How to pack lightly for a long trip

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE AROUND THE WORLD! My first task of the new year was spending the day reflecting on the joys of my previous year. It’s no surprise that traveling tops the list of my joys. From my time teaching abroad in South Korea to five months backpacking in Asia, I’ve spent the most time traveling this year than in any other year of my life! Two years ago, I started a New Year’s ritual to dedicate my year to a mantra, or rather a guideline for living. Last year, I centered my year around the phrase: “make it happen.” As I look back on my 2015, it feels great knowing I followed through with my resolution. Now let’s celebrate the ending of another year to make way for new beginnings! YEAR IN NUMBERS In 2015, I traveled approximately 28,463.9 miles or 45,808.2 kilometers mostly in Asia. Since ending a 1 year teaching gig in Daejeon, I packed up a backpack and have spent 148 days in constant movement. I’ve spent 29 of those days back at home in Beverly, MA after 1 a

 Last week post showcasing the beauty of La Antigua Guatemala was a hit.  This week I decided to post more photos of this charming city.  Additionally, I am going to include ideas on things to do once you arrive. You can find my last week’s post in here. La Antigua Guatemala is not that big.  In one day, you can see most of the important sights.  You can spend more days exploring in depth or visiting the surrounding attractions.  Don’t forget that La Antigua is the perfect spot to base your Guatemala exploration. What to see and do Start by walking around the Parque Central (Central Park).  In the center of the park, you are going to find the Fuente de Las Sirenas (Mermaids Fountain).  Surrounding the park, are the Catedral de Santiago (main church in the city), Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, Palacio del Ayuntamiento (municipal hall) and the Portal de Comercio (a commercial arcade).  You can find pictures of most of these places in last week’s post. Of course, you most visit t

The new talents to come soon on this fashion blog is Kirsty Hunter, Roisin Fergunson, Stiofan Dennehy amd more. Also Melissa Rahal who’s is another fashion student, she is currently studying in Lebanon. Keep checking the blog to see all these talented young creative designer, photographers and more. x

I was only in Jordan for a few days, but it’s an experience that I haven’t been able to forget. I rarely ever hear people talking about visiting and I feel like it’s highly underrated country. It’s such a beautiful country, with so much history, and so many wonderful adventures to experience. It’s definitely not the most glamorous country I’ve visited, but you won’t miss the glamour with all there is to do. You can easily get a fantastic taste of Jordan and have many adventures with just a short amount of time. Read on for my recommendations on the top things to do in Jordan! 1. Float in the Dead Sea The waters of the Dead Sea are so hyper salinated that it’s {almost} impossible to sink! {Supposedly, if you try to swim normally though you will sink, so be careful!} I actually did try to sink and couldn’t, I’d just pop right back up! Such a relaxing and fun experience! Beware of getting the water in your eyes or mouth: it’s disgusting and very uncomfortable! Just how much salt is in t

Throughout our research, we read that visiting Easter Island was expensive due to the remote location. We found that you can visit Easter Island on a budget (or at least cheaper!) We visited Easter Island for 7 days/6 nights in the beginning of July. This time frame is considered a “low season” in Easter Island, so prices will fluctuate depending on the when you visit. Check out what we did below. All prices listed are in USD. Flight The flight to Easter Island is not the cheapest. There isn’t a direct flight to Easter Island from San Francisco (SFO), so we had two legs: SFO to Santiago, Chile (SCL) SCL to Easter Island (IPC) It is very difficult to use award travel/mileage for the final leg (SCL > IPC) as LAN Airlines is the only airlines to Easter Island. You could purchase tickets on the LAN Airlines Chile website for lower prices in local Chilean pesos. We purchased directly on LAN Airlines U.S. website. We used search aggregators such as Kayak and Google Flights to se

Driving around Tasmania is the best way to see this island state in its entirety. In the last half a decade, Tasmania has found itself on top of everyone’s to-do list. Mainlanders have heard of its rugged beauty, farm-to-table produce and quirky arts scene that has put Tasmania on the map. So, what are you waiting for? Here is the ultimate guide to plan your Tasmanian road trip! Planning your Tasmanian Road Trip Before you make your way to Tasmania, it is important to know that the success of a Tassie road trip lies in the planning and preparation. As any local will tell you, it’s all about knowing where to go and when, given our major shifts in seasons to determine what kind of adventure you will be having. Start by deciding where you will fly or cruise into. Hobart is the capital city in the South of the island where most travellers decide to begin their Tasmanian road trip. Another (and arguably better) entry point is in the North of the island, the second largest city

