Last updated 3 February 2025
Table of Contents
Childhood travel memories
My parents used to ‘drag’ my two brothers and I around various parts of Australia in the car. Road trips were a big part of my childhood. In those days (mid 1970’s) there wasn’t any air conditioning in the cars. I recall after being on the road for too many hours, boredom set in (pre ipads or video devices) my brothers and I would invent games, like turning around in the seats and facing backwards (a different perspective I guess.) This was in the days before police would pull the driver over and fining him (or her) for their passengers not wearing seatbelts.
My first overseas trip
I was in my last year of high school (Grade 12) when I joined a small group of students to Tasmania on an excursion. We flew to Melbourne and boarded the Spirit of Tasmania (transport ship) for the crossing from Melbourne across Bass Strait. We were meant to sit up in chairs for the overnight crossing, but from memory the majority of our group were in the toilet, throwing up, not coping with the rough sea crossing. Thankfully my stomach was ok with the pitching ship.
Technically that was my first “overseas” trip, but of course Tasmania is still part of Aus, so no passport was required.
Overseas exchange student
A few years into my studies at the University of Queensland, I met an American guy, Dave who was studying at UQ as an exchange student from the University of Massachusetts. He was loving life as an exchange student in Brisbane. He suggested I look into the exchange program. That sparked me thinking about what a great experience this could be. I could study overseas. I applied.
In January 1986, brand new passport in my handbag, I was winging my way to Boston – a naive 20 year old who had never left Australia. As an exchange student I was about to study for one semester at the University of Amherst in Massachusetts.
In those days Australian university students did not pay to attend Uni. Education was FREE. So good, right?! But it wasn’t free in the USA. The ‘exchange’ was done in such a way where the U/Mass student paid their tuition and came out to study at UQ. I went over in their place – a ‘reciprocal’ exchange – without having to pay to study (winner winner chicken dinner!)
Boston in January was the complete opposite to hot and humid Brisbane. It was the middle of their winter and it was FREEZING cold. The capital city was covered in banners and decorations – because the New England Patriots (football team) were in the Super Bowl Final. (The final was on January 26th, unfortunately for Boston the Patriots went down to the Chicago Bears.)
During my six months in America, whenever there was an opportunity I travelled. Over Easter I flew to Nashville to meet up with a friend, Robyn Ann. Her family were good friends with Johnny Cash We visited their house and sat down for lunch with Johnny and June Carter Cash. I’ll write about that one day. It’s a little embarrassing to admit now, but at the time I had no idea who Johnny Cash was!
Some weekends I’d travel to NYC with my new uni friends. At U/Mass there were sorority parties on campus, lacrosse games, music festivals, and nights out in Boston. One highlight was when the Aussie band INXS announced they would play on Campus. The small contingent of Aussies who attended the sold out event serendipitously met Michael Hutchence in the foyer, before he got up on stage. That was a mind blowing moment for this INXS fan!
Going to new places, meeting people, ignited my love for travel. And even though we all spoke the same language (kind of) in America, it was a cultural eye opener.
The travel bug had bitten.
Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life. Michael Palin.
Green graduate and working as a bank johnny
I graduated from Uni in 1986 with an Economics Degree. I worked in the ANZ Bank for a few years, in their graduate program processing residential and small business loans. It was in the days where loan interest rates were around 18%. Hard to imagine how anyone could afford mortgage repayments back then! I wore a corporate uniform, attended property settlements and handed over cheques for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
For 12 months I worked at the Sunshine Coast in the ANZ Caloundra branch. I could see the ocean when I stepped outside the bank’s front doors. Living on the Sunny Coast made a nice change from city life. A few years later I swapped the salt air for the city, moving back to Brisbane and working in the CBD.
Expo 88 was the catalyst
While working full time at the Bank, I also worked as a casual attendant at Brisbane’s Expo 88. Roving the Expo site, I spoke to many tourists from overseas. They’d approach me with questions. I directed them to places around the Expo site. Sleepy Brisbane felt alive for the six months of Expo. But when it was over it didn’t!
Christmas 1988 rolled around. Brisbane felt small and boring. I desperately wanted to go overseas. Discover what was out there beyond Australia’s shores.
Life as a backpacker
Hello 1989. I’d saved up and bought a plane ticket to London, and a backpack from a camping store. I quit my job at the Bank. I could not wait for my feet to be pounding the streets of London. To visit IRL all those places I recognised from the Monopoly board.
As it was three years since I’d left America I went back to say hi to some friends from my days at Amherst and return to the campus where my fun times had all begun.
