Some Thoughts on Long-Term Travel

I've been thinking a lot about writing a post like this for a while, on whether I should write it, and how I should word it, and what exactly I want to say. When I started writing this blog back in late 2015 I wanted it to be about health and holistic living with some honest truths about what I have found out along my own personal health journey. However, because I wanted to keep writing whilst I was away it has gradually evolved into a travel blog. Either way, no matter what I blog about, I always wanted to be honest and write my true feelings about my experiences, which I think is becoming rare in a 'everything is amazing all the time' world of Instagram and social media.

Travel IS amazing, but just like any lifestyle that you choose to lead, it isn't amazing every minute of every day, especially when you travel for an extended period of time. It is inevitable that there are going to be aspects of your day-to-day life that you become bored with, or that annoy you. The truth is that a significant portion of long-travel is actually quite tedious. There's a lot of waiting around for busses, trains, planes, your luggage, the ticket queue to move faster. There is also a lot of planning involved and the amount of decisions that you have to make on a daily basis is multiplied. Where am I going to eat, where am I going to stay, how long am I going to stay here for, where am I going to go next, what fits in with my budget, what fits in with my timescale - these are just a handful of decisions that run through your head every day and may sound trivial, but making these decisions after a 16-hour bus journey or lost in the 42 degree heat in a part of the country where nobody speaks English, for example, is HARD. When you have a settled lifestyle all of these things are taken care of and you can focus on all of the other things that make your life your own, which is why it is so easy to get into a routine when you already have a routine to work around, and less decisions to consider.

People say that travel is addictive, and although this is a cliche phrase I really feel that it is the most accurate way to describe long-term travel. You're always on the hunt for that ultimate feeling, the high, the earth-shattering experience that shakes you so hard that you become a different person. In between the highs, what do you do? You wait, you plan, you save, you live your life in the best way possible to enable that high. So when I think of addiction, or what I know about addiction, it is very similar, the waiting, the shifting and the constant adjustment of your life with the sole focus and motive on the one thing that gives you that ultimate intense high, whatever it may be.

Over time, the high becomes less intense as you become less impressionable. When I got to South East Asia everything amazed me, I was constantly taking photographs, writing blog posts, eager to sign up to every tour and always wanting to go out and party and experience every little bit. Now that I am 18 months into my journey, I am still amazed by a lot of things but less appreciative of it as a rare moment. That's because I have accepted this as a part of life now. My mind has come to terms with the fact that hopping to a new place every few days or so and constantly seeing something new is a given. Even typing this seems absurd, I can't believe that moving through countries and taking the time to experience them has become a normality, but this has been my life for a year and a half now. When I meet other travellers, I can tell immediately how far into their trip they are. New travellers are more excited, more appreciative, they have their eyes more wide-open. That was me at the very beginning of my trip and I miss it! Once the exhaustion has set-in from a life of constant upheaval, it is difficult to be excited and you become more selective with your itinerary, which isn't necessarily a bad thing as you know more about what you want but it does hinder your willingness to try a little bit of everything, and love it even if it doesn't turn out how you planned.

I would not trade the past 18 months of my life for anything in the world. I am a completely different person because of travel and I am incredibly overwhelmed that I have had the opportunity to do this. When I think about leaving this life that I have led, the habits and skills I've adopted and the small comforts I've found in living an ever-changing life of uncertainty, my chest feels heavy and restricted a little like it does with heartbreak. However, when I travel, I want to soak up every moment. I want to be the fresh-faced traveller with my eyes wide-open. I don't think travel is a box that you tick off in life. Once you have fallen in love with travel, or succumbed to the 'addiction', you can never turn your back on it. Travellers always find a way to travel, if only for a few days, just to gain a sense of that feeling. Isn't that the only reason anyone does anything in life?