The Travel Bug! You know the one I’m talking about. The one where you go on a holiday and you come back, never to be the same. The one that makes you dream of new destinations and makes your heart ache for the next trip. Everyone loves our little travel bug until a global pandemic like covid-19 hits and we can’t travel. We save up every penny we can, working overtime and saying no to going out with friends. Then we spend hours, days and months planning all the details. Where to stay, what to eat, what to pack, and all of a sudden this is taken away from us. So, what now? The world is shut down, our trips have been cancelled and we are locked in our houses. Here are 7 ways to feed that travel bug and keep you inspired while in isolation. Travel During Covid-19 1. Read There’s nothing better than letting your mind and imagination wander. Whether your go-to read is a travel magazine, a travel guide, a true story or fiction novel. You’ll be inspired and feeling be

I never thought I’d be the kind of person to host a virtual trivia night. Lockdown, it seems, got the better of me. After two weeks in lockdown here in South Africa, we’ve been really missing our friends here in Cape Town. So we decided to bit the bullet and host a Tuesday Trivia Night for them. So far it was the best thing we’ve done during lockdown to feel connected with our friends we normally see on a weekly basis. So, are you wondering how to host a trivia night on zoom? We’ve got a complete guide for you and better yet, I’ve poured my heart and soul into creating a downloadable quiz for you so you don’t have to do all the hard work! Fitting for my blog, it is a travel themed quiz night to host with your travel-loving friends! How to Host a Trivia Night on Zoom Download zoom . It is a really small file/quick download. This took me about 2 minutes to complete. Oh yeah, and its free! Schedule the event . As the host, you can schedule the trivia night in advance

Infographic reveals 40 shakedowns to avoid on holidays this summer Most travellers end up learning how to avoid scams on their gap year the hard way, but you can give yourself a head start by checking out this infographic by justtheflight.co.uk which shows 40 of the most common rip-offs to affect unsuspecting tourisits. Many of the scams involve pickpockets accessing your belongings with varying degrees of ingenuity, and others exploit basic human conscience and social convention. Some have been around for years while others are brand new, but all have the same thing in common: to relieve you of your hard earned cash!

I went skydiving in Taupo, New Zealand, and it was my first parachute jump. Skydiving has never been an experience I was desperate to do, or had even given a passing thought to, but you know, as they say, when in New Zealand… And so I found myself with a bunch of strangers about to jump 15,000ft into thin air above the stunning Lake Taupo, which from that distance looked like a mere pond on the horizon of tiny looking things. Although, as we were told in our safety briefing with Skydive Taupo, the brain stops processing your distance at 2,000ft. Meaning that 15,000ft looks just the same, apparently. On the question of whether skydiving is safe, the instructors assured us we’d be fine. All I knew was that we were a long old way from the ground and there was apparently only one way down. The skydive plane It took 20 minutes to get up to 15,000ft, and in the end just a few minutes to fall and parachute to the ground. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Up in the plane I slid on back to

From a coastline drenched in stars, to a fiery pit of doom, the world we live in has some amazing sights to see and for those who are planning a trip or two, these locations are ones they need to consider. Not all of the vistas in the world are catalogued and easy to find, so below some of the less travelled roads are featured. For those who are looking for some travel destinations that are a little bit different from the classic tourist stops, these epic scenes maybe the ones you’ve been looking to immerse yourself in. The Danzia landform, China The rocks where rainbows sleep. This collision of colours is the result of over 24 million years of mineral deposits settling down over the red sandstone of the mountain range. The seamless stripes that coat the terrain give the impression that the land itself has been graffitied over with chalk. This vibrant landscape gives backpackers a unique hiking experience to add to their travelling memoirs, including sights of naturally formed rock

My house renovation: Living Room Reveal! It has been a few weeks since my last blog post (oops!) but it has been such a busy time on the tools – managing my time between the end of a paint brush, a hiking trip to South Australia and managing the businesses back in Tasmania all at once. If you’re new here, I’ve recently put down roots in my hometown Launceston (Tasmania) after seven years living out of a suitcase. Aside from travel blogging I manage my time between a couple of different ventures – namely my dessert cafe/bakery Charlie’s Dessert House and bridal store Little White Boutique . When I’m not travelling the world taking photos and sharing my experiences on Instagram and Youtube , you’ll find me here in Tasmania juggling staff rosters, menu rotations, new concepts and chasing new bridal designers from one fashion week to the next! My new townhouse Last month I shared the exciting news that I had purchased my first home (I previously owned a ti