Happy Birthday Amester Ames Blog

Today my blog turns 3 years old. I can remember 3 years ago, I was sat in my bed in my university house in Derby, UK, when I created this small piece of the internet. Initially it wasn't called Amester Ames. It was either called 'Life of Ames' or 'Life of Amester'. In truth I cant remember, I just remember not being 100% happy with it. I then came up with Amester Ames and it's stuck since. I like it, it was a good change.

If I'm honest I'm suprised this blog is still running. I have a tendancy to start projects, eventually get bored and never come back to them. Somehow this one has been one I've come back to. I think this may be because I have no upload schedule or set content expectations. I can go weeks or months without uploading but it works for me. After all I created this blog for myself, it's just an added bonus other people have took an interest in it.

This blog has taken me on a journey from a fresh 20 year old graduate up until today, a 23 year old currently 7 months in on living my childhood dream of travelling Australia.

In 3 years I have uploaded 37 blogs. I have had a total of 5633 page views. On average I get 55 views per blog post. My most viewed post is Dreams do come true with 172 views. Whereas my least viewed is Smooth Move with only 9 views. My personal favourite is things I am thankful for, as it is my most creative post. What has been your favourite post?

Other than my family and some friends I don't actually know who reads my blogs. My analytics show that after the United Kingdom my next popular audience locations are Ireland and USA. I also have views from Ukraine, Portugal and Russia to name a few. Considering I only really know people from the United Kingdom with a few exceptions, it is cool to know that my content is viewed (and hopefully enjoyed) by people I dont even know. Where in the world are you situated?!

I wonder what the next 3 years will pan out like?! Will this blog still be a part of my life?! Will I still enjoy using punny titles?! Will it still document my travel journeys or will it take me through an entirely different journey?! Who knows...

Heres to the next 3 years!

I'd love to know what peoples favourite/least favourite post of mine has been?! Also where in the world you are located and how long you have been following this blog. Comment below or tweet me @AmesterAmes

Amester x

Its not all smiles and thumbs up - The reality of long term travel

Just a warning, this post gets a bit deep and might not be the most funnest of reading. Sometimes it is just good to get stuff of my chest.

Here is a thought for you: that perfect travel Instagram you've liked, you take at face value, have you ever thought about the reality hidden by this perfect photo? What i mean by this is that what is portrayed, isn't always a true reflection of the reality. This might be confusing to grasp so let me show you...

My view whilst writing this blog post. Looks instagramable right?!

The view behind the camera of the above picture, not so instagramable and perfect.

This same scenario can be applied to humans. You only share the details you wish to share. In essence it is a nit-picked edited version you are happy to share. I am going to apply this to myself, my own situation.

If I told you that it is 2pm on Friday 12th May, in the middle of Australia's Autumn and I am sat on a beach in my bikini. That sounds perfect right?! Well life isn't always as it seems. These facts are true, however there are many details I have not included. One being my current state of mind while sat on this beach.

I am regularly told by people that it looks like I am having an amazing time. Dont get me wrong, this is true, but I only disclose an edited version of what I've been up to, I voice the good and brush aside the bad. After all I'm on the other side of the world, living my dream, while the majority of people I know are working a full time job. I don't really feel like I can complain.

The thing is despite living my dream, experiencing and creating great memories, it isn't always smiles and thumbs up.

I have been away from home for 7 months and thankfully it is only within the last couple of weeks that my mindset hasn't been completely positive. Up until 6 months I barely let myself think of home. I knew if I did, home sickness would kick in, I'd then find it hard to snap out of this feeling and then I'm faced with a downwards spiral until I return home. I know this because it used to happen to me during my university years when I lived 2 hours away from home. The difference this time, is 24 travel hours and a hefty plane ticket price away. I can't just spontaneously pop home for a night or 2. So a positive mindset was vital to me and thankfully it worked.

So why has my mindset suddenly changed in the last couple of weeks. I put it down to a combination of things:

• Realisation that I have been away for a realively long time - I am closer in time to the end of this travel than back to the start of it. I've started to miss home comforts, but mostly as silly as it sounds I miss hugs (Jen isn't a huggy person) from my parents and dog.
• Fatigue - traveling is tiring. I don't have one set home, my hostel becomes my home and I'm rarely at the same hostel for more than a week. Packing up all my belongings every few days, long travel days getting from A-B, familiarising yourself with a new area, doing the mundane chores of food shopping, laundry, etc as well as exploring a place within limited timescales. It's full on, it takes its toll
• The need for space - in 7 months I haven't had a single night to myself, there has always been at least 1 other person in the room, sometimes as many as 8. I don't have anywhere to call 'mine' to escape to and hibernate when I'm not feeling socialable. Also because I'm traveling with my sister, it got to the point where we were just annoying each other, because we had been around each other to much. 
• Nothing to occupy my mind - as silly as it sounds I feel like I'm losing my intelligence and memory whilst travelling. I don't have a great deal of things that have to be thought about, I'm not being challenged mentally. This creates a lot of thinking time, which isn't always good.
• Hostel life - if I am in a hostel I dont enjoy, it is hard to stay in a positive mindset.

