Travelling isn’t easy so why did I decide to leave home and all my comforts that I’ve become used to and see the world? Well it wasn’t always straight forward.

Gilli Trawangan – Lombok, Indonesia

I was 21, just graduated University with a BA in Media Communications, no idea what to do next. I knew I didn’t want to settle down just yet. Working the whole summer in my hometown in Wales, I saved so hard I barely got to see anyone or do anything. No real plan had been formed yet, all that I knew was I was going to go somewhere, anywhere.

Franz Josef – New Zealand

I was given the opportunity to travel Australia with one of my friends. Of course I said yes. So many people I knew had traveled Australia already and I wanted to be one of them. From driving 4X4’s on Fraser Island, to sailing in the Whitsunday Islands, or just seeing Sydney Opera House in the flesh – that was going to be me. This was a point in my life where I had nothing else to lose, I was booking that flight and that was it. I planned to leave in the November and be back by March to be bridesmaid at my best friends wedding – a short but sweet trip before I settle into a job relevant to my degree and that was me done… or so I thought.

Arriving in Australia was daunting – I was with a friend who left and I was suddenly on my own. But I thought I was only there once so I decided to throw myself into the backpacking scene and head up the Australian east coast – solo! Turns out this would be the most soul-searchingly amazing 6 weeks of my life, and would make me fall in love with travelling.

Magnetic Island – Australia

Even though I was travelling alone – I was never really on my own. The people I met travelling Australia’s East Coast were, and remain, some of the most inspirational people to me. Some were solo backpackers like myself, some were travelling in groups of old and new friends. I was with my people and I never wanted it to end. During this time I became more confident than I’d been in years. I felt free to just decide where to go next and when I should go. There was nothing tying me down to a certain place and the world was literally my oyster (cringe).

This is why I extended my flight by 3 weeks. This is why I booked a flight back to Australia after my friends wedding. Why I did my farm work to apply for my second year visa. Why I booked flights to NZ, Bali, Fiji, Samoa, Vietnam – the list goes on! There’s a quote that pretty much every backpacker shares at some point which goes –

“We travel because we need to, because distance and difference are the secret tonic to creativity. When we go home, home is still the same, but something in our minds has changed, and trust me that changes everything.” – Anon

And it does change everything. You realize there’s more to life than being in the same place, doing the same thing, going to the same places over and over again. This is why I decided to travel. This is why I am still traveling and have no plans to stop.

This also isn’t a standard preach that I think everyone should travel like me, obviously traveling isn’t for everyone and everyone does it in their own way. Don’t think that just because I’m on the other side of the world and seeing all these place`s that I don’t miss my home comforts. Right now i’m really craving chippy chips, curry sauce and a battered sausage (which I’m going to get nowhere in Vietnam – trust me I’m trying). But if you’re reading this there’s a good chance you’re either already travelling or thinking about it.

If you already are – well done you’re smashing it! If not – I really hope you get to book that flight!

Cat Ba Island – Vietnam

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