This is to give you some personal background information on my first travel abroad which triggered my passion for further travelling from 1996 until today.
The following posts will each cover places I visited in the last few years, especially my five month trip to Australia and South East Asia in 2006 and 2007 of which I wrote a diary and which I am happy to share with you.
Australia 1996/1997
Australia is the country I have been dreaming about since I was a teenager. I knew that one day I would travel around Australia, not only for leisure but also to learn English. My English was poor at that time and I knew that I had to spend a lot of time away from home to learn the language properly.
Why I picked Australia, you probably want to know? Well, I can't explain what attracted me to Australia so much (perhaps the prospect of being able to see kangaroo's and koala's). I felt a strong desire to visit this country, ever since I heard about it when I was little.
Fourteen years ago, I did not have Internet access and my knowledge about Australia was based on what I read in my Lonely Planet book I bought six months before I went on my trip and which I studied thoroughly.
In December 1996, after two years of saving up, I quit my job, gave up my flat, sold my car and booked a flight to Melbourne, Australia. The return ticket with Singapore Airlines, valid for 12 months was the only thing I booked in advance as I did not want to restrict myself while I was there. I had no idea which places I would like and which not and I was up for a great adventure, which happened to be one indeed. Just imagine, a Swiss girl travelling on her own, with literally no knowledge of the English language, a backpack almost bigger and heavier than myself and a whole year ahead of me in the land of my dreams. I never regretted this decision. It was an unforgettable trip and by far the best thing I have ever done in my life (apart from marrying my husband).
Back in 1996 digital cameras did not exist (or at least I was not aware of them) but I was the proud owner of a lovely Minolta mirror reflex camera with I made good use of while exploring Australia (luckily I went to Australia another 3 times afterwards, taking my digital camera with me so I will be able to share some lovely photographs with you).
As mentioned previously, my posts will cover places I visited in the last few years. I hope to give my readers valuable information about the places I travelled to and I am happy to share my knowledge and experience with them.
5 comments:
Looks interesting....
Thank you - hope you will become a follower of my blog :-)
Wow you are so courageous to travel on your own so far. I'm really impressed. I've never been to Australia but I would like to go one day..
It was a scary thought at the beginning, the idea of travelling on my own but once I was there, I met nice people all the time and I travelled with them for a while. I was never really alone.
I would recommend to travel with Oz Experience if you're on your own as this is great fun and you will get to know a lot of people from all over the world. They make it so easy to travel alone as they literally pick you up from your backpackers and drop you off at the next one.
Dear Freya
Many thanks for your comment.
Australia is a country where you can easily travel on your own. If you travel by bus, you will meet a lot of people along the way.
It does not have to be expensive either if you stay in hostels or backpackers and cook your own meals.
And - if I was younger and single, I would do it all over again :-)
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