So here’s a few easy ways you can improve your chances of staying healthy when travelling:

- Get plenty of rest and sleep

Partying the nights away or travelling to a lot of places in a short time takes its toll on your body.  Your immune system weakens and all the viruses begin knocking on your body’s door asking to be let in.  Getting a good night’s sleep is one of the best (and cheapest) ways to get your body back on track.  Hostels aren’t always the best place to do this so think about ‘spoiling’ yourself with a private room for a couple of nights.

- Watch your alcohol intake

We all know, as backpackers, that we like to have a party or two but do it all the time and you’ll become bloated, gain weight, your skin will become oily and your sleep pattern will be over the place.  Not to mention, all the buckets you drank the night before will be saying a big ‘hello’ to you again on the way back out of your mouth when you’re on a 24-hour bus journey; pleasant.

- Drink fluids (no, alcohol, buckets or the famous M150 amphetamine drink in Thailand doesn’t count)

Like sleep, it’s one of the easiest and cheapest ways to stay healthy.  The health profession isn’t lying when they say that you should drink at least 2 litres of water daily.  Add to the fact that you’ll probably be very active, in the sun and sweating, you should drink more like 3.  If you don’t want to just drink water, have a fruit juice or a famous fruit lassi.  Simple yet effective!

- Watch your diet

It’s shocking I know but don’t live off McDonalds.  Depending on where you travel, the likelihood is that the local food is a balanced diet i.e. Thailand uses a lot of coconut mild and vegetables.  It’s not hard to stay healthy even if your main meal is more burger and chips than rice and vegetables; have fruit for snacks and water will also help ‘flush out’ your system (yeah, I just painted a lovely image for you didn’t I?!).

- Medication

If you know you have a constant condition (including sea sickness etc) make sure you have enough medication with you and that you don’ forget to take it just because you’re out on the town.  If you become ill when you’re away and you’re prescribed something, take the full course even if you feel better (unless otherwise stated)…many conditions can come back without the full ‘punchbag effect’ of the whole course.
Taking vitamins or prebiotics such as Bimuno are also great helps to avoid ‘Delhi belly’ (whether you’re in India or not…we all know everyone has a story ‘like that’) – the last thing you want to do is be caught out at an Africa border toilet with no paper falling into your own poop because you couldn’t squat any longer (I know I shouldn’t laugh but I kind of hated the guy that this happened to so I simply smiled inside and thought ‘Karma’).

- Rubber-up

Yes, I’m talking about sex.  Do you want the awkward conversation about who’s got the condom or do you fancy an STI or unwanted pregnancy instead?  Yeah, thought not.  So rubber up and stop whinging that you ‘can’t find one’…the condom that is, not a member of the opposite sex

What are your tips for staying healthy on the road?

Who:
Like most people, my parents inspired me to travel but unlike most people, it wasn’t because of anything they said or photos they showed me but because of something they did; they got divorced.
Until the age of 4, I was born and raised on a 45 square mile island called Jersey, 100 miles off the coast of South West England. When my parents split my mum needed the support of her family so we moved to Devon on the ‘mainland’ and I flew back to Jersey to visit dad during the school holidays.

My travelling companion - Cherry

By the age of 6, my parents divorce unintentionally gave me one of the best starts in life a backpacker could ever hope for because at 6 years old, I could officially be classed as an ‘unaccompanied minor’ by the airline meaning that, whilst I would be helped to and from my flight, as soon as I sat on the plane, I was by myself with nothing but a backpack full of colouring books, my favourite teddybear and a bag of sweets to share with the cabin crew and other passengers. The situation prepared me for valuable lessons in life and on the road about starting conversations and talking to people I wouldn’t normally.

I was a solo, female backpacker from the age of 6 and without my parents divorce, I may never have discovered my thirst for travel.

What:

I found this question surprisingly difficult to answer.  Not because I didn’t know what to say but because I didn’t know how honest I wanted to be.
The sugar-coated answer would be that home inspires me.  It’s so beautiful that it makes me want to go out and discover more beautiful places by the coast around the world.
I live in a town no more than 10 minutes away from at least 3 beaches and less than an hour away from the sprawling National Park of Dartmoor that overlooks the coastline; I couldn’t ask for a more inspirational place if I tried. Seeing such beauty all around inspires me to go out and see the beauty that other people call home.

Nothing but the blue

My local beach

Dartmoor

The real answer is that running away from home is what inspires me the most. 

