Meet Janaline

Hallo Moscow!!!
Hallo Moscow!!!

I’m a woman who’s completely addicted to travelling and seeing the world. You could say I was born with the travel bug—it’s the kind of itch that never quite goes away. The thrill of adventure is something I think about constantly, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I love exploring new places and have so much fun sharing my travel stories and photos so you can see why this life calls to me. I’ve been travelling and working my way around the world for more than a decade now and have had some truly unforgettable experiences along the way.

When you live in a country, you get to experience it from a totally different perspective than the average tourist. It’s the people, the rhythm of daily life, and all the little unpredictable, often crazy moments that make it so interesting.

One of the biggest misconceptions about travel is that you need a pile of money to take big trips. That’s simply not true. You don’t have to be wealthy or earn a high salary—you just have to choose travel over “stuff.”

I got to have a Cormorant on my arm!!!
I got to have a Cormorant on my arm!!!

My first job abroad was in the Bahamas and Caribbean on a cruise ship. I swam with stingrays at Stingray City and rode a moped down the Mexican coast of Cozumel. I fell for New York and Charleston—would go back in a heartbeat. Then came a move to England, where I lived all over the place. Bath was my favourite, though I eventually settled in Cambridge.

I backpacked through Spain and Portugal, with a sunny pit stop in Majorca. I fell in love with Barcelona—the art, the people, and definitely the seafood paella. Granada took my breath away, and I had a little too much port in Porto.

I had a snowball fight next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris and stuffed myself with chocolate crêpes. Took a break in Egypt and watched the sunrise over the Valley of the Kings and Queens from a hot air balloon. I zipped through Vietnamese traffic on my bright yellow Honda Cub and soaked up the sun for a while. In Cambodia, I got lost exploring Angkor Wat while sipping iced café sữa đá.

On my way to Japan, I stopped in South Korea to taste kimchi. I wandered the quiet streets of Kyoto hoping to catch a glimpse of geisha and attended a solemn memorial in Hiroshima. I lived in the desert of the UAE for a while—yes, I rode a camel—and filled up on baklava in Turkey before walking the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem at Christmas.

Me in front of the East Glorius Gates we just walked through to enter the Forbidden City.
Me in front of the East Glorius Gates we just walked through to enter the Forbidden City.

I spent two years living in Russia, where I developed a respect for good vodka, wandered St. Petersburg during the magical “White Nights,” and learned to walk confidently on snow and ice. I walked the Great Wall of China after cruising down the Yangtze River during my China odyssey.

Then South America called. I lived and worked for a while in the street-art-filled Santiago, Chile, and stood knee-deep in snow in the Andes Mountains.

Chinese Calligraphy artist at work
My name written in beautiful caligraphy art

I eventually moved back and worked as a travel agent in Cape Town before returning to teaching English. That path took me to Shanghai, China, where I lived for three years, and then on to Vancouver, Canada, where I became a certified Art Therapist.

Now, I run my own online practice, Healing Art Journey, offering therapeutic art sessions and creative resources for healing, self-expression, and growth. It’s a new kind of journey—one that goes inward—and I’m excited to share more of it here alongside the places I’ve seen.

My challenge to you:

Pick one place you’ve been dreaming about. Choose a date within the next nine months—and buy the plane ticket. Right now. Once it’s booked, you’re committed. The rest will fall into place.

Get excited. Make the promise to yourself: Do this every year.

Your future self will thank you.

Winter Cycling through the streets of Shanghai
Winter Cycling through the streets of Shanghai on a shared bike

©Janaline Smalman  – All rights reserved,

All material contained within this blog, whether photographic or written is subject to copyright. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without prior approval and permission granted by the author, is strictly prohibited.  Excerpts and links to photography may be used, provided that © Janaline Smalman is credited, such that it directly refers to and reflects the original source and material content.

