The Inspired Traveler # 16 – Lynda Galea

1.  What is it about traveling that makes you smile?The  sense of freedom and independence when traveling is what gets a smile  on my dial. When I’m traveling, I feel like I can be whoever I want to  be without a worry in the world! Oh, and possibly the thought of not  having to wake up at 6:20am every morning to get the train into work…  that’s a pretty darn good feeling!

2.  What is your favorite place in the world?

Tough  question – I mean, there were so many cities throughout Europe that I  loved but when push comes to shove, I’m going to have to say the USA,  more specifically, Orlando, Florida. I spent 14 months of my life  interning at Disney World in 2009-2010 and just fell in love with it all  – the lifestyle, the people, the friends, my job! There is not a single  day that goes by where I do not think about my time there and how I’d  give anything to move back!

3.  What place would have to pay you to come back and even then you’d have to think about it?

Albania…  Lets just say I had a not so great hole-in-the-ground bathroom  encounter in the middle of no where off a beaten track in 45 degree  Celsius heat. Gross.

4.  What is the best piece of advice that you’ve been given about traveling?

When  I realised how much I love to travel, my parents started getting shitty  with how often I’d come home with a new location in mind and a flight  booked without prior discussion. Every time I’d return home I’d get the  lecture from my family that it’s time to settle down and focus on my  career, buying a house, finding a nice boy and making babies… sorry to  disappoint, but that’s not how I work. Marriage and babies are the last  thing on my mind! Someone much older than myself told me to be selfish,  ignore want my family thought was best for my ‘future’ and to just go  out there and see it all, be it all and live it all otherwise I’d regret  it when I was their age. I never looked back! 

5.  How has traveling changed you as a person?

It’s  helped me realise who I am and want I want out of life. I’ve learned  that home will always be here waiting for me to come back to no matter  how long I’m gone for. Living away from home helped me appreciate the  smaller things a lot more than I ever did.

6.  Have you ever volunteered during your travels?   If so, what did you do?  If not, will you ever?

I’ve  never volunteered before, but I’ve still got plenty of travel left in  me and I would happily accept given I’m in the right place at the right  time.

7.  What is the best piece of advice that you can give our readers?

Travel now – no hesitations. If you hesitate, you will regret it and to have regrets is a life lived unfulfilled.

8.  Since this is a budget travel blog, what is your best budget tip, bar none?

Budget  tip. Hmmm. At the risk of sounding like a booze-loving 20 something  year old, I find that when I want to have a big night of partying, some  destinations, such as Europe or Australia, can be detrimental to my  daily travel budget. This is where the art of pre-gaming comes into  play. It is much cheaper to go to a bottle shop and purchase a bottle of  vodka and drink before hitting the town in comparison to drinking at  your party destination. It sounds horrible, but it is so true,  especially when one basic spirits drink in an Australian bar or club can  set you back $15!

9.   Where do you plan to travel this year?

I was just in Sydney the other weekend but that was more for business rather than pleasure.  I  won an all expenses paid trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia the other day,  so I’m flying out in 3 weeks for that. A few days after returning I’m  flying out to Adelaide, South Australia and from there some friends and I  are road-tripping the Eyre Peninsula along the Great Australian Bite  over Easter break. Then it’s back home to Melbourne for 11 days before I  fly out to Orlando, Florida for a while and from there, I’m off to  Cancun in Mexico!

I think I’ll also be heading back to Malaysia later this year for business!  Excited

10.  What are the three things that you could never do without during your travels?

1. Camera
2. Passport
3. Access to the Internet!