I’m Jenny, and I love to travel. I’m not even sure how it happened. I just kind of fell into it, took a trip and just kept going not really knowing at the time that this was going to become my lifestyle but now I’m completely unable to stop!

Hsinbyume Pagoda, Burma

My parents were travelers (still are!). Not in a big way at the time, as they had many children to look after so they kept our travel to family camping trips and vacations to Disneyland and Mexican resorts. But in the past, long before us little ones came along, they had spent a year traveling the world. I grew up hearing about their adventures in India, Nepal, and Pakistan, about working in Australia and freezing in New Zealand, about having guns pointed at them by Czechoslovakian border guards.

Periodically they’d give a slideshow (yes, slides!) and I would see images of much younger versions of my parents in places that seemed so exotic; Mom looking terrified holding a snake or Dad with his big bushy travel beard. An Australian friend who’d been on much of the same trip with them came to visit several times, and regaled us with tales of Australian ranching and South Pacific islands.

Jeonju Market

I read Nevil Shute’s ‘A Town Like Alice’, which my parents had read on their trip and takes place partly in Australia, and then all the travel books I could get. I watched Lonely Planet on TV, thinking how lucky the hosts were to have a job that let them travel all over. I went to a travel trade show and filled my bag with brochures, which I spent hours poring over. As time went by my need to see the world became stronger and stronger.

Stonehenge

Finally the desire to explore overtook everything else. After working at a resort in the Canadian Rockies for a long season, I had saved enough money and put myself on a plane to New Zealand for three months, then spent a year in Australia on a Working Holiday Visa. I had an amazing time. I tried abseiling and scuba diving and sand boarding, and went on hiking, cycling, kayaking, sailing and snorkeling trips. I saw penguins, kiwis, koalas, kangaroos, spiders and snakes. I worked in a hostel, a restaurant, a hotel and a coffee shop. I learned a lot about the countries I was in, as well as about myself and other people. I was hooked.

I wound up back at home, in debt, without a job or a car and living with my mom, longing for the adventurous life I’d left behind. I remember during a job interview the woman looked at me and said ‘But you’re just going to leave again’ and I had trouble convincing her that it wasn’t so, when I knew deep inside that she was probably right.

At the end of 2004, after working in a crappy job for a year and a half, I did leave again. I boarded a plane to Seoul, TEFL certificate in hand, terrified and excited. I didn’t know it at the time, but that was only the beginning, and I haven’t lived in Canada since. I’ve visited more than 50 countries, several of them more than once, and lived in South Korea, Scotland, Vietnam, New Zealand, and Oman. I’ve had some amazing experiences, met some fascinating people, and seen landscapes that have taken my breath away. I wouldn’t change it for anything.

Jeonju students

I believe in slow travel, in experiencing a country and its people and seeing how they really live, rather than just visiting the touristy places. I take my time, wander back streets and alleyways, sit in parks and just watch. I often find that when other travelers say you can ‘do’ a place in a day, I can keep myself quite busy for three or four days, or if three days are required, I want a week.

I like to live in places, because then I can really get a feel for life in that country. I can immerse myself in the culture more, meet the people, and even try cooking my favourite local food. It’s amazing how much more I can get to know about a place just by staying a while.

Staff class cooking

I have nearly always traveled solo. Though perhaps I meet people along the way and spend a day or a week with them, I like always having the freedom to do what I want, when I want. And being alone gives me more opportunities to interact with both locals and other travelers.

I like the person that I am when I’m traveling. Not that I don’t otherwise, but I feel like my traveling self is the best version of me. The challenges that travel often presents make me feel more confident and clever. I’m more active, and generally just happier when I’m on the road. I realized at one point when I was living in Korea that I would always feel a little bit down if I did not have a trip I was planning for!

Wadi Rum, Jordan

So there’s everything you need to know about me. Any questions, just ask!

20 Comments

  1. Hello Jenny – Lovely to read about your travels, you’ve accomplished a lot for someone so young! I really enjoyed looking at the pictures you have posted, can I ask what type of camera and lens you use? It is typically hard to capture a sense of vastness a place can have, but you’ve done a brilliant job of it. I know most of that is attributed to having a “photographic eye”, but what we can’t do by talent, we can hopefully come closer to by technology.
    Kind regards

    • Hi Quinn! Thanks for your lovely compliments! I’ve worked hard on improving my photography skills over the past year or so, so it’s nice to hear that it’s paying off! My main camera is a Nikon D3100 and I’m still using the 18-55 kit lens that came with it, along with a Sigma 70-300 for the zoom shots. It’s a pretty basic entry-level DSLR that I’ve had for about four years now, and I’m starting to consider upgrading soon, but I don’t know to what yet. There’s definitely some luck in having a ‘photographic eye’ but learning to use the camera and all of its manual settings (and I still only really know the basics) has been a huge boost to my photos. Are you thinking of getting a new camera?

  2. Hi Jenny you responded to a IG picture I had of Hue. I like your blog and will keep with you and what is happening. We are in Chiang Mai until the 28th of this month then start a big circle from here to Myanmar, China, Mongolia, S Korea, Japan and the Phillipines before heading back to E Europe for a year or so. We are retired and have a small pension that lets us travel. If you have any tips about S Korean emails through our blog at aroadtotravel@gmail.com

    John and Laurel Rodgers
    Las Vegas, U.S.

    • Hi John and Laurel! Thanks for following! You’ve got a lot planned for the next while. I’ve been to all those places except Japan so if you have questions, just ask! I’ve had a look at your blog and I really like your photos. Keep in touch! 🙂 Jenny

  3. Hi Jenny,

    I work for the website ExpatFocus.com and recently included your blog in an article I wrote recommending expat blogs for our readers moving to or living in Oman (the article is online at http://www.expatfocus.com/c/aid=3324/articles/oman/oman—recommended-blogs/).

