I guess you could say I’ve been doing the ‘solo travel’ thing for about 2 years now. If you scrolled through my instagram you’d probably think I’ve been living the ‘dream’. This is true for the most part of my trip, however, it’s not always like this. A recent experience in Bali has inspired me to cut the bullshit and let everyone know the truth – that travelling is not always as blissful as it looks on instagram.
I’ve spent the last 2 years working and travelling all over Australia, with some regular trips to Indonesia as well. In particular, Bali has quickly become one of my favourite places and I find myself being constantly drawn back there. After an amazing Surf and Yoga retreat with The Salty Souls in October, I was really not ready to leave and so decided I would go back in January. This time, staying for a month or even longer if I could successfully find a job and a way to live there permanently. Full of positivity and hope, I booked the flight back to Bali.
Well, the trip turned out to be nothing like I expected at all. The whole thing got off to a bad start when I accidentally missed my flight, getting the arrival and departure dates mixed up. After a hurried and expensive rebooking, I decided to brush off the mishap and try to stay happy and excited about the journey ahead. But it didn’t stop there. After my first flight from Birmingham to Dubai was delayed, I was left with only 15 minutes to get off the plane and onto the next one to Denpasar. Now, if you’ve ever been to Dubai airport you will understand the problem with this. It is HUGE. And of course the gate I landed in was about as far away as possible from the next one I needed to get to. Still, I decided to give it my best shot. After sprinting through the airport, batting people out of my way, I arrived panting and dripping with sweat at the gate only to be told I could not board the plane. My heart sunk. Accompanied by a very angry fellow passenger (a loud, middle aged woman who embarrassingly everyone assumed was my mum), I was told I’d have to spend the night in Dubai and get on another flight at the same time the next day. The whole thing was pretty annoying, but it meant I got a night in 4 star hotel free of charge and it beats sleeping on the plane – silver linings! The next day I got on the flight and eventually made it to Bali the following evening.
Returning to Bali felt like coming home. I was so excited and hopeful about what was to come. But unfortunately the bad luck didn’t stop there. What followed was 4 weeks of lost bankcards, reef cuts, infected wounds, bruised ribs, frustrated international phonecalls, tested friendships, broken hearts, rainy weather and finally… a robbery. Driving alone back from the beach one evening, my bag was ripped off of me by a man who saw his opportunity. It could have been so much worse and I am so grateful as I wasn’t hurt and in the grand scheme of things it was only a few material items that I lost. But the experience was pretty scary and I took it as a sign that it wasn’t the right time for me to be in Bali. I also took it as a learning curve to be more careful about how I carry my things in future. Please, if you are in Bali try not to drive alone at night or if you do, make sure you cover up and have all of your personal belongings safely secured!
Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t all bad. There were also many moments of pure joy on this trip. I made progress with my surfing, watched many beautiful sunsets and sunrises, enjoyed scooting about and met some truly beautiful souls that will be friends for life! But if I’m being really honest, I just had this nagging sense of stress the whole time. From the few photos I posted on instagram, you would never have guessed. And that’s a problem. Through this blog, I want to shine a light on the fact that what you see on instagram is not the whole reality. Since going away I have had so many people message me saying how jealous of me they are and asking how I’ve managed to create such a dream life. The truth is I’ve had to work really hard to save the money I need to keep travelling. I’ve made a conscious choice to live this way and I genuinely wouldn’t change it for the world, but it is not always easy.
I’m really aware that I have been guilty of only posting the highlights of my trip, the bits that make it look perfect. I guess I’ve been hiding, not wanting anyone to see the moments of loneliness and despair. I guess I found it embarrassing. In Bali, I saw endless amounts of ‘influencers’ going to extremes just to get the shot ‘for the insta’. And I just feel like enough is enough. Posting unrealistic content leads to people having unrealistic ideas of how their lives should be and it’s not healthy for anyone. It’s time to stop pretending that everything is perfect. Life is messy and full of ups and downs and that should be celebrated! So from now on, I will try to be 100% real on this blog and on my instagram in the hope that it might help just one person understand that they shouldn’t compare their life to someone’s highlight reel.
Although this last trip to Bali wasn’t the best one, I still wouldn’t take back the experience. I will learn and grow from it and probably look back and laugh! Experiences like this one are all part of travelling. It’s not always comfortable but it is worth it. I’m a strong believer in trusting the process and my intuition – and it was telling me to get the heck out of Bali. I’m writing this blog post on the plane journey back to Australia. My new reality is that I’m taking a risk and heading to the Sunshine Coast where I don’t know anyone, don’t have a job and don’t have a place to live. But life is about taking risks so I’m going with my gut. Let’s see what’s in store next – hopefully some better luck! I’m going to be sharing the rest of my journey more honestly in the hopes of bringing more realness to travel social media. I hope you will join me!
Jess x
anxiousgirltravels 