Over the course of many conversations with sixth form students, I realised that one of the things deterring them from taking a Gap Year was starting university a year late. For a lot of the people I spoke to, many were adamant that they were going to start the year with peers of their own […]
How To Keep Electronics Safe When Travelling
But how do you travel with so many electronics?! This is a question I am frequently asked, not only by my friends, but also by readers and subscribers alike. As a travel blogger and vlogger, there are some electronics that I just have to have with me. Let’s use my Gap Year as an example in […]
What Being Away for 7 Months Taught Me
“You were on your Gap Year last year?! It feels like years ago now!” Those were the words of my sister a few days ago. It really doesn’t feel like it was last year and I’m going to keep saying this, but did it even happen? One thing that confirms that it did is what being […]
One Year Ago: Reflections | Gap Year Travel
On Wednesday, I woke up and opened the Facebook app on my phone. I was presented with a screen which said ‘One Year Ago’ and the following picture from my Gap Year: View this post on Instagram A post shared by V I O L A (@violahelen_) Wednesday marked exactly 365 days since I landed […]
Our East Coast Australia Route | Gap Year Travel
I get numerous questions from many friends and YouTube subscribers alike about where exactly Alice and I went along Australia’s East Coast and which places we would recommend. Here’s the full breakdown of where we stopped off at and which places you can’t miss. Melbourne – Cairns 1. Melbourne We first flew into Melbourne which was by far […]
How much did my Gap Year Cost?!
The post you’ve all been waiting for *gasps*… So after spending a few hours (literally) going through my receipts (yes, I kept all of them!), my online bank statements for both my Barclays account and my STA Cashcard account, flight bookings, accommodation bookings and email confirmations/invoices, I have finally calculated the total costs of my Gap Year. And guys, […]
Share Your Outdoors | The Aspinall Foundation
Reflecting on the past year or so inevitably brings me to think about the travelling I did during my gap year. Looking back, what I loved most about always being on the road – particularly backpacking up Australia’s East Coast – was that Alice and I were constantly outdoors. And I miss that. Today I thought […]
11 Must-Knows Before Going to China
1. EVERYTHING IS BLOCKED IN CHINA If you’ve been living under a rock, or if you’ve never really given China much thought (which is entirely fair enough) then you may not know that pretty much everything is blocked in China. Facebook? Instagram? Snapchat? Twitter? YouTube? BBC? Google? Gmail? Yeah… those don’t exist in China. Want to keep in […]
Seven months of adventures around the world | Gap Year Travel
I wrote this article back in April 2016 for an adoption magazine which will be published shortly. I really enjoyed writing it and I thought I’d share it with you all. Some of the things in the article I want to expand upon (an adoptee’s view on going back to China for one) but otherwise […]
If We Were Having Coffee… | Vol. 9
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I am currently in Stockholm! If you’ve been following my Instagram, you’ll have seen lots of pictures already. Watch out for blog posts and *potentially* a vlog. I love it so far but it is more expensive than we had been expecting. If we were having […]