A few years ago, I booked a trip through South East Asia with Travel Nation. It was just brilliant. Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia are fantastic countries - so relaxed, so easy to navigate, so beautiful and welcoming. After that, I started a PhD in Shakespeare (thinking that I would settle down and be responsible), but my feet got itchy and I couldn’t last the course. I then spent 3 months travelling around South Africa, and when I returned to the UK I began working in travel professionally, organising safaris in South Africa and Namibia. Then, last year, I got the travel bug again and spent 3 months backpacking around India on my own.

I am now hooked on the freedom and empowerment that I feel when I travel. There really is nothing like it. Travelling keeps you open-minded, laid back, curious and ready to party. The food around the globe is amazing and the skies are mostly blue. I feel like I’ve only just started and I can’t wait to grab my backpack, bikini, walking boots and head-torch again.

My first taste of travel was back in 1995, when I set off on a years Round the World ticket. Travelling and working my way through South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Fiji and the US. After arriving home I started working for STA Travel, but it didn't take long to get itchy feet again. As soon as I'd saved up enough money I set off again spending a winter in the French Alps doing a ski season, and afterwards a month in Mexico. Working back within the travel industry, further travels came in the form of a competition win for flight tickets to Australia via Thailand, and more usual extended holidays to places such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Morocco, China and India. 6 months working in Seattle as well as another ski season in France beckoned along the way, and after working back in travel for many years I decided to take a sabbatical. I spent 3 months travelling around Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Indonesia, Malaysia and Canada. The love of travel never leaves you, and I think it's the greatest lesson in tolerance and understanding, as well as how to look after yourself.

I first got the travelling bug when I visited Japan on an orchestra tour when I was 18. I absolutely loved being half way across the world and experiencing such a different culture. Although I was only there for 10 days, it was enough to get me excited and I started planning my next trip. After university I set off for a six months trip around South East Asia. I visited Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Some highlights of my trip were learning to scuba dive on Ko Tao, sipping coffee in the street cafes of Luang Prabang and working at a charity centre for street kids in Siem Reap. I’ve got so many great memories of the places I have been and I’ve met some wonderful people along the way. I can’t wait to go on my next adventures!

The first time I went travelling was during my gap year in 2000. I flew to India to study with Post-Graduate Journalism students in Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala. I actually ended up working at the Hindu Times so I lodged with an Indian family for 6 months, before slowly travelling up the West coast to Bombay on a motorbike. This trip really cultivated my obsession with Asia and I have since been back several times.

My most recent trip was 6 months travelling and working through Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and finally Vietnam which I loved! In between stints in Asia I have also travelled extensively in North Africa and driven across Western Europe in a Camper Van.

In the late ‘80’s I spent 6 weeks back packing around Turkey with a friend and it felt like my first real adventure and that lead to us planning a bigger escape. In 1994 I set off on a Round the World Ticket that included India, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia. I have re-visited India on a number of occasions as it’s somewhere that holds a particular fascination to me and it is vast – there is always something amazing that you have missed!!
I re-traced my steps in Thailand, Malaysia and visited Vietnam on in 1996. For the millennium I spent 6 weeks in Sri Lanka. My next big trip was overland through Mexico and Central America to South America, which was amazing but I did miss all that lovely Asian food!
For my 40ieth birthday present (to myself!) I did another Round the World Ticket which took me back to India and Thailand, on to Cambodia and Laos, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. I have managed to squeeze in a few shorter holidays to other destinations too. I really hope to go back to Nepal in the not too distant future. I think I’ll always travel where possible and there is always plenty of temptation and inspiration when you work for a travel company!

The first time I travelled independently was during my gap year before University. I had 6 months to cram in as much as possible and was fortunate enough to visit Northern India, South-East Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Los Angeles. My favourite places along the way were Cambodia and New Zealand, Cambodia for the wonderful people and culture and New Zealand for extraordinary landscapes and ridiculous amount of adventure sports.

During my 3 years at University I was desperate to get away again and managed to save up enough money to travel around Japan. I struggled on my own with the language for the first few weeks but met up later with a Japanese friend who translated all the restaurant menus for me and introduced me to the amazing food I’d been missing out on!

I left the University of East Anglia in 1984 and escaped what seemed a very grim England by spending the rest of the 1980s travelling and working round the world. During this time I put in some usual stints as an English teacher in Tokyo, a landscape gardener in Sydney and a tarmac layer's assistant in Alaska. In 1990, I joined Bridge the World Travel Centre in London as manager of the World-wide department, where I was able to put my degree in Politics and Philosophy to good use.

I fulfilled my ambition to set up a specialist travel company in 2001 when I founded Travel Nation, and later in 2008 Rickshaw Travel.
I have continued to travel to many countries over the last couple of decades and am always utterly charmed by the people and the atmosphere I experience. Independent travel has so much going for it that it really can be all things to all people. Also of course, in common with so many other visitors, when travelling, I am in food paradise...especially that beef salad they do in Thailand...