It’s not that I hate my family or have no friends; it’s not the people I want to leave, it’s the memories.  When you’ve lived in a place for over a decade, it becomes part of who you are and sadly, I don’t like the part that home takes up in my soul.  I’ve had happy times in my town, I know I have, but I’m ashamed to say that I don’t remember them much as they are over-shadowed by the sad times.  I haven’t had a ‘hard life’ in the traditional sense but emotionally?  Emotionally my town reminds me of things my heart would rather forget.   It reminds me that the only time I have ever felt heart-burstingly happy is when I leave it.

So yes, like many, home inspires me to travel but it’s leaving it that makes me the happiest. 

When:
Truthfully? April 20 2010. That was the day my heart felt a happiness I had never experienced before; the moment one Manta Ray inspired me to change my life. I’d been on package holidays for years to wonderful places but always felt as though something was missing; it wasn’t until I began my 3 month solo trip around Asia that I began to appreciate just how special the world was.
The above date marks my first full day on a liveaboard diveboat in the Similan Islands, Thailand. I’d passed my Open Water Course just two days before and I was nervous as I jumped in for the first time but from the moment I descended, I was in an entirely different world; one that I had only ever seen on TV or read about in books; I was already mesmerised.

Then I saw her; my first ever Manta Ray. Seeing her 4ft ‘wingspan’ glide towards me so effortlessly spoke a language only my heart could understand. Nothing else mattered in the moment. I wasn’t worried about my breathing, my travel funds or the broken heart I left home with, I was simply content. I knew instantly just how beautiful the world could shine and how deeply you could feel it and searching for the next experience that recreates those feelings are what keeps me travelling today.

Where:
The Ocean, wherever I view it. So many people say that the ‘world’ is beautiful only really referencing land but have you ever looked under the surface? Do you have ANY idea just how stunning our waters are? Can you ever comprehend just how magical it feels to watch 5 Manta Rays dance amongst your air bubbles for an hour? I can and let me tell you – it speaks to your soul.
You swim parallel to the coral and see a fish in the anenomae; you may be calm on the outside but inside your head is screaming ‘Nemo! I found Nemo! And he’s got a family!!’ and you smile as you realise that there is no corporate world or class system under water, just your excitement at seeing something through a child’s excited eyes.

And when you reach the surface and you’re sat on the boat or the beach watching the sun set over the sea, your heart is awakened even further. Something that happens 365 days of the year suddenly becomes so much more powerful.  

As the suns rays reflect on the surface, you begin to reflect on your own life and there is NOTHING more inspiring than gaining perspective on your life and finding yourself.

As I have taken a while to write this, most people have already been tagged so I’m going to tag a very special person for this…my dear friend Erik of Onmyfeetorinmymind.  Take it away Erik…

At the beginning of February, something happened in my life and overnight, I stopped living.  I suffered a breakdown and needed weeks off work and time away from all aspects of the world.

I lost myself.

I wanted to use those weeks to get better but instead didn’t leave my house for days at a time.  I wanted to go running, eat well, spend time with friends and read; all the things I felt I needed to do to put myself back together again but I barely had the energy to even speak.  No song sang the words I wanted to hear, no movie captured my emotions and no written words could tempt me to read them.

I was broken with no idea how to fix myself.  But I was still fighting.  Fighting in something I believed in:

My principles.

Too many people in the world forget they have them and that they have every right to defend them when they’re being questioned or ignored.  Fighting for justice and what I believe in almost broke me and I wondered if I could keep going but I wasn’t prepared to lay down and give up.  I wasn’t prepared to settle.

With thanks to Kelly Angard from Flickr

There are not many things in life we can truly control; if there was, life wouldn’t be called an adventure.  There is something we can always control, however; self.  We can control ourselves.  We can choose to lay down and die when the fight consumes and overwhelms us or we can choose to fight with every fibre of our being and die trying.  I fought.

And I won.

After almost 11 weeks of having my reputation, integrity and honesty questioned, I won the battle, yet I can’t feel truly happy about it.  I may have won but at what cost?

When I was home, days slipped by in routine mist and nights crawled through time waiting for the inevitable thoughts that would keep me awake crying until dawn.  I had no energy to lift a fork or will to open my computer.  I ignored friends, avoided family and hid from both the online and real world.

So am I happy that I have won the battle?  No.  Am I happy that I suffered so that I could stay true to myself and hold my head up high at the end of it?!  More than I could tell you.

