THINGS I MISS FROM HOME
- Abbie Smith
- Dec 17, 2017
- 4 min read
We’re now 10 weeks into our travels with less than 5 weeks to go - time has literally flown! Our remaining places to visit are South of Bali & The Philippines before our flight from Kuala Lumpur on the 19th January, sad times. Even though I am absolutely loving travelling and in no way being ungrateful that I’m able to travel the world there are a few home comforts I miss (bar friends and family - you know I miss you guys). Oats At home I pretty much have oats every single day. Overnight oats, hot oats, in a smoothie etc I LOVE THEM. I’ve had eggs for breakfast here as they are cheap and filling and the free breakfast option most the time. I can’t wait for a big ol bowl of hot fluffy oats when I get home.
They do offer oats on some menus but I’m fussy and know they won’t make them how I want and/or cover them in sugar.
Coffee I have had some good coffee here, but always at a price. The coffee usually has condensed milk or is heavily sweetened. I thought my luck was in when I saw a Costa coffee at Hoi An airport, they even had sugar free syrup HOWEVER they were $6 a coffee. Not a price we can afford to pay being away for so long so I had to hold out. I haven’t had anything close to my usuals of an Almond milk latte with cinnamon or a Almond milk sugar free vanilla frappe. Starbucks I’m coming for you ASAP.
*I have now had some pretty good coffee in Bali
Bottomless brunch Could I sound more #basicwhitegirl if I tried? Smashed avocado, salmon and poached egg on toast with a glass of prosecco? Yes pls. Alcohol is abit out of our budget here unless you like beer, kind of glad otherwise I’d be shitfaced 24/7 but I cannot wait for a glass of bubbles amongst friends when I get back!
Cooking The only meals I've cooked in the past 3 months are eggs and oats - does that even count? I used to cook every single day and as much as some days I got sick of it I'm so looking forward to getting back in a kitchen - especially to make some of the Asian dishes I've tried here.
Autumn/winter Even though I know I’d be moody AF and living like a sloth during the hours of darkness I love Autumn/Winter. Turtle neck, cosy jumpers, boots, big scarves etc it’s great.
Enjoying a glass of red by an open fire is something I just love about winter (the wine here tastes like vinegar and is SO expensive). I mean I don't actually own a coat so returning end of January with £0 to buy one will be cool.
Making myself look pretty With the lack of plugs and lack of mirrors this is difficult. I'm trying to embrace the natural look; I'm not talking eyelash extensions and extensions but I just really want my eyebrows done, a hair mask & to dry my hair properly. I feel like a boy some days - it's tragic.
Clean feet I feel like my feet have been dirty for 10 weeks straight. I had a manicure and pedicure before I came but mosquito spray is so potent it took off all my nail varnish. You know how your toe nail polish can usually survive a nuclear war? bug spray is stronggggg. As I’ve been unable to do a lot due to my recent injury I may splash out on a Mani & pedi as a Christmas present to myself 🤷🏼♀️
I’ve actually lost this ring while travelling too 😭
Sugar free drinks Yes yes aspartame is bad for you. But I’m craving sugar free monster - sue me? Diet Coke is the only sugar free drink option here - and in Indonesia it's actually quite hard to find. Unlike Superdrug below my office that had sugar free Fanta, sprite, Dr Pepper, everything! Flushing toilet paper I mean there is also sitting on a dry toilet seat, paper towels to dry your hands with and Andrex toilet paper. Hot showers There's two temperatures in most guest houses here; nipples falling off or third degree burns. Safe to say washing my hair is a very uncomfortable experience. We have a expensive hotel booked for the night before we fly home thanks to hotels.com reward nights. Can’t wait to have an hour long warm shower 🙋🏼♀️ Christmas I am a Christmas freak. I am the girl bobbing her head along to Michael Bubles Christmas album November 1st on the tube. I love the build up and how much everyone spends so much time together. I’m going to have so much FOMO when I call my sister on Christmas day as she enjoys dinner at my mums!
This is my advent calendar set up last year 👸🏼This year we will be spending it in Bali so I can't moan too much.
A real towel As much as a travel towel is handy in the limited space in my bag, drying yourself with what feels like a shammy you dry your car with is vile. It's fake news, they don't actually dry you. I might even invest in some good ones from TK Maxx once we’re all settled back in London #luxury. The gym We have tried to find gyms where we can here and have done a few beach workouts/hikes and long walks but there's nothing like a good gym session at home with aircon and my iTunes playlists (my iTunes account doesn't work in Asia 🙃). Excited to get back into the gym and make some new goals!
A routine In addition to the above: a routine. Just a morning routine, anything. As we've moved around every few days everyday which is great but recently we've been staying places for 4/5 days which is making me crave a routine.
I love travelling but I do function better with a routine and actually kind of excited to get back to London and back to real life. Does this make me a loser? For now I'm just embracing being a backpacker and having the freedom to do what we want, do different daily activities and enjoy some downtime so I can blog and get some headpsace 🧘🏼♀️ (and tan up).
AbbieJS xxx
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