My Flights are Booked and Paid For!!!

Hi everyone!

I've got some really big news for all of you. 

Many of you have been reading my blog for months, if not years and putting up with my countless posts based on travel. 

I have one of the worst cases of wanderlust known to man and over the past year I haven't been able to pursue it. 

Backpacking and camping my way through Europe in 2013 left me penniless! I've been working my butt off ever since, saving away as much as possible at the end of each month. 

What I saved went directly into my travel account and now I can finally say that all of this hard work has paid off!!

Yesterday I booked and paid for my flights to the Philippines and to Bali!!!!!!!

My first big stop after a twelve-ish hour flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, is Hong Kong. There are no direct flights from South Africa to the Philippines or Bali so you have to catch a connecting flight from another country.
I was lucky enough to book my connecting flight to Cebu, Philippines from Hong Kong! Never, ever, EVER has Hong Kong crossed my mind as a place that I have wanted to see. Not because I don't like the sound of it - but because I never really looked into how amazing it was over there.
Since knowing that it is a part of my travels, I have been researching a fair bit and now to say that I'm excited to experience Hong Kong is an understatement!
I will have an entire day to explore Hong Kong before my journey to the Philippines continues and although I am still researching, I have absolutely NO idea what I am going to get up to while I'm there. I guess there's only one way to find out!
After some Hong Kong-ish adventures with just me and my suitcase, it will be time to board my connecting flight to Cebu!

I've booked myself into this gorgeous resort on an island in the Philippines where they offer surfing packages. The package that I've chosen includes accommodation (your choice between a standard air-conditioned room which is the most expensive, a cottage equipped with a fan or a basic backpackers room). 

I'll be staying in a dreamy thatch-roofed, air-conditioned home like this during the course of my stay:

The package also includes airport transfers, breakfast every morning, daily surf lessons, transport to  the breathtaking surf spots, all surfing equipment, an hour and a half massage, island hopping tours, wifi and more!

The best part is that it is all so affordable! The Philippines and Bali are so cheap for us South African's which doesn't come often I must say! The Rand exchange rate is usually a pretty painful ordeal so I am really stoked to have stumbled across this... although I owe SO much thanks to Chris over at his amazing travel blog: BackPacker Banter and his gorgeous lady-pie, Tara who also has one of the best travel blogs I've ever read: Where Is Tara?

Without them, I'd never have found this package! I'd probably still be sitting behind my desk at work, picking irritably at my nails and trying desperately to make deals with 'The Man Upstairs,' to somehow help me get out of my rut! A tit for tat sort of thing.

After the Philippines I'll be shooting off to finally live my dream of becoming a beach-bum and water baby in Indonesia. I'll be baking away in the sun, attaching a leash to my ankle and paddling out on a surfboard into the crystal clear ocean. I'll be sipping away at fresh coconut milk straight from the shell and popping meaty crayfish into my mouth in between snorkeling over the coral. I'll be island hopping and soaking up the Balinese sun until I am bronzed and blissed out with happiness.

Travelling alone to South East Asia where I know no one and where the language sounds like gibberish to me is nothing short of daunting... but this is what I have been craving. This is what I have been working so hard towards... and now it is all coming together. 

Do you have any exciting travel plans coming up over 2015? 

Are there any countries that you are dying to explore and saving up for?

I'd love to hear all about your travel dreams in the comments below.