Last Friday we came home after a, in total, 24-hour trip. From Bangkok to Hong Kong, then on to London for a 4 hour stopover, and then we finally arrived in Dublin around 11 pm. I was too tired to make the 2.5 hour long car trip back home, so I slept for a few hours in the car before driving home. We arrived to a cold house, and I decided to stay up and just have an early night instead and try to get back to normal and beat the jet-lag. The thing is though: the jet-lag still got its clutches in me, and nothing is 'back to normal' after this Steemfest. Don't worry, there is no sadness here. Yes, I have come to the 100% realization that I definitely want to make my (our) way back to South East Asia. This whole trip was one huge reminder of how much I loved this place, how well I adapt in Asia and how I feel when I'm there. There's really nothing like it, and the same is the case for this Steemfest that just passed.

The third time's a charm - No, a dream!

And that's exactly what it was, for me. This Steemfest was my third. I was in Lisbon and in Krakow and both of those were absolutely amazing and it was hard to express what it felt like to have been there.
But this one? An absolute dream. This weekend back home, I've woken up at strange times and every time I do, I realize that I was there, in Bangkok, with approximately 150 other Steemians, and it feels very surreal to say I did everything in my might to make it there and spend that time with those people.

What were my expectations?

To be very honest, I had little to no expectations. I've learned over the past few years that this is something that I need to do for myself in order to prevent disappointment. Not particularly in regards to Steemfest, but with everything in life.
However, I was still a little disappointed when I discovered that only around half of the people of the previous 2 years showed up this time. But of course, I can't speak for anyone but myself. Personally, I made it my priority to make it there this year, and trust me, it took a lot. I did this because it was important to me to make it. But I know like no other how life, work, and other factors can get in the way, so I don't blame anyone for not being there this time around.
In the end, it turned out to be a good thing.
Because there wasn't such an overwhelming number of people, we all had the chance to meet and talk to most others and really get to know them, instead of just spending two minutes with one person and then move on to the next. There was more a feeling of familiarity than I ever had in the two previous years, even though a lot of my friends from those years weren't there this time.

What I got out of it this time around?

I didn't go for anything in particular. Just like in previous years, I hardly attended any of the speeches. I saw a few, but I feel that connecting to the people in person, listen to their stories, their ideas, and hopes, is much more important than listening to every speech there is.
And that, I believe, I did. I decided to do my own round table discussion as a last-minute thing, and since there was little to no information about it for most people (unless they really searched for it) I nearly had to drag people into the room to listen. Thanks to @anomadsoul, who literally told people to come and support me, I actually had a few Steemians there. Again, I came with nothing. I had nothing prepared and basically just told them my thoughts. It was completely organic, and the same goes for the responses I received. I walked out of that room with new inspirations and ideas, and it was so much more than I would have ever imagined. Later, I spoke to a few others about it, and in the same way, I got new energy and inspiration to get things going, new things to think about and do. All in all, it was very productive for me, and you will all hear about it in time. I have work to do! That's for sure. To be continued...

The people, the love, the laughs, and the Sangsom...

Proof-of-hug by @arcange and @starkerz

Proof-of-hug by @arcange and Mr. and Mrs. @blocktrades

Proof-of-hug by @arcange @lizanomadsoul and @martibis

And with these guys I literally had to run around them to get a proper shot of their proof-of-hug. There was just so much hugging going on. Isn't it adorable? Excuse the picture quality, it was late...

Proof-of-hug by @goblinknackers and @stoodkev

Steemfest is not just about having a great time with friends, some of which became more like family. Of course, it's a huge part of it, but it's not just that. It's not your average 'conference' about all things on the Blockchain, or related to crypto. I think I don't just speak for myself when I say that no other Blockchain has anything like it.
It's not just about how we can improve on a personal level or how we can improve our beloved blockchain and platform. It's not even about all our individual stories. It's so much more than that. It's all those stories combined, all talents combined, all the proof-of-hugs, and all of our individual and collaborative work we each put into it. For me, there's really no other way to explain it. It is what it is. But for me, a journey that started with no expectations at all, turned into something so huge, that I can't even begin to express what exactly it is. All I know is that this Steemfest was the best one yet (although I predicted that much) and that I have very high and renewed hope for our Steem future.

The best picture I got of the two of them. Do we call it proof-of-laugh? @starkerz and @theycallmedan

There's so much more behind the serious faces of these Tres Amigos... @starkerz, @theycallmedan, and @anomadsoul

One last thing...

In my first post from Steemfest in Bangkok, a few weeks ago already, I told you about how I got a tattoo. Some people even thought it was a joke. It was not.

Yes, it was a spur of the moment thing, but not something I did without any thought. I had always wanted to get a tattoo in Bangkok, when I was there and I never did. When I saw the tattoo artist in Patpong, I just knew I had to do it, right there and then.
But the text was something I had already thought about before that.
It's part of the lyrics of a song by One Republic, called "Counting Stars".
You can look up the lyrics yourself if you like, but when I heard the song some time ago, and truly listened to the lyrics it felt like these guys have the right idea. 'No more counting money, we'll be counting stars' I love that.
But to me, the text I chose 'Everything that drowns me, makes me wanna fly' means as much as: I will not be tied down by anything or anyone. This trip to Thailand was proof of that, and it opened my eyes to the possibilities we all have. To me personally, it's that I don't have to be tied down to one place. In my case Ireland. Two weeks before Steemfest, there was no hope for me to go. None. But nevertheless, I made it happen. Yes, I had to take out a loan to do so, but it's worth every cent. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. And I think the same can be said about Steem: it can not be tied down by anything or anyone. It's in all of our hands, and it's up to us what we do with it.

Let's count those stars...