After giving up everything and leaving home in July 2012, 2013 was set to be my first entire year filled with constant travel, random adventure and difficult challenges. And it was.
In 2013 I travelled through nine countries (I am a slow traveller), seven of them new, with only one I didn’t really like. I was ill more times than I can remember, yet laughed harder and felt more healthy and active than I’ve ever done before. I stumbled at an attempt to travel with people close to me, being left with little more than damaged friendships, yet met some of the most incredible people I couldn’t imagine not being in my life now. I got myself into some tricky relationships, attempted whilst living out the sporadic nature of a nomadic lifestyle and building a business, yet had days long encounters I will treasure forever.
Leaving to travel wasn’t just about hitting up a ton of destinations just to say that I had done it (I could rant for hours about ‘country tickers’), but about seeking out life experiences and watching myself completely change for the better, through the good and the bad. Some saw my decision to leave as selfish; some became jealous and quickly faded away; some were too wrapped up in their own sadness to understand how important this was to me; others have supported me constantly from day one. Personally, I’ve never felt more happy about the person I have become.
But one thing really took me by surprise this year – I never expected I would be back home before the year ended. When I left the UK, I stubbornly vowed never to return except for very brief visits, and I longed to escape a multitude of issues and challenges that would best be untangled, worked out and forgiven once on the independent road to anywhere. The truth is you have to come home at some point, you have to face the shit you tried to run away from and you need to recoup, play catch up and stay grounded.
And so my major lesson this year is that travel is about change – change that happens by chance and which leads to excitement, and the change that’s initially challenging but which actually works out for the better. Like realising that its ok for your plans to completely switch (I was supposed to go around the world and not just settle in Asia) and that coming home was neither failure nor the end, because rather than be in a perpetual cycle of travel and hitting a point where things appear normal or not that exciting (it happened), I have a renewed sense of extreme excitement about taking off long-term again in 2014.
I’m not a planner, but 2013 threw me off my original track. I wouldn’t change a thing, not when I look back on everything and remember some of my best highlights…
1. Volunteering in Cambodia
Volunteering, where possible and in places that mean something to me, will always be a key part of how I travel. Two years after my first visit to Cambodia I returned to try to make a difference, working at New Hope in Siem Reap for over three months. Aiding one of the biggest slum areas in Siem Reap, based only minutes from the Angkor Wat temple complex, this charity provides free schooling and medical care to a community who needs it most. I spent a lot of time in the village helping to assess families in need and I even tried by hand at being an assistant teacher. But the one thing I gained most from this? The realisation that I have nothing at all in my life to complain about. Nothing.
2. Summiting Mount Kinabalu
Trekking to Everest Base Camp is one of my biggest life achievements, and whilst that was a huge deal, I have never reached the summit of a mountain – to actually stand on the top next to one of those wooden signs, looking exhausted but elated. Being in Malaysian Borneo is like entering an outdoor adventure paradise and despite the hefty cost (around £175) to spend two days hiking, summiting Mount Kinabalu was exhilarating. A six-hour trek up and a 2:00am start the next morning for the final leg on ascent was both challenging and dangerous – pulling yourself over rock ledges with little more than about two inches of rock to stand on. I may not have been able to walk for four days afterwards, but I was absolutely buzzing.
3. Finally Visiting Myanmar / Burma
Myanmar is normally overlooked by those travelling through the well trodden plains of South East Asia, but I was determined to make it during my time back in this region, not only because it had been open to tourism for a while, but because I wanted to support a new and emerging economy. I adored this country, the incredible and beautiful people, the rich diversity of landscape and the growing infrastructure which made travel in Myanmar/Burma rather adventurous and exciting! If this year has taught me anything about Myanmar, it’s that too many travellers are quick to brag about who has seen it in it’s best and most ‘authentic’ state, overlooking the true purpose of why we should be travelling there – supporting those whose lives are slowly adapting from the slow release of a military regime.
4. Spending One Month in Japan
Japan was the dream destination I initially let go of when I was planning for my long-term travels. Sadly, it was too expensive when I initially outlined my monthly budgets over a set period of around 18 months – the cost of the Japan Rail Pass alone was off-putting. However, Japan just keep creeping into my thoughts and during one night in Bangkok I randomly booked a plane ticket. It was a ‘now or never move’ and despite spending a lot, it was really worth each and every penny to experience the mad and mannered contrasts of daily life here.
5. Discovering the Hidden Gem of Taiwan
I knew only of Taiwan from a friend I once travelled with. This hidden gem of Asia overshadowed by neighbouring Japan, Korea and China, it fast became one of my most favourite countries. It’s a haven for hiking, cycling and city exploration – combining all my favourite activities in one easily accessible area – and as a mountain plain surrounded by cities and scenic towns, it’s a beautiful yet overlooked part of the world.
6. Winning the British Travel Press Awards – Travel Blogger of the Year
I’ve spent the best part of my 15 months on the road working… because I love sharing my stories and experiences and encouraging others to travel. To have your hard work recognised is a dream come true, not to mention getting to meet one of your childhood heroes who inspired you to travel back in the day when the kinds of adventures you were watching seemed as off-limits as travelling to the moon. I want to be like Michael Palin. That is all.
7. Finally Getting to Israel (and Palestine) After 12 Years
I had Israeli friends at university and the truth was I never really knew where it was. All I remember was one friend showing me pictures of his days of service in the army, talking about a city called Tel Aviv and witnessing other fascinating things, like reading books backwards. It was mysterious and sounded almost exotic, yet deeper chats revealed that it was a complex and difficult place for the outside world to really gets to grips with and understand. I knew one day I would have to visit and sporadically over the years I tried many attempts to research and understand the rich history and political debate, except it just baffled me and I too quickly gave up. That was until I became a writer interested in issues-based destinations and misunderstood places and had the opportunity to work with an incredible team of people who know how to help people to travel in Israel without political bias. The start of 2014 will be making sense of it all, writing it all up and… going back.
2014 is quickly filling up with exciting travels plans. In February I will be heading to Montreal, Canada, to learn how to ski before handing to Toronto and then road tripping with some new Canadian travel buddies to Quebec city for the Ice Festival. I then have some exciting plans in Germany before leaving the UK again in March for the start of another long stint of gallivanting the globe, starting in India and Sri Lanka. Moving out of Asia for a while, I will begin travelling around the Middle East (a rough plan is still in progress) starting around May time – an area I am keen to build an expertise in. Israel gave me a taste for this region of the world and I am excited to be mapping out plans for a return there, alongside the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Oman. Watch this space…