May trips and bucket list

Trips in May

May has been a month of chilling out and exploring more locally as I have had lots of non-travel excitement going on which I am looking forward to sharing soon. I have had some nice weekends in and I felt that I wanted to make an important point this month. Sometimes when we see others on social media going away or doing things every weekend it can be hard to be the one who is at home not doing as much.

Especially for those who have a part-time travel blog, or follow travellers on social media, it is good to remind ourselves that it is really okay not to be travelling every other weekend. I worry that in today's digital age, people can be under so much pressure to live an Instagrammable life that they may get into debt to fund travel, but this is never the right way to do things. You will know from my post how I afford to travel that I am not rich and have always worked hard to fund my trips, so it just isn't feasible to be away every month (as much as I'd love to be!).

I have to say that this month was a more quiet one, and there'll be other months in the year where I'm not leaving our region. However, I am more than okay with that as I am enjoying making the most of living in such a gorgeous area, and I am trying hard to save money for other trips! Read on to find out how a travel blogger makes the most of a month with no overseas travel involved.

Returning home after living abroad: expat lessons

This is one of those blog posts that just came to me, randomly, as I was making myself a morning cuppa. I was thinking about how different it has been returning home after living abroad and how much I miss aspects of expat life.

The blues just suddenly hit me recently like a ton of bricks. I'm talking holiday blues-type feelings but much stronger. You may remember I wrote this post about reverse culture shock 6 months ago when I was still in the honeymoon period of returning home, but things have settled down quite a bit now and everything feels more normal again.

I forced myself to sit down this morning and really think about why I missed living abroad so much, as there are so many things I don't miss about Singapore... the lack of a breeze, being miles away from family, the fact you need to re-mortgage to be able to afford a pint of milk, I could go on...

Read my previous post: the real truth about being an expat in Singapore and you'll get an idea of what it's like.

Croatia Holiday Review: Is it worth a visit?

I visited Croatia before I started blogging, but I've noticed recently it's somewhere which people are intrigued by but don't really know if it's worth visiting instead of their regular European favourites like Spain or Italy.

If you're wondering if a Croatia holiday is worth it, or if you'd be better going to somewhere else, then I'm here to give you my thoughts on the country, and a mini-review of my holiday to Croatia. Bear in mind this is based on my holiday in 2014 so it is more a think piece on my experience of the country, rather than a specific up-to-date travel guide.

I've grouped this into headings and talked about each aspect in turn, to try and give my advice on the destination based on what matters to you for a holiday. Think of it like asking a friend in the office if they'd recommend somewhere for a holiday: it's an overall gist of 'what Croatia is about'.