I am stupid?

I wanted to rent a room in Hong Kong to stay here for a month. From a Facebook flatmates group I found this guy advertising the flat from where he had recently moved out. So I emailed his previous landlord, who according to our messaging appeared as a busy and precise business man. We agreed that I would send him a deposit and a month's rent via Western Union and he would send me apartment keys via DHL.

I waited for the keys delivery at my hostel but it did not arrive in time. The landlord never gave me its tracking code, without which DHL could not locate it. Finally he emailed me telling that the package had been returned due to insufficient address, and I never heard from him again despite requesting to get my money back.

It soon began clear to me that I had been fueled badly. With unbelievable naiveness I had sent a stranger over 1000€ without getting anything in return. After relieving my anger by wrecking my finger skin at a bouldering gym and drinking a few glasses of expensive wine, I went to the police station nearest my hostel. The alert constable listened to my case and advised me to visit the apartment to interview its residents.

I hopped on to the convenient MTR train, and then zip zagged on lively local streets asking directions from by-passers until I found the right building. In its lobby I met the housekeeper. The keen old man pointed out that the address I had missed an exact apartment number. He also told I was not the first person coming to investigate the case.

The target location

 I walked through a street, whose bars began to fill with suit-wearing expats, until I reached the local police station. It was less organized than the previous one; several young officers wondered about cases and answered phones in quite a random manner. After two hours I had managed to make them understand my case and ordered a written report about it.

After a few days I went back to the police station to pick up the report. Unfortunately writing it had proven to be too difficult of a task for them, so they had transferred it to another department, where they advised me to call. I did not bother, but filed my insurance claim just with a scanned picture of the small case cards I had received from the police.

So what was I saying? Oh, I am stupid.

Phase Cambodia

In order to maintain some structure, I have automatically started to divide my travels into phases by destinations. Phase Cambodia lasted for three weeks and included traveling through the poor and hot country. I was pleased to have Kimmo, a Finnish climber who I had by chance met in Laos, as my travel company for most of the part. Together it was neat to share accommodation and travels costs, ripoff incidents, experiences, opinions, jokes...

In total I spent six days on busses. Hours went by on the not-so-specious seats; staring at flat landscapes, being nervous about wreck-less driving, watching local karaoke videos and engaging in conversations. Cambodian bus tickets are rather expensive, plus some surprise fees exist, such as paying $12 extra for taking a new road. To balance off the tiring bus rides we stayed at posh but easily-affordable hotels. For example, we paid just $15 for a stylish 4-star room with a city-view balcony.

Bus stop (lenght: 15min - 90min)

Traditional Khmer furniture

Our first stop was Siam Reap. As a must-do, we went to see the impressive Anchor Wat at sunrise and continued the day among other temples. Unfortunately the museum we had visited the previous day had given us little insight to Khmer history and culture, so the temple tour was left content-wise quite shallow, yet worth it.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Thom

Ta Prohm

Actually I preferred our sightseeing day near Battambang. We rented a motorbike and drove around to see a couple of small, charismatic temples on top of hills. My favorites were colorful paintings of Buddhist stories, even though my general knowledge of the religion is quite limited to some meditation techniques. Thanks to an inaccurate map we made a few detours to drive across tiny farming villages, where local kids greeted us enthusiastically and skinny cows stood on dry fields.

Shit cave

The two towns themselves have markets, guesthouses, restaurants and some NGO run shops. We were delighted to meet many smiling and polite Cambodians, who spoke excellent English compared to their Thai and Lao neighbors. It was easy to see that the country is in development, as many new roads and buildings are under construction and people seem enterpreunally minded. The only big disappointment was a back massage; the ladies had no skills but brutally stepped on our spines, leaving them aching for days and giving no discount despite our complaints.

Battambang view from our hotel balcony

Our common journey ended to Koh Rong, a southern paradise island with clear turquoise water and fine white beaches. We escaped its party beach to quiet Koh San beach. There are plans to build a proper ring-road, luxury resorts and even an airport to the island, but for the time being our beach had only a handful of simple bungalows accompanied with waterside restaurants. For me it was good to stay for a while in a beautiful place lacking activities. All we did was laying on the beach, doing body weight exercises and read books.

The coolest boat driver

Survivor was filmed on the island!

I continued on to Kampot by myself. I spent almost a week in the expat-favored peaceful town; going for morning runs along its riverside, writing job applications at my hostel and meeting interesting people at dinner venues. One day I went to check out Climbodia - a newly developed small crag where Belgium David runs adventure tours for climbing, via ferrata, caving and abseiling. I was extraordinary lucky to run into my two French friends there. Wearing a helmet was justified on the new routes, as we frequently kicked down small rocks and even broke a few holds.

My Kampot office

Climbodia main crag

Happy reunion :)

My last destination was the capital, Phnom Penh. The most interesting, although depressing, places to visit were the Killing Fields and Security Prison 21. It is very hard to understand how only some 30 years ago it was possible to create a regime systematically killing thousands of people, without any international actors stopping it. The memorials are discreet and minimalist, and after learning how widely the Khmer Regime destroyed the country - its people, education, culture, business - I became even more impressed by its future driven spirit. On contrary, the most relaxing spot was a small community movie theater, where customers can lay on mattresses and pillows while watching well chosen films.

National Museum

Central Market

Posh rooftop drink

To sum up Cambodia, it was definitely worth visiting. However, three weeks is just enough for me to tour around sights resembling each other. I think I can mark Cambodia as checked and head towards new places to discover.