It seems only fitting to post my first blog post today, 23 January 2016.

It was a year ago today that I set off on my first solo travel adventure; three nights in Oslo in Norway and five nights in New York.

Having never been away alone before, I sought tips and recommendations from friends, family and colleagues, on where to stay, where to eat, what to do, and – most importantly – how to survive travelling on my own.

Though I don’t mind my own company, there was something about the thought of travelling alone that made me uneasy. So it took a good 27-and-a-half years for me to pluck up the courage and actually book something. Obviously the fact that I found super cheap flights to New York helped, a lot.

Now the only thing stopping me from packing a carry on and jetting off somewhere every weekend is lack of funds and that little thing called ‘annual leave‘.

Though it’s true what they say: travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.

What a difference a year makes.

Back then I didn’t know that the year was going to continue in the way it started. I’d never really been bitten by the travel bug before, and I certainly didn’t think that by the end of 2015 I would be able to say that I’d managed to visit 12 countries in 12 months – a goal I hadn’t even set out to achieve.

Despite my nervousness about travelling on my own, I had an amazing time on my first trip. And on all the other adventures I embarked on in 2015. Now I’m itching to get away again.

So, where to next?