Quit my job and backpacking in New Zealand

Roy Peak
One of the popular track in Wanaka, New Zealand

Taking a gap year is considered the norm in some countries including Australia, Argentina, Germany, France and United Kingdom while it is not so common in Malaysia. Does it sound crazy to just quit and go backpacking for almost a year? Potentially giving up a good job position. Also, would it look bad on my resume? Sounds really crazy to me.

The decision to go for working holiday was not an easy one to make. I’m an ordinary girl from a typical cina family who never leave home too long. Even when I started my career, I was still staying with my family. Grow up, study, get a job, get married, get a house, have a kid, this is the ‘ideal’ life being taught when I was a child. Leave my comfort life and take up a path that is full of uncertainty? I could hear collective gasp of a huge number of Asian parents.

Mount Cook, New Zealand.
One of my favorite places.

What trigger me the most was those experiences and photos of New Zealand Working Holiday shared by a friend (Rottenapple) on Facebook. From his facebook post, I get to know the application of NZ working holiday visa opens soon. There was an announcement once I clicked into New Zealand Immigration website, Application for the Malaysian Working Holiday Scheme, limited to only 1150 people per year, will open at 5am on 22 January 2016.

I took a day off on the opening day, drove to my friend’s house who have high speed internet connection. Started to log in with 2 laptops, 2 smartphones and 1 Tablet at 4am in the morning. After almost 6 hours of torturing, form has been submitted and payment successfully made at around 10am. Two days later, I received an congratulation email about visa has been approved. I was so excited but dilemma, long discussion with family and rationalisation on whether to go or stay at the same time.

Convincing my very conservative Cina family was not easy. I'd regret if I missed this chance, but at the same time, I was afraid it would be a irrational move. Fortunately, I was able to have two travel mates who share the same vision with me, we made a team of three and plan for the getaway.

Sometime, there is no next time.

Sometime, there is no second opportunity.

Sometime, it's now or never.

So the journey begins.