Greetings! I’m Val, your friendly explorer from Western Australia. I have a love for traveling, capturing the world with my camera, and collecting travel tales from interesting folks — basically, I’m on a quest to prove that everyone has at least one embarrassing travel tale or a photo that screams, “What was I thinking?!”
Procrastination is a habit that is so difficult to overcome. It took years for me to finally decide to pen the story behind my travel photos, adventures and near misses, etc.
The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.
Walt Disney
I began this blog during a time when my mother was still with us, and her passing has left an immense void in my life. Each part of our journey was woven together, reflecting the bond we shared, making it hard for me to write about our travels now. She was integral to every stage of our adventures, from planning to booking the reservations. I truly honor my mother for so much, particularly her unwavering resilience. She would often spend countless nights at the computer, meticulously planning our trips and securing train and bus reservations, pouring her heart into every detail.
My late mummy was a believer of budget traveling. I enjoy traveling with her as she showed me the benefits of traveling on a budget. Mummy always explain that traveling in luxury only permits a single trip for a lifetime. Traveling on a budget helps to cut unnecessary spending, promote healthy eating and also allows us to consider future travels.
Mummy did not believe in going on cruises, eating in classy restaurants or throwing in all the cash in sleeping in luxury hotels. She believed in a balance as long as the hotel is appropriate, our sleep not compromised and we eat well minus luxury.
My beloved mummy returned to her Heavenly Father on 25 April 2025. During our time of mourning, we faced challenges finding a space online for our friends and family to express their condolences. In response to this need, I felt compelled to honor her by dedicating a section of my site to celebrate her life and share her cherished legacy and beliefs. I am hoping that as time passes by, memories of my most dearest beloved mummy will forever be deep in my heart.
I once had a great idea of buying souvenirs to give as gifts, but then I returned from my travels and realized I had formed a deeper bond with my trinkets than with my own family. My mom cleverly pointed out how much luggage space I saved, though honestly, I think she was just jealous of my refrigerator magnets. Now, I’ve decided that my camera takes the cake (or the postcard, rather) as the ultimate souvenir—because let’s face it, no one argues over a digital photo, and they don’t take up space in the attic!
Sipping coffee with cakes at the sidewalk cafes, dolling up in kimono for photo shoots around the city centers, photoshoots at popular places around Europe is not our cup of tea. Our travel is about stretching our dollars to enable us embark on future adventures. There is nothing wrong in bringing pre-packed food whenever we are out traveling on day trips. There is nothing wrong in bringing potable water in our bottles. All in name of budgeting is definitely worth the while.
As I reminisce my travels and share our experiences, I hope that others would be able to benefit from my recounts.
Thank you for your patience and a huge welcome to my blog.