Author: laurenz24

I am a world traveler and looking to tell my story. I am also able to book travel as well.

About me..

         I’ve been traveling “solo-ish” for about 5 years.  I say “solo-ish” because most of my adventures while solo do include a group tour.    I need to make that clear from the start.  I do spend time on my own in countries discovering  the treasures of it by myself or with a friend. 

I started traveling because I had reached the age where all my friends started getting married and having children.  I felt left out, big time.  I’d be lying if I said otherwise.  So, I bought a house about an hour south of where I grew up, and figured that the life of settling down would just happen.  It turns out it doesn’t.  You actually have to make friends when you move.  I moved to a very small town, I think the population was just over 1,000 people.    I decided to have my friends over for Friendsgiving and my best friend Kari dropped a bomb on me.  She was moving to China with her boyfriend to teach English for two years.   I had to admit I was a little stunned when I heard she was moving to the opposite side of the world.    As the year progressed and babies were born,   I got tired of working 7 days a week, and my new life was not what it was cracked up to be.  I was not meeting people I may be interested in for dating, marriage or even coffee.  I baked a lot of cupcakes.  I mean a lot!  I decided one night on my hour long commute into work, I was going to China.  I emailed Kari, and said “I’m coming to visit!”  That was it.  Some questions asked.  I told my parents, they were a little nervous.  The next thing to settle was when and the time off from work.

About work, I work in healthcare. I discussed my vacation with a good coworker and decided that if I was going to fly 13 ½ hours to Shanghai, I needed to stay longer for a week.  So I decided on the month based off of when our non-prime season for vacations is.  October it was meant to be.  I went to my local AAA and spoke to a wonderful agent named Katie (who, I have booked every trip but Australia with) and decided on a tour through the travel group Collette Vacations.  I figured out my dates and submitted my days off to my boss.  After some discussion I was able to secure my days off.  I worked all summer singles, doubles, sometimes up to 26 shifts in a row before I had a day off.  I wanted to be prepared.  I booked my flight, booked my hotel using Agoda and emailed frequently back and forth with my best friend.    Kari and I worked out the details.  I would leave the states on September 30th and arrive October 1st in China.  I was meant to stay 21 days in the country.  I was ready to go, bags packed, passport acquired and visa ready to go. 

What started out as an escape from doing nothing but working and having competition with a co-worker to see who could work more shifts in a row became a wonderful adventure.  I have seen things, experienced food and cultures I never thought, I would.  It has been an amazing experience.  I fell in love with travel and the world.    

Now that you know my story and why I decided to travel, I have a few tips. 

  1.  Make sure your passport is up to date.
  2. Spell your name correctly when you book your airfare.  This happened to me when I booked for china.  I ended up in tears at the ticket counter at the airport. 
  3. Always be aware of your surroundings when you travel.  I cannot stress this enough and would not want anyone to be hurt while traveling.
  4. Always get insurance when you travel
  5. Do your research.  You don’t want to be staying in a hotel in the bad part of the city.  I one time booked a hostel and then read the reviews on TripAdvisor and very quickly cancelled my hostel.   Also, the Eli Roth movie scared me senseless.
  6. Please be knowledgeable about where you are going !
  7. Don’t go with anyone.