My bags are packed, I’m at the airport, and I’m doing this. As a result of various circumstances, I have the opportunity to take some time to go travelling and so I’m leaving the UK for the next 3 months to explore more of South East Asia and Australia. I loved our recent travels to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, and I am looking forward to seeing more of this fascinating, varied, and beautiful part of the world. I’ve been getting plenty of questions from excited friends, and they always tend to be the same ones so I figured I’d answer them all below.

Where am I going?

Right now I’m in the airport waiting to board a flight to Singapore where I’ll be for a few days before heading to Australia. Following that I’m hoping to explore Indonesia, Malaysia, head back to Laos and Thailand for a little bit, then visit Myanmar before heading over to the Philippines for Christmas. Then in early January I’ll be flying back home to London (and looking for a job, but let’s not talk about that right now).

Have I got it all planned?

The short answer is no, I quite consciously haven’t planned everything. Trust me, it has gone against everything I would normally do in preparation for any kind of trip and I’ve really had to fight my natural instinct to want to organise everything. I’m told that I’ll meet people along the way and I might want to flex my plans depending on what others are doing, and that sounds like something I want to be open to. If it doesn’t work out that way then some time alone for some self-reflection might be a good thing too. I also think that it could be a great way for me to break out of the mindset of wanting everything to be organised, allowing me to be spontaneous and let go a little. It also scares the bejesus out of me.

Is Mark coming with me?

Mark isn’t taking the 3 months off as the timing just wasn’t right for him. I love travelling with Mark and if I could choose then we would be going on this adventure together, and perhaps that’s something that will work out for us in the future. This opportunity was here for me right now and we both felt like it was stupid not to take it. Mark knows that if the tables were turned I would encourage him to do the same. He will be meeting me in Australia for a 2-week holiday together, and then again in the Philippines so we can be together for Christmas as well (and perhaps to make sure that I do actually come home??).

Am I excited?

I definitely have been excited…but right now I’m apprehensive. Yesterday I was pacing around my flat packing really inefficiently, all the while overthinking every decision. I know I want to do this, deep down I know I would regret it if I didn’t, I’ve even closed the door on job opportunities over this, but it doesn’t stop me crapping my pants right now about getting on a plane and leaving behind everything I know for the next 3 months. That being said, as my yoga teacher says “Fear is just excitement without the breath” so I’ll just take a second…

I’m excited to do this, to see more of the world and see if this long(ish)-term travel gig is all it’s cracked up to be. I’m super excited to be kicking things off in Singapore where the city is pretty spectacular from what I can tell, and the food is top notch. Well, time for me to get my flight and I’ll let you know how I get on!