If you haven’t already, please read part one before reading this post.

Now that you’ve read part one and would seemingly be up-to-date on my current affairs, we’ll move swiftly along to the more exciting side of things. You could say that the last post was about closing things down; I stepped down from the company, I moved out of my home, I sold all my shit and now I’m sitting at Amsterdam Schiphol airport on a short layover waiting to board my flight to Bali, Indonesia.

But before we get into that. I’d like to thank all the people, you know who you are, who’ve made the last month in London so special. It was a privilege and honor to carry out my duties as one of three ushers at the Eales wedding. I also give special thanks to the same groom, again, as if it wasn’t for him I’d of not been to Ibiza this year on his stag and met one amazing little person in the ‘meditation chamber’. And of course, to everyone who saw me off in different ways throughout the weeks; with sleepovers, nights out, games of Fifa and a couple of well-thought out and hugely appreciated little gifts. Again, thank you all.

In total, my journey time is 26 hours… pretty damn long, right? I agree. In fact it’s somewhat longer when factoring in the time it takes to get to the airport and the faffing around in between. I’ve never had one this long before, previously my longest journey time was just over 19 hours and that was to Thailand.

Oh god, does this mean I’m a travel blogger now, because I’m traveling, and blogging, and generally writing about my life as if anyone cares that much? As you can see, I tend to write what I’m thinking directly into my posts too, even when it has nothing to do with the topic whatsoever.

So where am I going? And what am I doing?

Well, as it turns out I can’t answer that question accurately. However, I have some basics to inform you of, so we’ll just do that for now – and you can get the rest by following my blog and seeing where the next post comes from ;)

As stated above my flight is to Bali… which is a small area of Indonesia located in the southern parts of Southeast Asia. I don’t know much else about it except; the currency is Indonesian Rupiah, it has amazing beaches, it’s a surfers heaven, it has place called the Gili Islands renowned for spectacular diving and that the whole country is insanely cheap. This makes for an excellent start.

I’ve not really looked into the culture, nor have I read too much about where to go or what to do. I’ve tried my best to avoid planning of any kind throughout the duration of the next couple of years of my life. The idea of planning seems to be closely linked with times, dates and places. And quite frankly, i don’t want to know what time, date or place I’ll be is in even a month from now. With every holiday I’ve been on there has been ‘some’ sort of planning, whether it be all the top spots to hit up or even just what hotel I’m staying at.

Oh yeah, I haven’t got anywhere to stay yet. It’s possible that a smarter option would’ve been to book my first night somewhere so I at least have a starting point. That said, it would defeat the point of what I’m doing. The unknown and unplanned is pretty thrilling. You could argue I’m cheating as a close friend of mine is already traveling in the same area, and I just aim to hook up with him right at the start. Or, you could ignore that altogether and continue thinking “this guy is so brave” or more likely “what an idiot, I’d of at least booked a room“.

So the current plan goes like this: get to Bali, find somewhere to sleep, wake up… start living.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been living until now. But this time it’s a new life. For 24 years I’ve been living in London, the outskirts mostly. I’ve been used to grey skies, dull and gloomy looking faces, pushing and shoving to get on a bus… a train… or even to the front of the KFC queue line – or even some 11 year old calling me a cunt because I refused to buy the cigarettes (try living in Essex for a while, you’ll know what I mean.)

When I wake up in the mornings feeling tiresome and cold, I pull myself out of my bedsheets, look out the window and realise it’s just another day in grey-scale – as if someone has placed one of those filters over my life – you know, like people who insist on taking every picture in black and white, idiots; take it in colour and you have both versions! You could say I’ve become cynical about London, but hey… everyone is different and I think I’m just at the point where I can honestly say I don’t want to be, live or raise a family there.

Let’s see how I feel about all that after some years in new countries?

So when I said start living above, that relates to the second question… what am I going to be doing?

Again, I can’t really answer this accurately as I have no idea whatsoever. I’m sure most people would just think I’m a hippie for saying what I’m about to say but that’s alright *wink* most of you are stuck in the place I was before – unwilling to stay, unwilling to leave.

Because I can’t pinpoint what I’ll be doing or where I’ll be doing it. Instead, I am going to list a bunch of the first things that come to my head activity-wise, assuming, many of them will have been thought about at least once in the past. Here goes…

• Diving, snorkeling and general maritime exploration.
• Martial arts schools.
• Smoking weed in a circle with people who’s trousers are made of hemp, and one guy is paying guitar, but not very well. Oh god that sounds fucked.
• Climbing mountains, rocks, waterfalls and general random stuff like that.
• Sitting on the beach with my toes in the water, arse in the sand and not a worry with a cold beer in my hand.
• Working in random places such as; bar, farm, hotel (I’d like to be a bell boy for a few weeks), somewhere with animals.
• Swimming, water sports and surfing, weeks and weeks of surfing to to get ridiculously toned.
• Charity work? Sounds cliche but surely I have something to offer people in terms of help.
• Making websites, yep you got it… I wouldn’t mind it here and there, maybe even for places or people I’m staying with?
• Socialising in general, with people from all walks of life.

Alternatively, refer to my bucket list – I know I’ll be doing that all the way through. I think summed up, it’s easy to see what I’m after and it all revolves around one thing… learning.

Whether I’m diving in the Great Barrier Reef, working in a tiki bar on the beach or simply listening to a new friends story – I will always be learning. And with learning comes maturity, growth and all round improvement. Until now I feel two significant areas of my life have taught me the most. Those areas are work and travel by some distance.

My jobs have constantly and consistently tested my abilities; solving problems, keeping up with trends and working in and with a team.

Similarly, every time I travel to a new place I get the same; learning about how a volcano works, how the people of Thailand are educated or that I love a cocktail at sunset with my new buddy who’s story I’m eager to hear.

It got to the point a while back when I felt my current job had nothing more to offer me. It had taught me lots, paid me well, shown me the world, everything I could ask for… but you can read about that in part one. I have felt for a while it’s time to move on a get going with the next stage of learning in my life. Travel is not something I feel has nothing left to offer – in fact the best thing about travel is that you can go to a new place every time. And that means that every time you will be in for a new experience, with a new lesson and new meanings.

How long am I going for?

So, a lot of people have been asking me when I’m coming back, or what I’ll do about a job when I get back. I’ll give my short and easy response to both of these in the form of questions fired back at them…

Who says I’m coming back? I want to see the world, this doesn’t mean I want to be doing stuff and getting hammered with random party-goers on a daily basis. This means I want to test the waters and see where life takes me. I could end up living in Columbia, I could hate it all, miss my friends and family and come back to London in six months, or end up finding the love of my life in Fiji and become a fisherman, haha. As it currently stands, I’m not coming back.

And, what if you get fired? What will you do about a job? Mate, are you crazy. Why does everyone care about jobs so much, jesus christ live a fucking little. Whether you quit or get fired, you have to find a new one. Who really cares? If you want something, you’ll figure it out, and a job certainly wouldn’t stand in your way.

I have made friends all of the world because I am genuinely interested in what they have to say. I just hope that my ability to make friends and enjoy those from all cultures, circumstances and walks of life continues as I begin an unplanned, no holds barred, journey into the unknown.

Hook me up, life.

*P.S quick shout out to Carina, who I met on the flight to Bali, while writing this, who did exactly what I’m doing. Three years later she lives with her boyfriend on the coast of Australia, never worrying about bills, a good job or anything – just happy and content with the weather and the beach, chilled.