During the first half of January I tried to spend as much time with my family, friends and boyfriend as possible before leaving England on a one-way ticket. I visited my boyfriend’s family in Yorkshire where we ventured on long winter walks and visited National Trust houses. I spent time in London visiting my closest friends and my Dad organized a farewell dinner for me at my favourite local restaurant – The Pig in Bath. Mixed feelings of nervousness and excitement hit me when I went through the gates at Heathrow airport and said an emotional goodbye to my boyfriend. A day later I arrived in Myanmar with my strategically-packed suitcase and blindingly white converse full of energy and ready to explore. My first stop was Bagan where I awoke every morning for the golden sunrise and explored ancient temples after dawn. I met some of the balloonists who fly hot air balloons around the world and they offered me a seat in the basket if there were any cancellations. As luck would have it, I went up in a hot air balloon on my final morning and saw the sunrise from a different perspective, this time floating through the sky as opposed to sitting atop a temple stupa. I embarked on a 3 day trek through the Burmese countryside where I lived like a local and slept on the floor in their humble homes. The trek ended in the beautiful Inle Lake where we celebrated with a hot shower and beer.

February took me to Vietnam where I embarked on a motorbike trip through the mountainous Ha Giang region on the Chinese border. Known for its hair-pin bends and dangerous roads, this famous motorbike route would prove disastrous for me. They say bad luck comes in three and that‘s what happened to me. In one day I got caught in a motorbike accident, got physically assaulted by a Vietnamese lady for trying to use a public bathroom and had my phone stolen on a night bus. Let’s say nothing more of the incident, other than Vietnam left me with a bitter taste in my mouth and I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Thankfully my luck turned around in Cambodia where I was blessed with beautiful experiences. I had the pleasure of staying at the phenomenal Park Hyatt, which I used as a base to explore ancient temples and jungle-grown tombs. After falling in love with Siem Reap and learning as much about Khmer history as I could, I travelled to the Koh Rong archipelago, a scattering of immaculate islands lapped by shallow waters. I quickly slowed down to the groove of island life, spending time relaxing in hammocks, walking through jungle tracks to pristine beaches and enjoying a Cambodian beer at sunset.

I island-hopped from Thailand to Malaysia in March, covering eight islands in 2 weeks – yes it was pretty full-on. As soon as I stepped off each boat I hired a scooter and filled my days with waterfall treks, panoramic viewpoints and beautiful sunsets. I found myself addicted to Thai green curry and peanut butter roti, which I ate every day for dessert. The last leg of my island-hopping journey took me from idyllic Koh Lipe to jungle-clad Langkawi where I spent a few days feasting on spicy Malaysian food and hiking through the rainforest. Next up was a country I had long wanted to visit: The Philippines. Highlights included snorkelling with whale sharks, swimming in topaz waterfalls, driving to the chocolate hills and falling in love with wide-eyed tarsier monkeys. My boyfriend flew from the UK to celebrate my birthday with me in the Philippines and we decided to travel more slowly spending more time in each destination. We ventured on daily boat trips to lime-stone karsts around El Nido stopping to anchor at empty beaches, emerald lagoons and for barbecue lunches. Filipino food isn’t the best so in the evenings we went out to Middle-Eastern, Greek and Italian restaurants and were surprised with the cosmopolitan food scene in tiny El Nido.

We kicked off April in Coron, which is a beautiful island surrounded by sapphire lakes and towering limestone karsts. We hired a scooter during our time there and covered as much of the island as time allowed. A little bit of research took us in the direction of Busuanga Lodge where we spent a blissful few hours dining, drinking and enjoying the infinity pool views, before we ventured back to the town. After Coron, it was time to part ways and head to Sri Lanka on my own. The hot and sticky night air hit me the minute I stepped off the plane and I already knew I was going to love this exotic and tropical land. I love those countries that instantly plunge you into a completely foreign culture, and Sri Lanka does just that. Some of the most uncomfortable situations ended up being my fondest memories, from riding third class on the train with my body squashed against someone else’s to catching the crazy public bus which kept fearlessly overtaking despite oncoming traffic. Those moments seemed so surreal to me that all I could do was inwardly smile and laugh out loud. It wasn’t all chaos though. This 2 week adventure took me all around the country where I ventured on my first elephant safari, embarked on a pilgrimage in the middle of the night, climbed an ancient rock fortress, ate my weight in roti and wandered through misty tea plantations. I was sad to leave, but not too sad as next up was Borneo! This country instantly conjures up images of vast rainforest, real live orangutans and untouched beauty – the adventurer in me couldn’t wait to arrive. After an overnight connection in Kuala Lumpur (one of many) I arrived in Semporna where I uncovered a side of Borneo that I never knew existed – paradise islands. The scattering of islands off the coast of Borneo are near-perfect with white sand beaches, epic sandbanks, jungle-clad hikes, sparkling waters and no one in sight.