    In addition to letting you know about the above I also thought you might be interested in completing one of our short “expat experience” interviews (by email) for publication at the site (previous examples can be found at http://www.expatfocus.com/expat-experiences-latest). These are a great way of introducing yourself to our membership and in addition to promoting them via the usual social media channels of Twitter, Facebook etc. we also include them in our monthly email newsletter. If the above sounds of interest please let me know and I’ll be very happy to send the questions through.

    Kind regards,
    Emma

    • Hi Emma,

      Thanks for featuring me! I hope to be writing a whole lot more about Oman in the coming months. I’m sending you an email about the interview.

      Jenny

  4. I chanced upon your website when I was googling about travel blogs on Luo biao hanging coffins.

    It seems there aren’t many well written blogs written by Caucasians that focuses more on local authentic experiences in sichuan.

    While there are many blogs written by Asians who focuses more on urban & touristy experiences like shopping or eating, those doesn’t interest me (even though I’m an Asian myself).

    Like you, I like to travel off the beaten path & go for the more local authentic experience. As with many occasions, it’s the interactions with the locals that are more memorable than the attraction itself (like your hanging coffin post).

    I look forward to reading the rest of your blogposts. Keep travelling & keep writing 🙂

    • Hi Michelle! Thanks for reading! I think not many Caucasians (or any people, really, but there are always more Chinese tourists than Westerners) go to out-of-the-way places in China. I guess there are just so many places on the tourist trail that there isn’t much need for most people to go off it. But I like seeing how people actually live, the countryside, and the more obscure attractions like the hanging coffins! And often in China people are really much friendlier in smaller places than they are in the big cities.

      I’m glad you liked my post! 🙂 Feel free to share it around!

  5. Jenny,

    I am not a nomad, but someone who lives in towns for a fixed period and gets involved in the community. I travel and get to know the place hence I love your blog! I lived in Dawei for 18months where myself and a couple of mates wrote the SouthernMyanmar.com resource before lonely planet or any of the others covered the region, we were the first to encourage tourists to see places like Nabule Beach, Pahdaw in Myeik and the privately owned tea houses at maungmagan and did this in my spare time when I was not refurbishing medical clinics. In the early days it was so rewarding to see travellers use our resource and go to these small villiges, I vividly recall reading your Nabule blog back in 2014, your myeik writings also brought me joy. You represented the second layer of a healthy traveling ecosystem where the true travellers interested in culture were bringing small scale mirco tourism to an area and recommending it to others, so thank you!

    My home town is Greymouth NZ, I was googling images for Punakaiki the other day and saw some beautiful photos, I recognised the blogsite name “Jennyfaraway” from my time in Dawei. The Paparoa is my new community development project which I am creating with my friends who run The Wild Foods Festival, our town is a traditional mining town but over the last 5 years through tragedy and economic downturn we have lost over 1500 jobs, we are creating a bike and trail running festival to help create activity and an alternative to mining. We have partnered with and educational group http://www.sisugirls.org who help develop adventurous and brave girls like yourself who love to explore. I would love to be able to use the image you took of the river back home to promote our project. I have attaced http://jennyfaraway.com/punakaiki-pororari-loop/ they are very beautiful images. Attached is an example of what we would use it for. If you ever find yourself in NZ during our festival you have free entry!

    If we ever cross paths again I certainly owe you a beer or a bottle or two of wine, wishing you safe and happy travels

    Steve

    • Wow, thank you so much for your kind words Steve. I have to say, I pored over every inch of Southernmyanmar.com before I went on that trip there three years ago. It was really the only source of information about the area, so thank you for that! Your new project sounds great, I’m sending you an email about the photo.

      When I find myself in your region again I’ll definitely take you up on that beer or wine!

  6. Jenny, you’re a delightful writer! We’re Americans headed to Cuba. I’ve read most but not all of your Cuba posts. Might I suggest that you make a note in your Cuba intro that you’re Canadian? Reason being is that our government has imposed all sorts of rules to try to prevent us visiting there, the most onerous one being that credit cards issued from American banks are not accepted in Cuba.
    Regards,
    RW

    • Thanks RW! You’re right, I’ll point that out. It makes things that much more difficult for you! I do suggest though, that anyone going should do their own verifying of these points because things can change quickly in Cuba! Enjoy your trip!

  7. Jenny, you have created an amazing life for yourself, with the kind of adventures the rest of us can only dream of! I love reading about them and enjoying your wonderful photos. I am a good and longtime friend of your Mom’s, so I have heard tales of your growing up as well as your travel experiences from her too.

  8. HI JENNY….AM KAZ FROM KOLKATA,INDIA WORKING IN KOLKATA POLICE
    PLEASE COME AND VISIT INDIA IN KOLKATA…..LOTS OF NEW THINGS U KNW TO COME

    • Hi Kaz,
      There is so much of India to see! I’ve been in Kolkata before, but only briefly on my way to Bhutan. One day I hope to visit again.

  9. Jenny, your travel journey is truly inspiring! It’s fascinating how your parents’ adventurous spirit and their stories of global exploration ignited your own passion for travel. Your experiences in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and numerous other countries are a testament to your adventurous soul. Your belief in slow travel and immersing yourself in local cultures resonates with many, and the way you describe your “traveling self” as the best version of you is a beautiful testament to the transformative power of exploration. Thanks for sharing your incredible travel odyssey! ????????

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