![It Could Only Happen To Me - An unusual gift in China](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/118-470x140.jpg)
It’s Friday and time for another edition of It Could Only Happen To Me – the weekly series where I feature those travel mishaps which…
![If We Can Do It, So Can You - Featuring Em and Jake from Our Asian Stomping Ground](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/dscf1181-470x140.jpg)
Featuring on this week’s If We Can Do It are Jake and Em. Jake works in the construction industry and Em is an ESL (English…
![I smile because I am different](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/dscf0759-470x140.jpg)
I got thinking about this post after reading something a fellow traveller had written on Facebook about being laughed at by locals. Although this is…
![Volunteering – To pay or not to pay?](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/2-240x140.jpg)
Over the years I’ve done a number of voluntary placements in different countries around the world. Some have been organised in advance, such as working…
![Gatecrashing a Geisha tea ceremony](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/themes/oxygen/images/archive-thumbnail-placeholder.gif)
My attendance at a geisha tea ceremony wasn’t something I really planned. During my visit to Japan I serendipitously happened to be in Kyoto during…
![It could only happen to me - standing on a pig in Laos](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/dscf0728-470x140.jpg)
It had already been a stressful day. We were in the south of Laos, sitting in the boiling heat at the side of the road…
![Save so you can splurge](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/078-470x140.jpg)
As I mentioned in a previous post one of the big differences I noticed about travelling on my 30b430 trip, compared to the ‘traditional’ gap…
![How should I set a budget for my trip?](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ems-photos-074-470x140.jpg)
Setting a budget for my trip It’s all very well getting super-organised about your saving but how should you go about setting a budget for…
![It Could Only Happen To Me - A transport downgrade in Burma](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/dscf1550-320x140.jpg)
When you’re travelling long-term it’s inevitable that you’re going to have a few bumps and scrapes, along the way. Plans don’t always run smoothly, things…
![It Could Only Happen To Me - Becoming a local celebrity in China](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_470,h_140/https://thegrown-upgapyear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/china-403x140.jpg)
As a journalist I’m used to being the one asking the questions and staying out of the limelight. So it came as a bit of…