Ten top travel tips

This list is not exhaustive and it's undoubtedly subjective but here goes:

1. Understand your comfort levels 👑

Your budget is your budget so the only thing you can alter is what you do with it.

How precious are you? Figure this out before you go. There is no point in planning a 3 year escape on a shoestring budget if you are going to hate every moment of being in cockroach-ridden dorm rooms. 

You would be better off shortening your trip and making sure that you enjoy the whole experience as much as possible and not just the moments you post on social media.

For example: There comes a moment when you are staring at a hairyman’s gooch when you wonder if you should have just spent that little bit extra on accommodation.

2. Remain as flexible as possible 🍃

Sometimes you can get so caught up in ticking all the boxes that you forget to go with the flow. I can safely say that the pretty much all of the best places I visited were nowhere near my to-visit list before I set off.

Trust your instincts, and the tips of other travellers and locals. If you don't like a place, move on quickly, if you are loving it, allow yourself to stay longer than you intended. If a big must-see is going to take too much time out of your trip, just skip it and don't let regret seep in - it just gives you a good excuse to go back some day.

For example: Before I headed off the thought of Scuba diving didn’t even cross my mind until I met folks along the way that raved about it and highly recommended doing a PADI course on Perhentian Islands which I LOVED.

3. Measure up your travel companion/s ⚖

If you aren't travelling alone, make sure to set out each other’s expectations at the planning stage. Do you have the same interests? If you don't, does that matter?

Are you happy to do things independently of each other? (I would say the answer to this has to be yes, especially for longer trips). 

How do your budgets compare? Do you have the same thresholds when it comes to comfort? Is one of you happy for the other to take the lead?

How much are you willing to compromise? 

Never underestimate the situations you may find yourself in…

For example, When your travel buddy gets pregnant along the way, will you be prepared to traipse around Kuala Lumpur to find a maternity hospital and stick around there for a couple of days in order to attend her first scan?  ... and as a result of said pregnancy, will she be prepared to sit on a beach for 5 days while you fanny about scuba diving? (Yes. All of this happened... Long story.)

4. Pack essential pharmaceuticals/toiletries from home. 💊

Diarrhoea, constipation, back pain, cold/flu, hangovers, heat rash, sun burn, mosquito bites, altitude sickness, general exhaustion... All of the above, and more, can and likely will occur at some point (whether you are travelling or not).

My go-to pharmaceuticals are electrolyte salts, Imodium, Senokot, paracetamol, antihistamines, sun cream, mosquito repellant, face wipes and anti-bacterial hand wash.

For example: When you are in the middle of the Bolivian Amazon and you get eaten alive by mosquitos (who haven't seemed to grasp the concept of repellent) and you realise that you haven't packed any antihistamines and the nearest pharmacy is ... well, just nowhere near you - you'll deeply wish you'd packed them.

5. You will get ripped off/robbed (or frankly just lose stuff) at some point. It's OK. 💸

There is no amount of preparation or savviness that will stop you getting ripped off at some point or another. In fact, sometimes you'll just go with it because you don't have the energy to argue or find a more reasonably priced alternative. If you are unwittingly ripped off you will feel like an idiot and beat yourself up about it for days - don't bother. It happens to everyone as some point. Take it as a lesson and move on.

For example: If you get drunk and stupidly leave your iPod on the beach whilst going for a midnight swim, someone is going to probably going to steal it and you will end up with some very questionable views on music.

6. Be on your guard - but only to a certain extent ⚔

You can avoid number 5 to a certain extent by keeping yourself informed or by generally just being aware and trusting your instincts and common sense. However, be careful with building up a barrier too high and closing yourself off to good  experiences - weigh up the pros and cons - is the upside of this potential situation better than the downside? If it's a yes then go  for it - if it turns out you've been conned then as per point 5 - that's ok. (Obviously never endanger your life or your health!)

For example: If you get too defensive, you’ll close yourself off to people who are trying to genuinely be helpful or friendly, as happened to me with this seemingly nice chap in India… But if you do something stupid (refer to point 5) – you’ll end up listening to the Bee Gees for weeks.

