isabelle vs the world

I have been so overwhelmed and blown away by the last couple of days. Its been a crazy and bittersweet mix of so many surprises, learning that I'll never close my eyes in a car again, discovering luna park's definition of a "rollercoster", being proposed to, reminiscing, late night pancakes, gorgeous family lunches, drinks and chats in the sunshine with friends and just an unbelievable amount of love and generosity. It cannot thank everyone enough and its almost enough to make me not want to leave. Almost.

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I may regret letting my friends come up with a (very extensive) travel bucket list...not finished, got to add my own yet..ANY ideas, pass them my way!

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With all this amazingness comes way too many goodbyes, and it doesn't get easier. At all. Note to self: Do not watch sad movies about people leaving (e.g. perks of being a wallflower) after saying goodbye to your extended family and pretty much everyone you know for a year. If you weren't already emotional, you will be.
This time in a week I'll be on the plane, not sure how I feel about that right now. Cannot wait but its starting to hit home. T minus 6 days.

Stay Smiling x

T minus 13 sleeps and it still doesn't feel real. This time in two weeks, I'll be in Bhutan, nursing it up and looking towards the next 12 or so months of backpacking through s-e asia, the Indian subcontinent and Europe/UK.
I thought about whether or not I would attempt to keep a travel blog (no promises!) and nearly didn't, but in the end I realised how much I loved reading other peoples, taking inspiration from them and its just such a handy way to keep everyone (mum) updated!
Today was my last shift as a personal carer, I cannot begin to tell you how happy I was to walk out those doors for the last time. In about a weeks time when I finish my other job, leaving isn't going to be so easy.
Tonight was also the first of many goodbyes to come, its such a weird feeling because I think I'm still in denial that I'm actually leaving and so it doesn't sink in that this is it for a very long time. I know its only going to get harder but I'm just trying not to think about it.

The (very) vague plan:

Oct - Early Nov - Bhutan (uni nursing)
Nov - Vietnam
Dec - overland through laos and cambodia to thailand
Jan - Thailand
Feb/March - Nepal/India/Sri Lanka
April - Malaysia/Singapore/Philippines
May - Bangkok => Amsterdam
May -??? - Europe/UK

Preparations are almost there, I've started "packing" and it looks like something exploded in my room but we'll get there... just got to cut down the 20 tops I 'need' for the year.

Stay Smiling
x