10 things I learnt from travelling...

So, since we've been home from our travels for just under three months, I've had a bit of time to reflect on everything and I thought I'd take some time to share some 'pearls of wisdom' that I've learnt to help those of you who are thinking of travelling too!  

1. Go with the flow, even if it doesn't come first nature to you
If there's one thing I love more than anything it's being planned and writing lists, so going travelling was always going to be a big thing for me because of course, not everything will go as planned and part of the enjoyment is not having a plan at all and just taking each day as it comes! In New Zealand and Australia we generally stuck to plans as we were tight on time and wanted to make sure we saw and did everything we wanted to do. However, when we got to Indonesia and South East Asia, for most of the time, we didn't really have a plan, at least not a day or two ahead, and I was actually really happy about it! It was really nice to have the freedom to just decide what we wanted to do based on what was happening there and then and depending on how we were feeling and what we saw. I really enjoyed just booking accommodation right before flying to our next destination and then starting to put a bit of an outline plan together once we were in the county of where we might like to go and what we'd like to do (Chris loved picking up lots of leaflets/maps when we got to the destination airport and then getting into the hotel room and looking at how we could spend our time)!

2. Just because you're travelling doesn't mean you can't have rest days
Whilst most people think that going travelling is just you taking an extended holiday, kicking back and relaxing, travelling is actually really tiring! Most days are full on, sightseeing and doing different activities and the travel between different cities and countries can really take it out of you. Don't feel like you can't just have a day off to lay around and do sweet, sweet nothing. We all need to recharge our batteries ready to go again! Better to do that than to keep going like a zombie and not really get the full experiences of what you're doing.

3. Get ready to re-evaluate your life and what's important to you
Whilst travelling I had a lot of time to think and after meeting so many amazing people and seeing how different cultures live, it goes without saying that you come back with a different perspective on a lot of things. Travelling made me realise that I want to spend more time doing things I find rewarding, such as starting to volunteer for an animal charity, and being less bothered about what materialistic things I have. I also fell back in love with reading which I am so happy about and I've made a list (shock) of things I would like to achieve this year. 

4. Think carefully before packing your bag
I read a few blogs before I left for my travels where experienced travellers talked about how on your first time travelling you always pack too much. It really is true - because you're so used to your luxuries back home you think you need all those outfits and toiletries you want to take but the reality is, you really don't. After Australia Chris actually got rid of his big rucksack and just travelled around with a handful of clothes in his hand luggage backpack, and he survived just fine! Everywhere we stayed offered a laundry service for really cheap so it didn't matter having to do our washing every few days. It did however mean that Chris moaned at me every time we had to wait for my checked-in luggage at airports, asking why I couldn't just get rid of my big bag too... sorry Chris, it's not as easy for girls!

5. Be realistic with your budget before you set off on your travels
So let's just get one thing straight... we definitely overspent on our travels. That being said, we don't regret it at all and wouldn't change a thing because if we'd of started to be more careful, we would have missed out on doing lots of cool stuff! But, we were lucky because we had some extra cash saved and Chris' business was still running back home so he was still earning! So, before you go, make sure you really do your research and be realistic about how much money you need - especially if you want to do lots of fun and new activities. It's surprising how much money you will actually need. One piece of advice I'd give to people going travelling is that you really do get what you pay for, especially in terms of feeling safe. As you may have read in my Bali blog (if you haven't read it check it out!) we had a few dodgy boat journeys which if we'd have paid a bit more for a better boat, we could have probably avoided... so that's something to think about as well!

6. Step out of your comfort zone and you might just find you enjoy the things you feared
There's no better time than when you go travelling to conquer some fears and do things you wouldn't normally do. Whilst we were away I spontaneously decided to do a sky dive which I absolutely loved. I also conquered my fear of being out in deep sea and snorkelling... I never normally like it unless there's just sand and water and nothing in between but we snorkelled in the Great Barrier Reef, Bali and Thailand and it was amazing! We got to see turtles, a reef shark, sting ray, Nemo, and lots of other amazing fish. Chris also got to work on his fear of heights whilst we were away and in Thailand he did a zip line which he never would have done before and he loved it - I think it's really helped him tackle his fear which is great!  

7. If you're going to write a blog, be patient! 
Before we went away I said to myself I would upload a new blog every week or two. The reality is, you're never going to always have amazing, fast Wi-Fi (it took me about three hours to try and upload my blog in Melbourne... combined with jet lag it wasn't a pretty sight!) and with moving about from place to place and always being busy doing different activities, you might not get chance to regularly do your blog! Even now that we are back in the UK I still have two more blogs of our final destinations to write and upload. One tip I can give if you find the same thing happening is to use the 'notes' on your phone to keep track of what you do each day so that when you do find the time or when you have some great internet access, you can crack on and get your blog posts done without missing anything out! Also, if you have lots of flights, use that time to draft up your blog posts so that you can publish them once you have access to the internet. 

8. You get so much advice you just have to go with your gut
Before we went away we asked lots of questions to lots of different people about where to go, what to do, where to stay etc. and in the end, you realise that with everyone feeding  back different/conflicting views, you just have to do what you want to do. Once you get out there and see what there is to do and have a look online you'll get a good feel for what decisions to make. Otherwise, you'll be there forever trying to decide!

9. You'll probably cry... a lot!
You've got to be a really tough person if you can go to certain countries, especially in Indonesia and South East Asia and not be affected by some of the things you see. Sometimes I found myself looking around, or after speaking to people, and crying because I felt guilty that we can get so worked up over the most trivial things when there are people in the world living in much more difficult conditions, but who are happy and positive. Whilst some people may not be 'rich' physically, they can be rich in the sense of love and happiness and that's definitely what I witnessed a lot on our travels. I especially found Cambodia really emotional, especially because of it's history. It really does make you put things into perspective. Of course I also cried a lot about stray animals... I hated seeing them, especially those in poor health, and I just wanted to take them all home!

10. Same same doesn't actually mean same...
When you're in South East Asia you will constantly hear the phrase 'same same', usually when you ask someone a question. However, after a few times you realise 'same same' doesn't actually mean the same... in fact, I still don't really know what it means! I think it's just what people say to fill the gap when you have translation difficulties! 

Hopefully that's helped you, even just a little bit, if you're thinking about going travelling soon... and if you're not, well I hope you just enjoyed the read!