May took me to the ‘real Borneo’ that I had always dreamed of visiting. I will always remember my first internal flight over Borneo where my eyes were glued to the window as we flew of over an endless sea of green, interrupted only by winding rivers. High on my agenda was spending a night in the rainforest, so I quickly organised an overnight trip to Danum Valley, a mecca for spotting orangutans and monkeys in the wild. I didn’t see any orangutans in the rainforest, but later in the trip I saw them along the Kinabatangan River. The highlight of the whole month was seeing Pygmy elephants, the world’s smallest breed, roam in the wild. We were told it would be highly unlikely to see them because they would have travelled too far, however we decided to take the risk. We got caught in a rainstorm in an open top boat, but undeterred, we carried on down the river and after 3 hours the sun came out and we caught our first glimpse of the elephants bathing in the wild – it was surreal. I popped into Brunei for a couple of days as it was nearby and found the capital to be eerily quiet, but the mosque stunning. I had avoided big cities up until now, as for some reason South East Asian cities didn't appeal to me at the beginning of my trip, but after 4 months of islands and wildlife, I was craving the luxuries that cities can offer. I flew to Kuala Lumpur for the 4^th time and actually left the airport for the first time! Kuala Lumpur was exactly what I needed and I spent a week eating my way through the city and trying all sorts of weird and wonderful things from watermelon shaved ice to candyfloss coffee. Bound for island life once more, I travelled to the Perhentian islands and later the Tioman islands where I swam with baby sharks and turtles, lived off watermelon and enjoyed secluded island life with very few luxuries.

I kicked off June in Singapore and once again enjoyed the luxuries of city life. I had so much fun trying out the hottest brunch spots and exploring the specialty coffee scene with fellow Instagrammers. I met a girl who took me under her wing and made it her mission to show me the very best of her city. So together we explored the city, ate world-famous chicken and rice, uncovered Peranakan architecture, slurped on spicy laksa and watched the sunset from rooftop bars. A week in Singapore didn't feel long enough and I could have easily extended my stay, but I was meeting my family in Bali to celebrate my mum's birthday. It was wonderful to spend the next 10 days in the company of loved ones and do nothing more than relax and enjoy each other's company. We sunbathed by the pool, treated ourselves to massages and dined at different restaurants every evening. Saying goodbye to them at the airport was emotional and I didn't want them to leave, so the worst thing for me at the time would have been signing myself into a 10 day silent meditation retreat. Being woken up at 4am to the sound of gongs and attempting to meditate for 10 hours a day, when I'd never mediated before in my life was grueling. Needless to say, I lasted about 24 hours before I signed back myself out in search of human connection. I travelled by land and sea from Yogyakarta to Bali exploring volcanoes and temples along the way.

I was so excited to be back in Bali and this time I wanted to explore every corner of the island from rice paddies to waterfalls. I stayed in a boutique hostel with a pool and hired a scooter to go off on daily adventures and brunch dates across the island. For some reason, I booked a flight to Japan even though I had no desire to visit the country, but the universe works in mysterious ways. I was forever grateful I booked that flight, because Japan ended up being one of my favourite countries. I loved trying foods I'd never heard of before, getting lost on the underground and generally how foreign everything was – visiting Japan felt like visiting another world. It was a lot more beautiful than I anticipated, even Tokyo was full of serene parks, stunning temples, forested paths and zen tea shops. When I finally managed to tear myself away from Tokyo, I travelled to Kyoto during the Gion festival and found myself in awe of the geisha girls and golden temples. The highlight of my trip to Japan was undoubtedly visiting Mount Fuji and cycling around the surrounding lakes at dawn and through flower-filled parks. Next up was South Korea and I spent a couple of weeks uncovering the weird and wonderful world of Seoul, bathing nude in Korean bath houses and hiking through the mountains to hidden temples.

Bali would become my home away from home for the month of August. I rented a room in a friend's villa and lived the Bali dream for a month. I exercised twice daily going to HIIT workouts in the morning and running barefoot along the beach at sunset. I embarked on a 3 day fast, followed by a 7 day juice detox and after I'd gone 10 days without solid food I made up for it by eating at all of Bali's healthy and vegan restaurants. Bali is crazy and chaotic but expat life there comes close to perfect.

With a diminishing bank account and a desire for routine, I moved to Australia in search of work and structure. My aunt lives on the Sunshine Coast, so I went to stay with her for a while whilst I looked for a job and did all the life admin necessary to start a new life somewhere. I found a job surprisingly quickly, so after a week I flew to Sydney and started work straight away. I soon settled into Sydney life, found an apartment, changed jobs and ended up working for the most amazing boutique law firm, which is still to this day the best job I've ever had. It felt surreal visiting places that I had always dreamed of like walking the coastal track from Bondi to Coogee, brunching at the wholesome Bread & Circus and wandering the Grounds outdoor market.

It didn't take me long to fall in love with the Aussie way of life. I mean how could I not, when my weekends consisted of sunny coastal walks, healthy brunches, beautiful beaches and outdoor markets. I raved about Sydney to anyone who would listen and encouraged all my friends and family to pack up their lives and move here as well – I was a bit obsessed. With a steady income again, I started my Invisalign treatment, as my teeth hadn't stayed straight after losing my retainers years ago.

The most pinch-me moment of November was walking across the Harbour Bridge for the first time taking in the sweeping views of the Opera House. No matter how many times I saw the Opera House, I couldn't get over it. I packed in lots more coastal walks and discovered my favourite outdoor swimming pool where I would spend many weekends in Sydney sunbathing and swimming.

I flew to New Zealand in December to meet my boyfriend for Christmas and we embarked on an epic 2-week road trip across the South Island. It was one of the best holidays we've been on. We hiked mountains, landed on snow-capped peaks by helicopter, ate at stunning vineyards and explored fjords. On Christmas day, we rented an Airbnb in the mountains and spent the day relaxing in an outdoor hot tub overlooking alpine scenery and drinking white wine. It was of the best Christmases we've ever experienced. I flew back to Sydney in time for New Year's Eve, but missed New Zealand and my boyfriend.