travelher stories
Thank you for visiting! Here you will find a collection of travel stories from women around the world. Each one is as unique and varied as the next. Enjoy!
At this point, I was desperate for money, so I started working in the hostel for free accommodation and took on any other jobs I could get.
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A faint glow emerged on the horizon, a welcome change from the blackness of the night. Slowly, the landscape lit up. Never had I been happier to see the sunrise. Tears pricked my eyes and a warm glow flooded my body. I was so proud of myself for making it this far. But I still had a long way to go. This cyclone of self-guilt leads me down all of the other times I’ve made similar decisions; charging into environments without maybe fully appreciating the circumstances until completely immersed without any way to back out. The first thing that jumps out at me is something that has shadowed my life over the past 7 years. Penguins?” she looks at us incredulously. “You went to see the penguins?” (kind of a mix between ‘why would you do that?’ and ‘is that a thing?’) With my suitcase rumbling against the cobblestones behind me, we darted through the darkness of hidden alleyways, crossed time-worn bridges and passed glittering canals. Little did I know that Venice already had me under its spell. Mel and I lay on the beach and talked about life, swam and surfed constantly, met new friends and generally made the most of living in such a magical spot for a short moment in time. The course weaved around the city, and gave me outstanding views of the Seine, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Grand Palace, Chateau de Vincennes, and of course I could see the Eiffel Tower in the background at many different points. It was a bit surreal, seeing all of these iconic landmarks that I had only ever seen in books and movies. Sort of like running through a fairy tale… The physical challenge was enormous—but so was the mental challenge. I would try to occupy my mind throughout the day while I was running so that I wasn’t focusing on the pain in my body. I depleted all the Euros I had on me (ready to be converted into Serbian Dinar when I arrived) to catch the next connecting flight to Zurich. Strong winds above the Swiss Alps left the pilot unable to land which meant I had to backtrack to Ghent if I wanted to get to Serbia at all. Sixteen hours later I arrived with no money, no luggage and almost no life left in me. While visiting these spots, it occurred to me that taking a selfie with a large monument or a minuscule masterpiece is, you know, really embarrassing. Not to mention logistically awkward. It was the first time I had travelled anywhere overseas alone, and my nerves were all over the place. What happens when I get there? What if my feelings are different in person? What if he doesn’t like me? If things turn sour, what do I do? Although I am primarily a solo traveller, I often say it’s not about what you see when travelling, but who you see it with. The best part of this story is I moved to my mum’s hometown - a small village in London called Barnes, where her mum still lives as well as her sister. My day involves walking the same paths she did, taking the same buses, visiting the same stores, smelling the same smells and exploring the same sites. I learned not to judge and to be kind. I learned to take leaps of faith because often they deliver you right where you’re meant to be, and as a result, I met and fell in love with my now husband. My dear mum had passed away the year before. She knew that I had always, always wanted to go to Greece. A painting of Santorini she did for me hangs on my wall – not her best work (as she aged her Parkinson’s got the better of her magical artistic talent), but filled with love, just for me. There was never a dull moment growing up with a woman who lived life with passion and craved adventure. I inherited these qualities from her, and I am forever grateful. With each day and experience our confidence grew and we thought we were invincible. Look at us – we were killing this travelling thing, nothing could possibly go wrong! Or could it? Finnish people love their summer and so do I. I enjoyed the long sunny days, bathing in the lake and warming up in their traditional sauna. Riding camelback through the desert at night with only the Milky Way and shooting stars to light the way, we eventually stopped at a row of Bedouin tents in the middle of nowhere. I returned home and sold my store and planned to move to Australia for a year. This was one of the biggest decisions of my life so far. But even though I felt nervous, I felt very alive. I spent so much time convincing friends and family it would be fine that I had almost convinced myself… right up until the moment I stepped off the plane in Delhi. Home is my love, but New Zealand is my mistress, or maybe more—I’m still deciding if I prefer her long term. At that exact moment I knew it was time for me to return to the person that I, my friends and my family loved me for. And I needed a challenge, a big one. Each evening we sat down with iPads, tea, maps and guidebooks, and figured out the route for the next day. In those ten days, we saw so many incredible things that I never ever expected when first setting off. Until you have explored this vast planet, how do you know you’re not meant for something or somewhere else? |
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