10 Reasons Why you should GO

Travel and tourism is increasing rapidly, especially now in this new age where social media/technology plays a huge role, people can now blog, vlog, selfie stick it out and use the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc, to share their story. If you have never travelled before and you are reading this terrified of the unknown, following others who have documented their adventure is a great way to get a heads-up before you embark on any type of trip as you can get a good idea on what to expect and it gives you motivation to think, I CAN DO THIS. Travel is not for everyone and you will  experience travel differently to every other Tom, Dick and Harry but that all depends on what you want to find and how much you are willing to strip yourself to the core. This is the magic of travel, you do not know what is going to happen or who you are going to meet that day - things like this will truly open your eyes and you start to feel the real meaning of life, the likes of money, possessions and who's better than who, become so unnecessary and you start to realise time plays such an important part of life, and that song "The best things in life are free" comes so apparent to you. 

If I haven't persuaded you already here are some examples of why you should travel:

Are you stuck in a job you constantly moan about ? Are you slowly starting to fall out with the people close to you, do you find your self spooning your cat instead of a significant other ? Do you constantly dream of just F****** off?- if this is you then should defiantly be researching a travel route , saving those penny's and packing those bags.

1. The "BIGGIE" - Your health

Now don't get me wrong there is probably lots of other reasons that would be deemed as number one but your health is most important as it effects you in the long run both physically and mentally.

             

With the endless amount of water drinking, good food and walking your body has never felt better, ridding your body of toxins and breathing in the fresh open air leaves your feeling the best you ever have, at first your body will go into shock but after say the first 2 weeks it will get better. You will discover that sweat drips from every part of your body and believe it or not carrying your back pack shapes and tones your body.

     

2. YOLO.

Now how can we forget the famous 4 letter word YOLO, this probably grinds on quite a lot of people now, but all I can say is; how true this word is- Travel now as YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE. 

3. You can work on your bucket list.

What is it you want to do? Have you been dying to ride camels through the Sahara desert ?, Do something outrageous like sky diving ? or simply lay on a beach and drink cocktails .What ever it may be do it now. If your friends or partner don't share these interests, so what do it anyway if they love you enough they will be here when you return. 

                      

4. Friends/ networking.

There is no doubt that you will meet new friends, unless you insist on being alone 24/7. This is the best thing about travelling, I have met some of my best friends whilst travelling and they are now my friends for life- I may not see them as much as I want to but I always try to at least see them once a year. The characters I have met along the way is endless. When it comes to networking travelling is also an excellent way to do this, as you can attend many events and get to meet very talented, interesting and inspiring people.

Meeting new people is also an advantage as you can plan to travel with them, this is also fantastic if you are travelling alone, you can meet people by staying in youth hostels or communal guest houses. Most travellers find this good as you can share facts, and info about places they have previously been and also what not to do etc.  You can also split travel costs, which is always a bonus.  (For example, if you need to hire a car you can find people who are travelling the same route and you can all chip in for petrol) 

5. Finding yourself.

What ever the reason is why you have chosen to travel, 9 times out of 10 you will at least feel you have found one thing about yourself that you did not know originally this can range from - finding out that you love to eat raw fish whilst sitting naked to, wanting to open up your own business or you realise you are madly in love with someone , but I guess it is down to you as a person and how much you are willing to open your mind and strip yourself to core. (trust me I have felt it)  There is a famous quote I love so much the reason I love it, is because it  has happened to me:

"An individual is destined to undertake a journey far from home, undergoing suffering and hardship that strips the person down to their essence, and ultimately returning home transformed by the experience". 

- The Epic of Gilgamesh

6. Connects you to other cultures. 

This one is very important as when you travel from country to country you start to appreciate the different cultures that exist and you become more diverse, it makes you wonder how ignorant you are towards other religions, mainly because of the world you have been brought up in and when this happens you start to wonder if your own beliefs are really yours or just what you have been taught. 

                

7. Travel pushes educational horizons.

Education can affect you in many ways, of course due to what you do and see on your adventure you will instantly become more knowledgeable and you instantly gain an education from the information you hear/see. On the other hand it could also lead you to doing a Teach English Abroad course, they come in many different forms but the most popular is TEFL. Occasionally you can get a cheap deal online for the course, This is a great idea if you are travelling for a long period cause you can earn money as you travel.

8. Relying on the kindness of strangers.

"I Believe in the kindness of strangers" is one of the best statements I have ever heard because this cannot be more true, I experienced this a-lot when I was travelling and I am telling you now truthfully I did not expect it. People all over the world are willing to help you, just out of the kindness of their hearts and this made me realise how important it is to still have faith in humanity because if you don't who will?. But of course this does not mean you automatically trust everyone, one word of advice.. Go with your gut. 

(I want to take this time to say a HUGE thank you to everyone reading this who I have met on my journey, You all know who you are)

9. Missing home.

Now this may seem like a negative of travelling, however when you take your self out of the rat race you start to realise who is most important to you and you find out who your true friends really are. 