Staying true to yourself and fighting for what you believe in is something that you can never give up on or have taken from you.

In my darkest time, I had my first tarot reading.  I went in with an open mind and broken heart and came out with a sense of peace and determination to continue taking my life in the right direction.

My cards affirmed everything I had been going through; that my ‘world had collapsed’ and that I was betrayed by people I called friends.

They told me that I was in one of the darkest periods of my life.  And then they mentioned new beginnings.  A LOT of new beginnings.  They talked about travel too.  And then they produced the final card; The World.  The signal of the end of bad times and the beginning of good ones and the most strongly positive indication for longterm travel.  I knew then that I was taking my life in the right direction and that Australia is going to happen because I’m going to make it happen!

I found my inner peace again.

And whilst I continued to fight at this point, I knew that what the cards were saying was true; that it would come to an end soon and I would see the light of my new beginnings.

But then I realised that the cards weren’t right; I was.  Believing in myself and fighting for the very principles that make me who I am are the reasons I won.  When I was broken, I had no control over how I felt or how I stopped living but I did have control over whether or not I gave up or continued to fight.

I’m not happy that I’ve won; I’ve made too many sacrifices and it’s cost me so much but whilst the outcome of winning may be grossly under-valued in comparison to how much I gave up to win, I can hold my head high knowing that I did everything in my power to be heard and that I never gave up on myself.

You can’t always control the outcome but you can ALWAYS choose to fight.

It was my last day in Zambia and I was up for 7am waiting to be picked up for my microlight flight over Victoria Falls (and my first ever microlight flight at all!). There was an ushered peace as I sat in the relative quiet of the campsite feeling the warmth of the sun as it rose.

Microlight in the sunset

I’d spent the past 3 days watching the helicopters and microlights dance in front of the African sun at my campsite’s waterfront bar but couldn’t quite believe it was now my turn. I knew I was preparing to experience something special but I had no idea just how special it would be.

My driver was late, he’d been held up by traffic; a family of elephants that were too busy eating breakfast to move out of the way…such is the raw, natural life of Africa.

We arrived at Batoka Sky, an airstrip purely for microlights and helicopters and I was excited. After jumping into the Devil’s Pool the day before, my thirst for adventure had well and truly been awakened and I was about to tick something else off my bucket list; a microlight flight – I couldn’t wait.

After a safety briefing, I sat next to the runway to watch the first two people head off and after watching the staff push the microlight into place like it’s a bike, I suddenly got a sense of just how light and delicate the microlight actually was but instead of being scared, I couldn’t wait for my turn.

Before I knew it, they called me over. This was it.
I left my flipflops on the runway, got strapped in and had my helmet with headphones placed on me. My pilot introduced himself as Heiko and instantly I felt at ease; from his piercing blue eyes to the way he spoke, he had a gentle soul and I trusted him completely with my safety.

Flipflops on the runway

We started to taxi to the end of the dirty runway, we smiled for the camera attached to the left wing and with the gentlest of engine thrusts, we were airborne. Within moments we were flying over people, small buildings and even herds of elephants as we started to reach the banks of the falls themselves.

And we're off!

Elephants below!

Calm before the storm

As we got closer, the water was no longer still; I could see the current building, the sand islands emerging and the spray from the gorge.

Current building up...

As we flew towards the gorge itself, I finally realised the grandiose statement that Victoria Falls makes.  It wasn’t just one gorge, but several gorges for as far as the eye could see; I finally sensed just incredible the Falls really were.

Gorge galore!

wow!

The Falls below

Waving to the world!

As we flew over the Fall themselves, all I could say was ‘wow’; I was rendered speechless by such true beauty.

Being rendered speechless

The incredible Victoria Falls

I told Heiko that I felt like crying and he said that people do everything from cry to pray and even sing when they fly over the falls; tears began to roll down my cheeks.  Heiko said that that moment when people fly over the falls and feel the beauty in their heart is what makes his job the ‘best job in the world’, ‘to help someone have a moment in their life they will always feel and never forget is what makes me whole’; I couldn’t have said it better myself.

We flew over the spray and as we did, Heiko quoted the famous explorer David Livingstone: ‘scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight’.  I couldn’t stop the tears; to see such beauty overwhelmed me.

Crying my heart out =)

Lost for words & crying

Just as we were about to start turning back, we spotted a rainbow and Heiko told me of a beautiful saying: If a rainbow follows you at Victoria Falls, it is said to follow you for life.  And with that, he turned the microlight and we began to head back.

