In July 2024, I was let go from my role as an executive coordinator at a large national company in Sydney, Australia.
After working in the legal industry for more than 12 years, I was shocked. I wasn’t sure whether to be sad and angry, or happy and relieved. Here I was, at 30-years-old confused and scared as to what my next steps in life would be.
I spent hours reflecting on where I was at this stage of life, weighing my options, when it suddenly hit me — I currently have no partner, no kids, no mortgage and I’m living with my parents — this is the perfect time to travel.
I opened my laptop and got to work googling ‘longest group tours’ and G Adventures’ website was the first to pop up.
I came across the 65-day Great South American Journey tour, which caught my attention as I never thought I would make it to that side of the world, being all the way from Australia. It was a big leap to start with for sure being a solo traveller, so I kept my eyes on the availability, as I contemplated for a few days.
About one week later, I had a moment where I randomly looked again and saw only one spot left. I knew I could not let this slip away, so I put my deposit down and said to myself that I would figure the rest out later. As wild as I felt, I also felt extreme excitement at the same time.
Truthfully, I was afraid that my parents would be disappointed that I was no longer employed, especially coming from a family with Fijian-Indian roots where culturally, we are expected to follow a linear career path.
But to my surprise, they were super supportive and asked me whether I was going to continue travelling the world, before I even suggested that was in the pipeline.
Around the world in 202 days
With South America already booked for November 2024, I had a moment of spontaneity and thought, “Why wait until then?”
I spotted G Adventures had a 29-day ‘Southeast Asia Encompassed’ tour beginning in August 2024 — and without a second thought — booked it in and flew into Bangkok, two weeks later. You could say this was my unofficial kickoff to my ‘gap year’ with G Adventures.
Over that straight month of travelling, my everyday life had changed drastically, in the best way possible. I traded in my daily commute to the office for a flight to begin my next chapter in life. I swapped my business attire for t-shirts and shorts, my morning coffees for cocktails on the beach and my regular routine for a new adventure each day — it was the freedom I had always yearned for.
Upon returning from Asia, the travel bug hit me hard and I figured that if I was already going to the other side of the world to explore South America, I might as well extend my trip. This led me to add on G Adventures’ 45-day ‘Epic Central America’ tour starting in February 2025 — which yes, meant I decided to book these tours back-to-back. As intense as it sounds, I knew that making the most of my time off was going to be worthwhile.
In those whopping 110 days of travelling on back-to-back tours, I connected with a new version of myself. I made friends from all over the world, tried foods that I never knew existed and plunged into extreme activities I wouldn’t have dared to do a year ago. I embarked on multi-day hikes and camped overnight on a volcano — which is bizarre considering I come from the only continent on Earth without an active volcano on its mainland. All of this completely removed the stigma of having my life narrated for me — and instead — gave me the thrill to keep making memories with these new experiences.
With the life-long friends I made in Central and South America, some of us discussed reuniting for the 40-day ‘Cape Town to Nairobi Overland Safari & Participation Camping’ tour together — which we ended up booking in November 2025.
I know, you’re probably thinking “When is this guy going to stop?” “Doesn’t he get homesick?” “Won’t he run out of money?” “Isn’t he exhausted?” — in short, yes. But I knew that I may never get the chance to have this much time off in my life again.
By the end of 2025, I realized I had one more world wonder to conquer, and I knew G Adventures could take me there.
My final stretch was booking the 23-day ‘Middle East Dream Escape’ tour in January 2026, which gave me the privilege to check visiting Petra off my list, before I finally returned home to Australia.
A life-changing year of travel
I thought all of this time off would make me want to change out of a ‘traditional’ career and end up working as a skydiving or scuba diving instructor. Instead, it has truly changed my entire perspective on life.
I think I would happily go back into the corporate world, with the only difference being that now, as a ‘full-time traveller’, I’d ensure that whatever next role I take can balance and support my new sense of adventure.
We are always going to feel the pressures of life, whether it’s graduating university, finding a secure and well-paying job, buying a house or getting married and having kids.
My friends and family are all at different stages of life compared to me and that is okay because at the end of the day, we are all individuals who have different priorities — with mine being travelling and exploring the world.
After all these trips, I have become a much more confident, open-minded and independent person. I have learned that it is okay to say no to things, which is a huge step for me as I always considered myself a yes-man.
Travel has helped me understand that I don’t always have to be a people pleaser and can actually appreciate having time to myself, as well as opening up to new people. I am so proud of believing in myself as it has helped me make the right decisions to grow and evolve to this new version of me that I really love.
I may have missed some important events and special occasions during the time I was away but I have made the most incredible memories to last a lifetime and have no regrets about that.
You can always make your money back but you will never get time back – If you are contemplating travelling in your 18-30s, book that trip and it will make you feel richer in life.
