Hi everybody! I’m really excited to share this week’s Tuesday Travel Inspiration with you! Julia and I both went to the same University, where she originally inspired me in my psychology course (she’s so clever)!
Since graduating she has achieved an inspirational amount of travel, but her travels started years earlier with her initial move to the UK! I’ll let her carry on with that story…
Introduce yourself…
I’m Julia from Berlin, Germany. I’m kinda in between degrees right now having finished my undergrad two years ago. I’m interested in cognition and language (particularly in relation to gender), how different languages affect how we think and perceive the world around us, so I’ll be doing a Masters soon to explore this field further. I also love cats, delicious plant-based food and – of course – travel!
Where have you been & how long have you been away for?
Ummm, that’s a tricky one! I left Berlin around seven years ago. After I finished school I moved to the UK to work and stayed to do my degree there. I then Iived in Switzerland for work which allowed me to research language and gender, see the mountains and save money for the trip I have just returned from. Then, fourteen months ago, my boyfriend and I left Europe and have looked around India, Nepal, Thailand, and Australia. I also had a solo week in Cambodia. We just got back to Europe, but I’m not settling down anytime soon – I will be living and studying in the Netherlands from autumn on!
What experience so far are you most proud of doing?
I’ve started from scratch a couple of times. Finding a home, a job and friends, navigating around new cities, tax and insurance systems, languages and cultures. Looking back, I guess just going away and giving living abroad a go has made me proud. It teaches you a lot, particularly about yourself. And if it goes wrong, I told myself, you are lucky enough to be able to just head back home.
I’m also a bit of a control freak and love being organised. Anyone who knows me know I can get a little edgy when there’s no plan or a plan doesn’t work out. Living in Nepal for three months calmed me down a little I’d say. I am definitely better at taking things as they come.
Tell us about your funniest moment on the road?
Gosh, too many!! We’ve had some rough rides that were not so fun at the time – like when our 36-hour train journey in India was delayed by 43 hours before we even got on the train! Having near-death experiences riding on top of buses on a windy road in Nepal whilst squished between rice sacks. Battling elaborate scams in Thailand. Getting stuck in the monsoon rain on your way home. Or being followed by a cassowary in Australia’s tropics. But these things make for really good stories in the end!
You’re travelling with your boyfriend – has it been difficult or do you work well as a team?
There’s been ups and downs, definitely. Living in each others pockets day in day out, you simply get annoyed with one another sometimes! Overall though, I’d say we make a good team as we are really different characters. I’m the one who makes sure all our things are in order and we won’t miss our bus, and he is the easy-going one who will push me to go with the flow and let go. It’s all about balance!
You have been working while you’ve been travelling – has finding work been easier than you thought?
Luckily, yes! I got my job in Switzerland after uni through asking my tutors for advice and have since lived by the motto ‘If you don’t ask, you don’t get’. I wanted to stay in touch with my academic side whilst travelling so I simply contacted researchers at Sydney unis based on whether their interests matched mine. Obviously it wasn’t a fairy tale ending and I didn’t get a full-time position straight away (read: ever… but close enough!), but I managed to find work that was challenging and interesting, taught me new skills and kept me financially afloat.
Always, always ask! What’s the worst that can happen? No is the default when you don’t ask. Contact people and ask around, because it simply cannot get worse than receiving that default no.
If you put yourself out there it can only get better, even if the chances are slim!
What was the name of your favourite hostel & why?
We mostly stayed with friends at the beginning of the trip and then had our own place when we lived in Australia or slept in our camper on road trips. But there were a couple of lovely guesthouses, cheap hotels and hostels…
BeeBee Bungalows in Koh Lanta, Thailand was one of my faves. As the name suggests it was more of a bungalow village than a hostel and it was amazing. I was there in the off-season with friends and it was so relaxed, super affordable and right on the beach. Falling asleep and waking up to the sound of the ocean is just wonderful. Plus Koh Lanta is simply beautiful and a lot less touristy than the neighboring islands.
[Hoselt Girl note: this sounds right up my street! waking up to the ocean in a friendly bungalow village away from tourists – I’m there!]
In Nepal I would recommend a hotel called Kopila. It’s in Pokhara and for Nepali prices a little more upmarket, but still much more affordable than a dorm room in Australia! The hotel is on the opposite side of the tourist stretch along the lake, a boat comes and you will be rowed across to your accommodation. It’s run by a Japanese-Nepali family and if you visit after the rainy season (though we did get lucky even during the monsoon), you will wake up to the Annapurna range of the Himalaya.
Theres also this place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia called Me Mates Villa. It’s a lovely, relatively new hostel with lovely big bunk beds in the dorms and friendly staff. They had a family gathering when I was there and invited all the guests and shared their food. It’s also probably the cleanest hostel I have ever been in.
What one piece of advice would you give someone who is getting ready to set off on their first travel adventure?!
Only one? I’ve got more haha!
Try out HelpX (www.helpx.net)! We have met some lovely people that way. If you want to get under the skin of a place, there’s nothing better than spending your time with locals. Get an account, check out hosts in the country you want to visit, read the reviews, get in touch and become a helper. It’s all about mutual exchange and (usually) there’s no money involved. Plus you learn new skills – I herded goats, helped built an art studio and took care of a jungle garden.
Another tip: Scan all your important documents (ID, qualifications, healthcare…) and take them with you on a USB/upload them to Dropbox or leave digital copies with your loved ones back home. Incredibly helpful if you lose anything, need to do boring paperwork or apply for unis or jobs. Skype credit also comes in handy for rare landline calls to your bank/granny without internet/job back home.
And ALWAYS upload your photos to your Dropbox for safekeeping when you have a moment. A stolen camera is annoying, but losing the photos is much worse!
And lastly a piece of advice I could have used before heading off fourteen months ago: Just let go and don’t stress – you’re gonna have a good time!
Quick Travel Tips!
1. Hostel or Hotel?
Depends! Hotels are usually out of our price range, so we tend to check out hostels instead… but to be honest, even in a hostel I prefer to stay in a private room. Socialising can be done in the shared kitchen!
2. Train or Plane?
Train – I like taking the scenic route!
3. Backpack or Suitcase?
Backpack, definitely. A lot of the places we travelled just weren’t cut out for wheely suitcases, plus I like all the little pockets on my backpack!
4. Card or Cash?
Cash. Unless you live in a place for longer and actually have a local bank account. Other than that I like to have small amounts of cash in various different places, in case something goes missing.
5. With Friends or Solo?
Either – it depends on the trip! You’ll make friends anywhere and everywhere as a solo traveller, even if you are a little shy like me. The great thing about travelling with your favorite people though, are the shared memories when you return! If you do go with friends, go with someone you can rely on. Longer trips can really take it out of you at times. Prepare yourself to feel exhausted, confused, upset and get sick. Work out what you need from your friends and how much you are willing to compromise. It’s simple: if you can’t be bothered to stay in when your friend is poorly, don’t expect them to do it for you.
Read Julia’s Blog!
ramble-ramble.tumblr.com – We write in both English and German about our traveling adventures. It’s just a simple tiny blog to keep people back home updated on what we’ve been up to. That said, we are actually incredibly behind on posting updates, but have dedicated a bit of time in the coming week to get it done so stay tuned!
A HUGE thanks to Julia for finding the time to share her story with us all whilst still on the move!
Make sure you check out her blog using the link above!
Lots of love,