We glided over the water with the sun’s reflection following us as it danced among the hippos and and the trees and we spoke about how beautiful the planet was to create something as breath-taking as the Falls. I couldn’t express just how incredible a site they were or how emotional they had made me.

A serene morning

Calmness to current

Greenery of the Falls

Hippos and a hungry elephant!

Peaceful reflection

Coming back to land...

The End =(

And with that, we touched down. In just a 15 minute flight, my heart felt a happiness I couldn’t hope to describe. Even to this day, the memory of that flight is something I will never be able to forget.

Batoka Sky offers helicopter and microlight flights which can be booked directly or through your campsite.
A 15 minute microlight flight is approximately $85 and includes transfers and 30 minute flights are also available.

Words written by me in association with MoneySupermarket.com, helping you to compare backpackers insurance and save money for your next trip.

I think every girl in the world wants to go to a ball at some point in their life, even if they’re 5 years old using their dress up box and walking around with vegetables hitting them with a wand.

I bought my dress four years ago with no ball ticket bought but every intention to get to one at some point. Dredging through the Christmas sales, I saw the dress and figured I’d try it on to see if I actually looked any good in it; turned out I did. So, with my bargain bought (£45 down from £190!!) I headed home excited that I would be going to a ball soon but like a lot of things, life got in the way, weight got put on and before I knew it my dress came out of my ex’s wardrobe and straight into my own without seeing daylight. So after four years, 2 major relationships, a house move and two whopping travel adventures, I finally went to the ball and I took nearly 5 hours getting ready!!

I started getting ready with a trip to the hairdressers…it was my first time visiting the hairdressers *just* to have my hair styled (because as a backpacker, we can’t even afford to have our hair cut let alone styled!) and after one hour, two people and 40 hair grips later, my look was achieved…

Yes people, that is ALL my own hair. No hair pieces, just hair, hair and uh, more blonde hair =)

After that, it was home to relax and awkwardly try and have a shower without getting my hair wet before putting on the piece de resistance…can’t-afford-the-real-spanx-spanx. For women everywhere you’ll know what I’m talking about but a little Spanx 101 lesson for the men…it’s underwear that ‘sucks you in’ and gives you shape. Unfortunately, if you want a continual shape, you have to buy something like looks like a cross between a rubber chastity belt and short wetsuit and I can assure you, it’s just as hard to take off as it is to put on. And let’s not forget the push-up bra to give my décolletage that extra ‘va va voom’

After all the hair and underwear issues, sorting my make-up out and putting on my shoes, the look was complete…

How do I look?

It was a lovely night and the ballroom looked amazing with its Valentines theme…if only I went with a straight man instead of my two aunties

It was a ‘posh ball’ meaning that although you could dance ‘normally’ (or drunk as the case was for a lot of people) there were auctions and toasts to the Queen. Even the tables had a great amount of attention to detail…

The food was delicious…although a little on the small side for anyone that knows how much I love dessert

I had a great night! My hair looked great, my dress made me feel like a million bucks and the push-up bra made my boobs look great! I couldn’t have asked for a better time!  With my travel funds extremely limited this year, it felt GREAT to tick something off my bucket list

Have you ever been to a ball? What did you think of it?

Men can pee anywhere and anyhow they like
Seriously, this is one of the main things I hate. No, I don’t want to have sex-change surgery but I wouldn’t mind being able to pee without having to remove everything just for something that’s going to take a few seconds. At a festival and need the loo? Sure, just pop your willy out of the tent and you’re good to go! Walking home drunk and have to go? Well just do it in the neighbours garden! And don’t even get me going on wet suits! I’ve seen men in suits that have a built-in zip to just whip it out whenever they like. When a woman needs to go to the loo, not only do you have to peel yourself out of the wetsuit but undo your swimsuit too and put it all back on again – every. freaking. time!

We have the better reproductive organs (a curse and blessing)
Yeah, ok, men are the ones that carry the necessary swimmers to add to the mixture but just who in the hell decided that women had to bleed for five days every month AND have to go through child labour? I mean, what’s with that?! Why couldn’t humans be created like seahorses where the men have the kids?! They’d quit moaning about a cut on their thumb quick enough. Not only that but after a lifetime of bleeding every month and labour, we get to go through months of hot flushes and cramps when we get the menopause! Yep, the Universe is a man.