7. Travelling isn't fun ALL the time, and it doesn't have to be 🎢

This is an important one. There is an element of discomfort behind most posed and filtered and seemingly amazing Instagram pics.

Whether it be a sweaty 2 hour trek in tropical heat, a 10 hour journey on a night bus, a cluster of itchy mosquito bites, a good 45 minutes spent bartering with a local, a night spent on the toilet after eating a dodgy prawn... These moments seem to fall away in your memory when you look back on your trip but whilst you are living them they are less than enjoyable.

There were also times during my travels when I beat myself up about staying somewhere too long, or not long enough, or visiting this place when I could have gone to that place. 

Whilst you are living the experience, you tend to feel that if it isn't awesome every single moment you are somehow wasting it. 

In reality, travelling is still just a continuation of ordinary life - you'll have good days, bad days and distinctly average days.

It’s all just part of the experience - accept that it won't be amazing all the time - sometimes it'll be uncomfortable and even just downright tedious. Allow yourself to hate the bad moments just as much as you allow yourself to love the great ones.

For example: When I had this mental breakdown half way through my India trip.

8. Be aware that you'll probably buy a lot of stuff 👛

Don't set off with a full back pack - and take things that you will be happy to throw or give away along the way. Even with that advice, at some point you'll likely end up having to ship a box of souvenirs home which can be expensive. Try and factor shopping and shipping into your budget...

Also be aware - that awesome looking Chang vest top probably won't look that cool to you anymore when you get back home - same goes for the 10+ pairs of harem pants that you'll acquire.

For example: The piles of “travel clothes” that, in my mind, were very practical and trendy at the time and are now slowly turning to dust in the depths of my cupboard.

9. Document your travels 📝

I did it with this online blog - but you can do it in whatever way suits you. I wrote my blog and ignored it for 2 years - and then slowly but surely when my memories started to wane I found myself referring to it more and more. Not only is it useful for people who wants tips about certain locations but it's a guaranteed way to put a smile on your face as you recall anecdotes that have slipped your mind.

For example: Well, you are reading it…

10. Don't worry too much about what happens after 🔮

Will I have enough savings leftover after my trip? How long will it take me to find a job? How long will it take me to re-organise my living situation? Blah blah blah.

You can think about these as much as you like while you are away but at the end of the day you'll have plenty of time to worry about reality when you land back in it. 

Relax, and just have a bloody great time.

For example: Did I freak out when I saw what was left of my savings FLY out of my bank account? Yes.  Was the moment I got chatted up at the Job Centre with the line “So, how long have you been unemployed?” one of the scariest “Shit, what have I done?” moments of my life? Yes. Would it have helped to worry about it when I was sat at the sun gate at Macchu Picchu? No. Did it all work out? Absolutely!

In other words: If you worry you die, if you don’t worry, you die. So, why worry? (Credit to Pepe for that little gem)

Sabah, Borneo

Some places are best described with pictures, rather than words, and even then it's not quite adequate in capturing the blissfulness of lying on a pristine white beach with turquoise tropical waters lapping at your feet. A welcome and much needed break from the dazzling madness of big cities:

This is my third time on Malaysia's relatively unspoiled coasts - the first being on the amazing Perhentian Islands, which I just can't rave about enough, and the second in Sarawak,during my first visit to Borneo. The fact that I came back should say enough really...

We stayed on the idyllic Gaya Island for a few days where I was lucky enough to spot about 5 black-tipped reef sharks whilst snorkelling, and also unbelieveably relieved to get back into some scuba gear and explore the depths. The diving wasn't as impressive as what I'd found in Perhentian and Indonesia but still well worthwhile. At one point, we found two horseshoe crabs stuck in a net on the seabed which our diving instructor freed - giving us the chance to take a close look at the alien-like species which is effectively a living fossil dating back over 450 million years.

