Now that the new year is well and truly underway, it’s about time I gave you a little life update. This blog has been a little infrequent the last few months and I know that means many of you actually have no idea where I am right now. Well, after a month of flat-hunting and staying with friends as I job searched, I can now officially say I am all settled in my amazing new flat right in the middle of Melbourne city, I have an awesome job working in a rooftop bar, and life feels pretty damn incredible. Once again, Melbourne feels like the home I’ve been waiting for and I couldn’t be happier to be back surrounded by all my amazing friends, and a whole heap of new ones. I know the blog posts have been few and far between since I left England again, but between Bali, Cairns, road tripping through Tasmania and now Melbourne – it’s been pretty hectic. Life just got in the way and I won’t apologise for that, because life is exactly what this blog is about – living every second to the max. And I can assure you I’ve been doing just that.
Yesterday was officially my two year travel anniversary, just two months ago I hit my 30th country, and I’m already making plans for the next exciting year of travel. I’m still the same girl who left home two years ago, I still have the same best friends at home, the same family and I’m still happily single and independent. But I’m also an amazing new version of myself – happier, brighter, bolder, crazier and ready to take on the world with every step. I’m capable, I’m knowledgeable and quite frankly, I know exactly what I’m doing, I don’t second guess myself. It’s the best version of myself I’ve ever been and I plan to keep taking steps to evolve and grow myself in this direction, I can’t see any reason why not to. So for all the people who have asked when I’m coming home, or when I’m going to stop travelling. My answer is who knows, whenever I get bored of growing as a person, learning, changing and being happy – but it won’t be anytime soon.
If you haven’t seen my post from just before New Years, check it out here to read about my travelling highlights from 2016. It was a year of serious highs, and one serious low, but you can’t live the highs without having the lows to compare them with. I use the lows to add fuel to my fire and make plans for the future, it’s the one thing that pushes me to make snap decisions and to book the trip, or take the plunge. So for all those girls out there who message me almost daily to ask about their relationship problems, or choosing between love and travel. Two years on, I will still say that choosing travel over love was the best decision of my life, that we remain the best of friends but both say this was the best thing to ever happen to us. That choosing to keep travelling and forget the love that I found on the road was also the best decision I could have made, because I know otherwise I would have regretted it and been let down. It wasn’t so much choosing travel over love, but choosing myself over people who would just let me down. That’s not a selfish decision, it’s a smart one and because I chose well, I have no regrets.
So what are the big travelling plans for 2017?
I’ll now be settling in Melbourne for a few months to work and save money for my big West Coast road trip – hopefully happening around March/April – when myself and a friend will drive from Melbourne up to Darwin over a few months. I’ve been looking forward to this trip since arriving in Australia and I know it’s going to be the best yet. Then up in Darwin, we’ll be taking in all the National Parks as I work and save for my last few months in Australia – gotta make the most of these $$$.
After my visa runs out, I’ll be having a month-long holiday somewhere in Asia – possibly the Philippines as I’ve been desperate to visit since I arrived in Asia. I’ll be craving huge untouched beaches by then and a chance to relax and detox after Darwin. Then I’m hoping to be joined by one of my best travelling friends for a huge trip to South America where I’d love to spend a few months travelling as much as possible.
It’s all just a vague plan at the moment and it may all change at the drop of a hat, but it’s exciting to have goals for the year. So this year will be less countries ticked off, but I’ll be crossing at least three continents and should hopefully get at least another five countries ticked off my list which is far more than many people around the globe. I’d say I’m a lucky girl, but I made all this happen by investing in myself and my trip. You can make it happen too, it’s very easy, just make a decision to do it and you’ll get there.
My New Year’s resolution?
Forget all this “New Year, New Me” bullshit, I’ve been doing awesome the last two years so if anything, I’m planning to keep up my attitude to life and following my own bliss – the rest all falls into place as a result. Stop worrying about the small negative things and the rest suddenly becomes the everything you’ve been searching for.
What are your New Year’s resolutions? Where do you plan to travel in 2017?
