A year ago I’d never even heard of Počátky, a small town in the highlands of the Czech Republic. For the past six months I’ve called this little village home. The one thing I’ve learned is: when you’re open to travel and to doing exactly what you want to do, life gets a little unpredictable. I have no idea where I’ll be in a year from today and I’m becoming okay with that.
2011 was a rough year for me, with the devastating earthquake in my home town and being stabbed in rural Indonesia, so Počátky has been the perfect place to deal with my emotions and find my feet again. I’m going to be sad to say goodbye, but I’m ready for some new adventures.
In two weeks I’ll be in London finally seeing what all the fuss is about.
Then I’ll be popping into LA to meet up with a best friend and heading Coachella where I’ll be staying in a Los Angeles vacation rental. If time allows I’ll shimmy to Mexico – the allure of cheap Tequila and actual Mexican food is too strong.
At the end of April I’ll be heading to New Zealand for my first holiday at “home” – I left in July so I’m very excited about seeing all my friends and family. I might be a little (read: very) biased, but I think New Zealand is one of the most gorgeous countries in the world, so I’m excited to be exploring it after so much time away.
Hong Kong was the first foreign city I ever visited, but it was a twenty four hour stop over so I never even brushed the surface. This time around I have five days to explore the sites and sounds of the city that first ignited the wanderlust flame.
If you have any suggestions of things I must do in the countries I’m visiting, I’d love to hear them!
Follow me on Facebook or Twitter to keep up to date with my adventures.
Loving the blog Izy! You go girl – sounds like you are living the dream. I look forward to following you and your travels! X
Thanks for your lovely comments and being such a down to earth inspiration =) hopefully I can turn this into something awesome xx
Go to Lamma Island while you’re in Hong Kong! It’s 30mins away by ferry ( a luxurious trip I promise you ) and no cars are allowed on that island. Go for a hike, eat some yummy vegan food on the island, try the “tau foo fah” (silky tofu dessert) and get the egg tarts in the little square of shops 🙂 Best egg tarts in Hong Kong ever!
If you’re looking for more things to do in HK : http://www.hongkonghotel.com/index.php/blog/category/1-13/hong-kong-news.html
and a great guide to the temples (you must see the temples!) http://www.hongkonghotel.com/visitor-guides/hong-kong-temples.htm
Wow! You’re awesome Steph. I hadn’t even heard of Lamma. Is “Tau foo fah” the same as the Singaporean tofu dessert? I wasn’t too sure about it there hehe.
Egg tarts? Never tried this before!!! Thanks for your tips, when you planning on moving back?
Let me know if you need any more help on HK! I love the island 🙂 Planning on moving back soon 🙂
Just found your blog and look forward to tracking your progress. London in two weeks? Excellent! I would recommend Borough Market for all thing foodie, and taking a boat trip to Greenwich Park where you can stand on the Meridian line. Good luck 🙂
Thanks Sophie! I’ll have to check out Borough Market – I love all things food! Ahh, a boat trip sounds lovely. Fingers crossed the weather’s good when I’m there. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Just noticed you’re from Christchurch…me too! I bet I know someone who knows you (2 degrees) lol
We’re probably cousins, or something! haha. Poor little Christchurch <3
Nice photography, Izy 🙂
Thank you! I can’t wait to be back in Hong Kong, it’s such an interesting place to photograph too 🙂
How exciting!! The Jack the Ripper tour in London is definitely my pick! Or go on a Royalty Hunt: http://www.thetravolution.com/finding-royalty-in-london/
I have been wanting to do some long term traveling for quite a long time. Many things have held me back–bills, fear, etc. Either way it is something I still desperately want to do, but I have some questions. When traveling somewhere that your native language isn’t spoken by most, do you take time before hand to learn the many different languages? Do you have any tips for making some money while in other countries? I am hoping to do at least several weeks of traveling next year and I am not entirely sure how to prepare. Your blog is getting me super excited!!
Hi Alyssa! It’s totally normal to be nervous 🙂 But it will be easier than you think. I try to learn some basic phrases, but most places speak English. Here in Bali all I know how to say is “Thank you” “No” “Help” “Good” and I get by ordering taxis, taking boats, ordering meals out and so forth. No problems. Of course if you go somewhere more rural you might it harder, but you can mime a lot more than you think!
I work online selling advertising but prior to that I did copywriting on Elance.com 🙂 It was relatively easy to make around $1k a week working full time. You could obviously scale that back if you were in cheaper countries.
If you’re interested, you can also get working holiday visas for other countries (depending on your nationality) and travel overseas while working. Just an idea! Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions 🙂