A month in the life of a solo traveller
What I do when I'm not travelling the world
Coming home from an an overseas adventure can be depressing, especially having to go back to a regular boring mundane life. Everyone, well almost everyone, has to work a regular job to earn income to pay for life experiences, unless you’re one of the lucky ones who can earn a living while travelling the world. While I’ve had whimsical dreams of doing just that, I can honestly say it would probably kill the adventure for me. I actually like going to my mundane job to earn the money for my next big adventure. I’ve never needed (or wanted) to climb the corporate ladder. I just love turning up, doing my thing and going home at the end of the day knowing that my next trip is already booked. I love being able to talk about my travels to my friends and colleagues. I don’t necessarily need to shout it to the world or do it full-time. But I don’t stop the fun as soon as I get home. I’m always looking for fun and adventures even at, or especially at, home.
Previously, I’ve talked about creating memories, the mini-getaway, a fun day out alone (which I do quite often), my favourite experiences, music and all the things I love to do when I’m not travelling (see a couple of these posts below).
Music, music, and more music
I may not understand it, I can’t play an instrument, I can’t sing, but I forking love music!
Creating memories and dying with zero
Many people talk about the business or meaning of life in various different ways. Some people believe the meaning of life is all about family, others want to leave a legacy and a few just want to be …
Last November I accidentally had a month of music. In May I’ve combined musical theatre with a mid-week mini-getaway, but there’s way more than that in this month of adventure.
So let’s start at the beginning.
May began just like any other “at-home” month, I wake at 5.30am to go to work four days a week. I start at 8am, it’s a 40 minute drive and I like to take my time getting ready. I go to yoga on my days off, plan for future trips and generally, as an introvert, keep to myself and read a book or watch a show in the evenings. So I surprised even myself by getting out of comfort zone and asking a group of work friends to come with me to a musical theatre show in the city (Melbourne, my favourite city). I usually go alone.
They knew all about my usual sojourns into the city via the ferry and they ALL agreed to join me for this one! I bought us all tickets to the musical, I helped them organise tickets on the ferry (I have a regular pass I go so often) AND I researched restaurants, eventually booking us a booth in an Asian fusion restaurant not far from the theatre. We had coffee, we shopped, we gorged on amazing food and wine, we watched the show and then headed home together on the ferry. It wasn’t the best musical I’ve seen by a long shot, but it didn’t detract from spending time with friends and having a great day out, not alone.
I ended up heading across the bay on the ferry on three separate Saturdays during May, out of five. I saw three separate musicals. I ate in three separate restaurants, all Asian. I love Asian food. I shopped. I broke my New Year’s resolution to not buy new clothes this year. Unless I claim a technicality that they were vintage clothes and hence, not new at all! I got my nails done twice. I had coffee at about five new places…I am a coffee snob! I like to try out different coffee shops when I’m in Melbourne but I still love my Kimberley coffee beans the best.
So what musicals did I see? Jesus Christ Superstar. Footloose. Hadestown. Footloose was a disappointment. Perhaps we went on a bad day. The sound was in and out, mikes were not always turned on in time. It was a shame, it could have been soooo good. But the other two have made it into my all-time Top 10 (I can’t narrow it down to a Top 5), which includes Jagged Little Pill, &Juliet, The Book of Mormon, Groundhog Day and Moulin Rouge. I love musicals but three in one month is over the top! Admittedly, I booked Jesus Christ Superstar last minute because I just happened to be heading to the city that day and needed a time filler. Being on my own I was able to pick up a single seat in one of the best positions in the house. This is one of the best perks of going solo.
I also managed to take a short 4-night, mid-week trip in the middle of May and while it wasn’t an overseas journey, it did take almost as long to get there. I booked this as a travel auction way back in September. Travel auctions allow you to bid on various travel stays (hotels, caravan parks, cruises) and you can get a bargain under certain conditions. For this one I paid $200 for three nights in a 2-bedroom cabin in a beachfront holiday park and got the fourth night for free because I stayed mid-week.
Lake Tyers, just near Lakes Entrance on the other side of Victoria, was a five-hour drive around the bay and through Melbourne (six hours with stops). I wasn’t sure my 20-year-old car would make it home, but it survived to drive another day (and gives me hope that it will survive a little longer before I need to replace it, as I keep spending my money on travel…priorities!). I spent the week walking and relaxing on the beach in the mornings when the sun was shining (it was too cold to swim) and the afternoons were spent tasting local food, wine, exploring and reading loads of books. I do a lot of wine tours while I’m away and heading to Wyanga Park winery via boat through the Gippsland Lakes was a bit of fun. We even saw Australian Fur Seals at the entrance to Bass Strait (hence the name Lakes Entrance). Definitely beats taking a mini-bus or driving yourself.
In the midst of hanging out in Lake Tyers drinking some local wine and reading books, a friend of mine messaged me to offer me free tickets to an event at a local winery back home as it clashed with another she was attending. I took her up on the offer and on the Sunday afternoon after returning from the trip and a Saturday in Melbourne I took myself to a Pinot Noir tasting party at a winery about a 15-minute drive from my home. I spent the afternoon tasting some great (and some not-so-great) local wines, making local friends and listening to some local music in the afternoon sunshine. It was the perfect Sunday afternoon after a windy and rainy Saturday before going back to work Monday morning.
To round out the month I went to the movies (see below) and managed to get selected for what I consider the trip of a lifetime to Nepal and Bhutan with the SoFe Travel, which sold out in just three days. I’ve travelled with this company before to Cuba (but I’m not a member) and it was one of the best group tours I’ve been on. I also made a friend for life with their awesome roommate matching service. Bhutan has been on my bucket list for quite some time and it’s hard to get there alone. So this is a real no-brainer for me, no matter what the cost and while I’m still young-ish enough to do the climb to Tiger’s Nest! I’ll be sure to take just a few notes and some extra pictures to write about it when I return.
But for now it’s winter in Australia, so I’ll try not to hibernate for the next three months and still get out and about for some local and not so local adventures!
What I’m watching: Besides re-runs of Parks and Recreation, I went to the movies for the new Wes Anderson film. No popcorn tastes as good as cinema popcorn!
What I’m reading: I read a lot of books in May, but one I really enjoyed was The Ministry of Time. History meets sci-fi. Was brilliant, I couldn’t put it down. I read it over two days during my mid-week trip away.
