Author archives: Gemma

A letter to my pre-travel self

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Dear 20-year-old me,   It's funny how you think life is so straight forward. Finish school, get qualifications, go get a job, a boyfriend, a house. Maybe get married and have some babies. It's hard for me now to think that was ever what you wanted. You were meant to be successful, academic, have a long and fulfilling career and a perfect f[...]

5 simple ways to reduce your plastic use whilst traveling

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It was when I was living out in the Middle East that I really got to thinking about my plastic use. I’ve not always been conscious of it. Over the past couple of years, with the help of the media focus on plastic use, I have become extremely aware of how much I use and the impact on our environment. The reason I got to thinking about it when I was l[...]

6 common expat misconceptions

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Back in 2012 I made the HUGE decision to pack up my bags and leave everything I knew to be normal behind. I waved goodbye to my mum with all my worldly belongings rammed into one 23kg suitcase and boarded a plane to…. Saudi Arabia! My move into the expat world, turned out to be the best decision I ever made and 6 years later I’ve flitted betwee[...]

The Travelettes guide to Jordaan, Amsterdam

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Oh Amsterdam, how’d you get so beautiful? I ask myself this every morning. I’ve not always lived inner city, but oh boy, have I ended up in a good one. Just the other day I was walking down the canal side and overheard a man on his phone describing Amsterdam as ‘a mix of Venice and San Francisco’. Now, I’ve been to a lot of cities, but I[...]

How to avoid travel burnout

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Travel burnout? I hear you cry. What a very privileged concern to suffer from. But let me set the record straight. There is such a thing as the well documented ‘rat race’ in the real world, so of course it exists in the travel world. ‘How could I ever get sick of travel?’ Yep, that’s a good question. I’m not necessarily saying you’ll ge[...]

Ethical volunteering- Meet the skilled volunteer nurse swapping modern hospitals for rural operating rooms

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The year is 2019 and the word ‘voluntourism’ is on every conscious traveler’s lips. The term refers to the growing phenomenon amongst the world’s traveling community. People packing up their bags and taking international flights to some of the world’s poorest countries to carry out volunteer work, often on assignments they’ve paid to be a [...]

The Travelettes guide to dining alone

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I clearly remember a time when even the thought of ordering a coffee alone embarrassed me. I’d wait outside the coffee shop for my friends to arrive, because, heaven forbid people thought I was drinking coffee alone. A time when I was more than paranoid about looking like I had no friends, or people looking at me because I’m by myself. Needless[...]

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