my name is Marc, I’m from Germany. I’ve been sober since August 23st 2025, and I’m working hard every single day to stay on this path.
My story with addiction started early
I began smoking marijuana when I was 16, and over the years alcohol slowly took over my life. Wrong relationships, no emotional control, and trying to escape from pain made everything worse.
Now my life is changing. I quit drinking, I train regularly, go to the sauna, and journal every night. My body feels stronger, my mind clearer, and I’m starting to feel real peace for the first time in years.
But I’m not going to lie , it’s not easy. I still have difficult moments where my mind romanticizes drinking and tries to convince me that “one drink” would be fine. Those moments scare me sometimes, but I remind myself what alcohol has taken from me
In November, I’ll travel through Southeast Asia for three months. In the past, those trips were full of drinking , drugs and chaos. This time I want it to be different , i want to stay sober, experience life fully, and come back even stronger.
If anyone here has experience staying sober while traveling or dealing with those tricky thoughts, I’d really appreciate your advice or encouragement.
Hello Marc!
Herzlich willkommen im besten sober forum.
Welcome to the TS family
For me it was concerts. I always loved going to concerts, but I always used it as an excuse to drink. I can’t tell you how many bands I’ve seen live, but can’t remember a thing about it!
Now I discovered the beauty of enjoying live music sober, it’s the best thing!
Just remember: there is nothing that alcohol can make better, but alcohol has the power to make everything worse.
Enjoy your travels. And please stick around
It only takes a few posts on here and you will be able to post pictures. Would love to see pics from your travel
Congratulations on your important work to get sober and stay sober. And yes, traveling brings extra opportunities to practice your new routines and habits. Especially if drinking was a big part of your traveling.
Like any situation, it is very helpful to have a plan. Plan your meals and beverages. Perhaps plan that this trip has an emphasis on early morning experiences (think about enjoying coffee or tea while the day is young), visiting places you never would have gone before because you were busy looking for a bar, and treat yourself to early bedtime and the joy of feeling safe and sober.
My first traveling experiences in sobriety required some careful planning and determination to find ways to enjoy traveling and not feel like I was missing out. So pushing myself to enjoy new experiences and better routines was really important and helpful. One of the biggest benefits of traveling while sober is saving a lot of money and truly being present for your experiences. Think about how you can avoid stressful situations like getting too hungry or too thirsty by managing snacks and hydration each day. Many many people in the world live interesting lives without alcohol. We can too!
stay in contact with your support system too. Reading on this app every day definitely helped me a lot in my first few excursions.
I wish you the best! You can do this and you will be amazed at how beautiful the world really can be when we have a healthy mind.
my wife and i travel the world for me if theres a meeting in the area i try and go meet new like minded people , your still in early sobriety so maybe try get on here for support , wish you Regards from Scotland rays_sober_travels_
This is the first group I’ve joined, and I’ll definitely be posting here regularly. It’s really encouraging to see that there are people out there who have been sober for a long time and truly understand this journey.
Today is my 57th day sober, and I’m feeling strong. I especially notice it during my workouts — my body performs so much better now. In the evenings, I feel calm and my sleep is perfect — I don’t even need an alarm clock anymore.
I’ve planned my upcoming trip very carefully. I’ve already chosen gyms, found good saunas, and booked my first hotel for my first week in siem reap. It’s a great place, although I still have some doubts because there’s a bar by the pool — maybe I’ll change it later. My plan is to focus on fitness. I love training, but when I was drinking, there was no progress and no real rest. Now everything feels right again.
I don’t really have much support outside of this, but I can see that I’ve found the right place here with all of you.
I’d also love to share some pictures once I’m there. I’ll start in Bangkok, then fly to Cambodia, where I’ll build my routines. Once I feel solid, I’ll move on to Vietnam — no stress, no pressure. My sober lifestyle comes first.
I know that because of my addiction, there are many moments I can’t remember anymore — especially from my travels. I’ve been around the world, but I spent so many evenings drinking and using drugs that I often ended up depressed in hotel rooms, sometimes too anxious to even go outside.
My last trip was also in Asia, and it completely got out of control. Even back then, I dreamed of being sober — that’s something truly worth working for. Addiction is hard, exhausting, expensive, and it destroys your mind.
A sober lifestyle, on the other hand, is something valuable — but it takes work. It’s not always easy, especially when my emotions weigh me down and my thoughts won’t stop running.
This year, I want to finally fulfill my wish. I don’t want to let addiction ruin another beautiful opportunity. I want to remember everything clearly and use every single day to truly enjoy my life.
If I have the opportunity to post pictures here, I’ll definitely do it☺️
I’ve really thought a lot about how my days will look — even the food and drinks are planned. I know it’ll be very hot in the tropics, so I’ll always have something cool to drink with me.
You’re right about the money — I’ll definitely save a lot and maybe spend it on trips instead of buying poison.
What still worries me is meeting new people. I’m used to doing that with alcohol and drugs — it used to be easy for me, but most of those people weren’t good for me. Now I have to learn how to do it sober, but I’m already thinking about it and finding strategies.
I’m really looking forward to the trip. I’ve been waiting 11 months for it, and it’ll be a completely new experience for me — traveling sober.
And yes, we can enjoy life without alcohol. I’m realizing that my life is only now truly becoming beautiful, even though I’ve only been sober for 57 days.
Welcome to the sobriety club! I agree it is not an easy road but so worth it. Enjoy all the changes because being sober will bring many. Some with be easy and some will be rough.It sounds like you have already taken some positive steps forward and that is awesome. Keep it going and thank you for sharing about your up coming trip. Keep reminding yourself that you want this trip to be different. Make a plan of things you want to do or see in Asia. Keep yourself busy and enjoy your trip. Keep us updated and someone is always here if you need help.
During my three months in Asia, I relapsed. The experience was extremely intense — I lived through many beautiful moments, but also a lot of emotional pain, especially after alcohol slowly found its way back into my life.
I met an incredible woman there. She was beautiful and our time together meant a lot to me, but in the end the dynamic became unhealthy, and I struggled to detach emotionally. Still, I want to be clear: my relapse is not her fault. It was my decision, my responsibility.
I am now 4 days sober and back home for 5 days.
It is not easy. Coming back from such an intense environment into everyday reality — especially winter — has been mentally challenging. But I am here, I am sober again, and I am not giving up.
I continue moving forward.
If anyone is interested, I also started building a YouTube channel during my time abroad:
Thank you, today is day 5 , It’s the weekend and I’m currently at the gym, doing my workout and then going to the sauna. My routine will soon be back and I’m glad to be back on track.
