Meeting loads of new people while on the road is a great thing, but what I really love about travelling is getting to meet up with new friends again later on their own turf. I think anywhere you go is always better when you’ve got a mate to show you around so you can escape the tourist trail and really get under the skin of a place.I’ve spent a bit of time backpacking and working in Australia already so it doesn’t really hold that much appeal at the moment as a tourist destination for me. I’ve gone there twice to visit friends though and it’s a guaranteed great time. So when a couple of good friends I met in London in 2002 and lived with for two years decided to finally get married, I really wanted to go to their wedding in Perth. Adding to the appeal was that about 15 friends from my London days (mostly from Australia) would be attending as well so it would be a huge reunion weekend that might not happen again anytime soon.
I didn’t think I would be able to go at first because I was expecting to be in Buenos Aires in February and flights between the two are ridiculously expensive. After changing my plans and sticking around in Haiti though, suddenly flying from Miami became an affordable option and I decided to worry about money later and just go for it.
What most excites me about having this lifestyle is the possibility of heading to events and meeting up with friends all over the world whenever the opportunity arises. True, my carbon footprint and bank balance will both be terrible if I keep deciding to jet off to the other side of the world for weddings like I did a few weeks ago, but having the option to go where I want when I want (at least now while the bank balance is healthy) is an amazing thing. So when weddings, parties, sporting events, concerts, friends travelling or anthing like that pops up, I will always be tempted to include it in my travel plans.
Flying from Haiti to Australia for 12 days might seem like a crazy thing to most people but I don’t regret it. Catching up with everyone was great and it’s possible that I might have had too good of a time because I feel more tired and drained now after my ‘holiday’ than I did before I left. But it was worth every penny and I’d do it again in a second.
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