There are steps which have helped to deal with this negative mindset.

Firstly, me and Jen decided to go our separate ways for 10 days. For 206 days (my mum pointed out some marriages have lasted for less time) we were practically together for 24 hours a day. The most we are apart is when one of us goes for a shower, even then it is only 20 minutes apart. We do also try and have a day apart a week but the reality is, it is only about 7 or 8 hours apart. So as you can imagine we were winding each other up, and desperately needed some time apart. I have never solo travelled before, so I was a bit nervous but I knew it was for the best. In truth it has been good for me. I was forced out of my comfort zone. The first 7 days were very enjoyable. I was in a lovely hostel and made some good friends and had a great time and was feeling happy and positive. I then left this hostel and moved to a different hostel in a different town. How a mood can change in a matter of hours! In short I'm not enjoying this hostel, I don't feel welcome or settled and it's made me feel lonely, dramatically impacting my mood. Luckily I'm on day 10 away from my sis, and we are both looking forward to reuniting tomorrow. I'm sure I will then start feeling back to my normal self.

This blog helps to stimulate some of my brain cells every once in a while, however I have to be in the right mood to do it, which isn't all to often. I have also been trying to do puzzle books. I love a good suduko and that definitely challenges my brain.

So what I feel I am getting at here is that on the surface everything in my life may look idyllic, having the opportunity to live out my childhood dream, my Instagram feed looks awesome, exploring and making unforgettable memories but I am only publically portraying the parts of my life I feel like. I am still human and there are underlying mental factors brought with it. The reality is traveling isn't always going to be 100% positive. But what I do know is that I would much rather be in the position I currently am than be waking up each morning going to work, but maybe I'm subconsciously missing stability in my life. I'm not ready to come home yet, but each day I'm another day closer to some much needed hugs.

Amester x

Dolphinately got the surfing bug

Departing Port Macquarie at 2am we boarded the overnight coach to Byron Bay. It really frustrates me, or maybe I'm just envious, that Jen has the ability to fall asleep within minutes of being on transport. Instead I had to endure a restless night of barely any sleep, ultimately feeling like a zombie on arrival.

Byron Bay was probably the place on the East Coast I was most looking forward to visiting. Within the Australian backpacker community it is known as a must see visit on the East Coast. It is known as hippy central and that couldn't be more true. More people than not found here have dreadlocks, tattoos, wear loose baggy clothes, walk bare foot and travel around in campervans. The town itself is relatively small with a very chilled out vibe.

We were gifted with lovely weather while we were here which was handy because there isn't a great deal to do if the weather is naff. The main attraction to the area is the beach. It was sooooo long, you could easily find a spot to chill that was isolated from others. It is also a dog beach, so I got to fuss a few :) I also enjoyed watching the sand crabs running in and out of their holes.

Spot the sand crab

After our surf lesson in Sydney we were eager for another. We booked up a lesson with Black Dog Surfing and definitely enjoyed it much more than the first one. We were made to do stretches at the start. Knowing how much I ached after my Sydney lesson (we didn't stretch) this impressed me a lot. Out of a group of about 12, only me and Jen had actually surfed before, so we got took off for a mini private lesson while the others learnt the basics. We got into the water and first attempt I managed to stand and catch a wave. Considering my entire Sydney lesson I barely stayed on the board lying down I was amazed. It wasn't beginners luck either because I stood up and caught the waves a fair bit. This lesson was made further enjoyable by the instructors. They had a genuine interest in each student and each time you failed to catch a wave they gave feedback on why this was and how to fix it for next time. I came away from this lesson knowing what to do and hooked on surfing.

Good surf waves

The final thing we did while here was a walk to the lighthouse on the eastern most point of mainland Australia. It was here we saw hundreds of dolphins playing in the sea. It was amazing! On return from the long walk we went for frozen yogurt.

Most eastern point on mainland Australia 

Soo many dolphins

and jump

I felt sick after

There was one downside to the area, the annoying tour sales people. Constantly getting stopped along the high street, trying to convince you to book the remainder of your East coast travel excursions with them, or miss out because you are leaving it too late to book. Well needless to say we didn't bide by this sales technique, and didn't book anything up in a panic.

Amester x