It’s weird to move to a country you’ve never visited isn’t it? Let alone one on the other side of the world with a unique culture and one of the worlds most difficult languages. The differences just made the move seem all the more exotic and exciting. Like any great love story mine starts with…
Read More
I rolled out of bed onto the slippy, bright blue tiled floor and quickly started getting ready. My back was aching due to multiple springs from the mattress assaulting it through the night and my eyes squinted in the morning sun peeking through the grey, dusty curtains. I was staying in a dirty motel in a…
Read More
When people ask me what my favourite country is, I always say Thailand. Thailand is such a diverse country and you just can’t compare the countryside in the North to the hedonistic partying that happens in the Southern Islands. It has something for everyone which was why I decided to visit it in my summer…
Read More
“Self-consciousness kills communication.” ― Rick Steves- English is the worlds international language. I feel very lucky and humble to be able to speak the main language of the world but I sometimes take it for granted in foreign countries and expect menus and signs to be written in English or in a way I…
Read More
I waited in line at immigration at Haneda airport, my shoulders aching with the weight of my backpack and feeling sweat dripping down my back due the the 5 layers of clothes I was wearing. When it was my turn I shuffled to the desk, sorted out the formalities and was handed a residents…
Read More
Imagine waiting for months to find out where you will be living. To give up your job and home and have no idea where you will live in the next month. That just happened to me and it was the most anxiety inducing time of my whole life! I am very spontaneous but I do…
Read More
On my birthday last year I cried all morning, now people who know me will understand how I hate getting older and how I cry on every birthday. This time it was different though. As well as being upset about being older I was upset about my life. I had a deep burning desire to…
Read More
‘Miss Stephanie, Miss Stephanie. Border time. Get off!’. I woke up from my deep sleep, still tired from the 5am wake up call. Dazed I made my way to the back of the mini bus and heaved my heavy backpack on to my shoulders. The border was swarming with people selling strong smelling food and…
Read More
I get many emails from readers asking advice about where to stay and what to do in destinations that I’ve visited. Just email me at stephanie@pearlsandpassports.com if you have a question and I will answer it. My question today was recieved from Caroline, a grad student who will be working in Singapore for the…
Read More
I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while but for some reason I’ve been putting it off. Maybe because after the initial 24 hours my thoughts and feelings changed so often that really I did not know what I was thinking. Travel really does change you and coming home is a shock to…
Read More