The last couple of nights of our stay were spent at the Shangri-La Resort in Rasa Ria where they are wrapping (today is the last day) up their orangutan rehabilitation programme. We spent the morning watching two two-year old orangutans clambering over each other and their keepers - followed by a canopy walk where we introduced to the pit viper. Our guide gleefully told us that it was called the 100 step snake (because that's as far as you'll get once it's bitten you) whilst poking it with a stick:

Another of the highlights of the trip was a night tour of the mangrove forests that line the rivers around Rasa Ria. At night, the shadows along the river banks come to life with the twinkling glow of hundreds of miniscule fireflies. The scene looks like it's been lifted straight out of a Disney movie - our guide held a small blue-ish light on our boat which mimics the light given off by female fireflies, making the tiny twinkling bulbs lift out of the shadows and float towards the boat

Our last day in the sun was spent sipping coconuts whilst topping up our tans on the beach and hiring out a small catamaran, skippered by Stanley, an ex-mechanic.

Our return trip was broken up by a one day layover in Hong Kong - the mist had finally cleared and we were finally able to enjoy the unbroken views of the amazing skyline:

Sleeping:
Gaya Island Resort - absolute relaxing bliss. They organised snorkelling and scuba diving trips for me and both were great. Evenings are a little quiet as you are stuck on the island so definitely a place for relaxation!

Shangri La Rasa Ria - set on the most amazing stretch of beach and within close proximity to the rivers and mangrove forests - we chose it for the orangutan rehabilitation program which is now closed. 

Hong Kong

Most new places I travel to have the ability to tug at my heart strings and each one seems to strike a different chord making it that little bit difficult to leave each and every time. Hong Kong (which means fragrant harbour) is no exception. Coming from the tiniest of places I have a great love of big cities and although Hong Kong is not the biggest, it certainly knows how to make great use of the space it has available.

I'm at a bit at a loss as to how to describe it in words. It feels as like a jigsaw puzzle with the pieces still jumbled up in its box - everything seems a little out of place somehow and yet connected ... cheaply built concrete tower blocks cozy up next to sleek modern glass skyscrapers in the shadow of which you can expect to find anything, thrown together in a seemingly haphazard manner -  a small street lined with vegetable vendors interrupts a row of trendy gift shops (wan chai), a chic coffee place sits next to a sweaty fluorescent-lit noodle joint, stylishly dressed party goers on their way to high end roof top bars, dodge their way through hordes of stumbling drunks outside the 711 (a pretty happening spot in Lan Kwai Fong as people try to avoid the considerably high drinks prices).

Skyscrapers old and new:

At one point we even got lost in a lift for a hour ... although I'm somewhat convinced it  was a tardis - every time the doors opened they revealed a different world; a gym, a wedding banquet (chandeliers and all), shops, a tapas restaurant, a food court, a toy store/amusement arcade ... when we gave up on the lift and tried to take the stairs we stumbled across a sleeping man in wellington boots ... my cheese dreams are less surreal, but it's all part of the quirky charm of this seemingly haphazard city. 

Mong Kok is home to the ladies night market which is a seemingly endless cluster of streets lined with stalls selling pretty much anything you can imagine being sold. Apparently it's also the most densely populated area in the world and might have been for awhile as the name means prosperous/crowded corner.

Mong Kok:

On our last day after giving up hope of having the relentless fog clear,  we took the tram up to Victoria Peak. We were very lucky to coincide with a slight break in the grey weather which allowed us to get a glimpse of the stunning views.

Victoria Peak:

On the way back to Tsim Sha Tsui where we were staying,  we took the ferry as darkness set in and the sky scrapers came to life to reveal stunningly lit skyline shining through the fog. 

The ongoing grind of human history has no understanding of, or interest in, the logic of physical geography and as a result it occasionally churns out a few anomalies. Gibraltar,  my home, is one of these and Hong Kong is another. Whilst wildly different, there seem to be certain parallels across these two identities. I'm told that before Hong Kong was ceded to the British after the first opium war, there wasn't actually too much going on there. Much like Gibraltar,  it was its unique status as a colony that catalysed it's growth - as a result, the Hong Kong have an identity that is unique from that of China or the UK. Now that it has been handed back to China, (whilst retaining its unique status) political tensions are rising between the local population and China, culminating with several protests and riots which have been fuelled by the ongoing manipulation by the Chinese government of the agreed terms of the transfer of the territory.

