Lost in Wanderlust

A few years I studied Spanish for a summer in Costa Rica, and one of the girls I met at my school has become one of my very best friends. We were in Costa Rica at the same time, for the same amount of time (I definitely think this was fate) and we just clicked right away. We had so much fun over those four weeks but unfortunately lived on opposite coasts so we never saw one another. One day, she messaged me saying she was planning a trip to South America and asked if I wanted to join her. My immediate answer was YES! Hands down yes. Did I care that I already had a big trip planned that year? No. Did I care that it would be a stretch financially? Nope! Did I care that I was a maid of honor in my sister's wedding weeks after I got back? Absolutely not! (Sorry Kier) For months we spent hours on the phone together; a mix of catching up and planning for our trip. Although we hadn't seen each other in 5 years I was so excited to meet up and take on another part of the world together...

For the most part, I really try travel as economically as possible, but once in a while I will allow myself a little splurge. Which is why, when I got an email from Norwegian Airlines asking if I wanted to bid for an upgrade to business class I said " what the heck! why not?" I kid you not, I made the absolute lowest bid the website would allow and I was absolutely thrilled when they accepted! The upgrade cost me about 200 USD, but seeing as it was a FOURTEEN hour flight to London, I decided it was well worth it. When I got to the airport, I made my way to the airport lounge, an included perk of the business class ticket. Feeling somewhat like royalty, I walked up to the counter, showed my ticket and was admitted inside. In front of me I saw a delicious spread and feeling my stomach turn, I walked up to a worker. "Hi, where can I pay for the buffet?" She looked at me funny and told me that it was complementary. WHAT?! Let me remind you, I am a poor backpacker and t...

I have heard nothing but really good things about Singapore, which is why when I was planning my trip to Asia, I was so pleased to find a cheap flight here. I had two options based on the next leg of my journey; stay for 3 days or stay for 10. One of my best friends told me I needed at least a week in Singapore so I opted for the latter. Well, upon arrival I realized one thing she failed to mention was how much more expensive this place was than the rest of Asia. You see, my friend had come on holiday with her family, and yet I was a backpacker staying in the slums of little India and my budget was not ready for this place. So, I did what any responsible traveler would do, I booked a last minute ferry to Indonesia of course! By last minute, I mean that I woke up one day and my hostel was full for that night so I took this as a sign that I should go to Indonesia. I had recently heard one of the islands was an hour ferry away and significantly cheaper. I made my way to the ferry station...

The next stop on my mini tour of Asia was Singapore. From the moment I landed I felt significantly more at ease here. It was much less chaotic, it was cleaner, and best of all, people spoke perfect English! My hostel was located in the Little India neighborhood and as soon as I checked in I started exploring. It was early evening and so I just checked out the area around my hostel and got a bite to eat. The next day I was up early and ready to take on the city! Singapore is a very futuristic city and has a lot of cool architecture. One of my favorite things was the Gardens by the Bay, a park with man made trees. It was so cool! I'm pretty sure you can go inside of them but you had to pay, and being a budget traveler I settled for a cool pic outside ;) That evening I went back to the Gardens by the Bay to watch the light show that they do every night. There I was, laying on the ground, looking up at these incredible trees and listening to music that syncs with the moveme...

My logic when planning this trip went something like this: "I have booked NZ, and Australia is so close that of course I have to do that.. But who knows when I will be in this part of the world again, so I should probably go to Asia while I'm at it right!?" And that ladies and gentleman is how the plan for this trip around the world started. After some research I found out that Phuket was only 8 hours away from Melbourne, seemingly nothing after my 20 something hour journey to New Zealand. So, two days after my 29th birthday I set off for my 5th continent 😎 For close to 2 months I had relatively been in my comfort zone. Yes I am on the opposite side of the world, but I have had the luxury of visiting countries that not only speak my language, but are relatively similar in culture. I landed in Phuket with no idea how quickly that little bubble was going to be burst. Asia is an amazing place but It is blatantly obvious that you are in another country. It is chaotic, and...