Welcome to week one of the backpacking diaries, where I’m updating you on where I’ve been, what I’ve been getting up to, and most importantly, how I’m really feeling about this insane decision I’ve made.
As you probably know, I’m currently backpacking through Asia after quitting my job and leaving London for good.
I want to remember every moment of this experience, and document as much of it as I can, just like I’ve documented everything else in my life post-18 on this website.
You can keep up to date with my travels on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube but for now, enjoy week one of the travel diaries!
Top tip: for mobile data around Europe & Dubai, we used the Airalo eSim which was super handy and easily installed onto our phones as soon as we landed in the airport!
Day 1: Monday 18th March 2024
Location: London & Bucharest, Romania
Dear travel diary,
Today is the day!!! The start of our next chapter, the start of the world tour (if only) and the start of our biggest adventure yet! A part of me woke up this morning freaking out thinking, WHAT AM I DOING?! But I know it’s going to be something I can look back on and be glad that I did in the future.
I love to travel and explore new places, culture and traditions, so why not take a career break at 26 and spend six months (or more) doing that?
We’re starting our travels in Bucharest, Romania. It was a cheaper way to fly to Dubai, shortened the journey and meant we could explore a new place in Europe too before we make our way to Asia.
We’re budgeting very hard on this trip to make sure our money lasts and to see if we can even extend the trip further than we expected – but we’ll see how that goes. Expect to hear a lot about buses, trains and night flights to avoid a night in a hotel.
We arrived in Bucharest in the afternoon, checked into our hotel (Trianon Hotel) and walked around the city to get our bearings before having some traditional Romanian food for dinner.
Check out my YouTube vlog below of our three days in Bucharest, Romania!
Day 2: Tuesday 19th March 2024
Location: Bucharest, Romania
Dear travel diary,
Today is our first full day in Bucharest and you know that I love to start my day off with a good brunch when I’m on my holidays, but this isn’t a regular holiday. That means my breakfast this morning was a 70p pastry from Luca, a chain of hole-in-the-wall pastry shops around Bucharest.
Related blog post: Bucharest Romania Travel Guide: How To Spend 3 Days Here
We walked a lot as we tend to do anytime we’re somewhere new, visited one of the most beautiful bookstores I think I’ve ever seen, and went inside some Romanian churches to see the amazing hand-drawn paintings that cover the inside from floor to ceiling.
We headed out to Obor Market to try the famous mici sausage from a stand in the middle of the road. It was definitely worth it. Then we worked on our laptops for a little while in the coffee shop near our hotel before going for another meal of traditional Romanian food and calling it a night.
Day 3: Wednesday 20th March 2024
Location: Bucharest, Romania
Dear travel diary,
This was our last day full day in Bucharest and we started it with a run around the park beside our hotel – can you believe it?! I’m not too sure we’ll be able to run in every country we visit as it may be too hot and who knows what the roads will be like, but we’ve brought our running shoes with us in the hopes that we can.
We rewarded ourselves for our run with some cheap pastries for breakfast with a takeaway coffee. Then we headed to a local coffee shop and set up camp for a few hours to plan the next part of our travel route.
Did I mention we only have our Dubai trip booked and a flight into Sri Lanka and that’s it? We’re taking things as they come and trying to be as spontaneous as possible with our route, but not knowing where we’re going and for how long is a little bit daunting.
This evening we headed out to Therme Spa, Europe’s largest thermal spa (and an influencer’s dream). It had an adult-only area with heated pool, swim-up bars and a revolving door in the water that leads outside to another heated pool. It also had over 20+ saunas with different health benefits (one even had a cinema), and other very cool amenities including an Asian restaurant that you could dine in wearing a robe.
It was an hour’s drive outside of the city, but definitely a top thing to do if you’re ever in Bucharest!
Day 4: Thursday 21st March 2024
Location: Bucharest, Romania & Dubai, UAE
Dear travel diary,
It was up and out this morning to catch our 1pm flight to Dubai! Country number 2 of the travels and somewhere I’ve never been to before, so I was very excited to finally be visiting the Middle East.
Because of the time difference we landed at around 8pm Dubai-time and made our way to our hotel first. We were very kindly upgraded to a suite (!!) when we checked-in. And were only paying £45 per night for our stay!!