We can never get away from sports
There is a point in time where you can have too much of a good thing and when it comes to sports that point is inexplicably true! I have no problem with the Olympics and football World Cup happening every 4 years but why does there ALWAYS have to be some kind of sport available to watch? Football season always seems to be starting but never appears to end, there are always ‘friendly games’ or ‘warm up’ matches before seasons of anything such as rugby or F1 racing begins and the games are exceptionally boring – cricket anyone? Enough already!

Men fair better in sex
No, I’m not saying men are better at sex (though many think they are lol), I’m saying that they have a lot less to think about. As far as they’re concerned, if they’ve got a condom, they’re good to go. The worst case scenario they’ll experience is an STD but women? There are almost a dozen types of contraception for us ranging from a daily pill to metal coils inside us. And if that’s not enough fun for you, we’re the ones that get pregnant. As I said, a STD for men versus an unplanned pregnancy for women isn’t exactly equal is it?! We also have the ‘luxury’ of gaining reputations if we sleep with different men. Men are celebrated for adding another ‘notch on the bed post’, we’re called slappers; FYI women can enjoy sex just as much as men so quit name-calling!

Hair
Both sexes have it but unless they’re a male model or just incredibly vain, they don’t have to get rid of theirs. We, on the other hand, have no choice. Nothing wrong with that; I like feeling sexy as hell when my legs are silky smooth but then men bitch to us about having a tiny bit of stubble coming through a few days later despite them looking like they’ve still got a sweater on because their chest hair is out of control.

Hugh Hefner still gets laid at his age (that’s all that needs to be said)

Men can eat more calories
Men get to have 2500 a day but women? The species that bleeds for five days, gives birth AND has to put up with sport? We get punished with 500 less?! That’s not right on any level especially when chocolate has SO many calories in it and we’re the one’s running around after the guys for most our lives.

* Disclaimer.  This isn’t an ‘I hate men’ post, I really do love them, I’m just saying there are a few unfair & funny advantages for them.  Please remember that if you comment on this post, keep it friendly…I don’t want everyone to start arguing about this when it’s just a bit of fun

Despite what I said in my last post about the Falls not being hugely impressive to look at in the dry season, there is one major benefit: the Devil’s Pool. Only accessible in the dry season, the Devil’s Pool is a natural-made infinity pool that sits on the very lip of Victoria Falls over 100m high with a walk and swim over the Falls themselves to get there.

The calm before the storm

There are no ‘health and safety’ warnings at the Devil’s Pool. There’s no rope around the edge, no ladder to get in and out and if you don’t follow your guide’s advice, there’s a high chance you could die. Sounds fun doesn’t it?! Hell yes it is!

When I first told my friends, before I left home, that I planned to do the Devil’s Pool, some laughed nervously and others outright told me not to do it. My mum? She just shrugged and said ‘if it’s your time [to die], it’s your time’; gotta love her nonchalant attitude right?! But I was determined to do it. Not many people in life can say that they laughed in the face of death (it was a very nervous laughter I can tell you) but Devil’s Pool gives you that opportunity.

What I didn’t realise when I booked the Devil’s Pool was that you would actually have to swim over the Falls. As in, be a strong swimmer, follow your guide and don’t mess up. The other thing I didn’t realise? The boat that would take us to the sand island on the Falls departs from one of the most luxurious hotels in all of Zambia; The Royal Livingstone Hotel. I walked in with black feet, dirty clothes and a backpack and everyone else was over 50 dripping in diamonds and pearls. Even the staff looked me up and down wondering why I was there. Yeah, I know how to stay classy.

The Royal Livingstone Hotel

Catching the boat to the Devil's Pool

We had to walk/swim over this to get to the Devil's Pool -it hurt!

So Laura (a girl I had grown exceptionally close with on my tour) and I got in the boat, headed over to the sand island (where they serve the food) (yes, they really do serve food in the MIDDLE OF VICTORIA FALLS) and got a quick briefing from our guide. We just stood and stared not quite comprehending what we were about to do but over the moon to be doing it. Before we knew it we were clambering over rocks and wading into the water to begin our UNASSISTED swim. No rope, no-one pulling you across, just you, your fear and a crap load of kicking when you do the front crawl. We made it over to the first set of rocks before resting (we may be young but the water was deceptively strong!) and then we were off, holding hands to stay in formation before clambering over more rocks and seeing it; the Devil’s Pool.

Then the realisation hits. YOU’RE ABOUT TO SIT ON THE EDGE OF VICTORIA FALLS – WTF ARE YOU DOING?! LET’S DO THIS!