What I will miss about living in Melbourne

Oh Melbourne. I've hated this city, accepted this city, enjoyed this city, left it and returned pretty swiftly, but now I have finally, FINALLY, really left after living there for almost an entire year. I've had a very on-again off-again kind of relationship with Melbourne, and whilst there are lots of things I definitely will NOT miss (to name a few: the erratic weather, waiting a MILLION years to cross the road, breaking into a hot sweat and flustered panic when the MYKI inspectors get on the tram) there are plenty of things that I definitely will miss. 

Being surrounded by street art

This is something I became so complacent about as time went on, but when I first arrived in Melbourne I was so excited and inspired by all the amazing street art EVERYWHERE. There are places likes Hosier Lane which have become a tourist  for graffiti and urban art, but when you get out of the centre and explore all of Melbourne you notice that every suburb is it's own ever-evolving art space. I stopped taking pictures in the end, it just goes to show how complacent you can become over time. Here are some of my favourites when I had my eyes open in appreciation:

Melbourne's creative scene

Melbourne is a huge creative hub with amazing gallery exhibitions and an array of art classes, workshops and events. I dropped art after my second year of University but continued to draw and paint for years before I just completely stopped around 2 years ago. It  was so difficult not to be inspired and motivated with all the street art around me, so I found a life drawing class in St Kilda (St Kilda Life drawing - check it out if you're in the area. Good people, good music and just pure drawing for 2 hours) and went from there. There's also a good space called Work-Shop Melbourne which has so many amazing courses, work shops, taster sessions, classes. I did a calligraphy class there and met a lot of cool people. Once I realised that there are so many like-minded people around me just being creative for the pure joy of it and not letting anything stop them, it motivated me to start drawing again (even if I think what I create is rubbish).
After being so down-and-out when I first arrived here I thought this would be the least likely place for me to reignite an old passion, but life is full of surprises, so thank you Melbourne for motivating me to create again.

The brunch scene.

Melbourne turned me into that person who takes pictures of food before they eat it, and I don't even care. The brunch scene in Melbourne is as delicious as it is instagrammable (that's officially a word now, right?) I ate at a different cafe every weekend and still didn't scratch the surface. Whether you're veggie, vegan, paleo, gluten free, sugar-free, lactose intolerant, raw, all of these things or none of them, you will find a cafe that caters to you and you won't be short on brunch options. Shout out to some of my favourites - Fourth Chapter on Chapel Street, Monk Bodhi Dharma in Balaclava, Manchester Press in Melbourne CBD for some excellent bagels, Uncommon in Windsor and Sister of Soul on Acland Street in St Kilda. 

Living by the ocean

When I first arrived in Melbourne I lived in the CBD for the first two months. It was hectic, busy and a little isolating. As soon as I moved to St Kilda I immediately felt a tension I didn't even realise I was carrying release from my body. There's something so calming about living close to the ocean. This was one thing I never, ever took for granted and I loved running along the beach at weekends and evenings. In the Summertime we would all head down and sunbathe for as long as we could stand the 38 degree heat. I never did get up early enough to catch a sunrise despite my best intentions, but I did catch some amazing sunsets on walks down to St Kilda Pier in the evenings.

FRIENDS <3

I saved the best until last :) Being so far away from home and from your friends and family is one of the hardest parts of moving to Australia. I would have left a lot earlier if it hadn't been for the amazing people that I lived with and who became close friends over the past year. Everybody is in the same boat and understands you when you are feeling homesick or hopeless or a little lost. Moving into a big house share was a lifesaver. We had some huge house parties, Christmas day on the beach was unforgettable, there is always somebody to talk to, eat with, or just chill with.

Melbourne is a hub for people in Australia over on working holiday visas and there's a huge backpacking/traveller community. Once you feel connected to it and a part of it it really does make the experience less daunting as everybody really does try to help each other out. The friendships that I made and the people I met over the year really did make the experience and it wouldn't have been the same without them. So, thank you everybody for being a part of my year. And thank you Melbourne, for being my temporary home, and teaching me a lot of important lessons along the way.

Working Holiday Visa - the lowdown

I've had a lot of people back in the UK ask me about the Australian working holiday visa, what it is, what kind of work you can do out here, and whether it's worthwhile doing it. The great thing about a working holiday visa is that you can pretty much make your experience in Australia whatever you want it to be and everybody's experience differs slightly depending on where they have lived, worked and travelled during their time in the country.