My partner in crime, Catherine, flew into America a few weeks after me. We met in NYC, hired a car and travelled north to Canada. A fun road trip – two 23 year olds let loose!
London called. We explored London town for a few weeks before declaring it was time to begin our backpacking adventure. Denmark was our first European country. We stayed with a friend of Catherine’s. The family were so welcoming. They lived in a small town in the countryside in Faxe. Only Niels (Danish friend) spoke English! We felt so comfortable, too comfortable. We didn’t want to leave. But eventually we had to say farewell and we made our way to Bergen, Norway.
For the next six months we backpacked around Europe via train using a Eurail pass. We travelled through Italy, France, Spain, Luxembourg, Germany and into East Berlin, when the wall was up. I’m going to date historically date ourselves: the Berlin Wall came down the same year (November 9,1989.) When we made our way south to Athens we booked a ferry ticket that allowed us access to Naxos, Paros and Santorini Islands.
We occasionally stayed at friend’s places or friends of friends. We stayed at youth hostels, usually in dormitories, rented rooms from strangers who would gather at train stations or at the ports where the ships docked. Some nights we slept on the train clutching our money and passport close to our bodies (We’d heard stories about people who would come into your carriage while you were sleeping and steal your valuables from your backpacks.)
In Greece, on a few nights we slept under the stars on the flat roofs of buildings. We’d arrive at a port to the jostling of locals vying for your custom. We would follow these unknown characters from the port, them leading us to their homes or guesthouses. Catherine and I cringe at the memory of one night in Athens, where to save money we decided to sleep outdoors in an open courtyard on the hard cement. We woke to what we thought was light rain, until we realised it was a drunken traveller who climbed up onto the ledge above us and decided to take a piss in the middle of the night, not caring there were people sleeping right below. The joys! (Not.)
It was challenging stretching our limited savings out for six months. We skimped where we could, but no matter what, we always stayed together.
Our backpacks held all our worldly possessions. Even ridiculous items (me) like a pottery coffee pot and two coffee mugs I’d bought from East Berlin. (Before the wall came down between East and West Berlin – if you visited East Berlin for the day, you had to spend 20 East German Marks and there was nothing to buy! And I don’t drink coffee :-))
Despite some interesting moments, we managed just fine and created treasured memories. We still laugh about some of them. And even though luxury was not in our budget, at 23 we didn’t really care!
AZAMARA Cruising
Fast forward three decades to 2023. I was invited on a 17 day cruise through Asia with AZAMARA on their Quest cruise ship. (Our cruise started in Tokyo and ended in Singapore). This was my first ever cruise (finally at age 58!) And it was a press trip. (Yes, there are times I pinch myself as a travel writer, the opportunities that occasionally come our way.)
And the best part with this Azamara cruise, I could invite a plus one. So Catherine, my backpacking buddy, and London flatmate joined me for the 17 days.
And wow, were we spoiled. A personal driver met us at Tokyo airport driving us to our hotel – no need to work out the train schedule or which ticket to buy. The following morning we went through the organised boarding process and checked into our Stateroom, drooling over the comfortable luxury. We unpacked our belongings into a nice sized wardrobe.
There was no worrying over finding a place to sleep. No rolling up the sleeping bag, we didn’t even have to make the bed. Fresh towels were provided daily.
There was no need to search the town to find a bar for a drink, we had everything on board our hotel on the water.
Compared to backpacking this was luxury. I was living the dream, travelling as a “cruiser.”
And when it came to meals, there was no complicated language barrier. The hardest decision was which restaurant we should go to for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Catherine and I had quality time together. We reminisced on our backpacking days and the contrast in travelling style, three decades later. At 58 – we felt like royalty lapping up the luxury and personal service on board Azamara Quest.
We stopped in many ports. Taipei was a surprise. I wished we had more time. In Hong Kong we caught up with an old friend we met in our 20s on the dance floor at Great Keppel Island’s resort. It was lovely to be together again post Covid. Our one night stop over meant we could choose what we wanted to do.
The following night our ship departed Hong Kong harbour during the Symphony of Light show. The experience was made even more special as Iain Jessiman, one of the onboard guests from Scotland, played a few tunes on his bagpipes (he packed them not knowing if he’d bring them out.) It became a regular event at each port’s departure with many of the guests gathering on the deck to hear him play.
Many special memories were made on that cruise. Just like the backpacking days, but in a style we much prefer with the stage of life we are at. Luxury over economy. Not having to carry our life in backpacks. Plenty of time to relax and enjoy the ship’s amenities.
However you do it, in whatever style you prefer, on whatever mode of transport, there is one undeniable fact:
TRAVEL ENRICHES THE SOUL.
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