This time four years ago, Christmas looked bleak. A fortnight before Christmas, I had been made redundant after just one month in a new job, following months of unemployment. I was £15k in debt.

At times like these, it’s easy to stay home, focus on the immediate and become insular. But it is these times, especially, when we need to keep our eyes open for inspiration and opportunities. A long walk in the countryside, an urban exploration (I love Secret Leeds for this), a ticket to an interesting and thought-provoking event or arts exhibition (plenty of these on the Culture Vulture) or a networking opportunity – grab them all!

That’s what I did.

Jump forward to this time last year: I had visited some amazing places and created some lifelong memories, set up a business and paid off all my debts, and had met and worked with some incredible people doing brilliant, inspiring things.

It was also then that I began dreaming about the world beyond my laptop screen and Yorkshire home. I had always promised that when everything else was fixed, I would treat myself with a long trip to some faraway places to immerse my senses in something totally new and unusual.

So, this time next week, I will be setting off to board a plane and embark upon the trip of a lifetime.

This Christmas, I’ll be picnicing on an Australian beach with some very good friends. And I’ll be spending the rest of the (English) winter in South East Asia.

Please join me on my two-month, whistlestop tour of Sydney Australia, Bali, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.

As and when I can, I’ll be using this blog as a journal to keep a record of my experiences. I hope you can follow me, and share in this wanderer’s journey. This is the wonderful world of wander in which we are blessed to live.