The Short Story
I’m an 80 year old trapped in a 28 year old’s body who loves to travel, climb mountains, read books, and drink tea. My goal is to work remotely whilst travelling the world — something I was able to do for a whole year in 2023 throughout Southeast Asia which was an incredible experience!
The Long Story
I’ve always grown up with adventurous parents who made me feel like anything was possible, which I am forever grateful for. They have always loved travelling themselves, and this has most certainly rubbed off on me!
However, I first caught the travel bug when I went on my school’s Outlook Expedition to Nicaragua and Honduras in 2014. I was 17, away from home on my own (well, with other students and teachers) and it was so exotic and far away and the most exciting adventure ever. As soon as I left school, I deferred my university place for a year and took off on various trips – city breaks, volunteering abroad, backpacking, you name it. I wanted to cram it all in.
Fast forward to 2019 when I graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in Classical and Historical Archaeology. Fun fact: my love of history and archaeology often influences where I choose to travel; visiting the Colosseum brought tears to my eyes and my biggest bucket list item is to see the Great Pyramids in Egypt. I will 100% bawl my eyes out when that happens, so stayed tuned as I promise to share blog posts and ugly crying photos when the day comes.
Aside from a few city breaks and family holidays in Europe, I hadn’t travelled much and was itching to get away. My boyfriend Joe and I had planned an epic 3 week trip to Morocco with Intrepid Travel to celebrate the end of uni, which you can read all about here.
Then I kind of had a meltdown about life and career plans etc. (the usual post-uni anxiety) and decided to apply for jobs abroad. A miracle happened: I landed a job as an English teacher in China. Sadly this didn’t last too long as the pandemic began and I made the decision to come home after just 10 weeks in China. It was a tough time but I soon bounced back and bagged my dream job in the travel industry!
For two years I worked in an office, saving every penny until the time came to make a decision about long term travel again. We finally took the plunge in autumn 2022 and set off on a one-way flight to Singapore. We lived the dream for 376 days, working remotely and exploring some incredible places around Southeast Asia. In total, we visited 7 countries, really soaking up every moment and travelling as slowly and mindfully as possible.
Some highlights from our year away included…
- Seeing orangutans in the wild in Borneo
- Biking the famous Ha Giang Loop in North Vietnam
- Scuba diving in the Similan Islands
- Sailing for 4 days from Lombok to Flores on the ultimate Komodo Islands adventure!
- Exploring Sri Lanka with Joe’s family
- Seeing the best of Bali with my sister
- Showing my parents our favourite places in Thailand
- Spending 4 days in Ha Long Bay and Hanoi with some of my best friends
- Climbing volcanoes in Indonesia
- Snorkelling with loads of turtles in Borneo and 20+ baby reef sharks in the Komodo Islands!
…and so much more.
We eventually decided that the finances needed topping up and this came at a perfect time as I was feeling a little burnt and in need of some quality time with family and friends. So we packed our bags and headed home just before Christmas 2023.
The goal is still to find the perfect balance between working and travelling. So, stick around if you want to hear our travel stories and find out where we end up!
I hope you enjoy reading my blog. Please don’t forget to subscribe at the bottom of this page as I will (hopefully) be embarking on more adventures, both in the UK and overseas!
Where's Liv 