612 comments

  1. Hi Janaline,

    Thanks for sharing your experiences as you live and travel through the world. Saw you wanted to throw a coin in the Trevi fountain. 🙂 Hope you get to do that. Having been there a couple of times and never having thrown a coin in, you can be rest assured that is a myth busted! 🙂
    Wishing you safe travels!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. Wish I could emulate you…a regular job and too less leaves spoil everything for me 😦
    Not to forget the monetary worry!
    Wish you all the luck with your trips. I shall travel the world through doers like you 🙂
    Cheers to travel!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. Good to know about you and your blog, keep travelling and exploring – thats the best one can experience. Thanks for following my blog and stay connected, loved your blog and your posts.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  14. Awesome site Janaline. You hit the nail on the head about choices… stuff over travel. We like the travel much more. We are glad to have discovered each other and the interest in travel should be an exciting way to share our worlds.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  15. Hi there

    Thanks for the follow! How have you been and how’s your blog doing?
    I created a blogger tips group to connect with all my long last WordPress blogger friends, and to help all of us to learn from each other. I would love for you to share your knowledge in the group and connect with other bloggers. Here’s the link:
    Blogger Tips Group

    Finally, here’s a blog I thought you may find interesting:
    The Ripple Effect of Blogging

    Best regards,
    Greta
    Founder of Healthy Living
    http://www.healthyliving894.com

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  20. Hello and thank you so much for stopping by and liking my post! I’m Alex and I’m kinda new to this kind of blogging. I’m just about to start my adventure after dreaming about it for years!! It’s about time now and I’m really glad you found me so I could find you and your very inspiring blog 🙂 What an adventure! Looking forward to read more about it.

    All the best from Sweden! Alex

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  23. Hello, Jana. 🙂 I’m glad you found my blog..

    I’m going through some of your travel posts, and they’re super!!!! I hope you’d consider visiting Philippines one day, too. 🙂

    Keep in touch!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  26. I’m so amazed with your adventures…commitment indeed! I like your style of travelling. I also did solo backpacking and it was so much fun. Keep sharing your stories. Thank you for liking my recent post, by the way! Cheers to life and happy travels! 😉

    Liked by 1 person

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  27. I couldn’t agree with you more! Life is about making decisions and then following through on them. We made the decision many years ago that we would rather invest in memories by travelling and doing new things, rather than collecting *stuff*. I’ve never regretted it and it sounds like you haven’t either 🙂
    Happy travels!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  30. It would be so enjoyable to travel through your blog 🙂 Thank you for sharing with us and also Thank you for visiting my blog. You are amazing. I loved your style, photography and your energy and smiling face… Blessing and Happiness, Love, nia

    Liked by 1 person

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  35. Thanks so much for following Oh, the Places We See. It’s been a pleasure to follow you through many travels, but I especially like seeing pictures of South Africa. We may never get back, so you’re just extending the journey for us. Best wishes for happy travels always.

    Liked by 1 person

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  36. such an honor to be followed by a master traveler like you Ms. Janine. Hoping that our mutual love for traveling will lead us to greater heights. 😍

    Liked by 1 person

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  37. I found your blog interesting. Just one thing that bothers me; for a seasoned world traveler, I was disappointed that you still did what many did. I found you listed Bali and Indonesia separately. Bali is one little island in Indonesia. I was born from a Balinese mother, and it irked me to no end when I read that Bali was separated from Indonesia in many travelers’ blogs.

    Liked by 1 person

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  39. Wow you have quite a travel diary !!! Loved the spirit and the fun pics! Hope someday I’d have as many travel tales to share as you ! Till then happy travelling !!

    Liked by 1 person

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  43. Hi Janaline: I was in Cape Town over the Xmas/New Years on vacation. I was standing outside the Craft Market at the V&A shopping center and I saw someone that looked vaguely familiar. Then I figured out that it might be you? It felt too odd to say anything as the odds would be against that and I might have sounded really creepy! Now I’m back in Kathmandu, I checked your website and saw you are South African, which I didn’t even know before. Could that have been you? How weird is that?! Caroline

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Hi there Caroline. Chances are it was me as I was exploring cape Town over Christmas and New Years with my family who came to visit. You should have come over and said hi, would have been lovely to meet a fellow traveler and blogger…next time we cross paths we have to say hi!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

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