I will be back in Nepal in less than a month. I’m actually in Thailand for about two weeks beforehand, and then in Bhutan for a week after, so I will have to pack accordingly. While I’m usually quite confident with what to pack, for some reason I keep humming and hawing about what to bring on this particular trip, perhaps because I’ll be in various climates (from the sunny beaches of Thailand to the chilly temperatures of the Himalayas) and because, well, I’m not backpacking. That’s right, I’m bringing a – wait for it – suitcase. This means don’t have to worry as much about trying to fit everything into a smaller space or wrinkled clothing.

That being said, when I started to think about what to wear in Nepal, and what to bring on this trip, I still thought back to the backpacking trip I took around Southeast Asia and the Subcontinent in 2011. I can’t help it – the clothes I wore then and the outfits I put together were some of my favourites ever.

Because I’ve also been fortunate enough to stay in London a bit longer, I’m seeing this as an opportunity to see more of the UK and of Europe in general. It is incredibly cheap to fly to many European countries from London; with airlines like RyanAir and Easy Jet, it’s possible to fly to some European cities for less money than my weekly Oyster card update to travel around London. I don’t know what the future holds after those couple years in London, so I thought I should take advantage of the proximity to Europe as much as possible in the upcoming year. While I’ve visited a lot of the major cities around the continent, there are a lot of smaller cities and towns I haven’t seen yet. More than that, there are experiences I’d really love to have if I can.

If you’ve ever taken a look at my Instagram account you know that I’m not exactly one for muted, soft tones. I love bright colours, vibrant reds and blues and yellows. My winter jacket is lime green, so that has to tell you something. I’ve often written about my love of bright colours on this blog, always highlighting different hues I’ve found around the world.

I started noticing brightly-coloured photos of an adorable vintage-inspired amusement park on Instagram about two months ago. It was aptly named Dreamland, and I quickly discovered it was located in the coastal city of Margate, in England’s region of Kent. Less than two hours away by train from London, I started to plan a weekend trip or even a day off in order to go and experience the place for myself; it just looked like too much fun to not see it in person. Less than a week later, fate intervened, as Visit England wrote to me and asked if I’d like to visit Dreamland on their behalf.

This year, I will say that I’m thankful for the things I normally list: my friends and family, my health, the health of those I love, my job, my flat, this blog and all of the amazing people who read it, and so on. But this year, I’m thankful for something else, too: for being present.

My mum has been saying this to me for years: be present. I’ve also thought that to be present is a key quality I want and need from the other important people in my life, whether they’re friends or romantic partners. So what do I mean by being present? I mean to be fully engaged and aware, to take in what’s going on around you, and to appreciate the life you’re living. To really listen when someone’s talking to you. To take some time to look around you when you walk somewhere. To actively seek new and fun experiences, even in your hometown. I’ve felt it a lot when I’ve travelled, but it’s not as easy to do when you’re living in the same city for a while, or living a more repetitive life.

Part of the struggle of finding shows to go to in London is the cost. In March I went to see the brilliant The Ruling Class with James McAvoy, but that set me back £60 for a matinee ticket. I tried to go see Photograph 51 with Nicole Kidman, but ultimately decided I’d rather by a Eurostar ticket to Paris with the money it would have cost me. And yes, I know – you shouldn’t put a price on art, it would be worth every pound, and what have you – but I simply can’t afford to drop that kind of money all the time when I’m constantly saving to travel, and, you know, living in one of the most expensive cities in the world. But just because you can’t afford to see a show in London’s West End, doesn’t mean you can’t get involved in the theatre scene in London. There are plenty of venues, playhouses, and festivals that promote affordable theatre. My new favourite? The Albany in South East London.

If you’ve read this blog for a little while, you may know that I used to travel a lot – I visited every continent except Antarctica at least once in the last four years, including long stints of backpacking around Asia and Central/South America. When I moved to London about two years ago, I didn’t really plan to slow down… and for the first year, I didn’t, not at all. Last year, despite having a job and a full-time master’s degree, I visited fourteen countries on three continents.

This year, however, was probably the slowest year of travel for me in the past decade. I don’t even really know how it happened, but with work and the final stages of the degree taking over, plus an undying love of London, I realised I had to – and wanted to – focus on a few more things in life. That doesn’t mean I didn’t go away; this year I’ve visited Spain, Denmark, Ireland, Canada, and the USA, as well as lots of fun trips around the UK.

But I was a fool to think this wanderlust wouldn’t get the better of me eventually.