A working holiday visa allows you to legally live and work in Australia for one year. The main purpose of this visa is to allow you to save and fund your travels further, which is pretty awesome. You can work for any one company for up to 6 months, and once the 6 months is up you have to find work at a different company. Australia is a brilliant country to save in as it has one of the highest minimum wages in the world at $17.70 p/h, but I've never worked a job that paid me less than $20.

The visa is pretty straightforward to obtain so long as you've been well behaved in life and have no criminal convictions that will hinder your application. You can do it yourself from the Australian government website, or if you're like me and leave it until completely the last minute you can pay an additional fee and get a company to do it for you. I bought mine from STA travel, it took 2 weeks to be accepted and cost me less than £250.

Now lets talk jobs. I've done so many jobs since I've been here. I started with temp casual work working a stall selling kids modelling clay at events and festivals, I worked three weeks at a cafe before I quit, I've done bar work, and I've office temped. Although I enjoyed all of my roles for different reasons, office temping has been by far the best. It's decent hours, decent pay, and I've had nothing but positive experiences with every temp assignment I've worked. The people have been helpful and welcoming, it's been great exposure to different office environments across various industries, and I've learnt loads of new skills. I fully recommend it to anybody with any office or administration experience.

Before I came to Australia I met a few people in Asia who had managed to secure roles in the industries that they worked in back home. When I first arrived I was very keen to remain working in media and slogged pretty hard on applications and made a good few phone calls to various places. Whilst I did have some very positive conversations, none of them were willing to take me on whilst I was on a working holiday visa. You have to understand that big companies have to play by the rules, and it doesn't benefit them to take on a new recruit, train them, and only get a good 4 months from them before having to let them go. Now, if you know somebody in Australia that can set you up with a sweet deal, have a lot of contacts and connections, or are willing to accept a sponsorship visa early on into your working holiday visa, then that's great, but the chances are you're not going to be able to work within the same industry that you did at home and you have to be okay with that. I knew I was only going to be here temporarily and so took this opportunity to work casual jobs and enjoy the variety of work I was offered from my agency all whilst keeping in mind my main goal of save save save so that I can get out and explore this big beautiful country.

5 minutes down the road from my place in Melbourne

The two big players for settling down and finding work in are Melbourne and Sydney. When you get here, you'll meet a lot of people that love Sydney but hate Melbourne, or love Melbourne and hate Sydney. I've yet to meet somebody who loves both. They are both amazing cities for different reasons. Melbourne is full of street art, amazing cafes, culture, bars and live music venues tucked in alleyways. The weather is erratic and it can get a lot cooler here. When I arrived in September it was freezing, I had to buy a coat and honestly I felt that I'd made a terrible mistake. Read about my first experiences of Melbourne here. The summer gets hot, hot, hot. It reached 38 degrees on Christmas day. Sydney is full of iconic landmarks (Hello Sydney Opera House and Darling Harbour!), beautiful beaches, amazing swimming pools integrated into the landscape that overlook the ocean, surfers, free barbecues by the beach and overall the weather is much better. Both of them have an abundance of work. You'd have to weigh up the pros and cons after visiting both, and if I could offer one piece of advice it would be to see as much of Australia as possible before settling down in one place, or at least seeing both of these cities before deciding on one. If you're coming straight to Australia then I would really advise coming with a decent amount of funds behind you so that you can take time to decide what you like. I came to Melbourne straight from backpacking South East Asia for 3 and a half months so my funds were low, but if I could go back and change one thing it would be to see both places before deciding on one.

One of the many stunning views from the Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach walk in Sydney 

Now, this post is getting pretty long so I'm going to wrap it up with a short answer. If you want to come and travel, and you want to work somewhere that allows you to extend your travel, or stay in Australia for an extended period of time so that you can see as much of it as possible, then get a working holiday visa. For me, on the whole, it's been an incredible experience. It's been tough at times, it's been challenging, it's been interesting, it's been amazing and wonderful and definitely something that I'll remember for the rest of my life. 

