As the gateway to Europe, Malmö ‘s youthful, cosmopolitan vibe is distinctive from other Swedish cities. During the summer, tourists flood the city beach, and residents stroll through leafy parks or run along the beachfront promenade. Everybody cycles, the network …
Kayaking on the Danube in Bratislava
Peeping through the trees ahead of me, the iconic shape of the castle reminds me that although I am kayaking in the countryside, I’m actually still in the city. That’s the beauty of Bratislava, one of the world’s smallest capitals; …
Clothes May Be Optional, but Masks Are Not!
Approaching a large metal gate crossing our path, my friend whispered ‘Do you think we can walk here?’
‘Well, it’s open, and there’s no sign saying we can’t’, I replied, trying to sound more confident than I felt. …
Lockdown! A Teacher’s Thoughts on the Corona Pandemic
It’s been 26 days since my world shut down. It’s been far longer for others.
It began slowly. Back, in January, news of an unknown virus in China reached us here in Europe. I barely took any notice – SARS, …
The Hidden Dangers of Quarantine
Stay indoors. Stay safe, they said. They’re right, of course: if you stay indoors you won’t catch Coronavirus, and – more importantly – you can’t spread it. But what I didn’t know is that being trapped indoors by myself …
Love in the Time of Coronavirus
With coronavirus currently decimating the travel industry, it’s a good time to write about my life as an international teacher instead. I don’t write frequently, because I can’t travel full-time like I’d hoped I would when I first started Runawaybrit. …
Why I Love Working in Europe (And Never Want to Leave)
Recently, I’ve been reflecting on why I love living in Europe out of all the places I could go. And, yes: publishing this post as Britain perches precariously on the brink of Brexit is ironic. Having worked in Vietnam, India, …
A Year in the Life of an International Teacher
I often get people asking me about life as an international teacher, so to honour 10 years of living overseas I have put this post together to show you what a year in my life is like. As I’m a …
The One Where I Moved to Bratislava
Just like that, two years passed and I was standing with all my bags at Mumbai airport ready to leave India for another new life somewhere else. You can see my last day in India by clicking the link below:…
Kare Ayurveda Retreat: Eat, Stretch, Love
Life in Mumbai can get pretty chaotic: it’s a big city, filled with—literally—millions of people. Like Raj says in ‘Big Bang Theory’: ‘it’s hot, and it’s loud, and there are so many people! You have no idea—they’re everywhere’.
Living …
8 Things that Might Surprise You About Living in Mumbai
All these points are specific to how I feel about Mumbai, where I live and work. I am not an authority on what living in another Indian city is like. Of course, I am also well aware that my …
Pigeon Purge
Before I moved to Mumbai I read many blogs about living in India, and became an avid reader of Rachel, the Hippie-in-Heels. She writes a regular feature called ‘This Is India’ in which she shares amusing anecdotes about what …
Making Myself At Home In Mumbai
It has been a while since I last wrote anything on this blog – over a month in fact – and I can’t quite believe how quickly my first month in India has passed.
When we arrived at Chhatrapati Shivaji …
So Long, Sweden! I’m Going To Miss You.
Four years ago I moved to Sweden; a country often associated with long, cold, snowy winters. But, little did I know that after the harsh winter Swedes are rewarded with beautiful summers where the sun shines all day long. In …
25 Signs You’re a Long-Term Expat
I have been an expat for almost a decade. After a year in Tokyo waaaaaay back in 2002, I left the UK permanently on July 27th, 2007, when I moved to Vietnam. Since then I have also lived in Tenerife, …
Too Afraid To Seize The Day
This is a post that has been languishing in my drafts folder for four months. I have simply been too afraid to post it, because if I post it I have to commit to the message. I have to Seize …
Discovering Lovely Looe, Cornwall
In British English the word loo is a colloquial term for the toilet, so when my sister and her husband announced that they were moving to Looe—pronounced in the same way—they received a few sniggers and giggles.
My initial impression …
Reasons You Should Travel, And the Obstacles That Hold You Back
If you look at some of my favourite books, you will notice a theme: journeys and adventures. As a child I loved Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books, later it was Lord of the Rings and Heart of Darkness. My favourite …
Why I Want to go Back to Japan
I lived in Tokyo for a year between August 2002 and August 2003 and I can’t believe that it was ten years ago. I had barely used email before I left for Japan, and I had never heard of blogging—but …
What Happens When Plans Don’t Work Out?
You may remember a post not all that long ago when I revealed that after our travels around South America we would be relocating to Tenerife, with the aim of trying out a new life in the sun. Although …