10. Life has endless possibilities - Good bye is not forever.

Now you have read this blog there is nothing else you can do now other than, planning your adventure, taking that step into the unknown and start living your life and remember good bye is NOT forever.

Until next time,

"You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place" 

- Unknown

Day trip to the Capital of Sri Lanka

Visiting the Capital- Colombo

We walked on the train tracks back to back in toe, to the nearest station which was called Mount Lavina station, because it was the quickest way and it cost nothing. When we got to the train station it was empty and had a lot of stray dogs laying on the ground keeping them selves cool in the shade. There was a little wooden desk behind glass with two male attendants who were so shocked to see two westerns carrying our entire life on are back. We purchased two tickets which cost about 7p to travel a 40 minute journey into Colombo, the trains had a class system, 1st class, 2nd class and just standard class, the only difference literally was the seating, in 1st class the seats were slightly more comfortable as they was leather whereas in standard class the seats were wooden (num-bum central). I noticed that the type of people would also vary depending on what class you was in. For example in 1st class you would see slightly rich Sri Lankan's and in standard class you would see a lot of homeless/sick people who would bother you for money and it would be quite smelly. We learnt along the way to travel by 1st class for long journeys and travel by standard class when doing short journeys because it was cheaper to do so.

(Walking the tracks)

(Train ticket) 

Moving on, we boarded the train and on this day it was empty so we could choose good seats by the window that was just open the whole time, (you could of easily fell out). (See photos)

(The train stopped on the tracks, and so many locals appeared , something had happened to a 25 year old woman, personally I think the train hit her but I'm not sure, it was so nice to see the community helping each other) 

(Picture of two locals, mother and her son)

(Chris on the train , this is what the seats looked like in standard class) 

Before we arrived into Colombo we decided not to follow the guide book, we wanted it our experience by doing our own thing and seeing what we can find along the way. This day was so hot so we just strolled from the train station and headed towards the coast, we got bothered a lot here, tuk tuk drivers were constantly driving past and beeping at us and stopping asking if we wanted their service (I honestly English people must have a reputation of being lazy) (see photo)

(Chris being hasseld) 

We carried on walking anyway and stumbled across the business district of Colombo, we stopped because we seen this gorgeous women dressed head to toe in a sari- we honestly thought she was the princess of Sri Lanka, she was entering the Twin Towers of Colombo with her entourage. 

(Twin towers)

(Veiw from a bridge) 

(Twin towers) 

(not sure what this building is called)

(View of the Business district from the beach front)

Finally we arrived at the beach it was so nice to see it full of locals, most of them were couples sitting together canoodling under umbrellas  it was so cute,  (Kissing in public in Sri Lanka is generally not accepted) (See photo below)

We also stumbled across some sort of Government House (There was lots of military presence)  and no information just big advertisements of the president of Sri Lanka, i managed to get a cheeky photo without anybody seeing (see below).

There was a lot of solders and locals surrounding this area so it was quite intimating because we was the only tourists, and i didn't really know what to expect but luckily we was fine and nobody bothered us, we carried on walking and came across a park called Viharamahadevi Park, it can be found sandwiched between the White Colombo town Hall Building in the north east and the Colonial National Museum building complex in the south.

We entered the park by the side gate, we didn't really know what it was to be honest because it looked a bit scruffy and deserted, there are lots of trees and wildlife at the park, we seen hundreds of very large bats hanging in trees, making this high pitched screeching sound. When we entered the park we was faced with locals of all different ages, families, teenagers, men and women, there was also lots of stalls selling snacks and drinks. We was the only tourists in sight so everyone just looked at us and smiled, some of the children were following us and asking for photos they were so cute.

(Bats)

( the man we met whacked the tree with a stick and all the bats started flying)

(Dead baby bat)
We seen a sign for a "Ornamental fish sale & exhibition" only 20 ruppes which is 40p so we thought why not, it was built like a cave and you walked into darkness and around the cave was really dirty fish tanks, with all different types of fish what they have probably captured from the sea, the photos didn't really take because of the lighting but I managed to get the best one ...

( from this fish's expression you can only imagine the life it has - haha)

(Chris by the cave)

(Ticket to the fish)

We moved on anyway and this man approached us, he took us around the park and showed up some interesting things- he was funny apart from at the end he asked for English money, but we had fun. (See photos)

( Chris and me in the park) 

(Town hall) 

(Loved these trees) 

(Me and Chris )

(Hiding from the man)

(He called this the cobra) 

( the man insisted I got this photo - haha) 

(This did have a name but I have forgot) 

(Ants nest)

(Tree swinging) 

The man also showed us these plants that grew on the ground with grass and when you touch them they close over, the was similar to a Venus fly trap he called them "touch me not" he was so funny when he was repeating it. 

( "Touch me not" plant )

Check out my Sri Lanka video here:

Until next time,

"Travel. It turns you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller"

-Unknown