The people that occupy this world are truly wonderful. Sometimes it takes a large amount of trust in the universe that it’s all going to work out, but it does work out.
I was 4 hours into a busied to Finland and it dawned upon me that I had no idea where I was staying that night. Bear in mind, as this thought process is unraveling, it’s about 3 pm and I’ve never been to Finland before, nor do I know anyone there. It’s typical of me to leave things to the last minute, but it’s because I’m sure it’s always going to work out. That’s what I tell myself anyway.
The Bus Ride to Helsinki
Here I am, two hours from being dropped at Helsinki airport with no gameplay. What are my options I start to think..
Couchsurfing, reaching out on Instagram, tinder or a hostel. These seemed to be the for most viable options.
I started with couch surfing and that was fun. It’s been three years since I last fired up my couch surfing account and it was interesting to see how much I had to add to my bio. It really made me smile when I reminisced on the last three years, adding the countries I’ve been to, some of my most proud achievements and things I’m now interested in. I think my tally now sits at 22 countries. This feels like a crazy amount, but it’s crazy how much more there is for me to see. Alas, I pinged out 10 or so messages, hoping someone would take me in.
What are my options?
Instagram and tinder seemed were my next best options. Yes, they came before searching for a hostel, so if you’re reading this, you’ll now understand a little better how the mind works of a budget traveller. If you want a better example again, check out my mate Jorden Tually. He was in Europe for 4 months and didn’t once pay for accommodation. Relying solely on couch surfing. You also probably think I’m joking about using Tinder to find accommodation, but I’m not. If you make it clear that you’re happy to sleep on the floor if need be or a spare couch, occasionally you’ll find someone willing to accommodate you for the night. It’s really no different to using the couch surfing app, but a different layout. Great communication is necessary as always. However, I was too far away at this stage for tinder to be of any use. I managed to get in touch with a few Finnish people on Instagram, but they were far from where I was going to be in Helsinki. Although they couldn’t help me with a place to stay, they gave me some great things to do and see whilst in Finland. This is a huge positive of Instagram, if you reach out, you’re able to find out so much more about a country than if you were to have a chat to the travel agent in your hometown.
Time to check the hostel situation.. This wasn’t looking promising either. The main hostels were booked out and the available options didn’t look like they were going to make friends with my tight budget.
Hmmmm…now what. I’m now down another hour, starting to pull at hairs thinking what I’m going to do. I give one of my buddies in Europe a call and ask him if he had any friends in Finland that might be able to help me out. He has a think and also asks his girlfriend. “Get back to me in an hour” he says.
Now I’ve well and truly exhausted all options and go back to square one, sitting in the bus listening to my favourite tunes, staring out the window at the endless forestry.
** One hour passes **
“Hey mate, I think you might be in luck,” he says. “You’re kidding, in what way?” I respond.
My friend’s partner had friends in Finland who were willing to accommodate me. However, there was another twist. They weren’t in Finland and the key to their house was left with a friend who was a long way from where I was. An uber to get the key would be double the price as the hostel, which made it counterintuitive to go and get the key.
By now, I’ve arrived at the airport, swapped my Russian Ruble into Euros and ready to jump on the train to Helsinki to find a hostel. Suddenly I get a call from a Finnish number, from a lady, who is a friend of my friends, girlfriends, friend. I hope you can make sense of that. In short, a complete stranger. She said she was on her way to drop me the key to the house and give me directions of the busses I needed to take to find my way to the house for the next few days.
When she arrived, I couldn’t stop smiling and was nearly in tears because of grateful I was this lady and her friends were for helping me out. The fact that these people I had never met were willing to drive a considerable distance to help me and then open up their house so I had a place to sleep and eat, just filled my heart with joy. It made me think, that one day when I am in a situation to accommodate and open my doors to someone, even if it be a stranger, that I do it. As I sit here and write this, it brings a smile from ear to ear as I think about it.
I proceeded to spend a good part of the next week in Finland, running, writing, embracing the sauna lifestyle and swimming in the fresh Finnish ocean. It was a super ‘zen’ time. I got up every day for sunrise and went down to the ocean to let my mind wander and set up my day.
Here are a few of my favorite photos. My “Finnish Series” as I like to think of them.
Moral of the story: If you put out positive energy into the world, it’s going to come back to you in ways you never imagined. This was well and truly the case in Finland. Always give lots and smile more. Being kind is certainly the best way to live life.
My next move was to fly from Finland to Portugal (stopover) to Toulouse in France. You’ll be able to read about that in next weeks edition of 7 Days Later:
Don’t hide your wonderful smile from the world!
Big love,
JL
