Three Days in Silence
Travel Journal Entry #10
Welcome to Crazy Brain’s Travel Journal series!
Everything you’ll read in this series are (lightly-edited) journal entries pulled straight from the journal I kept while solo traveling around South East Asia in 2025– mostly from the start of this eight month trip. They’re just short entries from my obsessive journaling, but will give you a look into my mind and how it really feels to backpack solo.
The following entry is written after spending three days in silence at a monastery in Northern Thailand. September 2025.
Decided to be almost entirely silent during my three days here at the monastery. The first night, the Aussie monk implored us to not only try silence outwardly, but to not go on our phones or read or journal. The reading and journal part took me by surprise, but I was like you know what, may as well go all in.
I immediately noticed how much value I put in my writing and journaling. Maybe value isn’t the right way to put it; it’s a way I hang on to my past because I’m scared of losing any memories. I feel like I need to write everything down or it will forever be gone. And as of late, I’ve been going back and reading old entries– to ‘research’ for my blog– which is something I never used to do. Journaling is good, but it has enabled me to hold on to things I need to be letting go of. It’s complicated because, as a writer, I want to tell these stories but where do I draw the line?
Also found it interesting that today, when I finally spoke, of course I only wanted to speak about the main situation I’ve been trying to scrub out of my mind (my failed travel fling). I was talking to the two other girls that had spent the entire time in silence about our struggles, and I was like I mainly noticed that no matter what media I did or did not have access to, I was still running through the same story in my head that I’ve been trying to let go of. I said sorry for being vague but I’m trying to not talk about it and keep it in.
One girl said something I really liked. Something along the lines that the longer you keep telling a story and letting it stick with you, the more energy we are giving it to stay. It sounds so simple reading it back, but it feels profound right now. It’s all easier said than done too.
I wanted to write another essay about the travel fling but I think it’s better I let it go for now. I have so much more to write about anyways! So much more of a person to be! (future Vyla here: I did in fact end up writing more about it. I wrote six essays about it. Oppssie!)
These last few days have been nice, though. Wasn’t hard to not talk, it was kind of a relief honestly. The reading and journaling part wasn’t as bad as I expected either. Did find myself wanting to write some stuff down, but I didn’t. If I’m not going to remember it a few days out maybe I don’t need to remember it anyways.
I mostly just sat in my thoughts.
Read more from me:) :
