Home is where the heart is...

So here I am back in the UK after over 2 years of living in South Korea and boy has it changed. The money looks different, half of Soho has shut down and you now have to pay an extortionate amount of 5p for a plastic bag. What happened Britain?! Next you’ll be telling me that you’ve left the European Union or something crazy like that! …oh wait! :/

Leaving Korea was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be. The last few days were filled with goodbyes, an enormous amount of packing and definitely some moments of contemplation and reflection. It was in those last few days that it all hit me, the people I’d met, the experiences I’d had and most importantly the life that I had made for myself there. Korea had become home, and now I was to leave this country not knowing when (if ever) I would return.

After a few hysterical outbursts, I finally managed to wipe away the tears just enough to see my way on to the plane safely, and fly back to the UK in one piece. It has been a bit of a whirlwind over the last few weeks seeing all of my friends and family and also meeting a lot of new people too, so I’ll try and break it down for you as best I can. The first week was spent in Wales with my partners family, who were all lovely. Wales is a lot different to what I remember (weather excluded). I explored caves, went back in time to St Fagans and had an amazing couple of days in Cardiff. It exceeded my expectations and it is definitely a place I will happily be visiting again in the future.

Fastest food in the world! SCONE!

The beautiful Welsh countryside.

The week after was spent in Brighton with my wonderful family. We had a great time dressing up as Victorians in the beautiful English countryside, enjoyed a day out in glorious Brighton exploring the lanes and the sunny seaside, and we even had time for an ice cream on the pier. We spent a few crazy days in London town where we had a well deserved spa day, saw some West End shows and just relaxed in a park or two catching up with old friends, before my partner flew away on her own adventure to Laos, and I headed back home to Brighton.

Brighton Pier.

That London town.

Transport for London?

In the weeks that followed I went camping in the New Forest, spent a rainy day walking around the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge, and caught up with an awful lot of people all over my home county of Sussex. So as you can imagine I am now exhausted! However, it has been absolutely wonderful to see so many people and explore so much of the UK, and it is definitely a place I am proud to call home. 

Stonehenge!

Tomorrow morning I will set off to Gatwick Airport and board a flight back to Asia to start a new life in the wonderful country of Taiwan. I am extremely excited for this new chapter to begin but I am also a tad nervous so fingers crossed it will all work out. I suppose the only way to find out is to just jump in head first and go for it! So see you soon Taiwan! But first, it would be rude not to make a little pit stop in Thailand now wouldn’t it? Just for a cheeky week? Oh go on then! Next stop, Bangkok...

A New Chapter Begins...

A year ago I posted my last blog post. At the time I wasn’t aware that it would be my last post, but apparently a year has now past and here I am trying to start it all back up again. Time really does fly when you're having fun and that we most certainly are. I say we because I now have someone else in my life, someone wonderful that I actually met about a year ago in the local convenience store, proving that once again Korean convenience stores really are, quite convenient.

I don’t feel as if I should apologize for my distance because I have absolutely been loving life, not that I didn’t before but I think I have finally found something to sing about so sorry but, I’m not sorry. It’s funny what a difference a year can make. You never quite know what’s waiting for you around the corner and for me it really has been one heck of a year.

Since my last post I have paid off all of my debts, explored the ancient temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, dressed as an Empress in Taiwan, and celebrated the New Year with a dazzling display of fireworks in Hong Kong. I also visited the UK back in May last year and had a fantastic time relaxing with some truly beautiful people back home. I have met some amazing people and I have enjoyed living it up and experiencing all of the great things that Korea has to offer. However, the time has finally come to leave this Kimchi filled land and move on to bigger and better things. Which brings me to the main reason I have chosen to revitalize this blog.

On July 20^th 2017 after a short vacation in Thailand, me and my partner will be embarking on our next big adventure! We have decided to move to the beautiful island of Taiwan and are both insanely excited for this new chapter to begin. Why Taiwan? Well, we first visited back in September 2016 for a short 5 day vacation and completely fell in love with the place. The food is outstanding, the people are ridiculously welcoming and the scenery is, in a word, EPIC!

Taipei, Taiwan

The last few months in Korea have been pretty manic to say the least, but I am now thrilled to announce that I have accepted a position at a lovely school in Taipei, teaching English to the future as you do. So as you can imagine I am itching to get over there and meet the little hooligans. Moving to Korea has absolutely changed my life and I will be very sad to leave it. It has been my home for over 2 years now and a little piece of my heart will always remain here. Taiwan has a lot to live up to but I am confident that it will greet me with open arms, a year round climate and all the stinky tofu I can eat.

So lets start this blog back up again, in a completely new country with countless opportunities just waiting to be uncovered! Here’s to another year of gallivanting around the globe and saying yes to life once again in my constant pursuit of pavements, in faraway places…