Gate Crasher

I’ve caught the travel bug… No, I don’t mean in the sense I had some bad street food and I’m spending more hours in my bathroom then I am in bed. I feel the need to escape.

 Last year I flew to the USA for 3 weeks and travel through California and finished it off with a week long trip to Vegas. In Vegas, the entourage and I rented out a 4 bedroom house 5 mins away from The Strip that had high fences for privacy, a pool and billiard table. It was an amazing trip and I’m sorry to say I spent most of it intoxicated and I spent more time in bars then I did sightseeing. As the plane flew to take me back to Australia I was listening to Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up” and every time I hear that now the memories of America flood back to me.

 It was an unpleasant shock returning to Australia, I visited Vegas in the U.S. summer and enjoyed 40+ degree days. Upon returning to an Australian Winter I woke the next morning for work and it was below zero and I had ice coating my car. I can understand why athletes work their bodies to adapt to climate shock.

 I was unsure where I wanted to travel next, all I knew was I had to get away. I didn’t even set travel as a New Year’s resolution, but three weeks into the New Year I strolled into the travel agents and started browsing. I had initially wanted to travel to South America and see some ruins and get really lost but the cost of air fares was substantial. In the end I settled for Vietnam, which I could pay for my airfares and 3 week tour for less then a return flight to Rio.

 I paid for the tour not long after and within the last month I received my Visa and have spent a few hours browsing the itinerary and Lonely Planets. I caught up with friends that have been to ask them about their experiences and slowly counting down the weeks (9 weeks to go) till I fly out. How ever so severe the travel bug has bit me that I’m already planning my next trip.

 My next project is to live and work in the U.K. However I am starting to feel that because I have this thought stuck in my head it is diminishing my excitement about Vietnam. I know there are far worse problems to have in the world, but I think this trip alone to Vietnam is going to be a trip were I can relax and really think about my future and what the next step is.

 The U.K. trip is probably about 18 months away, I have found that I can apply for an Ancestry Visa – which is the next best thing to a British passport. With that Visa I can live and work in the UK for at least 5 year. Now I am slowly getting in touch with contacts that are already living over there and asking questions. Hopefully be able to get a nice corporate job in project management, but failing that I have a cousin that manages a Bar in England that would be a great starting/fallback point.

Symptoms of the Travel Bug include – buying guide books, short attention spans to conversations, long periods of sleep dreaming, browsing photos of friends exploits abroad for long hours, frequent dining at ethnic restaurants.