General Travel

What We Learnt From Living Abroad

- Amy 8 Comments

Don’t get me wrong, I love to travel. I love to go on holiday and lie on a beach somewhere, I love to go backpacking on a shoestring budget and I love playing the tourist both at home and abroad. But, it’s all a whole other kettle of fish when you’re actually living abroad.

The lessons you learn about life, about the world and most significantly about yourself, are invaluable. You don’t just visit a place and learn about it; you become part of it. To better explain how living abroad changes and challenges you, I asked a couple of fellow travel bloggers what living abroad taught them.

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Don’t Tell Your Mother | A Mother’s Day Special

- Amy 4 Comments
Don't Tell Your Mother - Mother's Day

Dear Mum, I have a confession or two. Sometimes when I travel or I relay an anecdote from an adventure somewhere, I may leave out a few choice details. But, especially for Mother’s Day, I thought it was time to share/scare you with a couple of revelations:

I have travelled without insurance. Not a lot (I’m usually pretty good with this), but there’s definitely been once or twice where it’s slipped my mind or didn’t quite make it into the budget. If it helps, I’ve worked out that I’ve spent thousands on travel insurance, but I’ve never actually got anything back with a claim, so I saved myself some dosh. Read more

How Many Countries Are There? & Other Reasons Why I’m Not Counting

- Amy 3 Comments
How many countries are there - cover

My passport expires in 2020, but it’s almost certainly going to be filled by then. I’ve even stuck post-it notes onto the few empty pages left to save them from an Immigration officer’s careless stamp. But no matter how much I love flicking through the pages and admiring the ink, I don’t ask how many countries are there?

I don’t count countries.

I see a lot of travel bloggers, travel Instagrammers and travel enthusiasts with a running total on their websites or profiles, ’27 countries and counting!’ And I think it’s great if you want to do that. It’s a great way to quantify the places you’ve travelled to, it’s satisfying to hit the big landmark numbers and it’s good motivation if you want to see ‘all the countries in the world’.

I just don’t think it’s the only way to measure travel (if it can be measured at all). And it’s certainly not for me. You’ll never see a running total on here or on any social media page I’m on and here’s why: Read more

Backpacker Bingo: The Ultimate Travelling Drinking Game

- Amy Leave a comment
Backpacker Bingo Cover

We all know the backpacker stereotype. Dreads, bracelets, hippy clothes, baggy pants and a backpack the size of a house. As much as I tried desperately to rebel against the backpacker stereotype during my trip, I still somehow managed to slip into it every now and again; it was inevitable. And so, I invented Backpacker Bingo.

Backpacker Bingo Rules

Backpacker Bingo, a fun-filled game to enjoy with new hostel friends, travel buddies, or by yourself in your head! It’s a way to tick off (or drink to) all the typical backpacker things that you said you’d never do, but somehow find yourself doing anyway…

One point (or drink) every time you see, do or meet one of the following. Even better, make up a bingo card with 20 of these (or your own ideas) on it. Then tick them off as you go along with prizes at the end. Don’t forget your dobber. Read more

Why Moving Back to the UK is Harder Than Moving Away

- Amy 9 Comments
Moving back to the UK Cover

Yep, I’ve turned into that girl who starts all her sentences with, ‘When I lived in Hong Kong…’ My room is filled with knick-knacks from places I can’t pronounce. I can give advice on jet lag, travelling with only a carry-on and finding cheap flights online. I can speak in different tongues. If you know me, you’re probably bored of my travel anecdotes.

If you don’t know me, I should prefix this post by stating that, up until three months ago, I lived overseas. I spent five years in Hong Kong, with a few intervals in Italy (because I like to be complicated like that). I never planned to leave the UK or live in other countries, especially for so long, but it just kind of happened. Read more

How to Survive Long-Haul Bus Journeys in Southeast Asia

- Amy 2 Comments
Long Bus Journeys in Southeast Asia

It’s a rite of passage for all backpackers country-hopping around the continent. Despite your best efforts, you will definitely have to take a few long bus journeys in Southeast Asia. Whether it’s from city to city or country to country, the prices are so much cheaper than flying (and arguably safer than the trains).

Of course, you won’t be travelling in luxury. The roads will not be safe. The driver will be grumpy, drunk or short-sighted. No one will speak English, including staff and your fellow passengers. But it’s all part of the experience, right? It’s character building!

What you need is a survival kit. Here are a few things I learnt from taking 10 long-haul bus journeys in Southeast Asia: Read more

10 Ways I Manage My Fear of Flying (And You Can Too)

- Amy 2 Comments
Fear of Flying Cover

Are you surprised? I lived in Hong Kong for half a decade, I write a travel blog and I fly regularly. How could I possibly have a fear of flying?

If it helps, I’ve often asked myself the same question.

Where did the fear of flying come from?

My fear of flying properly started to manifest itself a couple of years ago. I haven’t been able to pin it down to anything in particular. There were no traumatising air travel experiences, no personal tragedies. No reason to doubt that the plane I’m travelling on will do anything other than get me from A to B. Read more

So That History Does Not Repeat Itself: Phnom Penh, Cambodia

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So that history does not repeat itself

Three pictures taken in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Three places that were difficult to visit, but too important not to miss. Let me share the stories behind them…

Sometimes tourism is more than just a holiday in a nice resort, cocktail with curly straw in hand. More than being brave and backpacking solo around Southeast Asia, posting lovely photos of exotic places on Instagram.

Travel educates you about the world in a way a textbook and the Internet can’t. And part of that education is learning about the history of a country or city to discover what shaped it into the place it is today. Read more

Sorry, 2016, But This Was a Pretty Good Year for Me

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2016

 

My favourite number is 13. Not because I was born on the 13th, or that the number 13 has significance in my life, but because I figure that a number that is unlucky for some has to be lucky for someone.

Much in the same way, the year that was essentially a real-life season of Game of Thrones for the world actually turned out to be a pretty awesome year for me personally. And not because I’m a “Leave” supporter or a Donald Trump fan. My year just kind of happened that way.

So sorry (not sorry) to gloat and rub it in your face, 2016, but you did not break me. 2016 had to be lucky for someone, right? Read more

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