I feel awful. As I write this, I’m in Vava’u, Tonga, and I feel exhausted and malnourished and stressed and irritable and depressed. I can’t stop grinding my teeth. Occasionally, I burst into hysterical peals of laughter until I feel as though I’m deteriorating into madness. All I want to …
I’ve got quite a few of these going now. There’s Koh Yao Noi (my Thai island paradise), Otres Beach (my Cambodian beach paradise), Tofo (my Mozambican beach paradise), and now I’m throwing Ha’apai, Tonga into the mix, because after seven years of travel, I think it’s the prettiest place I’ve …
One of my greatest fears in life is shitting myself on a plane. What? That’s totally a natural, healthy fear to have. Call it Travelling in the Tropics for Too Long Syndrome because the more time I’ve spent on the road, the more aware I’ve become of what my bowels …
Travel is a rollercoaster, so after a wonderful January and a not-so-wonderful February, I was delighted when March brought me back to the dizzying highs from the start of 2018. I can’t believe how much I managed to pack into one glorious month! When I left you last, I had …
Tonga is a country you can either explore on a tight budget or while splurging on some relatively inexpensive luxury. It’s a place where $100 a night will get you sunbathing on the most beautiful beach you’ll ever experience and amazingly, have it all to yourself. It’s where you can …
My flight from Tongatapu to ‘Eua was the longest of my life. Which is funny, because it was six minutes in duration. Okay, so it only felt like the longest flight of my life. In reality, it’s one of the shortest you can experience. While Real Tonga claims it as the …
Within seconds of landing, Tonga felt Polynesian. There was a light breeze in the air that took me back to my previous trip through the South Pacific, and that combined with the scent of coconut oil had me feeling as though I’d never left. As I entered the tiny airport, …
Tonga is one of my favourite countries in the world. I can’t stop talking about how incredible it is. It’s full of some of the loveliest people on the planet, has some of the best beaches I’ve ever stepped foot on, offers up dozens of islands to explore, and can …
Pride comes before a fall, so after I excitedly announced that January had been one of my best months on the road, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that February sucked. Maybe that’s not a fair assessment. There were some good parts and there were some wonderful parts, but …
On the rim of a now-extinct volcano lies an eerie reminder of what could have been. Unlike the vibrant green vegetation that surrounds it, this shell of a building is grey, unsightly, and falling apart. As you approach it on the single winding road, it looks more like a concrete …
I’m now three months into this current stint of long-term travel and I’m delighted to announce it’s going better than I had even dared to imagine. January, in particular, was one of the best months I’ve ever had on the road! I’m enjoying the spontaneity full-time travel is bringing, and …