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.”

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.

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.

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.

©Janaline Smalman  – All rights reserved,

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