Photo by Mikhail Koninin
Yesterday marked an official milestone ahead of my travels. My resignation was finally officially passed over to the big bosses (I handed it in a month early to help give them time to replace me before Christmas) – so that means there’s really no going back now. Not that there was even a chance of me cancelling. My leaving party is on the horizon, I’m planning in lots of visits to see people before I go and I’m making sure I fill my boots with all those yummy Christmas foods in case I’m not back by next Christmas. It’s all starting to become a bit real now and I can’t quite believe how little time I have left at work – by the time you read this I will have just four Mondays left on the job! Everyone in the office is really excited for me, they’re all counting down for me as well. It’s such an amazing feeling to know how hard I’ve worked and for how long, and to now finally see that light at the end of the tunnel – that tropical sunlight beaming down at me. I’ve got just one more round of jabs left and everything else is finally falling into place, my plans are made and I’ve even started organising my travel wardrobe. So I thought it was about time I gave you guys an update on my plans for travelling:
My trip kicks off on January 6 when I fly out to Bangkok. After a couple of days sightseeing, shopping and eating in the city, I will head to the beaches and islands off south Thailand. Of course I’ll be taking in the standard backpacker route via Ko Pha-Ngan, Ko Samui, Krabi and Ko Phi-Phi. I’m looking forward to a lot of time spent snorkelling, swimming and pretending to be a mermaid. I’m meeting some friends when I arrive, so I’m sure there will be a lot of partying and fun to be had – the perfect way to start the new year if you ask me, and I’m looking forward to starting my trip with a bang. I’ll be spending a month and a half covering this ground, then for a complete change of pace, and to get my visa renewed, I’ll be heading to Vietnam for two weeks where I plan to travel as much of the country as possible – a LOT of food will be consumed here and I’m looking forward to visiting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Halong Bay looks beautiful and I would love to go on one of the river tours.
Photo by Jessica Morales
When I head back to Thailand, I’m heading straight to Chiang Mai in the North, where the experience of a lifetime awaits me. I have booked to spend a week volunteering at an elephant sanctuary where I will be caring for, feeding and bathing elephants for the week. It is a dream come true to get to do this and I am beyond excited. I’ve not even set out yet and already I know this will be a highlight of the trip for me! My week there will be followed by another week or two in Chiang Mai, followed by a trip further north to Pai. I’m really looking forward to Pai – I know already from everything I have read and seen of the place that it is definitely somewhere I will be wanting to stay for a while. The next leg of my journey will be to visit Laos for a week or two spent relaxing, taking in the scenery, visiting temples and dolphin spotting. After Laos, I’ll be heading to central Thailand, particularly the national parks and Sukhothai Historical Park. And then I might give myself some more time in Bangkok before heading to Cambodia for a few weeks for another huge highlight of my trip. I’m planning on staying at a yoga, meditation and health retreat for 10 days where I will be trying out a vegan diet, will be visiting the Cambodian temples, spending a bit of time just looking after myself and treating myself to a few massages. I’m really looking forward to this part of the trip and I’m pleased that there will be opportunities for me to explore the country further. I’ll have to head back to Thailand to catch my flight to Oz for the next leg of my journey – at the moment I plan for this to be around May but that is open to change.
Australia is very unplanned at the moment, but I know I have a lot of friends to meet and catch up with – plus I have several people coming out to meet me for stages of my trip here so it’s going to be a busy few months! I’m planning to travel around as much of the country as possible, and I’m hoping my friends will be quite scattered so I can use them as a guide for my travels. I’m really looking forward to checking out the surfing – my goal is to learn to stand up on a surfboard without help. I’m also looking forward to spending some time in the cities, particularly Melbourne, and of course the beaches – Bondi looks amazing! And I do have a little dream in the back of my mind of doing a bit of a Golden Coast road trip, but I’ll definitely need some friends to keep me company. I haven’t decided yet if I will need to work while I am in Oz – I will assess my funds along the way and will see if I want to pick up some more cash. I had planned for three months there, but I already know I’ll be extending it to at least four months.
In New Zealand, I will again be visiting a few people, old family friends, but I’m also looking forward to having some time to myself to explore. I haven’t got a plan yet, but I’ve definitely got a few things I really want to do – like visiting the glow-worm caves, whale and dolphin spotting, I would love to see the Southern Lights, I fancy a lot of outdoor activities, so more surfing, walking and climbing would be good. While I’m in NZ, I’ve also decided that I simply have to get a flight and go to Fiji, no matter how much it costs me. It just looks like paradise and I think I need a little taste of heaven. I have an idea in my head that if I can find a job in Oz or NZ to raise some more cash – I would love to raise enough to stay the full year and to fly back to Australia for new year to watch the fireworks at Sydney Harbour before catching my flights back to the UK via Dubai on January 6. Whew. Quite a trip huh?
I’m still researching places and working out my exact route, so if you have any suggestions or advice, please do leave a comment!
PS. I’d love if you would vote for me in the UK Blog Awards by clicking here and here.
