HELLO? Guess where I am? Yep, on plane 1/3 on my way to see the world! The day has finally arrived where I get to see what this world is all about. Last night I was crazy stressed but so excited, Im just so happy this is really happening. I packed my luggage last night, and boy was that a pain. I know the rule of halving what you’re thinking about taking but it literally went out the window. I did my first ‘draft’ pack, playing tetris with my suitcase, only for it to weigh in at 25 bloody kilos!!! I had a little sob and tried to think realistically and reevaluated my choices. My goal was to take between 10-15kg so that I had room to bring back a few things, and then a light carryon bag with just my ipad, important documents and food – but none of this happened 😂 Overall, my suitcase weighed 19kgs at check in, and my carry on was 6.5kg, with so much shit I probably didnt need.

I have 3 flights schedueled in order to arrive at my final destination – London. First is an 8hour flight from Brisbane to Singapore, which left at 2:30pm and will arrive 8:50pm Singapore time. I will have a 3 hour layover in Singapore then board another plane to take me for a 13hour flight from Singapore to Frankfurt in Germany. I should only be in Germany for an hour or so then I’m left with a 1hr 40min flight to London, arriving (Friday 29 April 2016) 8am London Time. 

Besides packing my whole room, bathroom and supermarket in my bulging suitcase, my actual though process and readiness for this trip has been great. I have made sure I’ve stayed focused and organised, and mentally prepared for the journey ahead. No tears were shed at the airport, nor on my first flight when I split spicy beef all over my white singlet, or when I got lost finding my gate. When I left Australia, I was shy, dependant on others, not confident, unsocial and had no direction for my future. Even as I sit here on the flight to Singapore writing this blog, I can already feel a sense of maturity naturally overcoming me. I really do hope I become a better, more knowledgable, confident human being when I return. 

Hello ! Welcome to my new and improved blog. It is currently 3 weeks until I turn my life into something worth reading about. My brain has calmed down a lot since I last posted (if thats even possible), and I am feeling a lot more confident and excited for my trip. My boring life has been so busy with working full time, eating and sleeping, that I’ve barely had time to even imagine the possibility of a plane crashing or being mugged while overseas. It feeling so real now as I received my Contiki package in the mail a week ago which included my plane tickets, itinerary and important documents/information I need about my trip. I do feel a little behind with organising what Im going to pack and take with me, but Im confident that it will be sorted within the next 3 weeks…. Everyday I get new advice and tips on what to do/not to do while travelling, I’m like a little sponge and it is definitely helping keep the nerves at bay. Surprisingly, I reached my goal for spending money so that worry is forgotten, however deciding how I’m going to be spending it is another issue. Cash, Debit Card, Cash Passport or Travel Card?? I have searched many comparison websites but all have different preferences based on how much, where you’re going, how long, and personal choice, which isn’t quite helpful in my case as I have no idea what I am doing. I guess it will be fine. A few more people have been added to the contiki group chat which is great, theres about 18 of us now and we’re talking more about what we are going to do while we are there. Disneyland Paris was a topic of discussion and my little disney heart fluttered with joy. The thought never even crossed my mind to visit the Disneyland in Paris however its definitely got me pumped now! Disclaimer, I didnt actually know that Disneyland Paris was a thing until that conversation and I googled it… oops.

Wow look at that rambling haha, every sentence is about a different thing. So structered….. Any who, thanks for reading, I’ll be sure to do a next update either 1 week before or the night before, depends how my brain reacts! 

*Originally posted on January 23rd 2016*

 

Is it possible to have googled something too much?

As the time is getting closer til my feet leave Australian turf, my brain is naturally buzzing around with countless thoughts. I am hoping that by writing this all down, someone, somewhere will read this and think ‘Oh thank god, I’m not the only one’. I cant wait laugh and read this overthinking rant once I return home and post an ‘I told you so’ post to myself. So without further babbling, here are my unorganised, numbered, freaking out paragraphs of my thoughts before my Europe 2016 trip.

1. I might need to cast the undetectable extension charm on my suitcase. 
   Okay, so I’m not the type of girly girl who packs a whole wardrobe for each season, the whole bathroom and beauty salon in 3 suitcases and 2 bags, but I am normally the type of person who likes to pack as little as possible with set outfits that my mind wont change on. In saying this, apparently stress has caused me to go all girly because I am feeling like I will somehow need to pack my whole house inside my suitcase, and it still only weigh 20kgs. What if I pack too many summer clothes and the weather takes a turn into a snowy blizzard? What if my scales at home are wrong and its over the limit when I arrive? What if I pack too little and a corrupt TSA officer smuggles drugs into the space available? I know. I know.
2. Wished we lived in a free world.
   I think one of the biggest fears/stressed thoughts I have is running out of money, or having it stolen. I am trying to have one of those cool calm and collected mindsets in this situation, but money is kind of important. Especially when alone, and on the other side of the world; plus it would be embarrassing. I am trying my best to save enough spending money, because I wouldn’t be what you call ‘wealthy’ or a tight ass(I tend to be too generous). I have wrote down meal budgets, souvenir allowances, emergency money, attraction entries, alcohol limits and any other budgets that I may have to calculate, but I’m still not confident that I will have enough once the conversion rate applies and what silly mind state I will be in once I’m actually there. What if my moneyis stolen? What if I run out and get stuck overseas? What if I’m not responsible enough for these money issues? Ugh.
3. Outsider.
   This one may sound silly but it is a reoccurring thought. What if I don’t get along with anyone and don’t make friends? I am normally confident enough to think I’m a pretty easy-to-get-along-with person but that normally applies when I meet and hang out with people on separate occasions, not living with them on a bus for 3 weeks? With the ages ranging between 18-35, what if it was like high school? I was never any good at fitting in cliche groups of popular girls, sporty kids, smart/nerdy people, as I was and am just, me. This is not to say that I don’t have some sort of confidence I will meet people on the same wave length, but its just not guaranteed, anything could happen.
4. Do you understand?
   Being an uneducated Australian about other parts of the world, different languages will be interesting. I can barely understand plain English let alone heavy accents or a total new lingo. I have been self-learning french as I will be spending the longest time there, and it would be nice to know a second language, but would it be worth it? I get that most people these days are speaking English, but language barriers worry me still. I understand that the TM, driver and other tourists will be there but I feel like I should know all the languages I will need to know and actually understand. Nothing is worse than miscommunication!!
5. Mum always said, have no expectations.
   Like everything in life, its hard not to picture and plan out what you will be doing when in a new environment. I cant help but think of me taking multiple selfies (which will be a given regardless) in front of beautiful popular sights like the Big Ben, Eiffel Tower, Colosseum, Acropolis etc, and being mesmerised of the gorgeous cities. I keep forgetting that I am on a budget tour, so I wont be in the glamorous parts of the countries, being chauffeured and waited on like royalty. Don’t ask why, but I just picture when you’re in the romantic countries, everywhere looks amazing, that being a tourist means living the high life. I do try and remind myself that bed bugs are a thing, I may get sick, some hostels may be tiny and dirty, and not everyone is nice to tourists. But like my mum said, don’t have expectations !

Okay I think I will leave my nonsense, stressed out rambling right here. I would like to add a side note that when I’m not overthinking things, I am normally carefree and positive when it comes to everything but daunting new adventures with months and months to think about it may just drive me insane. In saying that, keep posted with my fast-paced muddled online brain, and comment a big ‘I told you so’ when I post that I’m home from my trip.