Travel reminiscing (including some seriously old/embarrassing holiday snaps!)

When your life is going to change in a big way, I guess it’s only natural to start thinking about past experiences and how things are going to change for the future. Obviously, I’m over the moon that baby peaches is on the way, but sometimes I can’t help but think about how one of my biggest passions is going to change in a big way. That passion is, adventure travel! Travel has always been something deeply etched into my being, I travelled as a baby, a child and a teenager and continued to travel into my adult life. I then turned my passion into a career as I worked as cabin crew for 2 years, then as a travel agent for 8 years. So, my passion for travelling the world really has been with me a long time.  I’m sure we will travel with baby peaches, however, I know from experience of booking family holidays that things will change as a party of 3! My love for travelling doesn’t have to stop, it’s just going to be different that’s all. Instead of trekking in South America, I’ll be going on a luxury Iglu Cruise or booking an all-inclusive beach holiday – however, I know it’ll still be amazing and I can’t wait to show our little girl the world. So, while I’m reminiscing, I thought I’d share some of my favourite travel destinations, some funny stories and a few dodgy old holiday snaps. Here are my best bits:

INDIA

I was lucky enough to visit Delhi in India in 2007 for a work trip. Yes, that’s me with the brown hair (not sure what I was thinking there!) I remember it was an amazingly overwhelming culture shock, the sights, the smells, the endless heat, but I loved every moment of it. India will always be one of my favourite places in the world, it is absolutely crazy, busy and smelly at times but it’s so beautiful. We were lucky enough to visit places like the Taj Mahal, although I remember being torn by the fact there was a 5 star hotel (in the bottom right picture) that was right next to a slum. As well as visiting the posh hotel we also played with the children of the slums, and as I was so young, this gave me so much to think about to see such poverty. This was one of my big life lessons that totally put my life into perspective and made me realise how lucky I am. The heat was also incredible, it reached 46 degrees during our trip, crazy! I think if I went back, I’d be a little older and wiser now and I’d be a little more prepared!

RIO DE JANEIRO

In 2008, I was lucky enough to travel for work to Rio De Janeiro. The trip feels like an utter blur, I remember being so tired from the flight I can barely remember half of it! We were lucky enough to see some of the top sights, like Copacabana Beach and the Corcovado. After seeing Rio in so many pictures I had to pinch myself I was actually there! We then went into the Amazon where we got to meet a tribe that still live within the rainforest, I remember being horrified when a man just wearing nothing but a very skimpy leaf pulled me up to dance with him. I flew all over the dance floor to the sound of their panpipes and drums as he spun me round!

AUSTRALIA

My next adventure was to Australia. Look how young I look in these pictures! It was a whirlwind tour, visiting 3 different places, Melbourne, Ayers Rock (Uluru) and Sydney, all within the space of 10 days. I’m not sure I’d have coped with that sort of itinerary these days, but back then I was in my element! (Remember those days when we didn’t need sleep!?). I remember worrying about all the creepy crawlies and checking my shoes/bedding/toilet seat for spiders at every opportunity. We slept one night under the stars by Ayers Rock and I was such I was going to be eaten by something! My favourite memory was watching the sunrise come up over Ayers Rock, as the light changed, so did the colour of the rock, it was magical!

BORNEO

A couple of years later, I travelled to Borneo and got the once in a lifetime change to meet the orangutans of Sepilok Rescue Centre, which was an absolute dream! We also stayed in a really lovely hotel and somehow I managed to get upgraded into a room with a huge jacuzzi on the balcony, which I had all to myself, I couldn’t believe it! My favourite moment from Borneo was getting up in the middle of the night to watch a turtle laying her eggs on the beach, I can still remember our guide running through the ‘hotel’ (which was just basic beach huts to be honest) shouting ‘it’s turtle time!!‘ to wake everyone up for the moment.

PERU

My most recent adventure and if you’ve been reading my blog for a few years, you’ll have read all about this already! Both V and I travelled to Peru a couple of years ago and it was one of the most amazing but hardest trips I’ve ever done. I was really affected by the altitude, but we managed to do the Inca Trail, even though my lips went blue and I was out of breath with every step. It really was a spiritual, life changing experience, with a lot of funny moments along the way, such as when V drunk a frog milkshake (that literally had a frog blended into it) and don’t even get me started on the quest for a clean toilet on the Inca Trail (spoiler: it doesn’t exist). Peru was just so amazing, I’d go back again in a second!

 

Ahh, so many amazing memories. I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane with me! I’d love to hear some of your travel stories, either before or after babies, please do tweet me, or share them in the comments below! 

 

Post contains some collaborative links, however all words, opinions and travel stories are my own