The view from the top!

The 'WTF' moment seeing Devil's Pool

We were told that you could either jump or slide into the Devil’s Pool and in my mind, with the WTF fear swirling around my brain, I was going to slide in but after watching the three American girls jump in before me, I decided that life was too short to not live and jumped right in – waaaaaaahooooooo!…..

Wahhhoooooo!

This is about the time I warn you not to wear a fashionable bikini to the Devil’s Pool because things tend to become a little loose with the jump and current i.e. you’ll come out of the water and sit on the edge of Victoria Falls for a good 10 seconds before you realise (or anyone tells you) that BOTH your boobs have popped out. Oh yeah, and everyone still waiting to jump from the rocks are men. Fun times! Meh, I couldn’t have cared less. In case you hadn’t noticed – I just jumped into the Devil’s Pool on the edge of Victoria Falls!! Nothing could bring me down.

Laura and I on the right

The photo in which I'd just put my boobs back into my bikini!

Laura and I sat on the edge of the Devil’s Pool hugging in disbelief that we’d just done something so incredible. Before we knew it, we were going around for a second time. This is again the time I warn you not to wear a fashionable bikini because it stops you climbing up the rocks as you’re trying to hold on to both your bikini top AND bottoms as the current is forcing them off. Everyone will laugh, you will give up caring and pretty much moon everyone.

Holding on preparing for our second jump!

When we swam back and walked over to the edge of Victoria Falls to see the Devil’s Pool from another incredible angle, Laura and I couldn’t talk. We just stood there crying and hugging each other. We couldn’t believe it. We’d just JUMPED into the Devil’s Pool! Over 100m high, we had jumped into a tiny pool 1m from the edge of Victoria Falls; simply mindblowing!

The rest of our group sat in the Devil's Pool

We then sat down for the best egg’s benedict I have ever tasted and talked with the rest of our group about our Devil’s Pool experiences with views of Victoria Falls all around us. What a setting! Laura didn’t know it yet but I’d organised a surprise…the chefs had baked her a cake and came out singing Happy Birthday; she burst into tears and seeing her so happy made me cry too.

It’s certainly a day that neither of us will ever forget and for all the right reasons.

You see, it’s not just about your experiences when you travel, it’s about the people you share them with and I couldn’t have asked for a better person to share such happy tears with.

We all struggle in life. We have bad times, lost times, sad times. You don’t want to look to your past because it’s painful, you feel bored living in the present and the future looks just as bleak as you feel. You don’t think your life is ever going to change and you’re right because nothing is every going to change unless you make the first step towards it. Life is about learning through making mistakes, not perfect decisions.

A couple of years ago, I thought I would never be happy. I knew there would be moments where I would experience it but I didn’t think I would ever be able to say that I was content or happy with my life; I thought that only happened to other people. I didn’t think I would ever know what I wanted to do with my life, or feel driven but then, something happened. I experienced something that altered the course of my life and I wanted to share it with you…

Two years and 1 day from today, I was in London by myself for the weekend visiting the Adventure Travel Show and scared to death but extremely excited about my three months solo around Asia which I had planned for March 15 2010. Life felt pretty damn good. I was also, although unknown to me at the time, pregnant. One day later, two years ago to this day, I found myself in a random London Hospital, alone, having a miscarriage. My world stopped and all that happiness I felt was within my reach came crashing down. I was at one of the lowest points in my life.

On the way home, I wrote a letter to myself, as a promise to the ‘future me‘, that I now carry with me wherever I go to remind me of how bad I used to feel so that I can appreciate how far I’ve come and how much life has changed. It’s deeply personal and I’ve never shown or told anyone about it but I want to prove to you that if I can change my life, you can to:

