I’ve returned after a year of hiatus to now share my vanilla day to day lifestyle with absolutely no spontaneous trips to Europe for the weekend and the only homesick that now occurs is for a place where I don’t have a passport for and can’t call home any longer. Welcome, to the fine ol … More Memories of a Rucksack
School always told us not to end a story with and then I woke up. But in this story, it’s exactly how it happened. So.. and then I woke up… In Sydney airport. Dazed. Out of it. Hearing noise but not registering it. Shock. Excitement. Sleep deprivation. And the surprise I was back in the sunburnt … More And then I woke up…
Dear past self. Here I am, Jaide from the future. Writing to you from the plane ride destined to home (AUS) after the 2 years in London. I vividly remember where you’re at right now; you got the courage to step foot on the plane from South Africa to the United Kingdom instead of flying … More Letter from your future self
Hoi an was a pretty, tourist orientated place that we decided to chill out at for 4 nights. Our hotel had a pool and we had a giant room so pipi got her own double bed all to her self. Hoi an during the day isn’t that busy, and at night is when all the people … More Hustlin’ in Hoi An, Vietnam
When we were in Halong bay we got talking to our tour guide Ben, and he told me and Cody that he is a freelance tour guide and had been a guide for 4 years in Sapa. It just so happened that we were headed to Sapa the following day but were yet to book … More Local buses and minority tribes.
I recently started reading a book called “the art of coming home” recommended online by a fellow expat returnee. Within the first few chapters I realised just how much the world prepares you to move abroad but how little there is on returning. Upon moving to London there were so many companies, one being britbound, … More Memoirs of a returning rucksack
During a day cruise along Halong bay lunch was supplied to us. Cody, being a big boy, was still hungry, despite there being many plates of food served to us. When everyone went upstairs to take in the view, Cody went back downstairs to scavenge through the cold left overs. I was upstairs, thinking Cody went … More Stealing left overs when your hungry
We arrived to Hanoi Vietnam at about 6am after a pretty hectic plane ride. On the first 3 hours in to the 11 hour flight, the plane hit some turbulence and it felt like we dropped about 1000ft. People around us were shrieking and some even crying a little bit. This is something we had … More Culture shock, family motorbike outings and meat slabs. Welcome to Vietnam!
I decided against doing a recount of our trip so far. Because that bores the hell out of me. So instead I will write about my highlights- no, not highlights being places, highlights being the moments that made me smile and deserve to be remembered. But first, this post is about Māy. Māy is a … More Same-same but different
“The thought of moving home daunts me. The thought that after this two years is up, it’s up, it’s done. And moving home to a place where nobody else knows all of went on makes it seem just like a strange distant dream that isn’t really acknowledged. And that fucking breaks my heart.” I wrote … More Strength required now.