Agnes Water

I haven't dedicated a blog post to once specific place in a country since Pai in Thailand, but I have to give this amazing place up Australia's East Coast a special mention. Agnes Water is a quiet, relaxed place in Queensland. It's not a party place. It's very small, the main town centre consisting of one small row of shops, one cafe, one supermarket and a handful of restaurants. Life moves at a slow pace; nothing is rushed. The wifi is intermittent and phone signal is non-exsistant, which is a blessing or a curse depending on what kind of traveller you are. There are some beautiful picturesque spots to seek out, an abundance of surfers and a lot of sunbleached blonde kids skateboarding barefoot around the streets. It's how I imagined the majority of Australia to be away from the bustling cities and vast expanse of the outback. 

So what is there to do in such a small, quiet town? There's actually a lot to explore and see here despite it being so quiet. Agnes has the cheapest surf lessons along the East Coast at only $17 for a 3 hour lesson. The beach is beautiful and comes without the crowds. The Scooteroo day tour is pretty popular and provides you with an opportunity to ride bikes through the town of 1770 in the full authentic biker get-up, leather jackets with flame motif included. 

However, my visit to the Kangaroo Sanctuary here was by far my biggest highlight. It's ran by a guy who rescues young kangaroos from mothers who have been hit on the road by cars. He's really passionate about what he does and will tell you a lot about kangaroos, how they eat, how they impact and contribute to the environment and how they reproduce and look after their young (a female Kangaroo can suspend her pregnancy for up to 12 months - insane!) The kangaroos are very gentle - natured and comfortable around people. You really get to interact with them, feed them and stroke them and they'll come right over to you and nudge you for food.

It was amazing to see the kangaroos relaxed and happy in their environment. I love animal sanctuaries and I really believe they are the best way to see animals and support their care. Despite being very well cared for and having a lot of space, the kangaroos at Australia Zoo were understandably very indifferent to interaction as they see an average of around 5,000 people a day. They are also highly tolerant as some of the younger children can approach them a little boisterously and be heavy - handed when they pet them. There was a subtle but definate difference in their behaviour that I really picked up on.

The sanctuary visit really touched me and it was one of those rare travel moments that reminds you why you wanted to travel in the first place. It's easy to become complacent whilst travelling long-term as travelling quickly becomes a lifestyle that you adjust to and like any lifestyle it has its pros and cons. It's easy to lose your way when you are stuck in once place and forget your purpose, but once you leave you're able to gain perspective again. 

Most people skip Agnes Water to head straight to Airlie Beach. I hope my post inspires you to make time for this beautiful part of Queensland! It really surprised me and I loved my time here.

Itchy Feet

I haven't posted in ages AGAIN mainly due to being lazy and also pretty uninspired during my last month or so in Melbourne, and I have ended up living here for SIX MONTHS now, which is way longer than I expected to be there when I first arrived.

Melbourne is a great city, and even though I hated it at first, it really grew on me over time. It's an exciting place, very cool and there's SO much to do here with some sort of event or festival or gig on every single weekend, as well as an abundance of hidden bars and healthy cafes where everything tastes amazing (this took a significant chunk of my $$. I regret nothing.) It's so easy to enjoy yourself and spend a lot of money here. I had to constantly remind myself that I was there to save not spend. I was fortunate enough to get in to a great share house and make a lot of friends who are also backpacking, which made such a difference. I also landed a great temp - job working with some amazing people. It's the people that make the place! I will do a full review of Melbourne as a city, what it is like to live there and how it compares to Sydney in another post :).

                   St Kilda Festival - it's free!

It took so long to settle down in Melbourne and build all of the components of a steady routine from complete scratch. Once I'd accomplished that, it was so relieving to have my own space, the same bed, and all of my belongings hung up and in drawers rather than squashed into a 60L backpack. But once the novelty wore off I was itching to leave again.

