Dear lovely readers,

We are here, one year. ONE WHOLE YEAR! It is crazy to think this OCD, panic maniac has managed to travel around the world for 12 months. Roaming free and letting my wanderlust dreams become reality.

Within this one year I have visited six countries in which I visited 57 different places. I have travelled a total of 93.239 kilometres and plan on travelling many more!

When I think back on how I started this rollercoaster of a life, I never imagined nor even dared to imagine myself being a backpacker. I remember standing in the shop with both mum and dad buying my very first backpack. I think sheer panic was spread across my face as soon as the sales rep asked me a series of questions to which I had no answers to. Yes this OCD individual had her first month fully mapped out but still, I had no clue as to what the hell I was doing… (I managed to buy a good backpack though so panic for nothing – as per usual with me)

But boy have I made big, no scratch that; MAJOR steps, both literally with my little legs and figuratively.
I started out by just quitting my job (I say that as if it were easy.. trust me it wasn’t. Bawling my eyes out whilst doing so, classic George style) and then gathering all my savings and mapping out which countries I wanted to visit in South East Asia and within two months, there I was; sitting on the plane on my way to Kuala Lumpur. Yes it may have all started out with me running away from life’s problems, as one casually does 😅🤷‍♀️… But it was the best decision I have made in such a long time and also the start of me making decisions for my own benefits and happiness instead of the benefits and happiness of others. – Can’t really complain about that now can we? –

This past year has been absolutely crazy. It’s been the most fascinating whirlwind of a journey and I would hereby like to share with you my favourite moments, embarrassing stories (there are plenty to choose from) but also what I have learned along the way.

Trip down memory lane…

Many of my favourite memories all have to do with good food, even better company and of course embarrassing moments… Clumsy George at her finest, can’t miss those now can we?

But to start off, as weird as the following may sound, one of my favourite moments was when I had just landed in Kuala Lumpur, my first destination. I arrived at my hotel that sat right in the middle of the bustling China Town and I went to my room and that’s when reality dawned on me and panic set in. If that first night were a chapter of a book, I would call it: “Crocodile tears and snotty tissues.”   But the reason why this is one of my favourite moments is because it was then that I fully understood what I was doing. I had started something, I had made a massive decision based on MY needs and MY wants, something that I hadn’t done in a long long time and as scary and confronting that it was, it was the best thing I have ever done. Not only that but my sister also stayed on the phone for hours (something she has done constantly through-out my travels, perks – or cons for her – of having a big sister!) and managed to not only understand me through my wailing, she managed to calm me down despite being half way across the world. The next day (after some food and actual sleep) I felt absolutely fine again and mostly excited for the start of this journey!

After that my next favourite memory was setting foot into the rain forest. I have always wanted to visit the rain forest ever since I first saw the many different rainforests on TV. My first night was memorable thanks to the noise the animals made. All the insects, bats and frogs filled my ears as-if I were listening to an orchestra, so loud and vibrant. Even though I was nervous about being pooped on by the bats, I still sat there for hours with no reception or wifi just me in the pitch black listening to my surroundings. It was unreal.

My home in the Teman Negara rain forest.

After Kuala Lumpur it was then off to Singapore. I had always wanted to comeback, mainly for the Gardens By The Bay and Marina Bay Sands Hotel. I wanted to experience this part of the city as I have heard so much about it but didn’t have time to last time I came here.

Okay a little background info: so six or seven years ago now, my family and I visited Singapore for one day. Yeah you read that right.. But it wasn’t intentional, you see we went to Australia and on the way back home our plane it decided to become lazy and didn’t wanna travel all those kilometers so it broke down … which then led us to having to detour via Singapore and stay here for a day before we could fly back home..

Anyways… I like to detour myself when it comes to telling stories, as you can all tell.. let me get back to the original story I was saying: The Gardens By The Bay were incredible and I loved every second there!

My favourite memory wasn’t specifically of that though, it was of me ordering crab and not knowing what to do with myself after realising that I have never eaten crab, as-in a full-on still in it’s shell kinda crab before.

How this story went down you ask? Well, it went a little like this: after visiting the Gardens By The Bay and Singapore flyer, I decided I wanted a late lunch and was craving seafood. Now I have had crab before but in England these are usually served with it already being taken out it’s shell and becoming a sort of tuna mayo but then with crab… obviously… So I was expecting the same sort of thing. But of course that isn’t how Singapore does things, oh no. They do it differently.

So I ordered my crab whilst chatting to my sister, updating her on my adventures and I tell her I ordered crab and was genuinely excited for it, that was until the waitress started bringing out gloves, scissors and nutcrackers….
My face went from eager to fear in an instant and I asked Rosie (that’s my sister if that wasn’t clear already): “what the hell i’m supposed to do?!”

