Travel Colorfully

Motivation to write my first post: Empire of the Sun's "Walking On A Dream" and a glass of red wine from my trip to Israel (ok,maybe two!)

I leave for Australia in 1 week!...Well, actually I leave for Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines in one week prior to arriving in Australia for a year abroad.  And 2 things come to mind: Excitement and Bug Repellant.

As many of you know, I've had travel on the brain for years now.  I've always been a very passionate person, but over the last couple years I noticed I had lost a kind of je ne sais quoi...perhaps lust for life.  Don't get me wrong, I've felt very blessed through my lifetime--loving family, caring friends, opportunities...but I needed a change of scenery to get back in touch with myself.  I had rooted myself in Los Angeles.  Born and raised in this city, completed schooling here and even purchased real estate.  I've also had a steady career in professional makeup at an early age.  But even with all these accomplishments, I've been looking for more.
The idea to go abroad for an extended time came to me in 2010 when I was overcoming some personal challenges.  A friend recommended that I read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, to reaffirm my belief that "everything happens for a reason". I definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone.  A favorite quote from the book is above as my headline:

When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.

  

Any funnily enough, that's exactly what happened.  Last year, as I was taking a vacation from work I realized that experiencing a different lifestyle for a bit is what I want, or need, to do!  I had to make my dream a reality because when else was this going to happen?! I'm only getting older and making excuses wastes time.  So I came back from my vacation inspired, but feeling a little uncertain how to pause responsibilities here and go about spending time in another country.  In a nutshell, one thing led to another opening up this opportunity which I had to seize, including reconnecting with a long-lost childhood friend who was on the same life path as I, an amazingly supportive family and my own determination not to settle.

So here I am, in the process of packing up my entire place and preparing to say "hasta luego" to family, friends and my lovable puggle, Kingsley to begin an adventure of a lifetime.  People always ask me "why?"
My answer is simple...WHY NOT??  Yeah, I've had to put my life on hold and it's a little scary leaving my comfort zone. But it's time for an adventure and I'm off to the land of Oz!  I'm not the first to visit Australia on a work and holiday visa, and I definitely won't be the last.

Venice Beach

Coast to Coast

 A couple tips on pre-travel:

1.  If you've ever dreamed of travel, Get A Passport.

I've spoken to many people who constantly dream of travel, but have no passport.  It's like wishing to win the lottery but never buying a ticket.  The process isn't that strenuous and much less hassle than the DMV.  Go to the post office and take your photo.  It's valid for several years!

2.  Sign up for EVERY rewards/loyalty program you can think of.

I'm not just talking frequent flyer.  Hotels and car rentals as well.  You can transfer points between certain programs and it's free!  You can redeem your points/miles for other goods, but I like to save them for travel of course.  I've saved ~$1,000 in flights for this big trip by using miles and points.
 Also, I don't want to sound like an endorser, but if using credit cards while traveling abroad I highly recommend American Express or Capital One.  Both have amazing fraud protection and offer miles for dollars spent.  Plus, Capital One doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee.  You get rewards and can save some cash. 

I will try to update regularly to keep the adventure documented. 

More on my upcoming travels coming soon...Stay tuned.