The sequel

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Sometimes things are better done the second time around.

Sometimes we need to redo something in order to get a better result, because the first time did not pan out the way it was planned. As they say, If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

We are all only human and no one gets it right the first time every time. So, for me its travel 2.0, quarantine 2.0, regaining myself and my heart 2.0 and blog 2.0.

Normal people do a singular 180 to turn their life around and generally seem to hold it there. Well, it appears that this is not my style. It turns out that for me life is a series of dizzying pirouettes. This time I will commit to traversing my life on a roller coaster instead of the concentric circles I seem to have been stuck in to date.

So here we are v2.0 in 2021 or to put it a better way, the sequel.

Did you know that there are actual rules to a sequel?

Well, apparently there are some clearly defined rules to doing it all over again and as somehow it appears by default this is my own little lives sequel…

Rule 1 – Re-establish – Do not just pick up where you left off

Rule 2 – Do not be afraid to mix thigs up

Rule 3 – New is good: Ok, so no one wants to see or hear the same thing repeatedly. Same shit different day is not ok, but according to the rules same plot different people is ok.

Rule 4 – Bigger does not always mean better

Well then. Let us start shall we…

last travels had a very personal motivation – Eat, Pray, Play. A raison d'être if you like. As it turns out I was/am, lived and journeyed along a total cliché.

Coming out the other side of it, I can completely see now that the previous traveling journeys beginning equalled an existential crisis (posh word for mid-life crisis) and that caused me to seek a brave journey of courage and awareness, my own new freedom, and a way to push my boundaries etc. after a breakup and completing some therapy to uncover my demons.

The middle-meant true freedom., a place where I unshackled myself from normal responsibility and even the freedom from my own mind… In metaphor, I would say this was a moment where ‘angels can fly because they take themselves lightly’.

And the end was where I ‘found’ myself which enabled the universe to position me to find love at first sight. Which was quite literally in the middle of some back water place the opposite side of the world with a person I was therefore destined to spend the rest of my life with… A K A - the cliché.

But cliché or not, and wonderful a journey as it was, I did not get the happily ever after that Disney films profess all stories in life to be… As in life, the journey continues and perhaps in my sequel will come the happy ending before the ending credits roll in…

To re-establish, my original travels were an 18-month journey where I visited India, Malaysia (well Kuala Lumpur), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia (Bali, Lombok, Gili meno, Sumatra and java), Singapore, Australia, Fiji, USA, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil. Then to finish it off back in Australia where I became engaged before returning home.

A total of 19 countries (not including transits), 38 flights and endless hours and days on buses and trains, not to mention the tuk-tuk and moped rides throughout…

I had a truly great adventure. I met many, many people and made some truly amazing friends along the way; some of those people I am bonded to for the rest of my life. I experienced highs, lows, crime and the best and worst nights and days of my life. I found the freedom I sought. I asked for and found an epic love and saw some true wonders of the world. Which included Machu Picchu, Ha long bay, Christ the redeemer, The Taj Mahal, Angkor Wat, the Whitsunday’s, the Grand Canyon, the Salt Lake in Bolivia, the epic sunrise and sunsets and stood on an active volcano watching another one spew its explosive fire into the world… I saw multitudes of different cultures and ways of life, beautiful religious beliefs and pure awe at the history around the ancient monuments I was blessed to tread my feet across. I saw pristine cities so clean and ordered juxtaposed with landscapes drowning in litter and poverty which all equalled in me leaving the experience as a true citizen of the world…

A full recap would take forever to write and read so maybe it is best to simply leave it there.



I returned from travels happily engaged to the person I was going to spend the rest of my life with and focussed on moving heaven and earth to be with one another. Unfortunately, at that time it was not meant to be, and a series of unfortunate events meant true love became despondent. My life peeled away, and I nosedived as the once solid floor beneath me collapsed.