For those who know me well, they know I get queasy real quick. This entails that I cannot and do not even dare peel my own shrimps, no matter how much I want to eat them…. Another perk – or con for her – of having a big sis is that she always used to peel mine whenever we had them. 🤭😅

How did I manage to survive this ordeal? Well let me show you….

 

Dutch translation: no, please no, omg i’m really scared…

Also love the motiviational speech Rosie provided at the end. Especially peeing in the hole thing – women problems!

Literally saying how I cannot do this and how I was laughing at my own ridiculousness whilst being nervous at the same time.

Here I am calling myself a murderer.. which I am. Technically not the murderer but still an accomplice…. Still feel bad about it tbh.

But I managed to eat the crab, not without hassle or stress…. The legs flew out of my hands at least three times due to the gloves being slippery but I managed and it did taste good!

Here’s the crab btw:

So that was the adventurous Singapore, now we’re off to Thailand! Here I have so many favourite memories but I think my top three are:

• Trying Pad Thai for the first time and becoming obsessed
• Group tour
• Kanchanaburi

Thailand is definitely one of my favourite places in the world. Not only are the people amazingly friendly and very very happy, the country is fuelled with culture, beautiful scenery and oef don’t get me started on the food! 🤤

So one of my favourite memories in Thailand was the two week group tour that I did. The amazing bunch of people I travelled with were an absolute pleasure. They made me cry with laughter (which my abs fondly remember) and also made my Thai experience so much fun! We trekked for hours on the rain-forest, sailed down the river on bamboo rafts (one group smashed into a tree cos they felt like it and no surprisingly enough it wasn’t our group!), we all ate Pad Thai at the night markets (I ate it every night) and also had a Thai massage at the same time, all in the same room. Yup about 15 of us having a massage next to eachother, rather weird but also good.

Thailand was also the place where we learned that restaurants can also be clubs at the same time that people were being served food. Yeah we kinda had a whole Eminem experience by a performer who definitely made my tacos much more exciting!

But one of my favourite places in Thailand was Kanchanaburi, this because of the history and how beautifully the community here remember and share it’s history with others.

Yes it was heartbreaking but absolutely worth the tears and running nose! Read all about my experience and the history here.

I also remember the river hotel that I stayed at fondly. Mostly the jumping off one end of the hotel’s deck into the river and being swept all the way to the other end, worrying about whether you’ll feel a bite in the butt from a crocodile until you remember they don’t have crocs in Thailand but still stress about it anyway. Ah… yeah.. Good times…

After Thailand it was off to Philippines where I have so many fond memories, too many to even count. All of that is with great thanks to Gina, my travel buddy. ❤️

My absolute favourite memories of The Philippines were the days driving on the scooter, eating at our favourite Italian restaurant (we did that a lot, and I mean A LOT), pissing ourselves with laughter in a lake, snorkel trips and a lot of shisha dates.

The expedition from Coron to El Nido and the surf lessons in Siargao were definitely by far the top two favourite times of the Philippines. Two incredible moments that will never be forgotten.

The expedition was filled with laughter, rum & pineapple juice and starry nights. My favourite part was when we went cliff-jumping. An experience I shall never forget nor ever do again. When we learned about cliff jumping it was only another ten minute sail and so I hyped myself up and thought I totally got this. When we got there Gina had quickly jumped in the water and was climbing the rockface so I got my phone out and filmed her jumping. It was then that I thought alright lets do this. So off I go, jump in the water, swim to the cliff, climb the rocks like little baby Tarzan and then I stand at the edge; paralysed.

I looked at one of the guides who stood there too and just shook my head no. Bless his little soul, he just laughed and said it was only seven meters high and that I could totally do it and be fine. All that was then going in my head was that the height was seven times me! Yeah no, ain’t doing it. Again I peered over the edge, knees trembling, lip quivering and I shook my head again and let every single person from the boat go before me. Now we had about 30 people on that boat and everyone went and jumped and no, not once oh no the majority went twice, three times even and yes all of those times scaredy cat George let them pass….

That was until the boat blew its horn to say we had to go. I had to jump, I couldn’t climb down the rockface because that was more dangerous than jumping off the cliff (great..) and even though my memory may sometimes be that of a goat.. i’m not a mountain goat so can’t really stay up on the cliff either and survive. My guide just looked at me and said: “do you otherwise want to jump together?”

By this point i’m actually crying, yeah not a pretty look, and all I did in response was hold out my hand so we could jump together. He counted down from three to one and then off he went, without me cos I was still frozen haha. He climbed back up again and held out his hand and this time I did manage to actually jump!

Did I enjoy it? No.

Did it bring me any joy or satisfaction whatsoever? No.

Would I ever consider doing it again? No.

Am I proud and happy that I did it? Yes.

Despite not liking the whole ocean thing and being in the sea and all that… there is one activity I actually and surprisingly loved: surfing!

