• A Fearful Attempt at Scuba Diving

    I have never been much of a water baby. Well at least not as an adult. I tend to avoid swimming or activities such as cliff jumping – and when it comes to the sea, I don’t venture into water that is deeper than waist height. I also do not like to deal with the headache that comes from unplanned hair wetting! But I knew that I wanted to dive. Even though the thought of it terrified me. So when I decided to leave Melbourne and head up to the north of Australia to Cairns for the winter, I put diving on my list of things that I wanted to…

  • The CRAZIEST day in Australia so far!

    It was time to move out. I couldn’t stay there any longer. Multiple arguments had occurred and I couldn’t deal with the ever growing list of restrictive rules. Three minute showers. Wash the dishes with cold water. Use the washing machine for 15 mins only once or twice a week on a cold water cycle. Certain “sentimental” saucepans had previously been made unavailable for use – now nothing in the kitchen was available for use – plates and cutlery included. Earlier in the week, I’d had to buy emergency kitchen items to be able to eat my dinner that night. I was done. Enough was enough. I still had a week…

  • Why I Choose to Fly the Solo Flag When Travelling

      In the past, my solo trips have attracted a variety of responses ranging from “You’re so brave!” to “It would’ve been more fun if you took someone with you!” and “Didn’t you get lonely?” However, for me, choosing to travel solo has benefited me in ways that I could not have imagined. As an introvert, I recharge my internal batteries by taking time out alone. Don’t get me wrong, I love spending time with friends and family and I have great fun when I do so – but I find it tough to be around people 24/7. A solo trip just provides an extended opportunity to re-energise – and…

  • A New Beginning

        Hello everyone! I just wanted to say WELCOME to my new blog! Please sign up to get notifications of new posts by email if you wish. Thanks for stopping by! Happy Travels Linda

  • Running Through Airports: Getting my travel act together

    I have often been described as having a ‘relaxed attitude to time’ when it comes to social events. However, when travelling, a minute can mean the difference between getting on your plane, train or bus or being left stranded. On the morning that I was leaving for my InterRailing trip, having stayed up for most of the night getting documents ready and packing and repacking my bag, I was exhausted – and the trip had not even begun! My mum and sister were accompanying me to the airport and we had planned to leave the house at by 7am in order to allow enough time for me to complete the…

  • My Love/ Hate Relationship with Backpacker Hostels

    When I announced to my friends and family that I would be taking a solo interrailing trip which would involve staying in backpacker hostels, I was met with a number of raised eyebrows (and not just because I had chosen to go solo). My family and close friends will testify to the fact that I can be a bit of a clean freak, (hair in the bath tub causes my blood pressure to rise) so they (and I) were concerned with how I would cope sharing a dorm room and bathroom with strangers. However, I knew I would not be able to afford the trip if opted to stay in…

  • Disappointed in Dubai

    I was excited about the fact that my reasonably priced air fare came with an 8 hour stop over in Dubai. So when the plane landed on a sunny Thursday morning, I hurried over to passport control so I could make the most of my time there. Unnecessary extra passport checks (when everyone else seemed to pass through swiftly) and being stopped after passing ‘Nothing to Declare’ left a sour taste in my mouth, but nevertheless I continued and after being hassled by two taxi drivers and walking the wrong way down a corridor, a nice airport official pointed out where the Metro was and my short Dubai adventure could…

  • My First Venture into the World of Solo World Wandering

    The year 2012 brought about quite a lot of change in my life – I moved to a new town, started working in a different sector within in my career field and faced the prospect of losing the social life that I had spent the last year building and having to start again from scratch. As a sufferer of social anxiety, the thought of these changes brought back the familiar feelings of panic and stress. So I decided to do something that I thought was even crazier (and would probably cause more panic and stress) – I booked myself a solo holiday to Geneva for a few days. I had…