You’ve got to take the little wins like this when you’re backpacking. Two nights in a luxury suite in Dubai before heading into god-knows-what in South East Asia.
We were starving by this point, so headed out for dinner nearby in Old Dubai to a place called Al Ustad Special Kebab which a lot of celebrities have dined at, but it’s not a boujee restaurant like you’d expect from Dubai. It was more of a hole-in-the-wall canteen style cafe and was incredible.
Day 5: Friday 22nd March 2024
Location: Dubai, UAE
Dear travel diary,
Our first morning in Dubai!! We were up bright and early for a walking tour of Old Dubai and the Souks. Which was kindly gifted to us by GetYourGuide.
We learnt about the history of Dubai and how it came to be what it is today. Then were taken to the Gold and Spices Souks and taught how to haggle for good prices.
I didn’t wear the best shoes as silly me thought no one walked in Dubai due to the heat. But it seems even inside things are miles away from each other. I got a few blisters in my sandals from walking over 20,000 steps so lesson learnt.
We ventured to Dubai Mall which a sight to see and would put Westfield to shame. Gazed at the Burj Khalifa which I hate to say didn’t look that tall to me. Maybe New York has made me numb to skyscrapers?! Then headed down to Dubai Marina to have a drink at the bar on the 52nd floor of the Marriott Hotel, with a view of the Palm.
Then it was back to the Burj Khalifa to see the fountain show. Before going for dinner back in Old Dubai again at a place called Ravi’s. Another hole-in-the-wall/canteen type restaurant (I told you we were on a budget) that served amazing food.
Related blog post: The Best Authentic Restaurants To Dine At In Dubai, UAE
Day 6: Saturday 23rd March 2024
Location: Dubai UAE
Dear travel diary,
Our last day in Dubai! Our flight was at 2am so we had another full day to explore the city before grabbing our things and heading to the airport.
We had a lie in and almost missed check out. Making the most of the suite as we could. Then took a bus (backpacker budget strikes again) down to the Souk Medinat to see the Burj Al Arab (a seven-star hotel!) and walk around the fancy Souk.
I’d definitely recommend heading to Old Dubai to see the real Souks instead of this one. As this seemed more of a tourist-friendly option without all the chaos. But the chaos is authentic, and you gotta experience the authentic Dubai.
We had a Starbucks (lol, it had been almost a week, cut me some slack) and got on another bus down to JBR Beach which was full of tourists and no locals in sight.
We stopped here for a late brunch/early dinner of eggs at Eggspectation. Which had a gorgeous view of the water and Dubai Eye. Which has never actually been in operation because they wanted to make it the biggest in the world and in doing so, made it non-functional.
After this it was time for our two-hour private yacht trip around Dubai waterfront!! You might be wondering how on earth this is part of our budget when we’re sitting on the bus and metro everywhere.
But this was another experience kindly gifted to us with GetYourGuide. Giving us a little insight into the boujee-side of Dubai that most people travel here to experience.
Once back on dry land it was time to head to the airport to fly to Sri Lanka!!
Day 7: Sunday 24th March 2024
Location: Dubai, UAE & Colombo, Sri Lanka
Dear travel diary,
Getting a 2am flight was just as tiring as I thought it would be. This was the reason we packed our TRTL headrests as they’re great for sleeping on planes. Would fully recommend!
We were headed to Colombo, Sri Lanka, country number three and a brand new country for both of us!! It was time for our Asia travels to finally commence!
We landed in Colombo at 8am after around 3-4 hours of sleep. And jumped in a taxi to our hotel to drop off our bags and head out for breakfast. We found a lovely little cafe called Cafe Kumbuk and I finally had some avocado toast after a week without.
We were a little delirious with the Sri Lankan heat and lack of sleep. But camped out in this cafe to jump on our laptops and book where we would be sleeping tomorrow night.
Remember what I said about being spontaneous? Well, I didn’t mean to be this spontaneous as it’s maybe another word for unorganised.
Anyhow, it was finally time to check into our hotel in Colombo. Chill out in the air-conditioning and utilise the rooftop pool that the hotel came with.
Today was a very chilled day to recover from our night flight. And we had a very tasty Sri Lankan dinner from a restaurant called Upali’s.
I’ll be back again next week with another update on our travels and where we end up next!!
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