Dear H,
I miss you.
I’m not sure why you left or even where you went but I want you to come home; I need you.
Life hasn’t been the same since you went. I’ve made so many mistakes and lost so much; I can’t help feeling that if you’d stayed, none of this would have happened.
Did I say or do something to upset you? I wish you would tell me so I could fix it and you would come back to me.
You know, I thought I’d found you last year?! I was so close to reaching you but I fell over and when I looked up you had gone again. I’m still looking; I haven’t given up but I’m finding it harder to keep going, the more false leads I find.
How long has it been? 10? 11 years? I can’t even remember what you look like anymore and worry that when I do find you, we won’t recognise each other. I’ve changed. No matter what I’ve said in the past, I do need you. I know I pushed you away and I’m sorry for that; I just didn’t feel as though I deserved you.
I hope we find each other soon. I worry that the longer it takes to find you, the less likely it is you’ll want to see me. I’m not very well right now but I know that seeing you again would help. Even if you said ‘hello’ and left me with only a forwarding address, it would be better than nothing. Just knowing we were back in touch would put a smile on my face.
I hope you can forgive me?! I just want, no, need you to give me a second chance. I promise I won’t push you away again. You will be my top priority and I won’t let anything get in the way of our friendship.
I feel incomplete without you; life doesn’t feel worth living. I promise to respect, love and celebrate you if you’ll just come back to me Happiness.

Where have you gone H?
I miss you.
I need you.

It brings tears to my eyes writing that letter out knowing I felt so low but….
How have things changed since? Firstly, I took that first step to change and got on the plane to Asia. I’m not going to lie. Getting on the plane when I felt so scared and heartbroken was one of the hardest things I ever did and I didn’t have the ‘time of my life’ in those 3 months; I struggled. I cried beside pools, on the beach and booked private rooms just to be alone BUT I experienced moments of happiness so great that I knew I could keep going and that I should.

Life isn’t measured by the amount of times you fall down but by how many times you get back up again. When I had the moments so happy only my heart could measure, I knew that travel (and writing about it) made me happy, really happy. The type of happy that words fail to explain. That’s when I knew that despite everything that had happened in the past, travel and writing were my future. I was on the way to mending my heart and I began to feel that I could be content in life.

I won’t lie, coming home broke my heart all over again. Every street reminded me of my ex, every guy I bumped into looked just like him and friends announced their pregnancy at times I should have been expecting her. My heart ached with grief for six months before I finally felt ready to let her go and move on. We said goodbye when Sweetpea captured her own sunset…

That’s when my life really began to change, when I knew that I would be happy in life because I felt ready to live again.

So I began to prepare for my next trip…six weeks overlanding through Africa from South Africa to Kenya a few months later. I felt so much stronger heading into the trip and although the sheer thought of it scared the hell out of me, I knew I could do it.

Six weeks travelling through 7 countries was hard but incredible. I spent hours on the truck thinking and couldn’t sleep for all the thoughts running through my head; I was working through all the baggage in my life. The pain in my past, the routine of my present and the unknown fear of my future. But then it happened, I ‘found myself’ and suddenly everything in life clicked. It felt like I suddenly found the key to unlocking everything about myself. Right there and then, in that moment, I knew that, not only, was travel and writing what I was meant to do in life but I knew I could make it happen. I’d never known such confidence and self-belief before and couldn’t stop smiling, thinking about the endless opportunities ahead.

Travel did the talking.  It allowed me to quietly unpack all my emotional baggage and gave me time to put it all back together neatly and in that, I found my own level of spirituality. I’m not sure I could have ever achieved it or truly appreciated it if I hadn’t gone through such hard times before I realised how happy travel makes me feel.

You can take the same journey. You can do something out of the ordinary and push yourself to achieve your dreams. It doesn’t have to be big; it can be something as simple as trying something you’ve never done before such as taking a day trip to a place you’ve never been.  Knowing it’s something different and new can give you enough confidence to take on something bigger and better for the next step! I’m not travelling at the moment and I have a few big obstacles standing between me and my next trip but you know what? I’m ok with that. Before Asia, I would have just given up; I think, if I’m honest, I would have given up before Africa too but now that I’ve experienced nature at its finest? I feel whole and a whole heart can take you a long way in your life journey.

Two years ago today I lost Sweetpea, never thinking I would be happy and whilst I can still cry over my loss even today, I am content in my life.

If you think your life will never change and that you’ll never find your way you’re wrong. Take the first step and your feet will find the path for you.

Victoria Falls - Zambia

It’s an amazing place but because I was there in the dry season, it just wasn’t a ‘wow’ place since, instead of the continual sheet of water thundering over the top, there were several smaller (but still huge) waterfalls, the gorge seemed smaller than I thought it would be and it just didn’t set my heart on fire as much as I thought it would. Rumour has it (and from what we could see) the Zimbabwe side is much better in dry season. Victoria Falls isn’t perfectly flat, it tilts like a set of scales and the Zambia side is at the top meaning that all the water heads into the Zimbabwe side so remember that if and when you visit…a stop in both countries might be all worthwhile!