As is often the case when visiting cities, we left with an appetite to see more and I'd return to Hong Kong in a heart beat to continue enjoying all it has to offer. Special thanks to Resham, Mathias and John (aka "Stu''s friend") for each giving us tips and a glimpse of their version of the city (including the infamous syringe jelly shot):

Sleeping:
Hotel Icon in Tsim Sha Tsui. Lovely hotel in a slightly awkward area. They provide a free shuttle service to the tube which is very helpful and taxis are so cheap that location wasn't that important anyway. There's enough going on around the area that you don't feel at all isolated.

Eating:
Soho: Little Bao (recommended by Resham) was well worth the visit - there is a queue for a reason! The salted caramel dessert was amazing (and I am not a dessert person).

Drinking:
Lan Kwai Fong: Ce La Vi has amazing views (and oddly enough a jacuzzi to dip your feet in)
We stopped for a cocktail at Paradis - It's a restaurant really but has a nice bar area and a really great vibe.
Staunton Street in Soho has tons of cool and quirky bars.

Gibraltar

If home is where the heart is, my home is and always will be, the small and mighty Rock of Gibraltar.
Of all the places I've visited in the world I think that Gibraltar is one of the most curious. In the Iberian Peninsula, at the Southernmost tip of Europe, at the edge of a vast plain rises a great limestone rock. When seeing it rising out of the straits for the first time (keep in mind I have no idea what that feels like having been born on the thing) I can imagine that it looks rather impressive - but it isn't just the structure of it that has shaped Gibraltar's past, it is its location: Piercing out of the water between beautiful sandy coasts, Gibraltar acts as the gatekeeper of the Mediterranean. As one of the Pillars of Hercules it was believed to mark the end of the known world back in the days when the Greeks wore togas, but it is its strategic importance that has made these tiny 2.6 square miles what it is today.

Whenever I've told people I am from Gibraltar the initial reaction has usually been "Oh, I have never met anyone from Gibraltar" ... Well, if you come from a town with a population of 30,000, the chances would be that I've never met anyone from there either... The next question is very often "Do you feel British or Spanish?". That one is easy. If nationality really can be classed as a feeling, then what I 'feel' is Gibraltarian. Part of what makes the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar a curious place is not its Britishness, it is its Gibraltarianess. 30,000 people with a unique culture, a unique sense of humour, a unique language, a unique economy and a unique identity. Ethnically, we are Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Maltese, English as well as Moroccan, Jewish, Indian and more. It is that unique mix that makes us who we are as a people much more than our proximity to Spain or our British passports.

I am not English and I am not Spanish. I am Gibraltarian, I am Mediterranean, I am British, I am European and I feel proud of all of these things. I do love Spain however. When I meet people from different countries and I talk about Gibraltar I also talk to them about Andalucia. In my opinion, Andalucia is one of the most beautiful places in the world and my love for travel was nurtured there. The music, the people, the history, the food, the architecture, the coasts, the mountains and the energy of Andalucia have also helped shape who I am and whilst I don't "feel" Spanish, Andalucia holds a place in my heart.

We are not Spanish and yet Spain holds a lot of power over us for obvious reasons. It is in our interests to have good political relations with Spain, but if Spain does not want good political relations with us, there is little we can do... When having good political relations means having to compromise on our territorial rights then clearly we have a problem.

The hate campaign that rages in Spain sometimes becomes personal and therefore impossible to ignore. Naturally, it hasn't affected my relationships, but with Gibraltarian cars being set on fire and a completely shocking, limitless and disgusting hate campaign on social media (ranging from branding us as pirates, criminals, dogs, apes and culminating with death threats against our Chief Minister) there become less and less chances for good personal relationships due solely to the small mindedness of certain hateful individuals. Add to this completely false reports in the Spanish media that plant seeds of hate that spread like wildfire and we are powerless to do anything.