Suddenly, I felt far away at home and try as I might the disorientation and confusion grew as I was unable to get a grasp on life as it was in that moment. What was whole now resided a hole. A void that is probably best described as feeling that you have a container inside you that has sprung a leak and despite all your best effort to fill it up, whatever you pour in it simply falls away. An endless, pointless task…

In the process I became disconnected with everything. Family, friends, work and ultimately myself. To be absent in your own body (physically, emotionally, and spiritually) created a deep unhappiness and nothing I did or said seemed to create a fix. I felt jammed on the metaphoric hamster wheel.

So, I undertook studies in Human Resources to expand the many years of recruitment experience I have and diversify somewhat. This did occupy my time, but the void remained… Something had to change drastically because going on like this just felt bleak and alcohol was just numbing me, and I did not want to slip back into bad habits. Something had to change.

Studying did make me happier and the new knowledge was starting to re-open my mind and clear the fog a little to gain a bit of sight. But what could I really do with this, how can this change and switch things up for both me and work?!

I started to think towards doing a degree. I had always wanted to achieve this, but when I was younger, I never had the inclination or most likely the brains if I am completely honest. For me leaving school and just getting a job was what you did. I come from working class roots and generally most people with these roots just crack on with any job as opposed to a solid educational foundation. But degrees in the UK are very expensive and I do not exactly have the most prized of educational backgrounds.

One possibly slightly desperate and booze fuelled evening, I looked at studying abroad as maybe this could be a way of combining a little travel, returning to a warmer climate, and getting away from a house and life that was filled with the ghosts of Christmas past. I submitted a proposal to apply for Business degree in Brisbane with a focus on Human Resources to up my education and to add a different string of revenues for work. Truth be told when I submitted my paper/request I never expected to get a positive reply, but it was worth a shot, right?!

A few days later I heard back from the university and much to my surprise they said yes and accepted me as an international student which bought with it a mix of elation because they saw value in me, they actually thought I could do this!!

And then comes the flash of reality as you realise what you have done and how this impacts everything you have, this is the moment you take a gulp and think oh shit, what have I done... This means another sabbatical from work and when I looked into it, I was not able to rent my house out (shared ownership and weird legal clauses) so I had to now make some massive requests and choices to make this dream become a reality. This is both a big ask and a big task!

Fortunately, when I discussed this with my very supportive friend and business partner, I was delighted that it was agreed and now the reality struck home as I was able and going to do this. Also, I probably (definitely) was an absolute nightmare at work because I had lost myself and I am pretty sure this would have cascaded to everyone around me so maybe it was a sigh of relief for everyone as I was going away until I sorted my stuff out and returned whole, educated, and able to make things bigger and better…

Now the rush was on because my house was never really completed from when I moved in (self-build) and I had to get it all finished and sold within a matter of months – no pressure! But it all seemed to work seamlessly, finishing everything (albeit with help from contractors) and getting it up on the market. Thankfully within two viewings it was offered and sold. Now just to go through the conveyancing process and were good to go.

I had my student visa for Australia, a flight booked for May 31st, my house now sold, and it really was all systems go. But then we started to get reports in January of this weird virus, which let us be honest no one took too seriously in the beginning because its only ‘like a flu’ and we made it ok with swing flu… However, that kicked off quickly didn’t it!! Thankfully, I was able to complete the sale of my house and exchange one week before total lockdown. But with visa issues/flight changes I was not able to get to Australia before they shut down the borders. I found myself at my sisters, technically homeless.

And we all know about lockdown, so no need to expand on that! But in this time, I did decide that I needed to leave the UK if I was to truly focus on my studies. The courses started online, and my lectures were midnight to 3am and having no real place to study was hard. Let me tell you, learning at 42 is hard enough without any distractions…

I then made the decision to leave the U.K. and travel in a pandemic until I can get to Australia, I must be crazy right?! Who even does that…?!

So, on 01 September I took my freshly refilled traveling backpack and accompanying luggage to board a flight bound for Gran Canaria and that is where the new journey begins.

Rule 1 is completed.

Will I ever get to Australia? Will I be able to plug the void within and find happiness once more? Will this old dog learn new tricks and achieve a decent degree grade? Will love return to me? What next…?

To be continued…

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