However, the beauty that I saw whilst at Victoria Falls Zambia? That’s a whole other story because I fell in love with it. Seeing rainbows everywhere, the beautiful views of the gorge and being able to walk on the very edge of Victoria Falls in Zambia more than made up for my initial disappointment. As you walk along the viewpoint trail and bridge you have these almighty views surrounding you. Rainbows to your right, rafting gorges to your left and another country right in front of you; it’s hard not to fall in love with Victoria Falls in Zambia.  

Victoria Falls is a beautiful place with a lot of activities offered against its backdrop and you can even walk with lions locally or play a game of golf.  Golf may not sound exciting to you but if you love the sport and want amazing views, it’s definitely the place to do it.  I used to play when I was younger and let me tell you, there are plenty of golf courses around the world that offer you amazing scenery!

The rainbow is in Zambia but the spray in the canyon at the top of the photo? That's Zimbabwe!

The beauty of Victoria Falls, Zambia

One of the best things about seeing Victoria Falls Zambia in the dry season is the fact that, away from the fenced view point, you can walk over the falls themselves. Actually get off the track, walk over rocks and see the view from the very edge of Victoria Falls Zambia over 100m up. You do it at completely your own risk but the pay off is incredible!

Walking over the top of Victoria Falls!

The rainbow of Vic Falls

I think I was more nervous about climbing over the rocks and dropping my camera than I was sitting at the edge of Victoria Falls Zambia but I faced my fear and climbed over into the middle of the falls to take this amazing photo.

I thought I was brave to sit here with a 100m+ drop beneath me...

That’s when I realised that there was a much better photo I could take…

...until I decided it was much cooler to dangle my legs over Victoria Falls! =D

Life is about being scared but living anyway right?!

In case you haven’t noticed, the world is pretty big. There’s a lot of ground (and sea) to cover and you’re not going to be able to get through it all in your gap year (unless you happen to know Superman or have a time machine). So you pick specific places to go to. Maybe you choose Asia because it’s cheap and an easy route to do or Australia and New Zealand because you get to work and save money. We all have our own reasons for our destinations.

These places offer amazing experiences but you’re not really ‘travelling the world’ are you? You’re not visiting every country within each continent; you’re being selective and it’s totally acceptable to do that.

I'm just as happy in the middle of nowhere...

I went to Asia and I’ve been to Africa but I currently have no desire to go to India (although slightly tempted to head there for Holi Festival), I don’t want to go to the Middle East and I don’t ‘care’ about Eastern Europe. Yeah I know, you’re all gasping in horror, just like I would if you said you weren’t interested in Africa but we’re all different. Sure, I could miss out on ‘blah blah blah’ over in Russia or something amazing somewhere in the Middle East but right now, I just don’t care. It’s not that I’m being arrogant to think that nothing in those countries would interest me, it’s just that for the moment, I have priorities. Just like you do.

Maybe going to India has always been your dream since the day you first saw a documentary about the Taj Mahal or you want to go and explore the depths of Russia – go for it! It’s not my adventure or your friends and families – it’s YOURS. Sure you might get some weird looks if you say you fancy going to Uzbekistan but who cares? You have your reasons for going and that’s all that counts. People are still going to be jealous when you catch that amazing sunset or when a local invites you into their home for lunch.

Maybe when I’m older and my priorities/ideals have changed, something will inspire me to explore a little further out of the ordinary and head a little more into the lesser known parts of the world but for the moment, I’m quite happy to follow in the steps of millions of people before me and head to Asia, Australia and New Zealand; after all, there’s a reason so many people go to there. Besides, it takes some serious money to travel the world. You haven’t just got mainland countries but all the little islands in the middle of nowhere…are you going to visit every single island in Micronesia? How about travelling to the middle of the Pacific Ocean for Pitcairn Island? No, I didn’t think so. But if you want it, go for it!

...as I am partying with my ladyboy friends!

Likewise, who cares if you set yourself 5 days somewhere and up staying for nearly 3 weeks (I did that in Koh Tao, Thailand) – it’s your journey. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t get somewhere that was on your itinerary; you were obviously having too much fun with your new found friends. What DOES matter if the fact that this is YOUR time to do whatever you want. No one’s going to care if you went to the middle of nowhere in the Middle East or partied it up on Koh Phangan; all their care about is that you had the time of your life and enjoyed yourself.

So instead of telling people you’re going to travel the world, tell them that you’re going to travel YOUR world.