The other thing that we face now that we never faced in the past is the accessibility of people's opinions on social media. It's so easy to see the hate that exists on both sides which just serves to fuel the fire. I find it hard myself not to get emotionally involved - when I read sweeping statements insulting me, insulting my people how else am I supposed to react?  But I don't hold it against spanish people in general, that would be idiotic, I hold it only against the small minded individuals insistent on turning this political circus into a personal war. I resent them on both sides. I resent them everywhere that they exist in the world for whatever reason they choose to discriminate and judge, whether it be anti-muslim, anti-immigrant, anti-spanish, anti-gibraltar, anti-communist, anti-woman... I am anti-anti. Hate is a strong emotion so to fling it around blindly at people or things that you don't understand is a complete waste of energy and the irony is that the hateful people with opposing views are more similar to each other than any other people on this planet - the same values, the same ideologies, the same reactions, the same emotions - they just happen to be on different sides.

Aside from all this, I am enjoying being back home and spending time with my amazing family and friends who I love to pieces - being away also makes you realise how good things are back home. Thank you so much for reading my ramblings - I can only hope that I've inspired you to book a flight!


 The Rock:

'

Our beautiful sunsets over the bay:

Our barbary macaques:

Andalucia:

Sevilla:

La Alhambra, Granada:

Ronda:

View of Gibraltar and Morocco from Estepona:

One of my favourite beaches in the World in Tarifa:

Morocco, Also a big influence on our unique little culture.  Tangiers:

London

Grey, wet, cold, busy, smoky, unfriendly, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful London! I've never loved this city as much as i do right now. Restaurants from every corner of the earth with all their menus written in English. Public transport that more or less functions despite being packed in like a sardine. Cab drivers who know exactly where you are going, even when you don't. Beautifully spaced out queues of people. Cool, fresh weather - not a drop of sweat in sight. They have a thing called pavements here, which are these areas on the side of roads where no cars, motorbikes, trucks,  horses, donkeys or cows can travel along making it safe for the humble pedestrian to go about their business - it's bloody genius!
And don't even get me started on the delights packed into my beautiful, beautiful flat. Double beds with the softest mattresses, clean linen, rooms with as many power sockets as you could ever possibly want... Wardrobes. Oh, a whole wardrobe full of wonderful, wonderful things. Heels, belts, bags, jeans, dresses. A dressing table with make up, perfume, moisturisers, hairbrushes, hair dryers. Oh my god, it's like my own personal beauty salon... A bathtub. a real life, clean, white, bathtub stocked with shower gels, soaps, shampoos and conditioner - I don't think I've ever been this clean in my life. I smell like fresh flowers and my skin feels like a dolphin's. I put on real clothes, high heels, make up and I even brushed my hair and when I looked in the mirror I felt like one of those women off a Trinny and Susannah makeover show. It almost brought me to tears. I've been reunited with my music collection. I will never listen to Whitney or the Bee Gees again. Best of all though are the toilets! Gleaming porcelain beauties with seats, flushes, tissue paper, soap, running water. Now I understand why they call it a throne, I could sit on that fresh smelling thing all day... I mean just look at this before and after shot:

Yes, that's right. Squat toilets with no doors. I mean seriously Beijing, are we animals?!

There's also this thing called a kitchen in here and it has everything you possibly need to turn raw stuff into food.. Look at how I transformed these eggs and bread into breakfast:

A miracle! And not a noodle or a grain of rice in sight. Joy of joys!

In all seriousness though, I'm surprisingly happy to be back. I'll try really hard to not write a million soppy cliches but there's no other real way to describe this than as a sort of rebirth. Everything seems new and exciting and I can appreciate things that I would never have thought twice about before. I am relaxed and happy and the best part about it is that I have 1001 incredible memories that will last me a lifetime. There aren't really any words to describe the past 6 months. I've been dreaming about them since I was a teenager and they have lived up to and far surpassed any expectations that I may have had. People ask me what my favourite places were and I usually give them the easy answer which goes something like: "Bolivia and Laos. China and Malaysia were amazing - all of it really except India which I didn't massively enjoy" but really it isn't that straight forward. It's not so much the places that you visit that makes a trip it's the experiences you have there. My favourite places actually are the tops of mountains, the bottom of oceans, the middle of jungles, the beginnings of friendships... Rooftop bars with glasses of champagne, greasy little backstreet restaurants, beach bars with fire breathers, trains and buses with multiple landscapes flickering through their windows, nightclubs at 4am ... my house packed with great friends, my lovely soft bed (not packed with great friends). I could rabbit on and on but I've already blogged about it all so if you've read it you already know what my highlights are. Even India which may not have given me the greatest experiences taught me something about myself and something about the world, so whilst I am not in a rush to go back there, I am actually happy that I went.

