South China Sea

Sanur, Bali

Lying in bed, tossing and turning to the images my restless mind creates. It turns thoughts and ideas into dreams, which are so vivid in colour and crisp in sound that it is hard to distinguish them from reality, when I finally wake. Travel jitters. I cannot recall a single adventure that did not include experiencing the beautiful anxiety of the unknown.

I would probably go as far to say I revel in it and it is this that makes my heart race and makes me feel alive, my adrenaline kick, my addiction.

And then there is a different sensation, unlike the common travel excitement. The one that you can experience only once, as you step into the unknown for the very first time. A new place you have been destined to travel to is an overwhelming experience on all your senses. Allowing yourself to be completely absorbed by the moment and visualising every second broken down into hundreds of sequences, enables you to fully appreciate everything around you and embrace the overwhelming beauty in its entirety. Stepping foot onto a new continent, an island or simply off a plane and onto the tarmac, the connection between you and the ground beneath you, the air crisp and clear with a hint of timber in Finland; or humid and hot, all encompassing and to a point smothering when you arrive in Singapore. The subtle noise of moving ice formations in winter on the lakes in Sweden and the similarly pleasing sound of waves carried by the wind off the Bali shores. Watching the sunrise over the ancient temples in Vietnam, where each sun ray burns away the dew on the jungle forage and birds join the traditional morning song as they awaken to a new day. Montmartre in all its creative beauty where all the world’s languages, pastels and paints bounce off the walls of the grande facades, overlooking the French capital. Dipping your toes in the seas of the world, feeling the warm sand beneath your feet and knowing that your next day will be as exciting as the first. All this is worth embracing the unknown. Travel jitters – a must have for any adventure.

My Son, Vietnam

Singapore

Suomenlinna, Finland