Taiwan: A Tasty Place

Against all the odds (of me, craving houmous) I’ve survived 11 months away from the UK! Homecoming in T-minus 5 days and I’m nervous and excited in equal measure. Will I accidentally bow to people in Tesco’s? Will I despair when our overpriced trains don’t run on time? Only time will tell. At the moment […]

Malaysia: Monks/Mangoes/Mosques

After relaxing on a remote island for a month, I rounded off my Spring Break by taking another holiday. This time to Malaysia, to see a special mango (read boyfriend). Kuala Lumpur had never been on my bucket list, but I now stand a convert to all this brilliant melting pot has to offer. All […]

A Love Letter to Ojika Island

How does one best spend Spring Break in Japan? A month on a remote island off the coast of Nagasaki should be the only answer. I embarked on a Workaway adventure, volunteering a helping hand at a hotel in return for bed and board for four weeks in March. Ojika is in the north […]

Family on Tour

Two whole glorious months of Spring Break were kicked off with my family visiting from the UK. After five months of being apart, it was comforting to belong to a family unit again. The freedom of solo travel can sometimes be burdened with the hefty responsibility of complete independence. Having your Mum around to remind […]

New Years, Nobility and Nudity

New Year is a significant date in the Japanese calendar. Homes are “spring” cleaned and decorated, extravagant meals are prepared and respects are paid at temples. It felt right to spend the major holiday in the capital. I’d been putting off making the pilgrimage to Tokyo all visitors to Japan must complete, I was expecting another […]

Merii Kurisumasu 🎄

Celebrating Christmas in Japan was less predictable than my previous nineteen spent in the UK. Usually, I reserve a two week period for socialising and indulgence, but this year I was not gathering dust on the sofa surrounded by Quality Street wrappers. Instead, I reflected on how the locals regarded this time of year. Lacking […]

Autumn Escapades (& more piccies)

Hello there friends, apologies for not doing this bloggy business in a while. I had been feeling as if my perspective was lacking. I’m no travel expert and I’ve never been a lifelong Japanophile. Everything I’ve experienced here I’ve gone into blind, and more often than not I emerge a little confused. I sometimes kick […]

One Month Anniversary (feat. piccies)

I have managed to survive over 30 days in a foreign land! This month has flown by in a rush of novelty and confusion. I have exhausted myself hiking up to temples, getting lost in the countryside, surveying flea markets, dipping into the sea, drinking plum wine, attending both a moon and a fire festival, […]

In Defence of Buffer Years

I am very close to that moment at the airport when you have to say a hard goodbye and the bludgeoning reality hits: your life is about to change quite dramatically. I have been putting off thinking of this and mostly visualising my future year abroad when I have settled. When I have a gorgeous […]