Anyway, I want to thank you all for reading my rambles about my rambles. I'm heading home to Gibraltar on Wednesday so I think I can manage one last post in honour of my beautiful home town but other than that, my everyday life is sadly just not all that exciting so if I don't think of something else to write about, Kate will no longer post. What I will say to those folks who go on about how jealous they are is to stop being jealous. I didn't win the lottery or get some magical travel invite, I just saved up some cash, quit my job and booked a flight. Seriously, it's that easy. Obviously if you have financial commitments or a family please don't go and bankrupt yourself or give your children abandonment issues - make do with a week off here and there. But if you can do it and you want to do it, just go and bloody well do it! Please!

PS. Errr... Anyone out there want to employ me? I'm kinda broke... :D

Shanghai and Beijing

Our last two action packed stops were a great way to finish what has been an amazing trip on a high. Shanghai was great fun. We were lucky enough to find a very gracious host who speaks Chinese so we had our first proper Chinese meal where we knew exactly what we were eating which was quite a treat. The two days we were there were spent whizzing around visiting the shops, sights and museums and the nights were spent meeting people, eating, drinking and dancing and dancing and dancing.

After a stroll along The Bund we decided that rather than paying to go up one of the more iconic skyscrapers in Pudong, we would fork out for a glass or two of bubbly at the amazing Vue Bar in the Hyatt. I would have been happy enough just having the first champagne glass that I've touched in 6 months in my hand, but the stunning views made the experience well worth blowing the budget for and I'm pretty sure there was no better place in the World to toast the most mind-blowing 6 months of my life!

Yuyuan:

Enjoying the best ribs in the World:

 The Bund:

Flashpacking at the Hyatt:

The hangover the following day was slept off on the bullet train to Shanghai ... when you are awake you can see China unfolding past your window at quite a dramatic rate, sadly I missed most of the show whilst enjoying the back of my eyelids but what i did manage to glimpse of the passing landscapes looked rather impressive.

 304 kmph on the bullet train to Beijing:

Beijing was our last stop and we definitely made the most of it... Our non-stop sightseeing destroyed our backs, our legs, our feet, our will to live but boy was it worth it. There is a hell of a lot to see here and I don't think we even scratched the surface - we did get the highlights in however. The Great Wall of China is pretty damn impressive as far as walls go. You can't really go wrong when you are standing on a structure that's over 500 years old and visible from space! The real highlight of that visit however was the toboggan on the way down ... Thought it was odd when I first heard about it but it made perfect sense when I was on it. Highly recommended! You can find it at the Mu Tian Yu part of the wall which I'm assured is less crowded and more beautiful than the parts where all the domestic tourists flock to. Here are the Beijing highlights in photographic form...

Mu Tian Yu:

The Olympic Green with it's amazingly impressive Birds Nest Stadium was a real highlight:

Tiananmen Square and the not quite so Forbidden any more City:

The Summer Palace which isn't a Palace at all... It's a whole city and a stunning one at that:

These photos only makes sense in China:

Mastering the art of the chopstick:

 Our last sit down meal, amazingly tasty peking duck:

So, that's that. 6 months whizzed past in just 36 blog posts. I'm sat in London now with severe jet lag trying to process everything I've experienced. Once I do, I'll write some final deep and meaningful post for you all urging you to quit your jobs... but for now I'm just going to unpack and make myself at home in my slippers with a cup of tea. Ahh bliss!