Going to Travel

The problem with travel blogging, and surrounding yourself with other travel bloggers is that you never stop dreaming about where you’re heading next. I feel inspired on an almost daily basis to visit new shores, try new foods, meet new people and explore unmapped terrains. All of which is certainly not conducive to holding down a full-time job!

As a lot of you know, I’ve spent the last few years working in the marketing team at TrekAmerica, which is honestly the most fulfilling job I’ve ever had. Every day allows me to create something new, my team are just incredible and the customers? Well, they’re just about the best around, if you ask me.

So you might be surprised to hear that I’ve decided to leave my dream job to pursue a new way of life… as a full-time globetrotter! Those who have followed my blog for a while may have seen the article discussing whether I should buy a house or go travelling. Well, decision made. I’m off!

That’s right, as of February 2015, I will be leaving my beloved home town of London and setting off on a journey across Asia, starting in India, which will be my proud 50th country.

For those who know me well, India might seem like a fairly illogical choice. Why? Well, here are 5 quick things you should know about me:

1. I am absolutely irresistible to mosquitoes

2. I have a very sensitive gag reflex

3. Personal space is VERY important to me

4. I feel really uncomfortable if people stare at me

5. I have the stomach of a weak kitten

So, why on Earth have you chosen India?

As most people will have heard, India can be loud, smelly, crowded, mosquito-filled and a total culture shock. So… pretty much everything I’m not too fond of then! But it’s also supposed to be the most rewarding experience, with some of the most inspiring landscapes, people and cultures in the world. I would never forgive myself if I didn’t go and follow this wanderlust of mine, even if it does cost me the best job I’ve ever had.

In fact, I’ve chosen India precisely because of all of the things above. I want my perceptions of life to be challenged. I want to feel the rapid change inside which travel inspires. For what is travel without a touch of adventure?

I also want to concentrate on me for a while. London has been everything I wanted and more, but it’s broken me into a million tiny pieces. I spend my days working hard, my evenings drinking wine (either with or without a reason to!), and my weekends working on my blog or running errands. I don’t have time to just sit and contemplate the world anymore. My body is weakening and my spirit is being dampened by the cold, wet British winter. I need a change.

I believe India will give me the fresh start I need. I plan to immerse myself fully in the culture, work on getting myself healthy again through yoga, meditation and laughing from the belly, like I used to. I plan to spend my days wandering temples and exploring bazaars, and my evenings meeting people with a different outlook to me, hopefully learning something new along the way. And my weekends? Well, what’s a weekend when you’re on the road?

Of course I plan to blog too. I want to share this new lease of life with my readers, and hopefully inspire others to follow suit. After all, it’s all about ‘Adventure for the Unadventurous‘, right?

How are you going to do it?

So far, my boyfriend Alex and I have booked a one-way ticket to Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram), on India’s south-west coast, and we plan to travel north and east, overland as much as possible through central and south east Asia. Transport will be varied, using trains, buses, boats, rickshaws and the occasional plane (if required) to get around.

We have a rough plan, which at the moment is completely fluid so I welcome suggestions for places to visit (please comment below)! We plan to head north along the west coast of India (nipping inland occasionally) to the Gujarat region, then travel east through the country’s northern areas to Nepal. Other countries on the wish list are Bhutan, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

After that? I have no idea. We’ll just have to see how long the money lasts!

So stay tuned for a lot of changes, some inspiring tales and no doubt a few hiccups along the way! Why not subscribe to my monthly newsletter (in the right hand column) to get the latest on the blog in one neat package? And don’t forget to let me know if you have any ‘must-see’ places in Asia which I absolutely have to add to the list!