Surfing in the Philippines was incredible and even though I am terrified of water (no that does not mean i’m afraid of the shower which a lot people ask me…) I was not once afraid. I stood within my second try and fell off at least 12x that. My bikini bottoms fell off once or twice too.. I hereby apologise to anyone I may have scarred in the process 😅 but it was absolutely amazing and definitely something I hope to do again in the near future!

And then we come to Bali. The magical Bali, filled with rice fields and temples. What a pretty sight this island was.

My absolute favourite was the little town Ubud. Here we enjoyed the infinity pool that made us look like Instagram Influencers (Ha I wish with that salary…), the breathless hikes (that literally took our breath away due to steep hills and staircases in the blistering heat..) to the relaxation at the many beach clubs.

Bali is also the place where I bought a new bikini that left me with the most glamorous tanlines:

Looks good huh!

After a short get-away in Bali my Asia trip had come to an end and I decided (on mostly a whim) to fly to Australia and continue this backpacker life.

THANK YOU GINA FOR AN AMAZING TIME ❤️

Australia had not been possible if it wasn’t for my aunt and uncle so to them a massive thank you and shout-out.

Not only did they help me get on my feet when arriving but they also provided me a job and my own little house to stay in. They listened when I was homesick and laughed with me (more like at me) during my embarrassing moments. They provided shelter, warmth and love and really – and I mean REALLY – good food!

Best part of it all was that I got to snuggle wuggle with Chopstick:

They opened my eyes to what the Australian lifestyle is and also a new obsession: chips & gravy!! Seriously you should try it, best invention ever, besides salt & vinegar crisps that is.

My highlights in Australia are definitely whale watching, driving my uncles car – famously known as the beast – on Rainbow Beach and then the month and a half I got to spend in Cairns. Viewing the spectacular great barrier reef from the sky, volunteering with the turtles and becoming a real life Little Mermaid by getting over my fear of water again( well not completely) by diving in the deep among the fish. I may have nearly broken my diving buddy’s wrist by holding on for dear life but hey, I still went and did it! 😏

And now I find myself nearing the end of my thirteen weeks of Farmwork (well housekeeping… long story) so that I can apply for my second year visa!

Even my farmwork-not-really-farmwork has been fun! Okay so it hasn’t all been sunshine and roses but I have got the chance to meet such amazing people who have made me laugh beyond compare. We’ve had beach days, waterfall dates and lot’s of nights filled with banter, games, laughter and even a moustache or two.

My retreat family – RETREEEEAAAT!

It has truly been such a good year. Long and overwhelming at times but what an absolute bliss and privilege to be able to do this.

Learning things along the way

There is so much I have learned along the way too, such as; I am not good with big change BUT I can overcome my anxiety and can now prevent attacks from happening.

I have learned that I am both an introvert and extrovert and there is nothing wrong with either or. I love being around and with people but I also like me recharge moments where O just chill with my new boyfriend; Netflix.

I have also learned that yes this world can be big but everywhere you go; you will make it. You will meet incredible people who can all teach you at least one thing and even if you have no idea what the hell you are doing, it will all make sense in the end and you’ll have a blast!

During this trip I also learned how to let go. Let go of certain people in my life to certain memories and things that have happened in my past. I have not moved on from them but I have learned how to move forward with them.

Not only that but I have also set new goals for myself for this year:

1. Learn how to communicate better.

I know it sounds a bit weird for someone who loves to talk (constant chatterbox) and write but when it comes to real life situations with people… i’m not always the strongest when it comes to communicating. But hey we can’t all be perfect right? 🤷‍♀️😳

2. Stop stressing about things outside my control.

Yeah yeah, I know what you’re all thinking.. I am indeed the biggest stress and ocd monkey in the world but slowly (very slowly) and surely I am learning to not let stress get to me and try and relax a little. Wine definitely helps with the relaxing part, that is also something I learned ha! 😅

What will 2020 bring?

What’s the plan now you ask? Well after my farmwork-not-really-farmwork i’m planning on heading down to the big city Sydney to find a job for the next few months. That way I hope to save a bit more money so I can travel around Down Under and explore what this glorious island has to offer. I have a few places in mind that I would love to see such as: Magnetic Island, Whit Sundays, Great Ocean Road, Uluru, The Kimberleys and Perth. So hopefully i’ll find a job soon so I can start saving cos that’s quite a list i’ve made 😅

So yeah … that’s it guys. One year is officially down but before I go, I do want to say a huge thank you to my readers. From my loyal die-hard “fans” – can I call you guys that or does that make it weird? – who have followed my steps since day one to my new readers out there. It has been and continues to be an absolute pleasure sharing my travel dreams and wild life with you guys and your support helps me massively in ways you do not know so THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ❤️

Right before I turn into a complete emotional sap and curl up into a ball and start crying with gratitude… i’ll let you guys go but I hope to write you all soon with new adventures!

Lot’s of love,

G.