Shaken by a near-death experience, a keen adventurer has told how he decided to make 2017 the best year of his life and ‘not waste another second’.
Jacob Laukaitis from Lithuania was hit by a drunk driver while traveling through Thailand and his severe facial injuries – which included two black eyes and multiple bone fractures – required a four-hour-long plastic surgery session that cost a hefty $10,000.
Realising how precarious life is, Jacob embarked on an epic global tour doing a range of bucket list items, from skydiving in New Zealand to hiking to Everest Base Camp in Nepal.
In Iran, he crossed sun-scorched deserts and in India he had to deal with a colder climate and navigate a run of snowy roads on a motorbike.
Other spots he hit during his whirlwind adventure included Oman, Jordan and Turkey.
This journey, Jacob said, also took him to all corners of the class system – from fancy heights to spending five days living in the slums of India, as well as tourist traps such as Hobbiton in New Zealand.
Touching on why he decided to book a year of crazy travel, Jacob said: ‘When I woke up at the hospital and realized I’m going to get out of this alive, I thought: “I’ll never waste another second of my life, ever.”
‘And I made sure I lived every day as if it was my last.
‘I’m not proud of the specific things I did or adventures I went on per se, but I’m proud of the fact that I didn’t hold myself back and perceived every obstacle as an opportunity to learn, improve and get better.
‘That’s what drove me to do all the things I did this year.’
By revealing the inspiration behind his travels, Jacob hopes that his journey will inspire others to make the most of every day, too.
As stunning and unique as the locations Jacob picks are, he admitted that not much planning goes into his travels – he usually works them out on the fly.
He said: ‘When it comes to traveling, I never really plan things in advance, they just sort of work out on their own.’
Having packed so much into 2017, the ambitious traveller is now taking a break for between four and five months, before traveling again later this year.
In 2019, Jacob hopes to explore South America.
He said: ‘I’m completely happy with everything I have at the moment – health and freedom equal happiness, and that’s all that matters to me.’
For those keen to follow Jacob on his travels, he regularly posts glimpses of his adventures to Instagram.
His account, @jacoblaukaitis, boasts more than 17,000 followers and he also has a YouTube channel under the same name with over 182,000 subscribers.
