What would YOU do if time and money were unlimited?

Hello peeps!

Hoooooot today in Ubud so I thought I would hide in an internet cafe for a couple of hours and soak up the air con - together with the cigarette smoke and the smell of burning incense in the shrine next to my head...! What's not to love?!

Anyway - back to the topic at hand...

After a while being on the road, I realised the conversations I have when first meeting new people are almost on a set script:

So, where are you from?

Me - Hey, how are you?
New person - I'm alright thanks. You?
Me - I'm all good! Where are you from?
New person - I'm from X. Where are you from?
Me - I'm from a French Island in the Caribbean.
New person - Wow, the Caribbean? Where about?
Me - Martinique.
New person - You must be so used to the heat / You must be so cold!

Me - I live in London now, so not used to the heat anymore / still not used to the cold! 

Then it goes something like:
How long have you been here?
You traveling on your own too?
Are you on holidays or traveling around?
Where have you been before?
How much longer have you got?
Where are you going next?

 It would usually stop there, either because this was all it needed to be, a fleeting meeting whilst waiting for my pasta to cook, or because I - or they - could not be bothered to keep the conversation going further. And that is fine. It is one of the perks/curses of traveling, you can just walk away from a conversation and no one will be offended. Well as long as you do it politely that is!

But when I got to spend some time with someone, and I wanted to know them a bit more than just the superficial stuff, I started to ask this one more question: What would you do it time and money were unlimited?

I was expecting to get all sorts of crazy answers to that one like but no. What I got mostly was - I would quit my job and go traveling around the world.

I was really taken aback! It is true that most people I met were traveling for up to 6 months, a few had been away for a year and a handful for over a year like me. I can count on the fingers of one hand the ones away for more than two years. So most of the people I got to ask this question were going back to their 'normal life' after the trip.

They had a taste of traveling but still thought you need to have an unlimited amount of time and cash to go away for long.

Sorry, what?

Let me break you the news then - You don't.

Let me repeat that slower - You. Don't.

You do not need to be Bill Gates. I am certainly not even if I wish I was, yet I am doing what 90% of all people said they would do.

Don't get me wrong, I did not just wake up one day, packed my bags and took the first plane to wherever. No, that would have been a very silly thing to do!

I did my research on the places I wanted to go, I saved like a mad squirrel for 4 years and I had to find a friend who would agreed to collect my mail for the time I was away. And I quit my job, booked my first ticket, bought a backpack and hope I put the stuff in it.

More importantly - I took the decision to go, to do something for myself, be completely selfish and foolish, to put myself in harm's way. But I TOOK THE DECISION.

I could have stayed at the planning/saving stage forever, coming up every day with a good reason why I should not go now. But all these months traveling showed me that there are no 'good' reasons...

'What about money?'
Save up a bit and go. You can always pick up some odd jobs to get cash in or work in exchange for food and board. Working Holiday Visas are widely offered and if you're too old to apply, you can always work under the radar!

'I can quit my job now, what about my career?'
A job is a job is a job. There will always be one for you to take when you go back. Might not be the same, but if you are seriously considering going, something tells me your career is not your #1 priority right now...

'I have got a morgage/credit to pay off'
If you have got a morgage, you have got a house or flat you can rent while you are away. That means the house or flat can pay for itself. I you have got credit, save up some more and see if you can get away with lower monthly repayments. Then work as you go to support yourself while traveling.

'I can't get time off work'
That one is easy - quit the damn job!

'Wait, I have got a family. I can't go traveling with kids'
I have met many families traveling, some with very small children, even a lady on her own with two small ones! I will not say it will be easy every day, but it is possible. You will not be able to slum it like a 20-something German boy, you will be able to go places.

'I have never been away on my own'
News flash - me neither. I had never even been to a restaurant on my own before this trip. I am still alive and well, thank you :)

There is never going to be enough time, enough money, enough freedom to go traveling. Or to do anything else for that matter. This is true only if you let the 'good' reasons stop you.

But if YOU TAKE THE DECISION, if you do, then believe me, you are in for a treat!

So go on, go traveling, go back to uni study medicine, have that baby - whatever it is, once you take the decision, everything will fall into place.

Because YOU are enough when you have made up your mind :)

Nothing can stop you but yourself

One these good words, it is time for me to go for lunch!
Bye :)

Counting down the days and looking back on the past

Hello peeps!

I am now less than 2wks away from departure day. It still doesn't feel real, but it is definitely happening!

By the time I leave, I would have been in the UK for exactly 8yrs 2wks 4days.

Looking back on that time, I feel I am a different person than the young and clueless graduate that got off the Eurostar at Waterloo that day long ago, and not just because I am (only) 2yrs older....

I have met amazing people during that time, from all corners of the world and paths of life. The UK is the only place I have found where all kind of people have a chance to shine, without being judged for how they look/talk/love.

I have worked for companies big and small, always earning respect from my peers. I even managed to get a job I had absolutely no qualifications for, but I still did very well. Talk about self confidence... :)

I have taken part in sports I would have never thought about before coming here - rugby, rowing, doing the GRIM, twice!

I met somebody I thought I could spend the rest of my days with.

I got a proper grown up car.

And last but not least - I have met myself and accepted who I am.

I don't know what the next 15 months will bring, but whatever comes my way I think the Angela that will come back will be different compared to the Angela of right now.

I guess this is what life is about - change.

I only usually reflect on how much things have evolved when I am on the brink of some drastic change, but it is an on-going process. Every day is a learning, every encounter bring a new perspective but it is very easy to lose sight of this when stuck in the daily grind.

I went to this NLP training earlier this year and the guy said something I think is very true: until you put yourself in the driving seat, you will always be disappointed with life because nobody else can take charge of your happiness.

I wish I could find a way to bottle this feeling so I could keep it with me when I come back and have a little taste once in a while. Just so I can remember to stop, look around and see rather than simply pass through the days, waiting for something good, anything, to happen.

This will be my challenge for the next 15 months!

Smile people :)

By the way - chicken pox are all gone now, yay!

Living out of a suitcase

Hello peeps!

This week my journey has well and truly started.

I moved out of my flat on Tuesday and moved into a friend's spare room. It was a bit of a shock when I got there.

All my life packed in 3 suitcases, 3 bags and 4 boxes, fighting for space among my friend's stuff, a single bed on one side and the pump in the fish tank promising to turn me insane in the middle of the night if I don't switch it off. That, and the uncertainty of what the next year and a half will bring.

Was tough. Real tough. I actually cried. Life as I knew it was over and a new life I know nothing about was begining.

After the first couple of nights, things are feeling a lot more settled.
Wake up around 7am, courtesy of the 3 kids upstairs running around.
New shower routine - don't forget the bathrobe... would be best to avoid any unfortunate incident...
Wi-fi detox - that one is still bringing tears to my eyes! I def need to get them a router :(
New parking spot in the street.

But also - starting to feel this trip shaping up and becoming real.

I will be leaving the UK in 7wks. There no time to sit around and hope for the best.

It will be the best because I will make it the best.Simple as that.

It's just that I might spend the w.e in my bathrobe not doing much... one needs to enjoy the quiet house before the kids come back on Monday morning!!!

:)