South East Asia: The First Steps

Readers,

It's November. I'm snuggled up in bed with a cuppa, listening to Christmas songs (I know, it may be a tad early...), writing this blog post. But in the back of my mind I am super, super excited about a fast approaching adventure, the biggest adventure I have yet to embark on. In February 2018 I begin my travels to South East Asia.

A while ago, I spoke to a couple of my older brother's friends, Pete and Emma, who are around the globe practically all the time and have a very successful blog and website. I told them I was planning on keeping a blog of my journeys and they said as an amateur traveller it would be really helpful for others in the same position who are looking for a bit of advice or inspiration. They said they are so competent at travelling now that they've forgotten what it's like to explore the world for the first time and so might miss all the little things that would worry the inexperienced, such as myself. That's why I'm writing this as I go along, noting whatever may be of use to first time travellers, and so you can be with me on my journey.

The thing that was hardest for me to begin with was planning. I had no clue how to go about it. The thought of organising a three month trip to a different continent by myself was terrifying, but the one thing you shouldn't be scared of is asking for help. I had a brief idea of where I wanted to go and then I met with Pete and Emma. Over an AMAZING caramel latte, they gave me loads of safety tips (which I will mention in a further blog post), suggestions of places to visit, and a few recommendations for hostels to stay in. Then, with a more detailed draft of my trip, I really got my teeth stuck into planning. Hostelworld.com was a dream, not gonna lie, especially if you're on a budget or plan to meet lots of different people. After that, I worked on dates, for example, I'm staying in Pai, Thailand, for 2 weeks from 3rd February, and so on. However, flights were out of my depth. I didn't know which websites to trust, which airlines were good, what prices were appropriate, so I called in the experts. Pete and Emma mentioned a company called STA, which I'm still not sure whether stands for Student Travel Association or Start The Adventure.... but both are applicable! I posted about them recently on my Facebook page @theworldwithlizzy (feel free to give me a like!), but in short, they take your initial ideas and turn them into an itinerary, recommend other places to see, and they'll help book the best flights and accommodation based on your budget and tastes. They're so friendly and didn't make me feel like I was wasting their time asking what may have been silly questions to regular travellers. The guy I spoke to, Gareth, answered all my queries, such as whether I can get a flexible return ticket. Travelling is unpredictable, and a close family friend of mine, who often spends time across the globe, said it's worth getting a flexible ticket back home in case you can't make your flight for any reason. Gareth told me that STA do a 'multi-flex' ticket, which was exactly what I was looking for. He also found flights at £100 cheaper than I had found beforehand. Overall, I was so impressed with their services and I wouldn't be nearly as ready for February as I am now.

So these were the first moves I made. I hope this has been of use to anyone hoping to jet off somewhere but are stuck with where to begin. After the blog about my next holiday in December I'll write about preparing for my travels, particularly packing, so keep checking in so you can be with me on my step by step journey to exploring the world! For more frequent updates about the blog and what's to come you can go and like my Facebook page which I mentioned earlier (@theworldwithlizzy).

I'll be writing again soon!

Lizzy xx