The Month That Was May 2017

Last updated: 29 July 2023

From the Roaming Required Archives. Here’s a flashback from the month that was May 2017.

I’m writing this from a beach-side cafe in Australia.  Seagulls flying over head vying for one of my chips as waves crash onto the shore.  I love it here.  Despite it being technically winter, the sun is so warm. Comfortably sitting in the sun without a jacket, it feels good to be home.

May has been a bit of a mixed bag for us.  The month ticked over in the middle of the Traverse travel blogging conference. As I mentioned in April’s round-up, this annual blogging conference is my favourite, an opportunity to see many familiar faces that I predominately see online.  A change in Traverse format for 2017 saw us juggling our full time jobs and trying to be everywhere around town for all the blogging events which ran day and night for an entire week!

If you read our update in April or follow us on social media, you’ll know we had a long trip away planned for May.  Taking almost a month off work we headed back to Australia to catch up with family and friends.  Hard to believe but Russ hadn’t been back to Australia since we got married although you might recall I was home at Christmas.

Read More: The Real Truth – Surviving an Ultra Long Haul Flight

Just six months since the last gruelling flight, I couldn’t face the idea of another ultra long haul so we split up the journey.  Leaving London we visited Dubai, multiple cities in Australia, Bangkok before coming back to London.  That’s a whopping total of over 35,000km!

Before jet-setting across the world I popped into the Hunterian Museum (aka the Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons) before they closed for renovations.  This museum fascinates me, the history of surgery, medicine and how treatment was carried out, absolutely fascinating.  Read about it and other London museums here.

Dubai

Our short stay in Dubai was just a few days.  I’d forgotten how hot the desert can get. May in Dubai is hot, and when the summer heat begins with temperatures averaging 30°C. It’s the perfect time for a swim with bath-warm sea temperatures of roughly 29°C. Humidity is as low as it goes and rainfall is rare.  

Aside from the air conditioned shopping malls, the highlight for Dubai was a seaplane adventure over the city skyline.  More on this soon, but in the meantime, here’s a picture to whet your appetite.

Australia

We arrived late in the evening, landing into Sydney at 11pm. I have family scattered across the country which makes it challenging when you’re only in town for a short time.  So I tried to nip my jet-lag in the bud and headed straight to Melbourne on a 7am flight while Russ stayed in Sydney where his family is based. Might be a bit obvious from all his Instagram shots?

The rest of my two weeks in Aus entailed a few days here and there seeing as many people as I could. Only one half day selfishly spent at the beach in the sun writing this post, the rest of the time I whizzed between Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, and the coastline along NSW. Suffice to say, I was all over the place!

While in Aus, I treated my mum to a mother/daughter weekend in Canberra.  I took the opportunity to explore the burgeoning food scene, the must-see sights of the War Memorial where we spent too much time and missed the tour of Parliament House. Whoops!  I also I met up with fellow blogger Megan who recently quit full time travel, bought a house and moved to Tassie!

Canberra often gets a bad rap as somewhere for only university students and politicians, but it’s become so much more in recent years.  It’s just 3 hours by car from Sydney so it makes an ideal weekend destination and in late May the whole area is inundated with autumnal foliage giving the entire region a glow of gold and amber. 

Back in Sydney, we conveniently timed our visit to coincide with the city’s most illuminating festival, Vivid Sydney.  Each winter, the world’s best designers and artists transform the city with images projected onto key locations around the city including Sydney Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Customs House, museums and Sydney’s harbour-side zoo, Taronga. All this runs alongside inspiring talks and interactive light sculptures throughout the city centre.

Bangkok

It’s hard to believe that we’ve seen more than 20% of the world and yet neither of us had ever been to Thailand. Now seemed as good of a time as any, so we detoured back to London via Bangkok.  

Neither of us were sure what to expect from Bangkok. We were instantly greeted with a hot sweaty humidity of SE Asia, something we’d long forgotten about, something that can only be described as like being slapped in the face with a hot wet rag.  

Bangkok has a global reputation for chaotic traffic jams which makes London drivers seem timid, so it was a welcome relief to arrive at 2am when the roads were slightly less chaotic!

Bangkok proved itself to be a bustling metropolis, one with more cars than people.  Giving up on taxis that require firm haggling on pricing, we took to the metro. For the most part it’s relatively simple system to follow and, the best bit, air-conditioned like a fridge.   

We spent our days battling people, the scorching sun and the horrendous humidity to explore the city of Bangkok.  By nightfall we were exhausted, struggling to keep awake to explore the renowned nightlife of the city.  Ice cold beers beside the pool and evening swims quickly became our routine.

For me, exploring Bangkok by water proved the most interesting part of the trip. Jumping onto boats that dock at a pontoon for mere seconds was an interesting challenge but one that had us both loving the experience.  

Social Media

No prizes for guessing where the most popular shot on Instagram this month was this taken.  This hair raising, and potentially bankrupting form of transport is prolific in Bangkok.   Tuk tuk drivers in Bangkok appear from all directions, all vying for your business.  

What’s next?

Life returns back to normal and at a significantly slower pace. I don’t think I’ll ever be one of those people to cram my life into a suitcase. I love having a home base to call my own.

The annual Queen’s birthday parade, Trooping the Colour, will fill the Mall with the best opportunity to gaze British pageantry at it’s finest and a superb chance at some Royal-spotting as the members of the Royal family take their places on the balcony at Buckingham Palace.  

As the temperatures pick up into the high 20s, London’s parks will now be inundated with near naked bodies as everyone replenishes their Vitamin D levels.  

For us, we’ve got a few events lined up as summer begins to take hold.  A bar launch in London and a weekend retreat in the country is in the works.  I haven’t confirmed if there’s WiFi so let’s not mention that to Russ just yet hey? 😉

Facts & Figures for May

• Countries visited: 3
• Continents visited: 3
• Number of flights taken:  7

Where are you heading in June?