It's so easy to get stuck into a comfortable rut at any point in life. It's nice to have a set routine and all of the comforts of home and habit that make living day to day so much easier. I don't know if I was ever fully "comfortable" at any point in Melbourne, as I always had this nagging urge at the back of my head reminding me that this wasn't what I came for, to settle down or live a life I could live at home in the U.K, anything ordinary. I came to travel, to push myself and see new places.

It's no secret that you need some hefty funds behind you to travel. Living and working Melbourne was a necessary part of my journey. I knew when I left home that I wanted to be away long-term (I'm defining long-term as a year or longer away from home), and so I knew I'd have to stop somewhere and top up my savings at some point. However, after a good couple of months on a steady income I have finally left to travel up the East Coast of Australia. See you soon Melbourne. It's been real <3

Celebrating Christmas away from home

When I set off to travel I knew I was going to be away for at least a year, which inevitably meant spending Christmas in another country, more specifically Australia (about as far away from home as I could be!) I accepted this a long time ago and I thought I would dread it but when it came around it really wasn't as bad as I thought. A lot of people have asked me what it's been like to be away from home so here's a short and sweet blog post (after almost a 2 month long blogging break :/) about my Christmas down under. 

The Christmas build - up was really surreal. The 1st of December marked the first day of summer for Australia and the weather really warmed up (albeit slowly and erratically, thanks Melbourne) over the weeks. Christmas decorations below blue skies and pictures of families enjoying a Christmas barbecue is just not something I'm used to, but when you speak to Australians they can't imagine it being cold and dark during Christmas time, so there you go!

Another thing I noticed was that Australia, or Melbourne at least, really doesn't seem to do Christmas as big as we do back in the UK. There's so much more hype back home and Christmas is everywhere, in people's homes, on the radio, on the TV, every brand has their own special Christmas advert and all the shops play Christmas music from at least November. I barley saw anybody adorn their house with lights in Melbourne and I could count on one hand the amount of Christmas songs I heard. I also didn't have an endless list of parties/christmas dos/family gatherings to attend being so far away from home, so I could see it all happening on social media but I wasn't involved, so it really didn't feel like it was happening.

Luckily I live in a big house share where every housemate is British or Irish, so we made big plans for the day. It's a backpacking tradition to go to the beach so after we made a Christmas day feast (barbecue meat and salad) we headed 5 minutes down the road to St Kilda beach.

The atmosphere was phenomenal, the beach was packed and it was a whopping 38 degrees. It was like a huge festival with everybody playing music from speakers, dancing, drinking and chilling in the ocean. The majority of people are young backpackers from all over the world so it was really diverse and an amazing way to celebrate Christmas day.

Christmas is a time of tradition, family and more significatly, home, so homesickness during the build - up was inevitable and I did crave familiarity, but when it came to the day I had such an amazing experience I'm so glad I've had the opportunity to see what Christmas is like on the other side of the world. Definitely one I will always remember.

Lull

I'll keep this post brief as nobody likes to linger too long on the bad points, the rough side of travelling, but this is all a part of my journey and I want to share it. 

I haven't written for a while now. Cambodia has been a little rough. First John got sick. Then he got better. Then I got sick. Then I got better. Then I got sick again. And here I am, gradually recovering, I can function but I'm weak and tired and if I'm completely honest, craving a local U.K Tesco so I can go in and buy:

Grapes
Wholemeal bread
Bananas
A tropical calipo ice lolly (or a twister)
Lurpack butter
An Elle magazine

So I can sit in the glory of my home comforts and just get BETTER.

But I can't. I have to keep going. I have to look after myself of course, but I have to stop thinking about all these little comforts and focus on what I do have around me so that I don't get homesick. I never thought that I would be halfway around the world, living out my dream, and craving something as mundane as a U.K supermarket. It's crazy how much something negative can change your perspective - if you let it. Getting sick out here was my biggest fear, and it's happened. It's not as bad as I thought, it could definitely be worse. For now all I can do is look after myself, drink water and be patient (which is the hardest part of being sick).