28 years, 28 countries
In less than two weeks I’ll be celebrating my 28th birthday. I also counted the other day and turns out that I’ve been to 28 countries in these glorious 28 years – how mathmatically poetic.
So often we go on a trip somewhere, take a few snaps, share a few stories and then we are soon back to the “daily grind” that is life and we forget about all the amazing experiences we just had and instead we are already planning our next holiday.
Sometimes we will post photos with #tbt or #takemeback but let’s be honest, these are mainly beach photos feat. Bikini, tan, potentially mates and definitely an espresso martini (or some sangria in my case) so probably not reflective of any real epic adventures (#sorrynotsorry).
How often do we actually sit down and reflect on all the awesome shit we’ve done and seen in our lifetime? I sure don’t do it nearly enough.
Daily gratitude journals have become more popular over the past few years for a reason. It feels good to be grateful and I don’t mean just for life in general (which is also a good thing).
Actually taking time to sit, reflect and share the specific things and moments that make up your fantastic life feels REALLY good. Writing experiences down, revisiting places, talking aloud helps you re-live the experience in some small sense (that’s why serial killers will often go back to the scene of a crime….awks mood killer).
Dark humour aside, I’ve done a bit of reflection and noted down the experiences that stand out the most from my travels so far.
Mostly highs, some slightly concerning and a few quite dangerous – because you have to be grateful for your setbacks to truly appreciate you’re achievements right? They say travel is the most intense mode of learning and boy have I learnt a lot..
Oh the places I have been…
I have:
1. Fallen off a mountain bike and eaten lots of goulash in Austria.
2. Explored castles and beaches in Albania.
3. Eaten a sh*t load of chocolate and watched in Bruges in Belgium (in Bruges to be exact).
4. Jumped off a sailboat and partied till morning in Croatia.
5. Played badminton and hugged one of my best friends in Denmark.
6. Done and internship, gone horse riding, seen the Lion King musical, made mince pies and fallen into a pond in England.
7. Lived & studied, driven a boat, stayed with a millionaire, fallen asleep at a burlesque show, drank wine out of shot glasses, been to Disney land, failed at skiing and slept with a man called Pierre in France.
8. Contracted pneumonia, missed the last night train and been to an aquarium in Germany.
9. Swam with piranha, shot a bow & arrow and taught kids to do the hokey pokey in Guyana.
10. Danced on tables, driven a quad bike, jumped off a cliff and taken someone’s virginity in Greece.
11. Worn 6 different outfits to a wedding, caught an overnight train and had food poisoning twice (once on said train) in India.
12. Learnt to surf, learnt to code, become a yoga teacher, been a digital nomad, performed with a band, climbed a volcano twice, crashed a scooter into a restaurant and bought my first surfboard in Indonesia.
13. Kissed the Blarney stone and eaten potatoes in Ireland.
14. Been camping, eaten more gelato than real food and drank more wine than water in Italy.
15. Had lunch in Liechtenstein.
16. Eaten great spaghetti and lost money at the Monte Carlo in Monoco.
17. Surfed down sand dunes, ridden camels and fallen asleep in a bathroom in Morocco
18. Eaten cheese, visited amazing museums, bought my first vibrator, done Pilates and had an interview (and got the job) in the The Netherlands.
19 .Been snorkelling in New Caledonia.
20. Eaten vegan and questionable non-vegan meat, been horse riding and jumped off waterfalls in Portugal.
21. Paid $10 for a coffee, busked on the street and been to the world’s largest indoor waterfall in Singapore.
22. Surfed every day, taught yoga, nearly been hit by a bus and performed with my ukulele in Sri Lanka and drunk sangria, eaten potatos, snuck into a 5 star hotel pool and had my drink spiked in Spain.
24. Been sky diving, learnt how to make chocolate and eaten cheese fondu in Switzerland.
25. Done a Muay Thai camp, learnt to ride a scooter, made 300bht busking and gotten drunk at SEO meet ups in Thailand.
26. Been surfing with a navy officer, seen 3 musicals and walked for miles for eaten pumpkin pie in the The USA.
27. Learnt to salsa dance and had my first crush in Vanuatu.
28. Had to buy an incredibly expensive sarong in theThe Vatican.
Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen
So that’s it. 28 countries, 28 years and thousands of experiences.
What are your stand out memories from the places you’ve been?
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